Am I losing weight too quickly?? Will it be muscle??

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jewelswye
jewelswye Posts: 49 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Please read all my post before you lay into me lol...

Over the last 5 weeks I've lost 13lb and generally I do put on and lose weight quite quickly. But this morning I thought is it fat, fat and lean or mostly lean???

My diary is open (this week Ive been on nights so this is why my diary is this bad) and generally my exercise is walking and exercise biking. I did start the couch to 5k yesterday. Pictures 2 - 6 on my profile are from summer 2011 when my exercise was interval cardio and "lifting like a girl" I am about 7lb heavier than this at present.

I know ppl are supposed to heavy lift to help lose fat but I seriously cannot bring myself to do it. Im scared to death of butching up coz I already feel butch enough without trying. I have really broad shoulders and my legs are really strong (pic 6 on profile the curve on my thigh is not fat!!). I also have a bicep cut in my arm and my lower back has definition. These muscular areas are natural. But to contradict my muscly area I have really jiggly top of thighs, bingo wings and fat arm pits lol. I have a curvy bottom half and almost no existant boobs that goes lovely with my nice broad back ha ha ha

Just so you know... I have been reading other posts about losing BF and I probably do need to up my protein. Im fed up of yoyoing and would love to get rid of my fat areas and especially tone up my belly which is the result of 2 x 10lb kids :(

I know I'll probably get some sarky comments and I can take it just put something constructive with it please ;)

Replies

  • xidia
    xidia Posts: 606 Member
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    You're female. You don't have enough testosterone to bulk, so unless you're taking steroids, lifting really heavy weights and eating 3000+ calories a day, you won't build significant hypertrophic (large) muscles. You'll get stronger, get health benefits and look better by lifting heavy.

    If you don't lift, your body will lose 40-60 muscle-fat (very roughly), which will mean you continue to see "jiggly bits". If you lift, you'll change that proportion to something nearer 20-80 muscle-fat. This isn't you gaining muscle, this is just you losing different proportions of fat and muscle. 15-25% BF over the same muscle base will give you a range of looks from figure competitor to toned & curvy woman. But they all need the muscle base!

    Your body will not burn muscles that you use. So, if you use all large muscle groups, you will bias your body to burn fat instead. That means a compound lifting program like Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5, or possible New Rules of Lifting For Women (I haven't tried that one, which is why I've said "possibly").

    Come on over to the Strong Lifts 5x5 for Women group (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women) and take a look at the profile & progress photos of Tameko, VegasBaby, and Nexangelus. They ain't bulky, but they lift heavy stuff!
  • that1milestone
    that1milestone Posts: 3
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    Your body breaks down fat first in order to get the energy (aka glucose) it needs in order to function properly. If your body runs low on fat and your diet lacks the needed glucose then it WILL go after your muscle in order to survive. If you're not starving yourself or overexercising then you shouldn't be worried.

    The best way to ensure that your body has enough energy is eating enough carbs. It depends on your activity level and weight on just how many carbs you should be eating. I've read it's recommended to eat a small carb-based pre-workout meal so you're burning off the carbs during your workout rather than muscle.

    I wouldn't be worried if you generally tend to lose weight fast. You have to go to some pretty extreme measures and literally have a small amount of body fat before your body will get desperate enough to go after your muscles. I'm currently dieting and I've lost 32 lbs. in 15 weeks with 8 weeks of serious dieting where I lost 22 lbs. Though I am a heavier person so I will shed pounds quickly at the start and then that will taper off until I'll eventually have to work at losing the weight, lol.

    The body is a wildly complex machine, but it's also very predictable. It will *always* go after fat first and if you've got fat you don't need to worry about it going after your muscle. According to livestrong.com: This is not a normal condition, and your body will only start to use muscle tissue for energy under extreme conditions, such as if you are very sick, severely malnourished or not consuming enough calories over an extended period of time to support normal body functions.

    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/554481-when-does-the-body-start-to-use-muscle-tissue-for-energy/#ixzz2PaCU9Aq6
  • RedneckMomma77
    RedneckMomma77 Posts: 85 Member
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    I wouldn't worry too much about it. Things like that do happen, and we may not know why.

    As for lifting heavy, if you are worried about bulking up (which isn't going to happen) just lift heavier than you used to. Chances are, you will find that lifting is actually making you look slimmer, and more fit. Then you'll want to lift more, and more weight. Give it a try, you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
  • xidia
    xidia Posts: 606 Member
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    I wouldn't be worried if you generally tend to lose weight fast. You have to go to some pretty extreme measures and literally have a small amount of body fat before your body will get desperate enough to go after your muscles.

    I'm sorry, this is completely wrong.
  • TheChangingMan
    TheChangingMan Posts: 73 Member
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    I wouldn't be worried if you generally tend to lose weight fast. You have to go to some pretty extreme measures and literally have a small amount of body fat before your body will get desperate enough to go after your muscles.

    I'm sorry, this is completely wrong.

    Agreed!
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
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    If you don't lift, your body will lose 40-60 muscle-fat (very roughly), which will mean you continue to see "jiggly bits". If you lift, you'll change that proportion to something nearer 20-80 muscle-fat.

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  • jewelswye
    jewelswye Posts: 49 Member
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    You sure Im not some mutant man beast in disguise?? ha ha ha If I start lifting heavy and start looking manly I hope you know how to reverse it ;) But yeah I had thought I'd need to lift. What I'll do is take pics and measurements before and do it for 12 weeks and see. BTW Im deleting my bikini shots now. Theres no need for the whole world to see pmsl
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    I missed the pics but I really would try heavy lifting. I think your plans is good in two months I've lost inches lifting heavy and eating more. And shoul you really be one of the very very small number of women who bulk up easily, then just stop lifting. You'll lose it faster than you put it on:grumble:

    Make sure you take measurements and photos though as the scale can be a naughty liar but you should see results in inches first, I have.

    Oh and I suggest new rules of lifting for women, it's what I'm doing and I'm really enjoying it. Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    How long have you been dieting for?
  • jewelswye
    jewelswye Posts: 49 Member
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    @sara 5 weeks this time. I know you lose it quicker at the beginning but Im still losing 2lb a week. My target is just under a pound xx
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    @sara 5 weeks this time. I know you lose it quicker at the beginning but Im still losing 2lb a week. My target is just under a pound xx

    Most of your weight loss will have been water weight/food weight. The first week or so, it can be about 50% - 75% of weight loss or more. I would give it a week, look at your losses for the 4 weeks prior (to exclude the water weight fluctuations) and then tweak accordingly based on those results.

    ETA:

    Re the lifting - you will not 'butch up', do not worry. You do not really have to 'lift heavy' - just 'lift something'. You lose LBM dieting if you do not do resistance training.

    It sounds like you have a similar body type to me - broad shoulders, lean up top, higher BF% on bottom half. You will not gain any appreciable size from lifting at a deficit (your muscles may look a bit 'perkier' as they become activated and store glycogen/water - but not 'bulky').

    If you are worried, you should actually go heavier with lower reps - keep LBM and gain strength without as much hypertrophy.
  • jewelswye
    jewelswye Posts: 49 Member
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    thanks for the replies. defo gonna start lifting but not tonight,, tonight is a 6 course meal and 2 bottles of wine :)

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