Going under BMI? *PICS*

firstsip

OP, you mention you think BMI is bull****... treat the numbers on the scale the same way! You need to peceive numbers on the scale the same way you do BMI--they are not accurate reflections of overall appearance and health. You've been given great advice--continue how you're eating and strength train and STOP. WEIGHING. If you literally just GET RID of your scale and focus on fitness (and take pics like you did), you'll be immensely happier with your self.

Wonkermann

yeah, we all know about the losing weight bit, but a lot of people don't know that losing weight is just stage 1. stage 2 involves building muscle and thus changing your body composition. it's not easy, but i'd say it's time to start eating as many calories as you burn (ie maintenance) and then lifting some heavy weights.

congratulations though, because you've achieved a lot so far.

LorinaLynn

It's really hard. I look in the mirror & I all I see is far. My tummy and arms are just horrible. Ugh. I just wanna b thin. I want abs. I want biceps, low BF. I wanna b beautiful.

You are beautiful and you have a great shape. A little bit more tweaking, and you're going to LOVE how you look. You don't need to lose any more pounds. Strength training and eating at or near maintenance is going to do amazing things for you. Be sure you're getting a lot of protein, too. I noticed a change in my body and energy levels since I started aiming for at least 100g a day.

Here's another link, from when I hit my goal weight over a year ago to now. My weight isn't much different, but it's tightened up all over. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/it-ain-t-over-when-you-hit-your-goal-423924

shorty35565

It's really hard. I look in the mirror & I all I see is far. My tummy and arms are just horrible. Ugh. I just wanna b thin. I want abs. I want biceps, low BF. I wanna b beautiful.

You are beautiful and you have a great shape. A little bit more tweaking, and you're going to LOVE how you look. You don't need to lose any more pounds. Strength training and eating at or near maintenance is going to do amazing things for you. Be sure you're getting a lot of protein, too. I noticed a change in my body and energy levels since I started aiming for at least 100g a day.

Here's another link, from when I hit my goal weight over a year ago to now. My weight isn't much different, but it's tightened up all over. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/it-ain-t-over-when-you-hit-your-goal-423924

Thank you. I dont see it. But I been trying to eat closer to my TDEE. And I have a bench & barbell. Starting monday I've started lifting heavy (for me), doing the main lifts, like I was told to do. I been eating over 100g or protein every day for a while
You look amazing. I wish I looked good like that.

blanchette_j

A pound of Fat weighs the same as a pound of lean muscle.

I lol'd. Sorry for contributing nothing more to this thread than this

dave4d

How old are you? The reason I ask is because when I was 14 I was about the same height I am now, but I only weighed 126 lbs. I could never get that low, again, unless I want to put my health at risk. If you are still young, you may not have developed the muscle yet that the BMI assumes you would have.

Another question is, what lifts are you doing? You said "main lifts", but that doesn't tell me if you mean compound lifts like: squats, bench, dead lifts, and shoulder presses, or isolation lifts like: arm curls, lateral raises, and leg curls.

shorty35565

How old are you? The reason I ask is because when I was 14 I was about the same height I am now, but I only weighed 126 lbs. I could never get that low, again, unless I want to put my health at risk. If you are still young, you may not have developed the muscle yet that the BMI assumes you would have.

Another question is, what lifts are you doing? You said "main lifts", but that doesn't tell me if you mean compound lifts like: squats, bench, dead lifts, and shoulder presses, or isolation lifts like: arm curls, lateral raises, and leg curls.

I'm 24.
Yeah compound lifts. I do bench press, overhead press, bent over rows, squat, deadlift. I also do leg extensions and hamstring curls, cuz my bench has a little thing for them lol And I do negative pull ups (or try), assisted pull ups & push ups, cuz the only way u get good at those is doing them.

dave4d

How old are you? The reason I ask is because when I was 14 I was about the same height I am now, but I only weighed 126 lbs. I could never get that low, again, unless I want to put my health at risk. If you are still young, you may not have developed the muscle yet that the BMI assumes you would have.

