Lost the weight but not the fat???

dazambrano
dazambrano Posts: 4
edited September 25 in Introduce Yourself
I seem to have lost the weight and met my goals but there's still fat there and I don't have the results that i wanted. I am now weighed in at 150 from 170 in one month of counting calories and working out with insanity (the cardio program). Laid off significantly from soda, sugars, fast food and although I am getting toned, I'm not getting what i expected. Should i ditch the cardio and go more for weight lifting for the results that i'm looking for? Is it even possible to lose weight but keep the fat? Somebody help me please!!! I'm looking to be able to "accidentally" spill a drink on my shirt and be "forced" to take my shirt off in public lol not literally but you all catch my drift. I want to be able to go out in the summer and not be self-conscious about my body :/ Any and all help or comments are welcome

Thanks!

Replies

  • Tiana405
    Tiana405 Posts: 270 Member
    Do you eat at least 1200 calories a day, regardless of how much/long you work out????
  • dazambrano
    dazambrano Posts: 4
    it depends... sometimes i really go over after the workouts and sometimes i stay under. I think i eat at least 1k to maybe up to 1200 calories a day for the most part.
  • Tiana405
    Tiana405 Posts: 270 Member
    Water is definitely a huge part of it. Fat cells fill with water and wait to be flushed out with the aid of the water you drink.... do you drink enough water?
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    Yes. It is possible to lose weight, and still be fat. Without weight training, if you are shaped like a pear, you will just be a smaller pear when you are done. You should do some kind of resistance training, even if it is just bodyweight exercises like pushups, pull ups, bodyweight squats, and lunges. Try to incorporate all your muscles in your workouts, and if you weight train, give yourself a day, or two of rest before working the same bodyparts to give your body time to repair the muscle. Make sure you are lifting heavy enough to struggle with your last reps. Soreness is usually a good sign of a good workout.
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    It's possible to be technically in your normal weight range, yet still have a body fat percentage bordering on obese.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/197718-new-rachel-cosgrove-article-on-skinny-fat-interesting?page=1#posts-2617220
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Hate to say it, but you have likely burned through some muscle and potentially even slowed your metabolism. 1000-1200 calories per day for a 21 yr old male of your weight is on the extreme low end. Just guessing your height to be 5'8", your daily calorie burn would be in the ballpark of 2300 cal/day. With a healthy 500 cal/day deficit, you should be consuming in the ballpark of 1800 a day.

    My suggestion would be to do strength training 3 times a week and cardio up to 3 times a week. Bump up your caloric intake and set your protein intake to 30-40%.

    If you do this, you will likely see weight gain next time you step on the scale as your muscles will be shocked and holding water. Don't be alarmed if this happens.

    Just as a frame of reference, I'm an old fart compared to you, at 35. I sit on my *kitten* all day (except when I'm working out), and I consume an average of about 2200 calories per day and lose about 1 lb per week.
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    I agree.

    Just cardio on top of a very low cal diet (probably not enough protein either), will do nothing but make your body eat itself from all the wrong sources.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    Hate to say it, but you have likely burned through some muscle and potentially even slowed your metabolism. 1000-1200 calories per day for a 21 yr old male of your weight is on the extreme low end. Just guessing your height to be 5'8", your daily calorie burn would be in the ballpark of 2300 cal/day. With a healthy 500 cal/day deficit, you should be consuming in the ballpark of 1800 a day.

    My suggestion would be to do strength training 3 times a week and cardio up to 3 times a week. Bump up your caloric intake and set your protein intake to 30-40%.

    If you do this, you will likely see weight gain next time you step on the scale as your muscles will be shocked and holding water. Don't be alarmed if this happens.

    Just as a frame of reference, I'm an old fart compared to you, at 35. I sit on my *kitten* all day (except when I'm working out), and I consume an average of about 2200 calories per day and lose about 1 lb per week.

    ^^THIS!!!!
    Except for the part about me being a 35 year old male! :laugh:

    That 1200 cal minimum is meant for females, males should be at 1500 BARE MINIMUM NET. You are netting under 1200, and that is just causing your body to eat your muscles.

    You NEED to eat more, and weight lift. I would suggest setting your diary to 1800 and striving to reach that goal daily, while strength training. And not the wussy little circuit training videos or body pump classes with low weight/high rep...you need to lift heavy to the point where that 12th rep is all you have left in you and you COULDN'T do the 13th if you tried.
  • bryanstewart
    bryanstewart Posts: 7
    Hate to say it, but you have likely burned through some muscle and potentially even slowed your metabolism. 1000-1200 calories per day for a 21 yr old male of your weight is on the extreme low end. Just guessing your height to be 5'8", your daily calorie burn would be in the ballpark of 2300 cal/day. With a healthy 500 cal/day deficit, you should be consuming in the ballpark of 1800 a day.

    My suggestion would be to do strength training 3 times a week and cardio up to 3 times a week. Bump up your caloric intake and set your protein intake to 30-40%.

    If you do this, you will likely see weight gain next time you step on the scale as your muscles will be shocked and holding water. Don't be alarmed if this happens.

    Just as a frame of reference, I'm an old fart compared to you, at 35. I sit on my *kitten* all day (except when I'm working out), and I consume an average of about 2200 calories per day and lose about 1 lb per week.

    This is correct
  • DaddyMantz
    DaddyMantz Posts: 145 Member
    Get an e-book called Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto. IMO, he is the world's expert on losing fat while retaining lean body mass. You can keep doing your Insanity and you will want to add some progressive weight training in. In addition to putting the right types of calories in your body at the right time of day.
  • pandafoo
    pandafoo Posts: 367 Member
    it depends... sometimes i really go over after the workouts and sometimes i stay under. I think i eat at least 1k to maybe up to 1200 calories a day for the most part.

    1200 calories is already too low, and i really hope you were talking about 1200 NET calories... otherwise, after a workout that burns 600 calories for example, your net would be 600..... and that's too drastic of a deficit when compared to your daily maintenance calories.

    the American Council on Exercise recommends no more than a 1000 calorie deficit to lose weight safely. so if your maintenance calories is 2500, don't go below 1500 NET calories. so, please eat more overall, and also eat back your exercise calories! fit in more strength training workouts as well to increase muscle mass. if you plan on doing cardio and strength training in the same day, be sure to do the strength training first so your body won't get too fatigued.
  • dazambrano
    dazambrano Posts: 4
    Wow!! Thanks for all the input guys! I checked the "reports" section and my net calorie intake is averaged at about 1400 calories. So maybe i was wrong before. I'm taking in a lot of water definitely but currently am out of water bottles (purified) so I dont' know if tap water makes a difference to health or anything? Insanity is a resistance training mixed with cardio that is definitely helping my body get lean and somewhat toned but i guess i see all your points in that i need to take the next step to make sure the body is where i want it to be. I'm taking Whey protein as a supplement, mornings and sometimes at night as a meal replacement for dinner. To the guy that guess my height, that was pretty close I am 5' 9". I haven't been to the gym in about a year because i was trying to lean out a bit first so i guess it's time to go back in and hit it hard. The reps that you all are describing is something that i'm not sure i can do because of the fact that i go alone, i don't like risking not being able to lift that last time and being stuck in a hard place. Thanks again for all your input and add me if you'd like :)
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    I work out alone as well. Dumbbells are a good way to lift alone, and be safe. The idea is to keep proper form the whole time. When you lift, lower the weight slowly. Sometimes the negatives on lifting are as important as making the lift in the first place. Constantly be striving to either do more weight, reps, or sets, but make sure to maintain your form.
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