Needing advice: At goal weight but high body fat %.

x_JT_x

Hello,

First of all, thanks to both Sara and SideSteel for starting this group and being so willing to pass along their knowledge to help others. It is very much appreciated!

I am somewhat lost at this point and am looking for advice on what to do in my situation. In 2009 I was 130 lbs and in decent shape. Not great but not terrible. I was diagnosed with cancer in May of that year. Treatments were tough as I was allergic to the chemo. Didn't matter, still had to have it. Just made things a little more difficult for me, particularly keeping active. Fast forward 18 months to the end of treatments and I was 15 lbs heavier and had lost a significant amount of muscle. I am now back down to 130 lbs due to watching my caloric intake and exercise (mostly cardio). I started lifting weights in August 2012 but for me it was too much too soon. I hurt my back and ended up in physical therapy. I had my last PT session a week ago and am now working with a fitness trainer to build up enough muscle strength to get back into heavy lifting.

I went to a dietician and she measured my body fat to be about 30%. I don't know that I really want or need to lose much more weight but I certainly need to lose fat and add muscle. So, my question is this: Do I continue to eat at a deficit to lose the body fat? Or do I eat at a surplus to add muscle? If I do eat at a surplus how am I going to lose the body fat? Just not sure what to do at this point and would truly appreciate some advice.

Some stats:

Age: 49
Gender: Female
Heigh: 5'6"
Body Fat: 30%
RMR: 1166 (per an RD in November 2012)

I've been wearing a Bodymedia Link device since January. This is the info recorded for the last 28 days:

Daily Average Calories Burned: 1801
Daily Average Calories Consumed: 1475 (The month prior my average was 1323 and my weight went up 3lbs but is now settling down again and at 129.4 as of this morning.)
Daily Average Caloric Deficit: 326
Daily Average Physical Activity: 39 minutes

Daily average of nutrients:

Protein: 71 g (working on increasing this)
Carbs: 191 g
Fat: 51 g

I weigh everything and don't do cheat days. I log everyday with the exception of Easter and one day I ate out this week and didn't have access to nutrional info, although I'm pretty sure I was still within my calorie goal for those two days.

Thanks so much for your time!

cmeiron

bumping to follow responses

SideSteel

Tagging this, one of us will reply soon, probably with some more questions.

odusgolp

bumpity bump bump.

SideSteel

Based on the looks of things you increased intake from 1323 to 1475 (average) and dropped another 3lbs. Is this correct?

Did your total activity level change much in that time, to your knowledge?

x_JT_x

Based on the looks of things you increased intake from 1323 to 1475 (average) and dropped another 3lbs. Is this correct?

Did your total activity level change much in that time, to your knowledge?

I technically didn't drop 'another' 3 lbs. I dropped down from 132 to 128.8 from January to March. On March 7th, I upped my calories to the 1475 average and my weight went up to 130.8, hovered around there and I weighed in at the 129.4 this morning.

According to the Bodymedia info, my Daily Activity average actually dropped 3 min in the last 28 days, it was at 42 min on average the month prior.

pspetralia

Interested in the response

Sarauk2sf

Tagging

sweetzoejane

Edit... Sorry. Just tagging..

Sarauk2sf

Sorry to hear about the cancer, and here's to having it beat. I understand the frustrations from coming back from medical issues that put you out of action for a while and which also have impacted muscle retention so I empathize. The lower LBM and the lower energy levels make weight loss that much harder than it was before.

How long have you been eating at what should be a deficit (ignoring the odd day here and there)?

x_JT_x

Sorry to hear about the cancer, and here's to having it beat. I understand the frustrations from coming back from medical issues that put you out of action for a while and which also have impacted muscle retention so I empathize. The lower LBM and the lower energy levels make weight loss that much harder than it was before.

How long have you been eating at what should be a deficit (ignoring the odd day here and there)?

Thanks, Sara! It was a roller coaster ride I don't care to take again, that's for sure.