Another question is, what lifts are you doing? You said "main lifts", but that doesn't tell me if you mean compound lifts like: squats, bench, dead lifts, and shoulder presses, or isolation lifts like: arm curls, lateral raises, and leg curls.

I'm 24.
Yeah compound lifts. I do bench press, overhead press, bent over rows, squat, deadlift. I also do leg extensions and hamstring curls, cuz my bench has a little thing for them lol And I do negative pull ups (or try), assisted pull ups & push ups, cuz the only way u get good at those is doing them.

Keep lifting. Those are great lifts for adding muscle. Lift hard, and you will see yourself tone up quickly.

shorty35565

Thank u, I hope to see a changed. I've only done it 3 times & i've already seen improvements. So far, on at least one thing every time, I've done more reps than the first time or I needed to go up some. I think it's working. I still eating a small deficit too. My TDEE is between 19-2100. I normally eat between 16-1800.

MoreBean13

How old are you? The reason I ask is because when I was 14 I was about the same height I am now, but I only weighed 126 lbs. I could never get that low, again, unless I want to put my health at risk. If you are still young, you may not have developed the muscle yet that the BMI assumes you would have.

Another question is, what lifts are you doing? You said "main lifts", but that doesn't tell me if you mean compound lifts like: squats, bench, dead lifts, and shoulder presses, or isolation lifts like: arm curls, lateral raises, and leg curls.

I'm 24.
Yeah compound lifts. I do bench press, overhead press, bent over rows, squat, deadlift. I also do leg extensions and hamstring curls, cuz my bench has a little thing for them lol And I do negative pull ups (or try), assisted pull ups & push ups, cuz the only way u get good at those is doing them.

I think your plan is good- you're going the right direction! You need heavy lifting, a moderate deficit, and a bit of patience. I would suggest lifting heavy doing a full body workout of the compound movements you're already doing 3x/week, a deficit of probably somewhere around 250 cals, and a half hour of moderate cardio after lifting. You could do cardio on your off days if you want to, or you don't have to. That would depend on if you have endurance goals or get an anti-depressant boost from cardio (I do!).

A few months doing this made this happen:

I have a slightly higher deficit, closer to 500 cals, because I had more weight to lose. between these shots, I lost 6" in my waist, 5" in my hips, 3.5" in each thigh, 4" in my bust, and 1.75" in each bicep. I think these shots are 3 or 4 months apart. I think this shot is about a month and a half old, but I don't have any more current side shots. Take measurements and ignore the scale for a while. Lifting heavy will transform your body in to what you want it to be! I still have a ways to go, but I am really proud of my success thus far, and wish I had figured out this *magic* formula earlier- it would have saved me a lot of frustration!

DavPul

First, big time congrats on your progress so far. It's tremendous work that you've done to get to this point and you should be proud. Damn proud. And don't be discouraged, because you're about to get to the good part! Eating more food and throwing heavy *kitten* around!

Okay, I know people think men's and women's bodies are different but my story is very similar to yours. I started at the beginning of this year with strength training on a big deficit (1000-1300 under maintenance) and light cardio as that's about all I could do without risking a trip to the ortho. As I started rounding into shape and building endurance, I upped the cardio intensity while keeping the heavy lifting and calorie deficit the same.

Then we get to June and I've lost 35 pounds or so, but I look in the mirror and I'm soft as a baby's bottom. Losing lbs was nice, but I wanted to look better than I was looking. So I changed things up. I lowered my deficit to 300-500 under (there's a spread because if you follow my diary you know I really don't give a *kitten*; a "little under" is precise enough). I cut the cardio almost to nothing. Some relatively light stuff once or twice per week. With less cardio and a smaller deficit, I was able to lift a lot heavier. I did this for about 2 months.

