Advice: Is it time to let myself gain some weight?

mauryr

I can't seem to lose any more weight... My bmi fluctuates between 22.9 and 23.6, and body fat between 14 and 16%, and it's been going on for many months (perhaps 6 or 7). I'm always on track for net calories, when set to lose 0.5 lbs/week (well, over on some days, but always under for the week).

(BTW: I'm male, 51 yrs, 5'7" 146-150 lbs. - down from 224 lbs)

I think my body is trying to tell me something... and that "something" might be to put on a few lbs - so long as it's lean.

I'm almost "afraid" to up my calories, as it's been such a tough road losing the weight in the first place.

Anybody else go through anything similar? How did it turn out?

JenniferNoll

Honestly, you seem to be at a healthy weight for your height. It might be time to go to maintenace.

BackTatJIM

Maintain your weight if you would like, but if you plan on gaining a few pounds in muscle make sure you hit the weights! and the best way to gain muscle and not fat is a nice slow bulk, maybe even eating just 200-300 extra calories every day

basillowe66

are you several pounds lighter than you want to be???

akjmart2002

Try to eat at maintenance for a few weeks or a month. You will be surprised by a) how you feel and b) how your body reacts when you reduce your calories again.

A related concern might be that your RMR has changed. The body naturally adjusts the RMR/BMR downward as weight loss occurs, which causes loss to slow or stop eventually. Go get a clinical RMR check done at a fitness testing center and then use that number to recalibrate your weight loss equation.

BinaryPulsar

You're BMI could be higher because of muscle (not fat), so I wouldn't get too hung up on BMI. Your body fat percent sounds good. So, if I were you I would not worry too much about weight gain. It happens slowly and you will be able to monitor it.

kevin3344

I went in and changed mine to "lose .1 lbs/week" or something like that. I'm also in maintenance mode and not looking to lose any, but when I'm training for a race I'll still drop 2-3 pounds. Nothing I can do because I can't eat back an additional 1,000 calories a day (sometimes I run 10 miles).

I upped my calories slightly from 2,030 to 2,100...I still try to stay under but I'm not as hard on myself if I go over because I'm not really looking to lose any...2-3 lbs either way won't bother me.

ZugTheMegasaurus

No matter what you lose, there will be a point that you shouldn't lose any more. It sounds like you've hit that point. If you feel unsatisfied, it's worth your time to sit down and take stock of how you feel about your body. What are you happy with? What do you want to work on? And never forget to look at the great accomplishments you've made so far in getting to where you are; you must appreciate what you've done if you want to go any further.

Find out what it is you want. Gaining weight for the sake of gaining weight is probably not a good idea. If you need to gain muscle for some reason, work on that. If you are happy with the weight you've achieved, then use it to your advantage! Do things you've never done before, buy clothes you weren't confident enough to wear, or show it off however else you want!

Stop thinking of this as a chore, as a task to lose or gain. That will never make you happy. Say to yourself, "What do I want? Where do I want to be? What would make me happy?" Weight is nothing. Weight is only a prerequisite for other things in your life. Do those things.

samhigh

Just listen to your body - what does it matter what some random person on an internet forum tells you?

Track everything, adjust as necessary to meet your goals - more training, more calories, more nutrient cycling, whatever. All the information and tools are out there on the internet.

auroranflash

I agree wholeheartedly with Zug. ^

Congrats on your loss so far... Time to regroup and make a plan.

nehushtan

According to the calculators on this page you are already at an "ideal" weight:

http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm

But of course those calculators are based on the "average" BMI expected... which is not a good measure for some people. In particular, body builders have a great deal of scorn for BMI and focus more on measures like biceps, chest, body fat %, bench press, etc.

I don't think body building is your "thing", however.

Since quantification is so DEEPLY ROOTED in your (and my) psyche, you might need to come up with a different numerical set of measures of success / progress.

I think I might need to do the same thing. Once I reached my "ideal" weight (per BMI) I changed my MFP loss goal to zero lbs per week and said my goal is to "redistribute" my weight to my upper body.

At the current time I do not measure anything to indicate whether I am making progress... I just look in the mirror and try to figure out how I might solve this or that issue (mainly a] remaining flab under the loose skin around the midsection and b] tone and size on the musculature). I've been trying (perhaps without sufficient focus) to do what Alan Aragon calls "culking". ( cf http://www.wannabebig.com/interviews/the-man-with-a-mission-an-interview-with-alan-aragon/ )

Do you have other goals -- muscle / tone / sculpted abs / etc. ? Are you still shooting for "otter mode"? Would you like to look like Ryan Lochte for example? http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20612751,00.html

alexis831

You have ALOT of cardio and no weights. You can't do the same thing over and over or your body will get use to it. To take it to the next level, IF that is what you want, drop your calories a little and add some good weight workouts. You won't really bulk up if you are on a deficit anyway however this will push you to the next level.

mauryr

Wow! Didn't expect such a large response - thanks all.

I think I will try to set my weight goal to "lose 0 lbs/week", as suggested, and see how that goes. Alexis, As far as weights, it's true, I don't do too much, but I do some (though I don't log it, as it seems to have no bearing on cals in/out).

As far as goals, or reasons to be concerned: Yes, Nehushtan, "otter mode" would be nice, but the loose skin around the middle that comes with both age and a large weight loss may make that unobtainable. It would still be nice to lose the last bit of flab around the waist, perhaps tone that area up a little. And Zug, I originally wanted to lose a nice round 80 lbs... an arbitrary goal... got to within about 2 lbs of it, but couldn't stay there, for some reason - regardless of cardio/calories/weights. I guess it's not meant to be. As far as what improvements I'd like, I'd like to be better at racquetball, and perhaps kayaking... and maybe try beach volleyball (as I live at the beach).

I have been told by several people that I'm now "skinny" (mainly family members - and ex wife - so they probably have a preconceived notion of what I'm supposed to look like) - though without a doubt, I'm pretty happy about what I see in the mirror. I don't think I'm designed to be very large or muscular by nature.

Net-net... I'm happy with my progress... just wondering why this machine I live in won't respond to the same stimulus as before, and what that means.

auroranflash

I have been told by several people that I'm now "skinny" (mainly family members - and ex wife - so they probably have a preconceived notion of what I'm supposed to look like) - though without a doubt, I'm pretty happy about what I see in the mirror. I don't think I'm designed to be very large or muscular by nature.

Net-net... I'm happy with my progress... just wondering why this machine I live in won't respond to the same stimulus as before, and what that means.

It will take a lot of eating over maintenance (high protein), also known as 'bulking', to gain so much muscle as to get large (you could do some research on 'bulking' for more info). You would also have to lift heavier weights consistently and really work on upping your weight load over time.

What lifting will do is help you gain muscle/definition and help you lose body fat, even at rest, and allow you to eat more. It takes energy to maintain muscle, so it raises your metabolism (the amount of energy your body needs to maintain itself, or your BMR (basal metabolic rate)) when you concentrate on lifting heavy and doing resistance training. You are challenging your body and forcing your muscles to rebuild themselves.

Your body is very good at adapting to exercise you do regularly. If you are not constantly challenging it in new ways, you will reach a plateau because it's managed to adapt so well to what you're doing to it. Shake it up a little (preferably with weights/resistance) and reap the benefits. You really only need to try to lift heavy 3 days out of the week and get about 30 minutes of cardio 2-3 days a week to be decently healthy, as long as your diet is adequate...