Fat won't go away, help!

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Hi, I'm 18 years old, 1,65m and weigh 51kg. Last year I started bingeing and went up 9kg. In the middle of the year I started losing weight by going to the gym 2 or 3 times a week and doing the elliptical. I had 25% body fat (measured by skin calipers). I stopped working out for 3 months straight and now I'm back to gym and walking/running 5km three times a week (because I like to), and my body fat percentage is at 23.4%. I think the results were 17mm of fat in the triceps and 35mm in my thighs (correct me if this measure is wrong, I'm not sure) and this bothers me and my self-esteem a lot. I'm vegetarian and very rarely eat junk food. I usually eat around 1300 calories a day, or a little more, and I keep losing weight but the fat doesn't seem to go. My question is why didn't I lose more body fat and how do I do so? I don't know what to do anymore, please help me!

Replies

  • kerrywhittaker1991
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    Hiya this is me all over I'm 23, 168cm and 50kg (hopefully more now not weighed myself in a few week now) all the advice I got was slow down the cardio up the calories and lift lots.

    I'm doing lifting at the gym several times a week now and eating about 1750 calories a day and I'm also eating my exercise calories back. I'm not sure what the scales are going to say or whether my body fat will be lowered it was 23%last month but only check it once a month. Here's to hoping it all works x
  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
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    What is your ultimate goal percentage?
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    25-23.4=1.6

    You lost fat.
  • doppelherz
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    Hiya this is me all over I'm 23, 168cm and 50kg (hopefully more now not weighed myself in a few week now) all the advice I got was slow down the cardio up the calories and lift lots.

    I'm doing lifting at the gym several times a week now and eating about 1750 calories a day and I'm also eating my exercise calories back. I'm not sure what the scales are going to say or whether my body fat will be lowered it was 23%last month but only check it once a month. Here's to hoping it all works x

    Thanks for the advice, good luck to us both! x
    What is your ultimate goal percentage?

    20 or 21%
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,724 Member
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    Hi, I'm 18 years old, 1,65m and weigh 51kg. Last year I started bingeing and went up 9kg. In the middle of the year I started losing weight by going to the gym 2 or 3 times a week and doing the elliptical. I had 25% body fat (measured by skin calipers). I stopped working out for 3 months straight and now I'm back to gym and walking/running 5km three times a week (because I like to), and my body fat percentage is at 23.4%. I think the results were 17mm of fat in the triceps and 35mm in my thighs (correct me if this measure is wrong, I'm not sure) and this bothers me and my self-esteem a lot. I'm vegetarian and very rarely eat junk food. I usually eat around 1300 calories a day, or a little more, and I keep losing weight but the fat doesn't seem to go away as fast as I want it to . My question is why didn't I lose more body fat and how do I do so? I don't know what to do anymore, please help me!

    FIFY

    You binged for how long? You dont say, but you magically expect your new fat to just disappear? The poster above pointed out that you in fact have lost fat.
    This isn't a race. Keep doing what you are doing. You are getting results. Learn to be patient. It will serve you well in all facets of life, not just weight loss.
  • doppelherz
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    I binged during all the first semester, then I started working out and slowly stopped bingeing. I didn't say I want it to disappear all of a sudden but when I lost 9kg I thought I'd gain more muscle, which leads me to think I did something wrong - I could've lost more fat, probably just a little but more than 1.6%.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    25-23.4=1.6

    You lost fat.

