Belly roll, but doctor said to stop losing weight? Help!
Replies
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First, protein is 0.8 gram per pound of bodyweight, not kg.So after reading through everything, maybe some of you have some good ideas about my remaining questions:
- What difference does it make between splits vs total body weightlifting?
Excerpt from the strong curves book
You will not get bulky. If a women is lucky they can only add 1 pound of muscle a month, and that is under ideal eating circumstances when eating at a calorie surplus.- What difference does it make in weightlifting if I'm eating at deficit vs maintenance? I've already noticed some muscle definition in deficit and fear going to maintenance will result in bulk.
I'll post some links here as prove. Also, I would suggest reading new rules of lifting for women because it deals specifically with all the misconceptions on weight training and women.
Anyway, eat at maintenance to stay the same weight. If you eat at defecit, you will still be losing weight.
The gains you are noticing are not muscle gains, that is your existing muscle which is getting more visible when your bodyfat gets lower.
When doing a recomp you eat at maintenance, and somehow your body burns fat to build new muscle. This process is extremely slow, it can take a year or more. If you would just lose the fat and not maintain/gain the muscle, you would just be rib counting skinny, not fit.
Read the below links on muscle gaining misconceptions. Especially the staci link will show you that you can have a great body, not being a super low weight, and definitely not being really bulky. Also, go through the pages of the "supah bulky" thread. Many pictures to prove that you won't get bulky.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10232698/muscle-gaining-misconceptions
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
You should follow a progressive overload program that has you increase the weight you train with on a regular basis.- Should I do heavier weights/less reps or lighter weights/more reps? (As an example I'm now squatting 4 sets of 8reps with 15-20lb. There was a girl that looked similar to me right after me doing the same, but with 50lb! I don't understand how she isn't "bulky"!)
1-5 reps is for strength 5-15 is for muscle growth, 20+ is for endurance.
Also, you will not get bulky.
So please, follow a structured beginners lifting program. They have guides for the number of reps and how much weight you should be using and when to increase.0 -
UPDATE!
I acquired the "New Rules" book from the library and am 75% through it. I'm still trying to understand some parts of it, but am going to try to commit to it for the rest of the year. My first day will be Friday. Luckily, I can go to the gym during our "faculty/staff-only" hours, but don't know how to work the "cable machine". It should be interesting.
I looked back at my protein on MFP. As I said my grams are averaging 45-60g/day, which is where it's supposed to be. However, that's equating to only about 18-22% of my daily nutritional intake. Not sure what to do about that or if anything's actually necessary.
And because someone asked... My core is quite strong. It's the one consistent thing through all of this. I can easily hold a plank for more than 1min, do side plank in star formation, rock 25 burpees in a row, do V/double arm-double leg situps, etc. Yet I'll confess my back is probably a bit weak, especially from an injury a number of years ago.
Finally, a huge thanks to @Azdak for the supportive posts and encouragement! My biggest question right now that I'm struggling to understand relates to weightlifting and calories being either in deficit vs maintenance. I don't yet understand what my expected results would be with either strategy?0 -
ghartleroad1 wrote: »Thanks for the quick reply @DavPul! Why still in deficit? Two things:
1. As I stated I'm still striving for a temporary achievement of 18.4 BMI.
2. I'm mentally freaked out about gaining weight.
Thoughts?
Get help please. You are striving to be underweight and are freaked out about gaining weight. That is not healthy - talk to a professional.....0 -
ghartleroad1 wrote: »Thanks for the quick reply @DavPul! Why still in deficit? Two things:
1. As I stated I'm still striving for a temporary achievement of 18.4 BMI.
2. I'm mentally freaked out about gaining weight.
Thoughts?
Get help please. You are striving to be underweight and are freaked out about gaining weight. That is not healthy - talk to a professional.....
Keep reading.
Actually, just look above your post.0 -
Until @Azdak chimes in...
I have found that compound lifting really helps at maintenance. I think you should forget the deficit and eat at maintenance (edit: in your case). I find after a good weight lifting session my abs are more defined so it seems it will help in your situation.0 -
As to results eating at defecit/ maintenance.
Defecit: maintain muscle, lose fat, decrease body weight
Maintenance: maintain body weight, lose fat, increase muscle0 -
OP here with an Update!
