SLOW Weight Loss + Lean Body Mass Decreasing (Vegetarian)
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nickelpickle
Posts: 55
Hey everyone. I have been working really hard for the past month trying to lose some weight. At the end of September, I weighed 144lbs and my BF was 27.08%. I'm 5'3". So I'm technically "overweight".
I did the BodyGem measurement about a year ago and my LBM was 105lbs. I was told that my RMR was 1,800cal/day. Multiplying that by 1.2 since I have a desk job, I should be eating 2,160cal/day to maintain my weight. So I've been sticking to a 1,500-1,600 cal/day diet (tracking everything with MyFitnessPal), which you'd think would cause a 1lb/week weight loss on its own. I eat a 100% vegetarian diet (almost vegan - the only non-vegan food I eat is cheese), and my protein is around 50-60g/day (from WebMD, adult women need about 46g/day). I usually eat around 200-250g/day of carbs as well, which I feel is more than enough to keep me energetic (is this too much maybe?).
My workout schedule is as follows: For cardio, I run 3 miles 3x/week, as fast as I can possibly go (6mph right now). I do 20min of the elliptical and 20min of the stairstepper 1x/week. I do P90X plyometrics (an hour long high impact cardio workout) 1x/week. You'd think that this would burn some serious calories, and on top of my calorie deficit from my diet, it should kick me over 1lb/week (NOPE!)
For weight training, I lift the heaviest weights that I can lift 2x/week:
- Shoulder press and leg curls 38lbs
- Bench press and leg extension 63lbs
- Lat pulldown 75lbs
- Leg press 150lbs
Today, a month later, I weigh 139.8lbs, and my BF is 26%. I've lost 2.65lbs of fat and 1.5lbs of LBM (it went down from 105 to 103.5). I definitely can see and feel my muscle development and weight loss, and although it is slight, it feels great. However, the numbers show that I'm losing lean body mass, and that alarms me. I've done research that states overdoing it with cardio can cause the body to lose LBM but I don't feel like I'm doing that. Plus I think if I was overdoing it I'd be losing more weight more quickly! Not even 1lb/week isn't quickly to me!
Does anyone see any glaring problems with what I'm doing? Do you guys think I should eat less calories? More protein? Less carbs? Do more/less cardio? More less/lifting? Something must be wrong, right?
Thanks to anyone who has any input, I really appreciate it!
I did the BodyGem measurement about a year ago and my LBM was 105lbs. I was told that my RMR was 1,800cal/day. Multiplying that by 1.2 since I have a desk job, I should be eating 2,160cal/day to maintain my weight. So I've been sticking to a 1,500-1,600 cal/day diet (tracking everything with MyFitnessPal), which you'd think would cause a 1lb/week weight loss on its own. I eat a 100% vegetarian diet (almost vegan - the only non-vegan food I eat is cheese), and my protein is around 50-60g/day (from WebMD, adult women need about 46g/day). I usually eat around 200-250g/day of carbs as well, which I feel is more than enough to keep me energetic (is this too much maybe?).
My workout schedule is as follows: For cardio, I run 3 miles 3x/week, as fast as I can possibly go (6mph right now). I do 20min of the elliptical and 20min of the stairstepper 1x/week. I do P90X plyometrics (an hour long high impact cardio workout) 1x/week. You'd think that this would burn some serious calories, and on top of my calorie deficit from my diet, it should kick me over 1lb/week (NOPE!)
For weight training, I lift the heaviest weights that I can lift 2x/week:
- Shoulder press and leg curls 38lbs
- Bench press and leg extension 63lbs
- Lat pulldown 75lbs
- Leg press 150lbs
Today, a month later, I weigh 139.8lbs, and my BF is 26%. I've lost 2.65lbs of fat and 1.5lbs of LBM (it went down from 105 to 103.5). I definitely can see and feel my muscle development and weight loss, and although it is slight, it feels great. However, the numbers show that I'm losing lean body mass, and that alarms me. I've done research that states overdoing it with cardio can cause the body to lose LBM but I don't feel like I'm doing that. Plus I think if I was overdoing it I'd be losing more weight more quickly! Not even 1lb/week isn't quickly to me!
Does anyone see any glaring problems with what I'm doing? Do you guys think I should eat less calories? More protein? Less carbs? Do more/less cardio? More less/lifting? Something must be wrong, right?
Thanks to anyone who has any input, I really appreciate it!
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Replies
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Bump because I am curious to see the answer.0
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How did you calculate your LBM loss? Just fat %? You probably loss some water weight too.0
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I have a body fat scale (who knows how accurate it is)... I used the formula LBM = weight - ( body fat * weight )
9/29/2012
weight = 144
BF = 27.08%
LBM = 105
10/5/2012
weight = 142.4
BF = 26.80%
LBM = 104.2368
10/12/2012
weight = 142
BF = 26.60%
LBM = 104.2280
10/19/2012
weight = 140
BF = 26.10%
LBM = 103.4644
10/26/2012
weight = 139.8
BF = 26.00%
LBM = 103.4520
I put a few tablespoons of Benefiber in my tea on Thursday nights so there's no extra "weight" when I weigh myself every Friday morning in hopes that I'll get an accurate reading.0 -
any reason why you dont eat meat?0
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I don't eat meat because I am an animal rights activist and I don't believe that animals are here for us to eat. I believe that they should be allowed to live their own lives without human interference. The meat industry abuses animals in absurd ways which most of us don't know about simply because we were raised to eat meat, and haven't done research otherwise. Plus, a vegetarian diet is proven to be healthier for you in many, many ways.
