A Sad Realization.

Aviva92

also, before you gained the weight in the first place were you actually a lower body fat percentage than you are now? this is assuming you were 117 pounds at some point in the past. i'm not completely convinced that you did any real damage.

Let me try to explain this for you and anyone else who isn't quite understanding why this is a big deal

Starting 180lbs, 35%bf
Current 117 pounds, 23%bf.

180*.65=117
117*.77=90

117-90= 27 lbs of LBM

A very dedicated woman can build maybe .5lb of muscle every month. so 27/.5=54 months or 4.5 years before she can rebuild her lost muscle. Of course a lot of times newbie gains can offset a bit of this, but it's still a very long time. If used a time machine and lost the same amount of fat (180-117=63 total loss 63-27=36 lbs of fat lost.) at a slow and steady but reasonable rate of .5lb/week she would have been at the same result in 72 weeks or about 1 year 5 months.

OP mistakes happen. Even big mistakes. Learning is part of life. How many people "waste" years"on a degree then go back to school for something different. Or waste years in a bad relationship. I wasted years smoking. It'll take a lot longer than 4.5 years to erase most of THAT damage. It's great that you've realized how to change your situation, and are taking steps to fix it. Good luck.

still failing to see why this is a big deal. if she still had those 27 lbs of LBM, she would be at 0% body fat. 90 + 27 = 117 which is her current weight. That is basically impossible. doesn't seem like it works that way.

Warchortle

It's generally easier to build muscle on a caloric surplus regardless. Life is a journey not a destination. It's almost better to keep having a goal then reaching it and realizing "now what?"

Confuzzled4ever

I do it all.. cardio, weights and calisthenics. I know the muscles are replacing the fat.. cause I can feel the muscles that i never had before appearing. It's a little disheartening to step on the scale only for it to not move.. but since all my clothes are too big, i know the inches are coming off. Plus I can see it in the mirror. I'm not here to lose weight though. I'm here to keep myself healthy. Losing weight is just a bonus.

jencjeffery

Thanks for the post. I have just started lifting instead of long, long walks and having now read the books and your post I am convinced it is the way to go. It is hard to adjust to not watching the scales so much but I know that is what I have to do.

NZhellkat

I applaud you for realizing that you had erred on the way you lost weight. And like most of the other posters, it's not the end of the world. You have a great positive attitude which will take you far. I look forward to hearing how well you do on your journey to regain muscle. Remember that the scales are only a small part of measuring success, start using your tape measure more.

Findekano

oh and 23% body fat is fine for a woman.

But losing 27 pounds of lean mass is not. That's why an athlete and a model can have the same bf%, but look very different. I look frail and sickly, not strong, and that's what I'm upset about.

Aviva92

oh and 23% body fat is fine for a woman.

But losing 27 pounds of lean mass is not. That's why an athlete and a model can have the same bf%, but look very different. I look frail and sickly, not strong, and that's what I'm upset about.

percentage wise, your are in better shape now than you were at 180 pounds. this logic doesn't make any sense. your body fat percentage went down. it didn't stay the same or go up. it went down. i'm assuming when you gained weight, you gained some lean mass as well as fat, just like when you lose weight, you lose lean mass as well as fat. if you kept all the lean mass and was still 117 pounds, you would be 0% body fat. that is impossible.

when you were 180 pounds, you were not an athelete or model. if you were, you would not have been 35% body fat.

artickb22

That sucks that you learned the hard way, I have done the same in the past years ago when I lost 100lbs (before gaining it back several years ago) but this time I've been sure to research, study and learn and do this the healthiest way possible. I'ts more important to me to have a healthy BF% rather than lower number on the scale. Thanks for sharing this though...others who may not have know will now know!!

Findekano

also, before you gained the weight in the first place were you actually a lower body fat percentage than you are now? this is assuming you were 117 pounds at some point in the past. i'm not completely convinced that you did any real damage.

Let me try to explain this for you and anyone else who isn't quite understanding why this is a big deal

Starting 180lbs, 35%bf
Current 117 pounds, 23%bf.

180*.65=117
117*.77=90

117-90= 27 lbs of LBM

A very dedicated woman can build maybe .5lb of muscle every month. so 27/.5=54 months or 4.5 years before she can rebuild her lost muscle. Of course a lot of times newbie gains can offset a bit of this, but it's still a very long time. If used a time machine and lost the same amount of fat (180-117=63 total loss 63-27=36 lbs of fat lost.) at a slow and steady but reasonable rate of .5lb/week she would have been at the same result in 72 weeks or about 1 year 5 months.

