Wondering if anyone can help?

danielwillis22
danielwillis22 Posts: 43
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys, im kind of needing help. Recently I have come of a really low calorie diet of about 800-900 calories a day over the winter period. I lost all muscle mass and tone as I just sat in my house all winter when I wasn't working. My mum started to worry but I wasnt for believing her that i looked too skinny. Suddenly one day a couple weeks ago it was like a flick was switched in my head and I suddenly noticed how small and frail i had gotten compared to last summer. Since then I have been eating more calories upping my protein intake and going to the gym, doing cardio ( because my fitness had gone downhill, A lot!) and weights to try and build some more muscle mass again.

The one annoying thing I find is that I am toning up all around my body but my belly just seems to be getting fat and not showing signs of toning. I had this problem even on the low calorie diet and at one point I thought it might have been water retention because its almost like my belly can get bigger in about half an hour.

Can anybody help me? I can share my diet and pictures if needed?

Replies

  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    I'm confused you said you noticed how small and frail you were but you have your profile set for you to lose 14 pounds. if your small and frail the last thing you need to do is lose more weight. You really need to see a medical professional and they may refer you to a dietitian if you were eating as you said you are probably deficient in many things so a bank of blood tests would be useful in order to make sure you get back to better health.

    Just to say you will not gain muscle eating at a calorie deficit so you cannot lose weight and build muscle. All you can do is try and preserve what you have and by the sounds of it you have lost a lot.

    Good luck but please consider getting a medical check up
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Open your diary and tell us how tall you are. Pictures might help someone.
  • danielwillis22
    danielwillis22 Posts: 43
    No, I don't wish to lose any more weight, I don't know why it is set to lose weight. Ideally what i want to do is put muscle on while staying at a low body fat %.

    I used to be obese at the age of about 14/15 and ever since i started losing weight i kind of got addicted. Im 18 now and I'm 6 ft and for years thought this little flab was just loose skin, but it went away when i got really skinny, now it is back now that i am eating healthier. I just aint sure if i just need to build up muscle again for this belly to go away or whether i should exercise more to get rid of it. If I pinch it at different times of the day its almost like it changes size through the day.

    My diet is along the lines of this.

    Breakfast: wheatabix + milk / cereal +milk
    Banana or apple (sometimes both)
    Green tea with some soya milk

    Lunch: Either Tuna salad or Tuna sandwich and some cereal for something sweet
    + protein shake

    Dinner: Can vary anywhere from a Take Away if my parents get one to a stir fry or quorn with steamed vegetables. +Hot chocolate made with cocoa powder, water, 2 sweetners and some soya milk.

    Snacks: cucumber, falafel bites or fruit, maybe 2/3 times a day.

    I drink diluting juice through the day to make sure I am staying hydrated.

    Sidenote: Im vegetarian so eat quorn but don't have it every day.

    Ill get a picture up in a moment
  • danielwillis22
    danielwillis22 Posts: 43
    The photo is my profile picture, since its early on in the day it doesn't look too bad, but by about dinner time it will have gotten bigger, i just dont understand how in the morning it goes from not really being able to grab a lot in between my fingers to at night being able to get half an inch to almost a full inch of belly.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    water retention will cause it to look bigger like that - don't worry about it..

    depending on how much you eat, exercise and drink your body weight and size can vary by up to several pounds per day!

    what you need to do is keep a watch on this over an extended period of time and make sure that the trend of change is in the direction that you want it to go (either up or down). if it is not trending the way you want, you can make adjustments to what you eat and how you work out (either add more or take some away depending on the direction that you want the change to go).

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