I've only started seriously tracking my intake since last August but I suspect it's been much, much longer. I joined MFP in 2011 and tried to make a go of it then but I was new to this whole weight loss thing and since I didn't know any better at that point I started out at a 1200 goal. As you can imagine that made workouts pretty tough and I lost motivation. It took me a little bit of time to realize that the muscle loss was impacting too much of my life and the activities I wanted to take part in so I didn't come back until August. The 1200 calorie goal really wasn't difficult for me at all and I didn't need to changed my eating habits all that much. The dietician I saw in November told me that my RMR was 11% sub-normal in part due to under-eating for too long.

Sarauk2sf

What I think we would like to do is actually suggest a slow increase of calories to get your metabolism up a bit before cutting again but want to finalize the advice with SideSteel and also get your thoughts.

This will be a pretty long process and may result in a small weigh gain (water + food weight). The logic is - get your maintenance calories up so you have something to cut from without having to go ridiculously low.

You would have to be accurate with your logging and be patient - the slower the increase in calories, the less potential there will be for fat gain.

Does this sound like something you would be willing/able to do? The only other alternative is to drop your calories, which I am really hesitant to suggest as you are already on the low side.



Here is a good video to listen to that may help explain things:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

x_JT_x

What I think we would like to do is actually suggest a slow increase of calories to get your metabolism up a bit before cutting again but want to finalize the advice with SideSteel and also get your thoughts.

This will be a pretty long process and may result in a small weigh gain (water + food weight). The logic is - get your maintenance calories up so you have something to cut from without having to go ridiculously low.

You would have to be accurate with your logging and be patient - the slower the increase in calories, the less potential there will be for fat gain.

Does this sound like something you would be willing/able to do? The only other alternative is to drop your calories, which I am really hesitant to suggest as you are already on the low side.



Here is a good video to listen to that may help explain things:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

I was afraid you were going to say that. LOL

But yes, I would be willing to give that a try. I agree that where things stand now, I don't have a lot to work with as far as cutting goes. That's pretty much what I've been doing and it isn't working. I do understand about the weight gain while doing so and that really doesn't worry me too much. I saw it happen when I upped my cals by 100 this last month. Seeing it go up a little was disconcerting but now that I'm seeing it settle back down it makes me feel a bit better about the process. While I watch the scale to see if I'm trending in the right direction, I'm not fixated on the number. My goal is more oriented towards how I look and feel, not what the number on the scale says. And just this week I hired a fitness trainer. I see him 3 x a week for the next 3 months to get me started. So that should help. My concern there is that I don't know how well the Bodymedia device captures calories burn during strength training. But I do know, or at least have learned, that none of this is an exact science and it may take some guess work and trial and error to find the right amount of calories vs. training.

By how much would you say I should increase intake by and how frequently?

Thanks so much to the both of you for your help!!

x_JT_x

And thank you for posting the link to that video. Just finished watching it. Sadly, I think he pretty much describes my situation . I was never as lean as he talks about though so hopefully the damage isn't quite as bad.

SideSteel

And thank you for posting the link to that video. Just finished watching it. Sadly, I think he pretty much describes my situation . I was never as lean as he talks about though so hopefully the damage isn't quite as bad.

The nice part is this, strategically it makes some sense to spend some time near maintenance while lifting and I'm basing that on your stats and lifting experience. So whether it not you actually upregulate anything related to metabolism is not the entire picture. Ramping up calories closer to maintenance will be a good idea for you given that you probably don't want to lose much actual weight at this point.

One of us will get to this sometime this weekend. Need to talk behind your back first.

x_JT_x

One of us will get to this sometime this weekend. Need to talk behind your back first.

LOL! Thank you!!

Sarauk2sf

Hi! So, finished talking behind your back

We think you should start upping your calories slowly.

The plan will be - up by a 100 each week for two weeks sit there for 2 weeks.