P.S. you don't have to be an animal rights activist to stop eating meat. There are many more reasons why eating meat is not a good choice - the environment, preventing diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc., the antibiotics, steroids, chemicals and other toxins that exist in the meat we eat, and the fact that if everyone in the world ate vegetarian, nobody would go hungry. Google it :happy:0 -
After doing some research this afternoon, I think I'm going to make the following changes:
- Decrease my carbohydrate intake from 200-250g/day to under 150g/day
- Increase my strength training from 2x/week to 3x/week
I'm not sure how the lower carb diet will affect my cardio, but after reading a bunch of stuff today, I'm willing to bet that it'll help me lost more fat. I think over-carbing is what I've been doing wrong (typical vegetarian diet mistake!)
Does anyone else have any other input?0 -
I think that WebMD gave you bad info on protein. A study in the Journal of American medicine recommended that women take in at least 72 grams of protein in order to preserve lean body mass during weight loss.
ETA: And for a vegetarian, there is NO better source of protein than hemp seeds.0 -
Seems to me that you're more or less on track at 4.5lb loss a month - I'd be happy with that! For retaining more muscle the general advice seems to be to up protein and strength training, so it may be worth a try. But it also sounds like you might be worrying too much about measures which are estimates at best. You're making a serious effort and all credit to you, but while you're losing weight and seeing improvements in how you look and feel, I'd just carry on with formula. As another post said, it's really hard to have a good guage on your water weight. Good luck
ETA: I ahve a body fat scale and while I take readings once in while I wouldn't rely on it.0 -
Well 2 things jump out immediatly. As Wendy said, your protein is low. With the strength training you are doing, you want at least .8 to 1 gram per lb of Lean Body Mass to maintain lean muscle mass while in calorie deficit. The other is that those scales don't even come close to being accurate. The only send an impulse through your lower body and fluctations is water weight distort thier readings. A dexa scan or immersion test is far more accurate but also more time consming and expensive.
If you are losing and clothes are fitting you better, you are likely on the right track and you are doing the right things with strength training. Up the protein and stay the course!0 -
Thank you everyone for your input!!! I appreciate everyone's help very very much! After all who wants to put in all this effort to find out they could have done it more efficiently down the line, right? :happy:
Okay, in addition to lowering carbs a bit and adding a day of strength training, I'm going to up my protein. I'll shoot for the 85g range. It's going to be tough but I'm sure it'll help!
Thank you all again. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
I'll also try not to obsess too much about the body fat % on the scale :blushing:0 -
@WendyTerry, I've heard a lot about hemp protein powder... Perhaps it's time to try that!!! Thanks for the reference!0
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Thank you everyone for your input!!! I appreciate everyone's help very very much! After all who wants to put in all this effort to find out they could have done it more efficiently down the line, right? :happy:
Okay, in addition to lowering carbs a bit and adding a day of strength training, I'm going to up my protein. I'll shoot for the 85g range. It's going to be tough but I'm sure it'll help!
Thank you all again. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
I'll also try not to obsess too much about the body fat % on the scale :blushing:
If you have 103 lbs of lean body mass then you should eat 103g of protein a day.0 -
Agree with the up the protein, you can go lower on carbs, and you might want to try decreasing the cardio...
I know it sounds weird, but I actually got rid of a months long plateu "by accident" after an ankle injury that had me cut down on my running but still do weights.....0 -
Yea two things... let me talk about both separately maybe 2 split into 3?
Ok so first, 50g of protein is not a lot by any means... And a decrease in calorie intake means you want to at the least have a higher protein intake to preserve LBM... Aim for a min of 100g a day at least... That + fat intake higher, reduce carbs to around 50g or so a day roughly... the fat + protein will keep you satisfied far longer than carbs will! Also after a few days your body will adjust and the energy levels will be fine
I do IF and the first few days etc it was hard! Now I notice it is so easy to just not eat that dinner is when I eat just because family is around and I must.... Energy wise? I take supplements because of training so maybe that affects it, but honestly I can and have on average been running 3-5 miles a day for last month or two apart from when injured or racing etc... And I have had only a slight bump adjusting to IF protocol. Carbs is the culprit, your body uses too many carbs and relies on carbs and stored glycogen too much... when you move away, it will start using the fat stores you have and also your protein by glyconeogenesis.
Second thing, vegetarian diets aren't the best and they can cause problems so not always the healthiest and often is the most unhealthiest you can get. It isn't concerned with macronutrients etc, but on how the body reacts to certain proteins and starchy carbs that a vegetarian or vegan would NEED to eat. The hormonal response is absolute hell on the body. So please don't kid yourself in that respect, Laboratories have tested your claim and it isn't as healthy as you think.
