Maintain weight and cut fat?

relyksrc

Hi everyone!

There's lots of blog posts out there and websites on how to lose weight fast, and lots of programs designed for weight loss.

I am 5'6, and about 132lbs... I'm comfortable with my weight. What I'm not comfortable with is my Body Fat Percentage, which was about 26%. I'm female, so that's not a whole lot over what "fit" is considered, to my understanding - but I'm not fit. I used to do lots of exercise but had to stop due to injury.. now even running to catch a bus feels like an effort.

I tried to get back into Insanity but just could not stick with it as it was too repetetive. I've started biking again and I love it.

I was wondering if there's a healthy way to cut fat, without losing too much weight. (I wouldn't mind going down to around 128 - 129 but it's definitely not necessary and I wouldn't want to drop lower, I don't want to be underweight). I will add I have trouble hitting 1200 cals a day. I'm iron deficient/anemic, which causes loss of appetite and other symptoms that are very exhausting. I have to force 1200 cals down each day, and even then it's difficult. I intend on sticking to 1200 cals a day unless that starts taking a toll; it's a challenge as it is with no appetite.

I don't have money for strength or resistance training past bodyweight workouts right now.

I was wondering what people's theories are on this? Pure cardio, then put on some muscle after I reach a lower body fat %, or do both together? Is it possible to maintain weight through pure cardio and cut fat at the same time, or would you lose weight as well since you're not putting on muscle all over your body, with the exception of leg muscles from biking?

Any ideas appreciated. Thanks.

amusedmonkey

I too did not like what our local gym has to offer and I have back and knee problems so I can't do heavy lifting. I bought a book called "you are your own gym" which includes a lot of body weight and resistance exercises.

It uses things you can find at home like door handles, chairs, books, desks, stairs, towels, basketballs etc and if you happen not to have a certain thing, there is always an alternative exercise for the same muscle group.

One issue: you will probably end up putting together your own routine, so if you like a more structured approach the book may not be for you.

Also remember to keep your protein intake high enough to recomp. It takes a very very long time though, so do you have the patience?

chrisdavey

Without doing some sort of resistance training it is unlikely that the "weight" you lose will be just fat. The training skews the percentage of fat loss to the higher end (maintaining LBM). If you don't give your muscles a reason to stick around, they will happily catabolise.

csuhar

I too did not like what our local gym has to offer and I have back and knee problems so I can't do heavy lifting. I bought a book called "you are your own gym" which includes a lot of body weight and resistance exercises.

It uses things you can find at home like door handles, chairs, books, desks, stairs, towels, basketballs etc and if you happen not to have a certain thing, there is always an alternative exercise for the same muscle group.

One issue: you will probably end up putting together your own routine, so if you like a more structured approach the book may not be for you.

Also remember to keep your protein intake high enough to recomp. It takes a very very long time though, so do you have the patience?

If you want a more structured program, the app is a good option. It lets you build your own workout, create a "random" one, or go through one of four 10-week workout protocols.

What really helps with the book is that he's got dietary guidance to help you figure out how much you should eat to get the results. So it helps to do the math and trust the numbers, even if it seems odd to you, at first.

OP: When it comes to hitting calorie goals, you may have seen this, or not, but you can look to eating more calorically dense foods that have a lot of calories, but not a lot of volume. You also may find it easier to drink some of your calories. It's not the healthiest option, but as an example: one 20-oz soda is usually an easy 200+ calories. But it's better to focus on making sure you get all your nutrients first, before turning to empty calorie sources. Sometimes, that's as easy as simply forgetting the "no fat" or "diet" food hype and eating "full-fat" or "regular" versions. You can also find pretty healthy foods that have a lot of calories, such as nuts.

KarenJanine

Eating just 1200 cals is not a good idea if you want to maintain muscle mass and lose just fat. Calculate your TDEE and take a small cut. As you have very little weight to lose, you should be aiming for 0.5lb per week loss at the most.