We will probably get you to repeat this at least once more, but want you to 'check in' with us at the end of the 4 weeks (or sooner if you need to discuss anything), so we can assess properly.

This is a pretty conservative and slow increase but we are mindful of your history and do not want to up too quickly.

When we get to a stabilized weight/calories, you can then start cutting again - but we want to try to get your calories up first.

When you start upping your calories you may experience a little weight gain - don't panic, it will be water + food weight.

So, the first week, try to get your calories to 1,600 - with at least 100g protein and 45g fats. The balance should go to carbs as much as possible.

SideSteel

Hi! So, finished talking behind your back

We think you should start upping your calories slowly.

The plan will be - up by a 100 each week for two weeks sit there for 2 weeks.

We will probably get you to repeat this at least once more, but want you to 'check in' with us at the end of the 4 weeks (or sooner if you need to discuss anything), so we can assess properly.

This is a pretty conservative and slow increase but we are mindful of your history and do not want to up too quickly.

When we get to a stabilized weight/calories, you can then start cutting again - but we want to try to get your calories up first.

When you start upping your calories you may experience a little weight gain - don't panic, it will be water + food weight.

So, the first week, try to get your calories to 1,600 - with at least 100g protein and 45g fats. The balance should go to carbs as much as possible.

^ Just to add to this, shoot me a PM after week 1 is up just a follow up and include a link to this thread. We just want to keep tabs on how this progresses.

x_JT_x

Hi! So, finished talking behind your back

We think you should start upping your calories slowly.

The plan will be - up by a 100 each week for two weeks sit there for 2 weeks.

We will probably get you to repeat this at least once more, but want you to 'check in' with us at the end of the 4 weeks (or sooner if you need to discuss anything), so we can assess properly.

This is a pretty conservative and slow increase but we are mindful of your history and do not want to up too quickly.

When we get to a stabilized weight/calories, you can then start cutting again - but we want to try to get your calories up first.

When you start upping your calories you may experience a little weight gain - don't panic, it will be water + food weight.

So, the first week, try to get your calories to 1,600 - with at least 100g protein and 45g fats. The balance should go to carbs as much as possible.

^ Just to add to this, shoot me a PM after week 1 is up just a follow up and include a link to this thread. We just want to keep tabs on how this progresses.

Ok, will do. Thanks so much, guys!!

Just so I understand, I aim for 1600 this week (4/7 - 4/13). 1700 next week (4/14 - 4/20) and stay there for 2 weeks after that (4/21 - 5/5)? And that's calories consumed? I'm ignoring exercise calories at this point, right? Or is that 1600 after exercise calories are deducted?

And don't worry, I won't panic . I actually find all this rather interesting. It amazes me that I can eat at 1323 cals (burn 1800) and be at 128.8 lbs, then up my cals to 1474 (burn the same 1800) and still ultimately be at the same weight (weighed in at 128.6 this morning).

Sarauk2sf

You got it!

In very basic terms, our bodies want to get to homeostasis - a set point. It will tend to self regulate (within reason) to stay there - our anti-starvation or survival mechanism at work....that and a bunch of hormones and water weight causing confusion with the math as well.

Sarauk2sf

Locking so we can keep track of outstanding threads better. Please PM myself or SideSteel when you want to post an update, include the link, and we will unlock the thread.

Sarauk2sf

Unlocked at OPs request.

x_JT_x

I truly was lost on what direction to take when I posted last month and your advice has proven to be spot on. Thank you!!!

I'm going to repost some original stats (along with the new ones) so you guys have everything in one place and don't have to scroll up and down.