Now that was 2nd item part 1... now for part 2...
I love you are vegetarian for your reasoning. The whole I am a vegan etc for health is stupid and incorrect.. However as you are an animal activist, you have no idea how much respect I have for you. Your totally doing the right thing! Don't let anyone say you aren't the health part can be mitigated using supplements, but that is something you need to track and check blood markers for etc not something anyone can say in general
Good luck on your journey, and really, respect your views on animal rights, my boxer is the awesome most loveable thing in the world, and whilst I eat meat, I am not attached to it because was vegetarian before... but life had some issues and also health problems so had to change due to my athletic goals.0 -
After doing some research this afternoon, I think I'm going to make the following changes:
- Decrease my carbohydrate intake from 200-250g/day to under 150g/day
- Increase my strength training from 2x/week to 3x/week
I'm not sure how the lower carb diet will affect my cardio, but after reading a bunch of stuff today, I'm willing to bet that it'll help me lost more fat. I think over-carbing is what I've been doing wrong (typical vegetarian diet mistake!)
Does anyone else have any other input?
Increase protein (soy milk, soy beans, protein powders). You are losing muscle because your body is breaking down muscle for energy. Take a glutamine pill before and after workout. Glutamine is an essential amino acid.
I am same height as you. Same weight too. My BFP is 30.1 and BMM is 35.6.0 -
Oh as for protein powder.. do NOT USE LIFEMATRIX!
I swear it is like the creators made the foulest tasting vegan protein powder they could find =_=.... Not joking... Still have a jar in room lol...
Also cardio is good, but the old saying of calories in vs calories out applies and HIIT works great...
Umm I could give awesome advice on cardio, but I don't know your background on it... However in general, strength training works wonders for everyone no matter what you do so is easiest to do.. just make sure like on dead lifts you do them correctly
I can give example on cardio....
Run 3 miles a day in morning before eating. Works wonders and after a while, it feels like nothing, I promise you
Sign up for races, do marathons etc focus on nutrition however do not think that running gives you a free license to eat... that is the general problem with cardio... Cardio is THE BEST way to lose weight hands down. However too many overestimate the calories burnt, and far too many underestimate what they eat after... You can pick up weight easily if you relax too much...
I do around 40-60km a week at moment and aim to be around the 80km per week mark by jan/feb... I am training for an ultra marathon though... So long runs are my bread and butter so to speak along with fartleks etc
Again, good luck on what ever you do 0 -
@WendyTerry, I've heard a lot about hemp protein powder... Perhaps it's time to try that!!! Thanks for the reference!
I just want to second the hemp protein powder! I get the Nutiva 15g stuff, and it also packs a nice amount of fiber, too. It's great in a smoothie with unsweetened chocolate almond milk, some frozen berries, and some PB2 (I also add Stevia to sweeten). It's dairy, soy, and gluten-free... plus vegan and fairly low in sugar. AND DELICIOUS =]0 -
After doing some research this afternoon, I think I'm going to make the following changes:
- Decrease my carbohydrate intake from 200-250g/day to under 150g/day
- Increase my strength training from 2x/week to 3x/week
I'm not sure how the lower carb diet will affect my cardio, but after reading a bunch of stuff today, I'm willing to bet that it'll help me lost more fat. I think over-carbing is what I've been doing wrong (typical vegetarian diet mistake!)
Does anyone else have any other input?
Increase protein (soy milk, soy beans, protein powders). You are losing muscle because your body is breaking down muscle for energy. Take a glutamine pill before and after workout. Glutamine is an essential amino acid.
I am same height as you. Same weight too. My BFP is 30.1 and BMM is 35.6.
First off... are you doing this for weight loss only? Or for health?
Because if for health reasons? Soy is the no go way! It is just so bad for you... Honestly
if however only weight loss matters and not hormone levels and blood markers etc then sure, use soy... it is a good protein source, but thats about all it is good for lol... try find something else to be honest... Like mentioned in other post, I used to be vegeterian and one of things I found unhealthy was the soy I was eating... 0 -
Definitely get more protein, and maybe a little less carbs? I was vegetarian for a year (stopped because of health problems) and I was getting close to 100g of protein a day. Protein shakes and strength training were my best friend! (Well, they still are haha).
Are you eating your exercise calories back? If not, I'd suggest you start doing that.0 -
Thank you everyone so much for your comments and advice, I really, really appreciate it!
I'm going to shoot for 100g/day of protein.
I got a jar of chocolate whey protein last night (because that's all I could find - I'm going to order hemp protein online, do you guys have any specific brands that are good?). I'm going to make a "hot chocolate" every night and put the whey protein, Benefiber, and flax seed powder in it. Whew!
Those of you who had health problems due to a vegetarian diet, would you mind sharing what happened? I have been a vegetarian for years and I get blood panels done every 6 months and they're always perfect. I do track my food carefully and take a multivitamin every night, though. Maybe that's what is helping me!0
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