FOOD
Still eating at deficit (1250cal). Somehow this doesn't seem to be deficit any longer, as my weight has just been maintained. I basically bounced around the same 2lb all summer. Anytime I go over 1250 seems to lead to a gain. Weird.
EXERCISE
Switched from 95% cardio to 90% weightlifting in July in an effort to decrease body fat%. Just got my assessment back and I'm down 1.6% - from 27.5% to 25.9%. However, there's also been zero change in any of my measurements (specifically my waist.)
Seems like I should just keep doing what I'm doing?0 -
What kind of weightlifting are you doing that 1250 calories is enough to eat?0
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I find compound lifting (barbell squats, rows, DLs, BPs, OHPs) to be very slimming for the core. And lifting heavy makes me ravenous.
Are you progressively lifting with proper form? Are you fueling with protein?
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Great Qs - thank you! At the same time I started weightlifting I focused on upping my protein. I was probably only at 20-30g/day. Now I focus on being at between 55-70g/day. Some days I am hungrier so I'll go about 100 over on my calories. The increased protein is coming from more lean meats, protein bars, Fairlife milk, and protein packs of lean meat/nuts/cheese.
I honestly thought with weightlifting I'd need to eat more, but apparently not. If I eat more I gain weight (that I know isn't muscle). I can see definition in my legs, arms, and chest so at least I can see something!
I was doing both the New Rules regimen and a Total Body Tone (w/ weights) class. That was too much and I was struggling to get myself to get to the weightroom for New Rules even though I was lifting heavier than I thought possible that soon. I got started after two instructional sessions with one of my students who is a competitive weightlifter. He was great about noting form, being encouraging, etc.
I've recently stopped New Rules, at least for now and am just going to the Total Body Tone class. In it I strive to choose the heaviest weight possible for myself to keep up a challenge. We do different types of squats, lunges, deadlifts, bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, overhead press, chest press, chest flies, bentover rows - all the usuals. The class is 2x/wk. On a third day I'll go to the weightroom or more likely run or do some HIIT.
Always open to suggestions!0 -
Don't get me started on BMI--I think it's *kitten*. That aside, I recommend determining your maintenance caloric level (# of calories to eat per day to neither gain nor lose weight). Get a lot of protein (about 100 grams). LIFT WEIGHTS. As in, lift heavy weight. Forget about "cardio", "pilates", "yoga", "stationary bike." etc. You need muscle. If you eat higher than maintenance calories you will gain both fat and muscle if you lift weights. But clearly you do not need or want to gain fat. If you eat less than maintenance, you will lose weight, which sounds like you don't really need that neither--plus you release more cortisol if you are losing weight. If you follow my recommendation, you'll slowly gain muscle and burn your fat off at the same time without gaining or losing weight. You will gradually become leaner. But you will need to be disciplined and you will have to work hard.0
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You are right that you aren't gaining muscle on days when you eat more than 1250. But you also are not gaining fat on those days. At 5'7" and 120-something pounds, your TDEE has got to be higher than 1250. My guess is that your body is simply refilling glycogen stores on those days or is heavier just because you have more food sitting in your stomach/bowels, or some sort of combo.
Your intake is very low and I don't think that much, if anything, from this thread really sunk in with you. I believe that you are on your way to an ED, if you're not already there. My suggestion is to seek help, with your doctor or a therapist.0 -
ghartleroad1 wrote: »OP here! I've taken the time to read every single one of your comments and links. Not a single one offended me, rather I intrigued by the "passionate" responses. Pretty much every single post I ever saw on MFP regarding my issue had the same responses - just lose more weight. Now, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Now for a few updates/responses:
- I do take a multivitamin every morning
- My doctor's comment about stop losing weight was based in her 1) fear of what might happen if I randomly get the flu or something and inevitably lose more weight along with 2) hormone/reproductive health/not going into early menopause. Nothing else.
- My weightlifter student has never made any comments about losing more weight or taking on a "cut/bulk" strategy (a strategy I don't even understand what it is).
- I have worked to up my protein, but I *think* it's still bad? I don't even know what it should be? Something like .8g per kilogram of weight? So if I weight 124 that's roughly 56kg. That times .8 = 44.8g. Did I get that right? It was just last month I spoke with our nutritionist (someone I've seem 3 times over the year) and it was the first time I brought up the issue of "macros" as referenced by a couple of my students. In looking back at MFP, I previous had daily protein averages in the 30s. Since then in focusing on it, I'm up in the 50s & 60s.