Average Daily Values:

Feb. 10th - March 9th:

Calories Burned: 1800
Calories Consumed: 1323
Calorie Deficit: 477
Physical Activity: 42min.
Weight: 129.4

Protein: 58
Carbs: 162
Fat: 52

March 10th - April 6th:

Calories Burned: 1801
Calories Consumed: 1475
Calorie Deficit: 356
Physical Activity: 39 min
Weight: 129.2

Protein: 71
Carbs: 191
Fat: 51

April 7th - April 13th:

Calories Burned: 1831
Calories Consumed: 1681 (Goal: 1600)
Calorie Deficit: 153
Physical Activity: 48min
Weight: 128.6

Protein: 88
Carbs: 219
Fat: 54

April 14th - April 20th:

Calories Burned: 1923
Calories Consumed: 1693 (Goal 1700)
Calorie Deficit: 230
Physical Activity: 1 hr 10 min
Weight: 130.8

Protein: 103
Carbs: 205
Fat: 54

April 21 - May 3rd:

Calories Burned: 1878
Calories Consumed: 1756 (Goal 1700)
Calorie Deficit: 122
Physical Activity: 1 hr
Weight: 129.2

Protein: 102
Carbs: 201
Fat: 59

In addition to the above I took 8 body measurements on April 1st. The total of those was 191 inches. Measurements taken on April 28th totaled 184.5 (I took them 3 different times to be sure I hadn't made a mistake anywhere because it seemed like a lot for one month's time) for a loss of 6.5 inches. I ran the measurements through the fattofit.com body fat calculator and it gave me an average of 25% (down from about 30%).

Now that I've shared all that let me say that Sara and SS, I cannot thank you enough!! These are exactly the results I was looking for: maintaining weight while dropping inches and body fat. Thank you so much!!! You two are awesome!

=====================================================

I hope you won't mind my imposing on you both a little bit longer but I'm wondering what you think I should do at this point? Do I just keep doing what I've been doing? Do I try to up my calories a bit further? Up to this point I've ignored exercise calories. On rest/light exercise days I have a relatively small deficit so it's really not much of an issue. On lift days, there can be up to a 300 or so deficit (sometimes nearly 500) if I keep to that 1700 calorie goal. Do I just not worry about that? Or do I try to close the gap a bit more?

Sarauk2sf

Thank you so much for the update - excellent news on the weight being stable, yet eating more, and on the loss of inches.

I think we should 'push our luck' a bit more and try to up your calorie a little higher. The higher we can get them the better. So, I would aim for 1,800 calories for the rest of the week and the following one and see how that goes with your weight. If you could check back with us at that point we can see where to take it next.

Excellent job on walking the calories up.

cmeiron

Great results, OP! :drinker:

SideSteel

Nice job!!

x_JT_x

Thank you so much for the update - excellent news on the weight being stable, yet eating more, and on the loss of inches.

I think we should 'push our luck' a bit more and try to up your calorie a little higher. The higher we can get them the better. So, I would aim for 1,800 calories for the rest of the week and the following one and see how that goes with your weight. If you could check back with us at that point we can see where to take it next.

Excellent job on walking the calories up.

'

Works for me. Who doesn't like to be told they can eat even more? LOL

My weight does dip down into the 129's on occasion but 130.6 seems to be where my body is happy most often. Today it's up to 131.4 but I added a few new exercises/lifts yesterday and some of my muscles are feeling the pain.

Thanks for the encouragement guys! It's very much appreciated. I NEVER thought I'd be someone who'd enjoy spending a couple of hours in the gym. But I'm finding I do. I can't wait to see how all this plays out in a couple of months.

Sarauk2sf

I love that you are enjoying yourself in the gym. Personally, I find strength training addictive, especially when you start noticing the results.

SideSteel

I love that you are enjoying yourself in the gym. Personally, I find strength training addictive, especially when you start noticing the results.

^ PR's every day for the past month, so it seems.



































(scale up 23 lbs).

Sarauk2sf

I love that you are enjoying yourself in the gym. Personally, I find strength training addictive, especially when you start noticing the results.

^ PR's every day for the past month, so it seems.



































(scale up 23 lbs).

Sarauk2sf

Locking so we can keep track of active threads. If you wish for the thread to be unlocked if you want to update us or have further questions, please feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread and we will unlock it so you can.