OP mistakes happen. Even big mistakes. Learning is part of life. How many people "waste" years"on a degree then go back to school for something different. Or waste years in a bad relationship. I wasted years smoking. It'll take a lot longer than 4.5 years to erase most of THAT damage. It's great that you've realized how to change your situation, and are taking steps to fix it. Good luck.

Thanks for putting this out there for those that are asking what the big deal is. I'm in recovery from an eating disorder, and telling me there's nothing wrong with how I did things is very triggering. It's a huge help to have affirmation that I did, in fact, screw up, and need to do this the right way now.

bookworm_847

The first time I weighed myself at my heaviest, I was 180lbs, 35%bf.

I lost the weight, but I did it the stupid way - cardio, cardio, cardio, more cardio, and eating - total, not net - between 500 and 1500 calories per day, depending on how idiotic I was being at the time.

Current stats - 117 pounds, 23%bf.

This means I went from having 117lbs of lean mass to having just 90. I lost 27 pounds of muscle being an idiot.

Now I have the difficult task ahead of putting muscle back on, when it probably would have been 1000 times easier to preserve what I had and lose the fat more slowly and sensibly.

Take this as a cautionary tale. If you lose weight stupidly, it doesn't matter how much you lose, you won't look good naked, you won't be strong, and you'll have a hell of a lot more work ahead of you after reaching your goal weight once you realize that you are a pathetic pile of skinny-fat squish.

Thanks for this post. It seems I was a bit misinformed as well. I'm just getting started but will work some weights into my routine. I have a little bit of strength training and sculpting, but I'm not sure if that's all I need to be doing. I'll have to do a little research. I had a weight routine but couldn't bring myself to do it as often as I was supposed to... I found it tedious and not fun at all. I'll keep looking though I guess!

Good luck to you and thanks again for sharing. :flowerforyou:

ninerbuff

I applaud you for passing on this information to others.:drinker:

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

r0ckclimbingm0m

Thanks for the advice. Anyone have tips for maintaining muscle?

Develop an slight obsession with rock climbing.

Findekano

oh and 23% body fat is fine for a woman.

But losing 27 pounds of lean mass is not. That's why an athlete and a model can have the same bf%, but look very different. I look frail and sickly, not strong, and that's what I'm upset about.

percentage wise, your are in better shape now than you were at 180 pounds. this logic doesn't make any sense. your body fat percentage went down. it didn't stay the same or go up. it went down. i'm assuming when you gained weight, you gained some lean mass as well as fat, just like when you lose weight, you lose lean mass as well as fat. if you kept all the lean mass and was still 117 pounds, you would be 0% body fat. that is impossible.

when you were 180 pounds, you were not an athelete or model. if you were, you would not have been 35% body fat.

Okay, one more time here:

I'm upset because almost half the weight I lost was muscle. If I had maintained most of my lbm from before, I could have stopped losing weight at a much HIGHER weight, been a healthy body-fat percentage, and generally not abused my body. Now, instead of being at a place where I can maintain, say, 135 pounds and 18% body fat, with only 11 lbs lbm lost, I have put time and effort into losing much more weight than I needed to, and on top of it, I'm not done, because my body is scrawny and pathetic.


And I never said I was an athlete or a model at 180. This is what I was trying to say:



I said that the amount of lbm matters, and used the example of an athlete (a body type I would like to have) and a model (which I would never want to look like), who may have the same bf% (lets just say 15% for the purpose of the picture), but look nothing alike.

amonkey794

I wish this were posted when I first started! Same thing happened to me (and close stats!). Hope this helps someone else, though.

barbaramitchell101

bump for later

Aviva92

oh and 23% body fat is fine for a woman.

But losing 27 pounds of lean mass is not. That's why an athlete and a model can have the same bf%, but look very different. I look frail and sickly, not strong, and that's what I'm upset about.

percentage wise, your are in better shape now than you were at 180 pounds. this logic doesn't make any sense. your body fat percentage went down. it didn't stay the same or go up. it went down. i'm assuming when you gained weight, you gained some lean mass as well as fat, just like when you lose weight, you lose lean mass as well as fat. if you kept all the lean mass and was still 117 pounds, you would be 0% body fat. that is impossible.

when you were 180 pounds, you were not an athelete or model. if you were, you would not have been 35% body fat.