- Yes, both my parents are/were "apple" shaped (genetics) and my mom used to be pretty darn thin back in the day too.
- I've already cut out a lot out of my diet: vast majority of bread, all sodas & juices, alcohol (I'm not a drinker). I've fallen in love with my protein bars & Fairlife milk (as my post-workout snack). However, I'm horrible with fruits & veggies as well as having a massive "sweet tooth" (that I try to limit to the weekend).
- Our university fitness class schedule was just released and as fate would have it, my favorite cardio classes are either not offered at times that work for me or are not offered at all. The classes that best fit my schedule are Total Body Tone (with weights) and Hardcore, both of which I've taken in the past. One of my frustrations this summer has been the students in one of our weight rooms, but I remembered faculty/staff-only hours will begin again on Monday.
- Yes, I have been doing weightlifting "splits" because I have to go to the gym for lower body, but can do all upper body at home. Plus upper takes me twice as long as lower because 1) I have twice as many exercises and 2) my upper is notably weaker than lower.
- My "belly" measurement is roughly 32-33" while my hips are only 37".
A final note:
Might I have a touch of body image issues? Perhaps. I took note of this in attending a Jazzercize class with my BFF. It was strange to see "real women" vs co-eds around me. Also, I'm the one who pulled one of my students into my office last year to voice my concern about her weight loss, which resulted in her confession of an eating disorder. Luckily she is now in recovery.
Overall I'm (now) really more focused on the "look" of my body rather than the scale; I'm just not yet educated enough on these topics to know what to "do next".
So after reading through everything, maybe some of you have some good ideas about my remaining questions:
- What difference does it make between splits vs total body weightlifting?
- What difference does it make in weightlifting if I'm eating at deficit vs maintenance? I've already noticed some muscle definition in deficit and fear going to maintenance will result in bulk.
- Should I do heavier weights/less reps or lighter weights/more reps? (As an example I'm now squatting 4 sets of 8reps with 15-20lb. There was a girl that looked similar to me right after me doing the same, but with 50lb! I don't understand how she isn't "bulky"!)
Thanks for sticking with this thread!
Should be 0.8 g protein per POUND body weight. I think.0 -
As to results eating at defecit/ maintenance.
Defecit: maintain muscle, lose fat, decrease body weight
Maintenance: maintain body weight, lose fat, increase muscle
I don't think the OP has learned nothing and has an eating disorder by the question she just posted, based on the above quote. It's confusing to those of us new to the weight lifting world. I'm hoping someone will answer this as I've read this thread and many attached links with interest. She's eating at a deficit but maintaining her weight and has lost body fat? She must be increasing muscle- but at a deficit? Maybe 1250 is now her maintenance calories?
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Start by reading this https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat
1) in a recomp you eat maintenance, not a defecit.
2) in a good structured program (which one are you doing?) abs get worked indirectly.
I have been underweight and still had bellyfat and no visible abs.
Drop that plan, getting your weight that low absolutely sucks. It can make you feel absolutely miserable.
Focus on reducing bodyfat through recomp and not dropping overall weight to an unhealthy level. That is imo the only healthy way to attack the belly roll.
I was going to send you to the same thing. You should try a recomp.0 -
fiddletime wrote: »As to results eating at defecit/ maintenance.
Defecit: maintain muscle, lose fat, decrease body weight
Maintenance: maintain body weight, lose fat, increase muscle
I don't think the OP has learned nothing and has an eating disorder by the question she just posted, based on the above quote. It's confusing to those of us new to the weight lifting world. I'm hoping someone will answer this as I've read this thread and many attached links with interest. She's eating at a deficit but maintaining her weight and has lost body fat? She must be increasing muscle- but at a deficit? Maybe 1250 is now her maintenance calories?
I disagree that her muscle is increasing. She could just as well be burning fat and retaining water due to excessive cortisol levels. You aren't made up of just fat and muscle. You are made up of muscle, fat, bone, water, etc.0 -
fiddletime wrote: »As to results eating at defecit/ maintenance.