That 2 months was the defining point of my weight loss this year. Actually, we shouldn't call it weight loss. Because I only lost about 3 pounds total over those 8 weeks. But man oh man, did I see some results. Lost about 6 inches off my waist. Lost a ton of fat off my stomach, chest, neck. Some on my face. Even tho I barely lost any weight at all, the compliments about my progress started pouring in, because I was actually looking thinner. Not just thinner, but I was actually beginning to look like a person that was in shape. My BF% went down drastically (how much? Don't know, don't care!). All in all, it was a success. A monster success.

Your worry right now seems to be that "lifting heavy" means "bulking phase" to you, and I'm telling you that's not the case. This will work out the exact same for you. Well, your bodyfat% will go down substantially, but you won't end up with as much muscle as I did because women don't get big like men can. Make sure you're eating a slight caloric deficit (200-300) and lift as heavy as you safely can. There are many good programs for lifting but I won't recommend one because you seem smart enough to figure out which one of the heavily mentioned programs you'll like the best. Truthfully, they're all good so it really doesn't matter.

Remember, don't get frustrated at first. You won't be losing weight at the same pace as you have been. Hell, you may not lose weight at all. But don't worry about it. Stop using the scale and start using a tape measure around your waist, stomach, arms and thighs. And every two weeks put on the same outfit you're wearing in your photo here and compare the shots. You will see the difference. You will feel the difference when you put on your clothes. You will go broke buying smaller clothes because none of your current stuff fits.

Good luck and congrats again for making it this far. (And by "this far", I mean thru this long *kitten*, rambly *kitten* post.)

CrookedCrookster

Make sure your protein level is up. If you're on a diet and working out you need more protein. Otherwise you may lose fat, but you'll also lose some muscle.

LiftHuff

I'm 24.
Yeah compound lifts. I do bench press, overhead press, bent over rows, squat, deadlift. I also do leg extensions and hamstring curls, cuz my bench has a little thing for them lol And I do negative pull ups (or try), assisted pull ups & push ups, cuz the only way u get good at those is doing them.

Sounds like Stronglifts. Is that right?

Kerikins76

You've lost 60 pounds!!!! And you look great!! Don't let our cultural definition of "beauty" define who you are and how you feel. You are beautiful and valuable just exactly how you are right now. And you've LOST 60 POUNDS!!!!!! That's amazing!

LorinaLynn

Thank you. I dont see it. But I been trying to eat closer to my TDEE. And I have a bench & barbell. Starting monday I've started lifting heavy (for me), doing the main lifts, like I was told to do. I been eating over 100g or protein every day for a while
You look amazing. I wish I looked good like that.

But... your body is very, very similar to mine. Our measurements are almost identical. The only difference is that I've been lifting longer, so I have a little more muscle. You're on that road, and it's not a very long road to get there.

Another thing, which is something I've struggled with my whole life... posture. Strength training will help with that, too, but it doesn't hurt to make a conscious effort to sit and stand straighter. I'm willing to bet if you took those same photos but with your back straighter and shoulders back, you'd see a big difference.

shorty35565

Make sure your protein level is up. If you're on a diet and working out you need more protein. Otherwise you may lose fat, but you'll also lose some muscle.

Protein is always 100 or more

shorty35565

I'm 24.
Yeah compound lifts. I do bench press, overhead press, bent over rows, squat, deadlift. I also do leg extensions and hamstring curls, cuz my bench has a little thing for them lol And I do negative pull ups (or try), assisted pull ups & push ups, cuz the only way u get good at those is doing them.

Sounds like Stronglifts. Is that right?

Mayb its similar but its not exactly. I do 3 sets, failin at 7-10 reps

shorty35565

You've lost 60 pounds!!!! And you look great!! Don't let our cultural definition of "beauty" define who you are and how you feel. You are beautiful and valuable just exactly how you are right now. And you've LOST 60 POUNDS!!!!!! That's amazing!

I REALLY wish I felt tht way, but I don't. Im nothin special. U can tell by the amount of men who have Said I was on ths post. And tht amount is 0.