Okay, one more time here:

I'm upset because almost half the weight I lost was muscle. If I had maintained most of my lbm from before, I could have stopped losing weight at a much HIGHER weight, been a healthy body-fat percentage, and generally not abused my body. Now, instead of being at a place where I can maintain, say, 135 pounds and 18% body fat, with only 11 lbs lbm lost, I have put time and effort into losing much more weight than I needed to, and on top of it, I'm not done, because my body is scrawny and pathetic.


And I never said I was an athlete or a model at 180. This is what I was trying to say:



I said that the amount of lbm matters, and used the example of an athlete (a body type I would like to have) and a model (which I would never want to look like), who may have the same bf% (lets just say 15% for the purpose of the picture), but look nothing alike.

fine, then work out and build muscle now.

love22step

Thanks for the reminder. I actually did strength training, cardio, and ate most of my assigned net calories. I was very pleased with the results. However, once I started maintenance, I dropped the strength training and just continued running. My upper body isn't as toned as it was a few months ago. Now, I'm losing my holiday weight gain, and I'm going to take your advice and add the strength training back into my regimen.

Findekano

oh and 23% body fat is fine for a woman.

But losing 27 pounds of lean mass is not. That's why an athlete and a model can have the same bf%, but look very different. I look frail and sickly, not strong, and that's what I'm upset about.

percentage wise, your are in better shape now than you were at 180 pounds. this logic doesn't make any sense. your body fat percentage went down. it didn't stay the same or go up. it went down. i'm assuming when you gained weight, you gained some lean mass as well as fat, just like when you lose weight, you lose lean mass as well as fat. if you kept all the lean mass and was still 117 pounds, you would be 0% body fat. that is impossible.

when you were 180 pounds, you were not an athelete or model. if you were, you would not have been 35% body fat.

Okay, one more time here:

I'm upset because almost half the weight I lost was muscle. If I had maintained most of my lbm from before, I could have stopped losing weight at a much HIGHER weight, been a healthy body-fat percentage, and generally not abused my body. Now, instead of being at a place where I can maintain, say, 135 pounds and 18% body fat, with only 11 lbs lbm lost, I have put time and effort into losing much more weight than I needed to, and on top of it, I'm not done, because my body is scrawny and pathetic.


And I never said I was an athlete or a model at 180. This is what I was trying to say:



I said that the amount of lbm matters, and used the example of an athlete (a body type I would like to have) and a model (which I would never want to look like), who may have the same bf% (lets just say 15% for the purpose of the picture), but look nothing alike.

fine, then work out and build muscle now.

That's what I'm doing. But hopefully, some of those in my former mindset will read this and make their own journeys much easier and more enjoyable. I'm not just b*tching to b*tch. Just trying to put it out there that excessive cardio + undereating = a frail, weak, squishy body.

AnvilHead

Okay, one more time here:

I'm upset because almost half the weight I lost was muscle. If I had maintained most of my lbm from before, I could have stopped losing weight at a much HIGHER weight, been a healthy body-fat percentage, and generally not abused my body. Now, instead of being at a place where I can maintain, say, 135 pounds and 18% body fat, with only 11 lbs lbm lost, I have put time and effort into losing much more weight than I needed to, and on top of it, I'm not done, because my body is scrawny and pathetic.


And I never said I was an athlete or a model at 180. This is what I was trying to say:



I said that the amount of lbm matters, and used the example of an athlete (a body type I would like to have) and a model (which I would never want to look like), who may have the same bf% (lets just say 15% for the purpose of the picture), but look nothing alike.

Good thread, and those of us who understand the concept of preserving lean body mass while losing fat (and how much more difficult it is to put it back on once you've lost it!) get where you're coming from. Ignore the ones who don't - maybe they'll figure it out eventually...or not. It's a shame that you had to learn the hard way, but the point is that you learned and now you know what to do about it to reach your goal. It's good that you put the information out there for others to see - some will understand and learn from it.

r0ckclimbingm0m

Good thread, and those of us who understand the concept of preserving lean body mass while losing fat (and how much more difficult it is to put it back on once you've lost it!) get where you're coming from. Ignore the ones who don't - maybe they'll figure it out eventually...or not. It's a shame that you had to learn the hard way, but the point is that you learned and now you know what to do about it to reach your goal. It's good that you put the information out there for others to see - some will understand and learn from it.

This. I agree, thanks for sharing your story!