Defecit: maintain muscle, lose fat, decrease body weight
Maintenance: maintain body weight, lose fat, increase muscle
I don't think the OP has learned nothing and has an eating disorder by the question she just posted, based on the above quote. It's confusing to those of us new to the weight lifting world. I'm hoping someone will answer this as I've read this thread and many attached links with interest. She's eating at a deficit but maintaining her weight and has lost body fat? She must be increasing muscle- but at a deficit? Maybe 1250 is now her maintenance calories?
It may be possible OP is getting more calories than she thinks. I would lose 1# a week at 1250 per day. And I am 5'-4"! It does sound like she may be eating at maintenance.
OP you may just have a stubborn belly. But, eventually, if you get out of the "toning classes" and veer more toward the heavy complex lifts you may see more change. Try sticking with it for 90 days.0 -
ghartleroad1 wrote: »OP here with an Update!
FOOD
Still eating at deficit (1250cal). Somehow this doesn't seem to be deficit any longer, as my weight has just been maintained. I basically bounced around the same 2lb all summer. Anytime I go over 1250 seems to lead to a gain. Weird.
EXERCISE
Switched from 95% cardio to 90% weightlifting in July in an effort to decrease body fat%. Just got my assessment back and I'm down 1.6% - from 27.5% to 25.9%. However, there's also been zero change in any of my measurements (specifically my waist.)
Seems like I should just keep doing what I'm doing?
When you say "anytime I go over 1250..lead to a gain", how long are you eating over 1250? If only a couple of days, then that isn't long enough to make an informed decision. It's somewhat normal that after coming out of a deficit, you will initially gain a little weight, this eventually levels out. But you need to wait at least 2-3 weeks before changing anything again.
I would also recommend going back to NROL. Total Body Toning sounds like cardio with weights.
BTW, I agree with everyone else that 1250 seems low. Increase by 150-200 per day, monitor for 3-4 weeks.
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ghartleroad1 wrote: »Basics:
Female, 5'7", 124lbs (down from 154)
BMI: 19.4
Body fat %: 27.3
Eating at deficit: 1250 cal/day
Protein: Worked to increase it from 30g to 50-60g/day (I don't know how to increase this more without adding total calories.)
Workouts: Recently new to weightlifting while still keeping some running/HIIT/cardio
I know you can't spot reduce. I know everyone says the only way to "see" abs is to lose weight. I've had a goal to get to 18.4 BMI (technically "underweight") just to see if I can do it and then probably maintain at the weight I am now. Even without these 7lbs I doubt the belly roll will go away. So what's a good strategy to attack the belly roll?
However, the body fat% is troubling to me since it's just in the "acceptable/average" range. I've been reading how the key to dropping body fat and maintaining weight is weightlifting, which is why I just started. My 2 questions here are:
1. Will the weightlifting be effective in "recomping" (barely know what that means) if I'm still in deficit?
2. How exactly does weightlifting impact abs since I seems to be working all the muscle groups except the abs?!
Any/all input is welcomed.
This post really really worries me.....am I the only one???
I'm also 5'7 143lbs don't know my BMI why because it's out dated and irrelevant!!!!!! Body fat 20% eating at a deficit 1600cals a day and protein 160gm!!!!!!
Your protein intake is so minimal what is the break down of the rest of your macros? Your doctor is right you need to stop thinking about losing weight sounds like your losing muscle and your body is holding fat like crazy because you are starving it! You might need more help than just on here....find your self a reputable coach food and exercise coach!
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Read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/993865/why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut/p1ghartleroad1 wrote: »OP here with an Update!
FOOD
Still eating at deficit (1250cal). Somehow this doesn't seem to be deficit any longer, as my weight has just been maintained. I basically bounced around the same 2lb all summer. Anytime I go over 1250 seems to lead to a gain. Weird.
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The deficit really hurts the progress of weight lifting and defeats the purpose in your case, though. The only reason people lift weights on deficits is because they don't want to lose muscle as they lose weight.
So you're wanting to keep the same amount of muscle as you had, then? But your body problems stem from a ratio problem. You don't have a normal amount of lean body mass. You need more (or skinny fat is the problem). You don't need a lower scale weight.
I think you should do a recomp, like everyone suggested. That means maintenance calories. The deficit changes the situation very much when it comes to muscle growth, yeah. It has to grow, and 1200-some calories isn't going to feed anything extra.0
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