    tumblr_inline_mrr5azsNHD1qz4rgp.gif
  • doppelherz
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    So can anybody help me?
  • henwoosa
    henwoosa Posts: 14 Member
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    It sounds to me like you need to start weight training, this will help you to tone up and get rid of the fat rather than just drop more weight.
  • katt981
    katt981 Posts: 11 Member
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    weight training would help. As far as a vegetarian diet, are you vegan? Do you have SOME protein source besides combining beans/rice, etc? That's a tough one to balance. I haven't had a lot of experience with this type of diet being a protein eater.
  • Winterdusk8
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    Hi,
    I have lost almost 30 pounds in 2 months through a fad diet called '3 Day Military Diet'. But as soon as i started eating i gained back. I have been on fad diets for so long that i can't even remember but the result was always so beautiful that i couldn't quit. But this time I have decided to do something different and wanted to do through healthy life style. No matter what i do I can't get away with fat in my body. I started 1200 diet plan from today and try to workout for 30 minutes and burn atleast 300 calories 5 days a week. I want to reach my goal by loosing 30 pounds by May. Can it be possible. I am so depressed cuz if i won't see the result I will go back to my Fad diets again. I don't want to do this. Can anybody advice please.
  • eslcity
    eslcity Posts: 323 Member
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    Best reply i heard for you was is that this isn't a race.... it a life commentment... it took you a semster to gain it... it may take two semesters to lose it..

    Add a light weight training to your workout is my advice to you... you may not lose the weight but you will lose the fat...
  • doppelherz
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    It sounds to me like you need to start weight training, this will help you to tone up and get rid of the fat rather than just drop more weight.

    I did weight train while losing the weight I had gained, but I think the fact that I skipped it so much could be the reason why I didn't lose more fat? Or because it wasn't too heavy? Anyway, in february I started lifting again, as heavy as the personal trainer allows me.
    weight training would help. As far as a vegetarian diet, are you vegan? Do you have SOME protein source besides combining beans/rice, etc? That's a tough one to balance. I haven't had a lot of experience with this type of diet being a protein eater.

    No I'm not vegan, I do eat dairy, and also nuts, seeds and whole grains
  • doppelherz
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    Best reply i heard for you was is that this isn't a race.... it a life commentment... it took you a semster to gain it... it may take two semesters to lose it..

    Add a light weight training to your workout is my advice to you... you may not lose the weight but you will lose the fat...

    Sure, thanks for the advice!
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
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    I binged during all the first semester, then I started working out and slowly stopped bingeing. I didn't say I want it to disappear all of a sudden but when I lost 9kg I thought I'd gain more muscle, which leads me to think I did something wrong - I could've lost more fat, probably just a little but more than 1.6%.

    It is almost impossible (I say almost because there are rare cases where people can) to gain muscle while losing weight. At best, you can maintain muscle mass by eating adequate amounts of protein and doing strength/resistance training. Often, weight loss is a loss of fat and muscle. When you lost you probably lost both fat and muscle, hence the lower amount of BF% being lost. The math behind that is (and using round numbers for ease) if you are 50kg @ 25% BF, you have 12.5 kg of fat and 37.5 kg of lean body mass (muscle, connective tissue, waste material, water, blood -- anything NOT fat). Now, you lose 10kg (down to 40kg) and you are 23.5% BF. That translates to 9.4 kg fat and 30.6kg of LBM. You lost weight, but that was made up of 3.1 kg fat and 6.9 kg of LBM. Losing BF% is not as simple as losing weight. In fact, it takes more than just eating at a deficit to lose weight.

    And on the off chance that you meant when you *GAINED* 9kg you thought you would gain more muscle, the answer is that you have to be working the body properly to gain muscle mass while eating in a caloric surplus. If you were just binging and not working out, then yes, most of it will be fat gain because the muscles were not put in a condition where they would need to repair and build new tissue. Eating more does not equate gaining muscle if the work to do so is not done properly. If it were that way, you would see fewer obese people and more people who were large, but muscular. On top of all that, gaining muscle takes a lot of work. Even in a calorie surplus to support the growth, beginners are likely to see around 2 lbs of muscle gain per month. That is it. Here is an article about that topic http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html

    The fat will go away, it just takes time and focusing on diet and proper exercise plans to ensure that the weight loss is fat. Doing a body recomposition is work, but can be done with great success.