And as stated above, you will need to add some form of resistance training in order to preserve muscle mass.

tanyamartha

Yeah I do agree..But what are the other alternatives of it?

relyksrc

Thanks everyone. What you're all saying makes sense.

As for only eating 1200 cals, that's what MFP told me to eat, and I've been (trying to) make sure I get over that. I look at it more as a minimum than a finishing goal... but due to being anemic it's kind of a challenge when I truly have 0 appetite and need to eat more. Budget is also kind of an issue. I'm 19 and in school, so I'm at home right now. I grew up kind of having to ration food until the next paycheck, so I'm sure that could be part of it. I'm just used to not eating a whole lot.
I'm not not eating out of body image problems, I just literally feel sick if I eat full meals. :S

I've also heard of eating more calorie dense foods, which has been helping. I've been eating lots of trail mix (the kind without chocolate), and trying to stay away from "light" options of things.

I appreciate all of your suggestions, and I'll try and find a combonation of what works for me!

I'll check out the app as well. Thanks everone!

47Jacqueline

It's really hard to not lose weight while you lower your body fat percentage. I just spent about six weeks trying to do that as well. I was about 25% bodyfat and 130 pounds. I was comfortable at that weight, but wanted to lower my body fat % to under 20% because that would put me in the athletic level insteaad of average. I ended up losing three pounds at 127 lb. I guess, the whole point of lowering body fat is that you have to reduce your fat content and increase your lean body mass. So the only way you're going to do that is to lose weight. I was eating 1500 calories a day with the internt of not losing more than a halaf pound a week while I worked on reducing my body fat. I figured if I had to lose weight to do it, I didn't want to starve myself. So I was also burning about 400 calories a day as well. That gave me a good intake allowed without getting crazy.

So, I'm happy at 19% body fat and I guess losing the three pounds wasn't so bad. I'm prettty active with about half strenght training and halgh cardio. I'm getting even more active becasue I'm training to be a Zumba and youa instructore for seniors. Right now I'm starting to develop someroutines to make up a full hour's class for my specialties of Zumba Gold and Senior level yoga. It takes a long time for me to choreograph a Zumba routine and while I do it, I'm expending energy..

Loralrose

Have you considered that maybe your "fitness" problems are actually symptoms of anemia and not eating enough? Not to say your goals are unreasonable... it's just maybe not something that can be fixed by changing your body composition.

kimberlyblindsey

It's really hard to not lose weight while you lower your body fat percentage. I just spent about six weeks trying to do that as well. I was about 25% bodyfat and 130 pounds. I was comfortable at that weight, but wanted to lower my body fat % to under 20% because that would put me in the athletic level insteaad of average. I ended up losing three pounds at 127 lb. I guess, the whole point of lowering body fat is that you have to reduce your fat content and increase your lean body mass. So the only way you're going to do that is to lose weight. I was eating 1500 calories a day with the internt of not losing more than a halaf pound a week while I worked on reducing my body fat. I figured if I had to lose weight to do it, I didn't want to starve myself. So I was also burning about 400 calories a day as well. That gave me a good intake allowed without getting crazy.

So, I'm happy at 19% body fat and I guess losing the three pounds wasn't so bad. I'm prettty active with about half strenght training and halgh cardio. I'm getting even more active becasue I'm training to be a Zumba and youa instructore for seniors. Right now I'm starting to develop someroutines to make up a full hour's class for my specialties of Zumba Gold and Senior level yoga. It takes a long time for me to choreograph a Zumba routine and while I do it, I'm expending energy..

So you lost three pounds, and six percent body fat? That's pretty good. Did you strength train too? I really would like to lose about the same percentage, but was hoping I wouldn't have to be get extremely underweight to do so. This gives me hope.

KarenJanine

As for only eating 1200 cals, that's what MFP told me

MFP would only set it that low if you told it that you want to lose 2lbs per week and put that you are sedentary.

Very few people are truly sedentary so I'd recommend adjusting this to lightly active. And as you are looking to maintain weight, then set your goals to maintain. You will get a higher calorie goal than 1200.


