A Sad Realization.

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  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Thanks for the advice. Anyone have tips for maintaining muscle?

    Eat at a reasonable caloric deficit, strength train (full body workout 3 x a week), 1g protein per lb of LBM.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    When I reached my goal weight my arms were so skinny I couldn't shave my underarms because they had become so concave! I know now that this is something I, personally, wish to avoid, and probably could have avoided had I strength trained.

    So I understand where the OP is coming from. I also understand that hearing someone so upset about a perfectly healthy body is also upsetting. I hope that the OP will be happy with her body in the long run, which can be as much about mindset as about BF% or LBM.
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    great post OP

    remeber that even thoug re building muscle is difficult, it's also lost of fun
    eat TDEE or slightly above, lift heavy, rest, repeat
    you will get there
  • sarahmoo12
    sarahmoo12 Posts: 756 Member
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    glad i read this never thought of that!!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    People get too hung up on BF% and wanting to get it measured all the time when this only confirms what you already see in the mirror everyday anyway.

    QFT
  • MissPeppers
    MissPeppers Posts: 302 Member
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    I've been there - so good that you've come to that conclusion :smile:
    Last year I had a lower weight (10 lbs) than I have now, but I like my body a lot better with more muscle.

    I hope everybody read this topic!!!!
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Good post and self awareness.

    The big picture is that it isn't just about either weight or body fat percent.

    Neither weight nor bf% truely equal a way to always improving esthetics, health and fitness. While losing weight or improving bf% can be excellent ways of getting to a better position with respect to those 3 elements the original post clearly shows a case where just losing weight can have negative results.

    Looking at three questions:

    How much do I want to weight?
    What body composition do I want to have?
    How fit and healthy do I want to be?

    You really want to ask them together.
    There are bad solutions everywhere: Weight loss without fitness? Composition without health? Fit but obese?
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    Now you get to have newbie progress again :D:drinker:
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    Lmao at previous post

    Sorry... its just... there's so many words and no conclusion
  • Muddy_Yogi
    Muddy_Yogi Posts: 1,459 Member
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    Lmao at previous post

    Sorry... its just... there's so many words and no conclusion

    Maybe he is not finished...many more questions to ask? :huh:
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,717 Member
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    Thanks for posting. I started MFP in August, lost well for three or four months but then plateau'd. Also returned to strength training in November (mostly pecs, lats and delts). Maybe I shouldn't be so concerned that the scale hasn't moved much lately.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    This means that, by being a f*cking moron, I went from having 117lbs of lean mass to having just 90. I lost 27 pounds of muscle being an idiot.

    Well, that sucks...

    Having said, you don't really know how much muscle you have actually lost. You've lost 27 lbs of lean body mass of course but that includes a lot of things including water, glycogen, bone, tissue etc.

    Hopefully once you have a decent routine in place the improvement in the way you look may be prove to be quicker than you imagine. Having said that you are bound to put on a bit of fat meaning you will have to diet back down again (sensibly this time ;)

    You would have reached your goals a lot sooner if you had dieted down slowly in the first place (ironic I know) but your previous dieting history doesn't stop you from reaching them in the future.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    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.

    I am with you on this one. As a long time body builder, I will always tell women to lift weight for all kinds of reasons BUT you haven't done yourself any lasting damage, you've lost more fat than muscle (which you will have lost anyway because of how the body creates fuel during cardio) and you will find training easier now because you weigh less.

    Stop beating yourself up and get the kettlbells out!
  • Findekano
    Findekano Posts: 116
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    Now you get to have newbie progress again :D:drinker:

    I like the way you think.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Lmao at previous post

    Sorry... its just... there's so many words and no conclusion

    Maybe he is not finished...many more questions to ask? :huh:

    I think you can answer the questions for yourself. Don't you think so? ;)
    Conclusions are for the weak-minded that can't think for themselves.
  • byeachmoment
    byeachmoment Posts: 67
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    It is definitely tough to gain back, but personally.. I think if you had enough determination and grit to go from 180lbs all the way to 117lbs the cardio/light eating way, you most certainly can get some muscle put back on!

    I agree.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    fine, then work out and build muscle now.

    You may be missing a major point here - do you realized how long it will take to rebuild the lost muscle?

    I don't really believe that it would have been easier to keep it than it would be to rebuild it since she wasn't particularly muscular to begin with. she's also not exactly underweight now.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    As said before, what's past is past, but definitely thank you for sharing to try and inform others. I'm just beginning my weightloss journey, and thanks to threads like these, I've started up strength training (started StrongLifts yesterday).

    On the positive side. Look at how much you get to eat now when trying to bulk!!!
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    fine, then work out and build muscle now.

    You may be missing a major point here - do you realized how long it will take to rebuild the lost muscle?

    I don't really believe that it would have been easier to keep it than it would be to rebuild it since she wasn't particularly muscular to begin with. she's also not exactly underweight now.

    There was a previous post that explained this. Losing the weight and muscle will make this about a 5 year journey for her whereas if she had preserved as much muscle as possible it may have only been about a 2 year journey.

    It isn't all about the scales. Many women have posted before and after pictures and stories where they have gained weight but are a smaller size because they gained muscle. Not everyone wants to be muscular, but I assume a lot of women are not a fan of pudge. You can be 110 lbs and still look pudgy due to your bf%. Preserving muscle mass leads to less pudge even at higher weights.

    Some women want to be rail thin with knobby knees. I would think most don't.
  • Findekano
    Findekano Posts: 116
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    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.

    Taking this advice here. I'm not obligated to explain myself any further to those who just want to argue for the hell of it.

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