Now what do I do?

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getrealgirl
getrealgirl Posts: 201 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started my journey with MFP this last time on June 23, 2014. In the last 10 weeks I have lost 15 lbs and have met some fitness goals that I never really thought I could accomplish. I originally set my goal weight for 130 lb. I managed to get to 131.5lb (I am 5'7" and small boned), but have since been adding back a few of those. I have been sticking to my 1200 cal and eating back most of my exercise calories. I have continued with my exercise which includes Couch 2 5k 3 times per week (I am on week 7), rowing, elliptical, walking, and strength training including free weights. My macros are set at the standard MFP suggestions, but I usually go over on the protein and leave a few carbs and fat if anything. Am I starting to bulk already? My muscles are looking more defined to me. Should I just bail on trying to lose any more and go for lean muscle mass? I am not mentally tied to a # on a scale. My diary is open and any suggestions are welcome on changing macros or specific foods. Should I change to maintenance, less cardio, more weights? I am feeling pretty good where I am~ good energy level, but know I still have plenty to tone up. I don't want to be a stick, but I also don't want to go back where I started. TIA for any advice!

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I would suggest you maintain for a while and then decide if you want to bulk/cut or do some recomp.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Congratulations on your success, that's awesome! Just eat at maintenance and keep exercising like you have and see where you end up.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,018 Member
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    Sounds like you want to see some musculature and if that's the case eat at maintenance and add some weight and lift harder and see how you look and feel in a month or two.
  • liftnlove_
    liftnlove_ Posts: 112 Member
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    Awesome on your success!! My advice is to eat at maintenance, and find a NEW, non-scale-related fitness goal and focus on that!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    You're not bulking because you're still eating at a calorie deficit. What's happening is you're losing fat so the muscle is becoming more visible. Keep going with your fitness goals. Work on gaining more strength and/or continue on with the running training. Doing both at the same time can be a good thing but make sure you're taking rest days, eating enough to support the activity and not overtraining.

    With C25k, unless you're naturally a fast runner, you may not actually be running a 5k at the end (if you're slower, running 30 minutes won't quite get you that distance) so you could work on getting to 5k then work on endurance for a while and then maybe speed. Challenge yourself by signing up for 5k races.

    There are a ton of options out there!

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