Heavy Lifting questions... Frustrated!

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NoSkinnyFat
NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi there fellow heavy lifters,

I'm at a standstill here and would like some advice.

I started lifting weights 2 x week in mid August, but was not watching my nutrition...

I recently started tracking calories for the first time ever 30 days ago.. I started with TDEE - 15% (lightly active - because I was lifting twice a week full body and am not very active in the day.) That's aprox 1550 calories for me, based on scooby and another weightlifter's calculator. I have my macros at 25% protein, 30% fat and 45% carbs - I'm a vegetarian. 25% protein gives me 94g per day and I'm 118 lbs with approx 37% muscle mass. I ate this way for a month, but changed my exercise to 3 x week lifting for 3 out of 4 weeks measured.

My bodyfat scale puts me at 19.5% although I didn't get previous measurements other than weight.
I have put on between 0.5-0.9 lbs of muscle this month, however my bodyfat % did not change in the past few weeks and I don't see any inches lost over the 30 days.

I just started the Allpro Starter routine last Monday and was wondering if I should up my calories since it's a 3 day full-body compound routine - and since I am not noticing "results". I AM getting stronger and increasing muscle mass and I was regularly upping my weights prior to this new program. So I thought maybe upping calories would help me burn the fat? With moderately active setting my TDEE - 15% is 1700 calories, but I'm not that active other than my workouts, so I'm not sure what to do... (I guess it's the nearly same as TDEE at lightly active - 5% anyway - so maybe it's the 15% cut not the activity level that should be adjusted?)

Not sure if this matters - but I'm 33 year old female at 5 ft 3.

Any advice?

Replies

  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    What kind of results are you looking for? You are 118lbs and 19% body fat. That's pretty good. Any change from here on out will be pretty slow.
  • NoSkinnyFat
    NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
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    I would say I'm in the middle of body recomposition - a former weak, skinnyfat petite woman. I've been gradually getting stronger, but I still have access inches of fat and no definition - I would like to see some sculpting, not a lot.. more bikini model style. Does that make sense? And the inches just haven't budged... but perhaps it's because my body is making muscle/increasing strength for the first time ever... Am I just impatient?
  • NoSkinnyFat
    NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
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    *excess inches*
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
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    You can't gain muscle and strength forever eating under maintenance. Keep lifting as much weight as you can on Allpro's routine until you are as lean as you want to be and then start increasing calories.
  • NoSkinnyFat
    NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
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    You can't gain muscle and strength forever eating under maintenance. Keep lifting as much weight as you can on Allpro's routine until you are as lean as you want to be and then start increasing calories.

    Sounds like a good idea, however I guess that's my question - should I stick with my current lightly active TDEE - 15% then and wait and see, or up it to TDEE - 5% for example now (still slightly under maintenance)- because I'm NOT getting leaner - as far as I can tell...?
  • vsetter
    vsetter Posts: 558 Member
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    How are your eating habits? Mostly clean? If you open your diary,we might be able to help that way,
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I eat at around maintenance/ 100 cal deficit, and still lose inches... It is slow going though, so I think you do need to be more patient!
  • NoSkinnyFat
    NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
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    How are your eating habits? Mostly clean? If you open your diary,we might be able to help that way,

    I eat more processed foods than I would like - because I'm still learning the best ways to get 94g protein as a vegetarian without having more than 2 protein scoops a day, and without overdoing eggs... so still a lot of pasta with cheeses, veggie burgers and processed soy products. I'm working on this...
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
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    It doesn't really matter if you're eating "clean" or not. Eat the proper macros at a proper calorie level.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    You can't gain muscle and strength forever eating under maintenance. Keep lifting as much weight as you can on Allpro's routine until you are as lean as you want to be and then start increasing calories.

    Sounds like a good idea, however I guess that's my question - should I stick with my current lightly active TDEE - 15% then and wait and see, or up it to TDEE - 5% for example now (still slightly under maintenance)- because I'm NOT getting leaner - as far as I can tell...?

    I'd go a little closer to your TDEE especially since MFP tends to under-estimate.

    Or since it's winter you could start eating slightly OVER your TDEE to gain some muscle, then try to cut fat again in the spring.
  • NoSkinnyFat
    NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
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    I eat at around maintenance/ 100 cal deficit, and still lose inches... It is slow going though, so I think you do need to be more patient!

    Thanks! Yeah I guess I was blinded by the "eat more to lose and the inches just melt off" and the "beginner heavy lifters gain strength AND lost bodyfat and inches fall off" kinda of stuff I've been reading on the forums...

    But I'm also training for the first real steady time in my life, so I have a lot of recomp to do first I guess, right?! i.e. - my body has little muscle memory - since it has never really had much in the way of muscles! lol
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    I'd try upping your protein percentage and dropping the carbs back a bit. I'm not a nutritionalist though - I just prefer more protein :)
  • NoSkinnyFat
    NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
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    You can't gain muscle and strength forever eating under maintenance. Keep lifting as much weight as you can on Allpro's routine until you are as lean as you want to be and then start increasing calories.

    Sounds like a good idea, however I guess that's my question - should I stick with my current lightly active TDEE - 15% then and wait and see, or up it to TDEE - 5% for example now (still slightly under maintenance)- because I'm NOT getting leaner - as far as I can tell...?

    I'd go a little closer to your TDEE especially since MFP tends to under-estimate.

    Or since it's winter you could start eating slightly OVER your TDEE to gain some muscle, then try to cut fat again in the spring.

    Thanks. I suppose I should maintain the lightly active setting as well based on not doing much daily activity other than the workouts?
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    I'd leave it for now.
  • NoSkinnyFat
    NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
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    Thanks for the advice.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    Be sure to track your progress through photos, too.

    According to measurements, my body has barely changed in the past year. My waist is fractions of an inch smaller.... that's about it. And I weigh more. But when I compare photos, I see worlds of changes.

    I loved how I looked a year ago. I know I weigh more now than I did then, and I didn't want to compare the photos because I was afraid I'd feel like I was going backwards. I did it anyway, and love the results. :smile: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/799682-lifting-gaining-weight-losing-curves-getting-bulky
  • NoSkinnyFat
    NoSkinnyFat Posts: 28
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    Be sure to track your progress through photos, too.

    According to measurements, my body has barely changed in the past year. My waist is fractions of an inch smaller.... that's about it. And I weigh more. But when I compare photos, I see worlds of changes.

    I loved how I looked a year ago. I know I weigh more now than I did then, and I didn't want to compare the photos because I was afraid I'd feel like I was going backwards. I did it anyway, and love the results. :smile: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/799682-lifting-gaining-weight-losing-curves-getting-bulky

    You look great. I just took photos 2 days ago, but I didn't take any starter pics :sad: so it's tough to say... my clothes don't fit any different either!!

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