At goal weight w/ big body fat percentage?

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arinamargarina
arinamargarina Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I kind of hit my goal weight recently. I'm saying I "kind of" did since I weighted 59kg when I started losing weight, aiming for 55kg. Now my weight flutuates somewhere between 51kg in the morning and 53kg in the afternoon, at wich point I used to think I'd be unrecognizibly skinny. I'm a girl and I'm 5.6. On the contrary, I find my body hasn't changed much in shape - although I feel lighter and I think I dropped one jean size, I still have a tummy, love handles, thighs and arms that are juuust a little too big.

I have muscles on my upper abs, but some two months ago (when I finished five 30 day challanges - squats, abs, bbc, lbd and ab&squat) I kind of gave up weight training and focused on cardio - during those last two or three months I only did running and bicycling, at least 1hr a day. I'm also on a 1200 calorie diet.

I figured I might actually need to stop losing weight and focus on toning up, but it's a surprise for me to find that at almost 50kg I still have quite a lot of fat. Is that possible?

Thanks!

Replies

  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
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    Any chance of uploading a photo.
    5ft 6 and 50kgs is very light!
    What you think is big, is probably not big at all!
    Eating only 1200 cals and exercising ontop of that ain't great either.
    You definitely need to eat more for starters.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    When people reach what should be an ideal weight for them but still find their physique does not look like they want it to, it's often a case of being under muscled vs. being overweight. Stopping the weight training during your dieting was a big mistake. Weight training ensures the weight lost is mostly fat as it preserves lean muscle tissue. I would attempt to maintain your current weight for the next 6 months while starting a "real" resistance training program that emphasizes heavy compound movements like squats, bench press, dead lift, etc. Body weight exercises can only take you so far. There are plenty of beginner 5x5 programs that would be perfect. ICF 5x5. stronglifts 5x5. starting strength are all good options. I'd do one of those and focus on getting in adequate protein. Give it 6 months and then reevaluate your physique.
  • arinamargarina
    arinamargarina Posts: 34 Member
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    Any chance of uploading a photo.
    5ft 6 and 50kgs is very light!
    What you think is big, is probably not big at all!
    Eating only 1200 cals and exercising ontop of that ain't great either.
    You definitely need to eat more for starters.

    It's not that it's big, it's just that I expected no love handles and excess fat (even if it's quite a little amount of it) at as light as 51kg. Eat more? You mean how much more?

    Also, my diet is pretty yo-yo, since I have days when I barely eat 1000 calories and exercise on top of that and days when I hit 2000 cals or more and also count the calories I burn. I do this because my appetite itself is pretty yo-yo and I know there are times when I have huge cravings (I had a hard time giving up sweets, I tell you - hard time), so I take advantage of days when my appetite is pretty low to make room for the days when it's not.
  • arinamargarina
    arinamargarina Posts: 34 Member
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    When people reach what should be an ideal weight for them but still find their physique does not look like they want it to, it's often a case of being under muscled vs. being overweight. Stopping the weight training during your dieting was a big mistake. Weight training ensures the weight lost is mostly fat as it preserves lean muscle tissue. I would attempt to maintain your current weight for the next 6 months while starting a "real" resistance training program that emphasizes heavy compound movements like squats, bench press, dead lift, etc. Body weight exercises can only take you so far. There are plenty of beginner 5x5 programs that would be perfect. ICF 5x5. stronglifts 5x5. starting strength are all good options. I'd do one of those and focus on getting in adequate protein. Give it 6 months and then reevaluate your physique.

    This is really helpful. Thanks a lot!
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
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    Try to eat more Healthy Foods and cut down on the Sugary Treats.
    Maybe try to have those Treats once a week.
    When i cut down on Sweets and Alcohol (which is mainly sugar), i noticed a big change around my stomach area.
    Here's a link to some Foods that should help you build muscle.
    http://stronglifts.com/20-super-foods-you-need-to-build-muscle-lose-fat/
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    Try to eat more Healthy Foods and cut down on the Sugary Treats.
    Maybe try to have those Treats once a week.
    When i cut down on Sweets and Alcohol (which is mainly sugar), i noticed a big change around my stomach area.
    Here's a link to some Foods that should help you build muscle.
    http://stronglifts.com/20-super-foods-you-need-to-build-muscle-lose-fat/
    This is poor advice. No foods are inherently good or bad at promoting fat loss or muscle gain. You can eat sweets or even drink alcohol as long as it is done in moderation and you are able to stay within your calorie and macro nutrient goals. 99% of your progress is going to come down to training + total macro nutrient intake for the day. Sugar does not cause you to retain fat in your abdomen. Most humans simply store fat there last. You have to become exceptionally lean to remove all fat from your abdomen. Again that is all about total macro nutrients and calories for the day, not how often you have sweets or eat "superfoods".
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    wrong thread!
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
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    This is poor advice