I put your numbers in Scoobys calculator http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

your BMR is 1443

TDEE (maintenance) is 1732, and that's only if you are completely sedentary. If you exercise 3 to 5 hrs per week this increases to 2237 cals.

relyksrc

Have you considered that maybe your "fitness" problems are actually symptoms of anemia and not eating enough? Not to say your goals are unreasonable... it's just maybe not something that can be fixed by changing your body composition.

Yes, I've considered it. But I have been anemic for years (it was just undiagnosed. They told me I had anxiety/hypochondria until I got them to do bloodwork and they realized there really was something wrong). During that time, eating well/working out had me in good shape.. I was just tired with heart palpitations (apparently non-life threatening) all the time, which I still occasionally get. I've also considered that might also be caused by not eating enough in general, not necessarily just my anemia.

Either way, I then got injured, and ended up taking a few years off (the injuries were 2 concussions over the course of 1 1/2 years from contact sports) .. and lost all my definition/the body I worked hard for.

I've considered the fact that maybe I'm not getting the results because I'm not eating enough as you suggest; which is why I've been trying to up my caloric intake. I feel like I'd probably feel much better in general too if I could even push up to maybe 1600 cals a day. I definitely find that it's easier to eat when I feel like my iron supplements are doing their job, and when it's not hot out (heat intolerance is a symptom of my anemia as well - in an air conditioned place I find it MUCH easier to eat) so I'm sure you're onto something with that suggestion - I'm just not sure exactly which connection needs to be made in order to fix it.

My doctors are fairly useless and just tell me "Do what you can, eat steak. Don't forget your supplements."

I'm unsure of if I should force-feed to help with anemia/my natural need to eat, or only eat when I feel hungry, listen to my body and hit way below 1200 cals? :S

relyksrc

It's really hard to not lose weight while you lower your body fat percentage. I just spent about six weeks trying to do that as well. I was about 25% bodyfat and 130 pounds. I was comfortable at that weight, but wanted to lower my body fat % to under 20% because that would put me in the athletic level insteaad of average. I ended up losing three pounds at 127 lb. I guess, the whole point of lowering body fat is that you have to reduce your fat content and increase your lean body mass. So the only way you're going to do that is to lose weight. I was eating 1500 calories a day with the internt of not losing more than a halaf pound a week while I worked on reducing my body fat. I figured if I had to lose weight to do it, I didn't want to starve myself. So I was also burning about 400 calories a day as well. That gave me a good intake allowed without getting crazy.

So, I'm happy at 19% body fat and I guess losing the three pounds wasn't so bad. I'm prettty active with about half strenght training and halgh cardio. I'm getting even more active becasue I'm training to be a Zumba and youa instructore for seniors. Right now I'm starting to develop someroutines to make up a full hour's class for my specialties of Zumba Gold and Senior level yoga. It takes a long time for me to choreograph a Zumba routine and while I do it, I'm expending energy..

True. I understand what you're saying there - if you lose body fat, the number will probably drop as well.
I guess I just wanted to make the distinction between cutting weight (fat itself) and keeping it off (not water weight) and then losing weight as a whole - whether that be water, muscle, or fat, as long as the number dropped.

And congratulations! It's great hearing about people getting to where they want to be.

MFP would only set it that low if you told it that you want to lose 2lbs per week and put that you are sedentary.

Very few people are truly sedentary so I'd recommend adjusting this to lightly active. And as you are looking to maintain weight, then set your goals to maintain. You will get a higher calorie goal than 1200.


I put your numbers in Scoobys calculator http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

your BMR is 1443

TDEE (maintenance) is 1732, and that's only if you are completely sedentary. If you exercise 3 to 5 hrs per week this increases to 2237 cals.

I updated my MFP profile and got 1930cals per day, which is at least better than 1200cals, apparently. Now it's a matter of finding the right healthy foods to hit that number, daily.

I think you guys are right.. and once I start eating more and give it time I'll see differences it my fitness abilities/appearance, as well as my health in general. Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate all of your help and advice.