    Oh, so advising someone to eat more Fish, Lean Meat, Veg, Fruits etc and to cut down on (NOT ELIMINATE) sugary treats is bad advice?
    Yeah right.
    As a person who used to have a sweet tooth also OP, i know it's hard to cut back - but once you do, you will see the benefits much quicker.
    I found, Sugary Desserts also made me very bloated.
    Eating Doughnuts every other day wasn't doing me any favours at all.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    This is poor advice

    Oh, so advising someone to eat more Fish, Lean Meat, Veg, Fruits etc and to cut down on (NOT ELIMINATE) sugary treats is bad advice?
    Yeah right.
    As a person who used to have a sweet tooth also OP, i know it's hard to cut back - but once you do, you will see the benefits much quicker.
    I found, Sugary Desserts also made me very bloated.
    Eating Doughnuts every other day wasn't doing me any favours at all.
    In the context of her question, yes it is poor advice. It doesn't address her problem and will do nothing to fix it. Everything you mentioned was anecdote and personal experience. There is no need to limit sweets to twice a week as you suggested, nor will it effect her results providing she is meeting her calorie goals. Sweets are fine to be consumed daily in a way that fits ones caloric and macro nutrient goals. Simply because sugary desserts bloated you does not mean that they bloat everyone or that bloating is even a commonly correlated to eating sugar. Bloating was not her issue anyways. Again, consumption of just about anything in moderation is fine.
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
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    When people reach what should be an ideal weight for them but still find their physique does not look like they want it to, it's often a case of being under muscled vs. being overweight. Stopping the weight training during your dieting was a big mistake. Weight training ensures the weight lost is mostly fat as it preserves lean muscle tissue. I would attempt to maintain your current weight for the next 6 months while starting a "real" resistance training program that emphasizes heavy compound movements like squats, bench press, dead lift, etc. Body weight exercises can only take you so far. There are plenty of beginner 5x5 programs that would be perfect. ICF 5x5. stronglifts 5x5. starting strength are all good options. I'd do one of those and focus on getting in adequate protein. Give it 6 months and then reevaluate your physique.

    Just quoting for emphasis. This is how you get the body you want. It's takes time and consistency.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Sorry to highjack this thread, but this is pretty relevant. I know for a fact that by the time I reach my goal weight I will still be at a higher body fat than I want. Now I know that once I get there, resistance training and increasing muscle mass will set the foundation for a better composition which would mean bulking, but from what I know bulking introduces even more fat.

    I guess my question is: if body fat is an issue, and you will be introducing more fat during bulking only to try and lower it during cutting, at what point do you know you are ready to start bulking? Can it happen at any point or do you need to slim down to a certain body fat%? My brain isn't working today so I'm finding it hard to explain what I mean. Basically, why slim down only to introduce the fat back again? Why not just bulk and have a longer cutting phase (basically increase your muscle and THEN diet down to a healthy weight)
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
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    Just lift while you're losing fat or adding muscle. Lifting saves your lean mass while losing the fat. Resistance training should be around 80% of your workouts. Whether cutting or bulking.

    Hit your macros too like vismal said. Save those muscles.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Weight training and more weight training.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    Everything in life is solved with moar squatz. :smokin:
  • FocusKimFocus
    FocusKimFocus Posts: 124 Member
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    When people reach what should be an ideal weight for them but still find their physique does not look like they want it to, it's often a case of being under muscled vs. being overweight. Stopping the weight training during your dieting was a big mistake. Weight training ensures the weight lost is mostly fat as it preserves lean muscle tissue. I would attempt to maintain your current weight for the next 6 months while starting a "real" resistance training program that emphasizes heavy compound movements like squats, bench press, dead lift, etc. Body weight exercises can only take you so far. There are plenty of beginner 5x5 programs that would be perfect. ICF 5x5. stronglifts 5x5. starting strength are all good options. I'd do one of those and focus on getting in adequate protein. Give it 6 months and then reevaluate your physique.

    Thanks - I'm in the same situation (relatively low scale weight, but high %body fat), and I needed to be reminded to do more effective strength training! I've been lifting light ...

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