Continue 'Recomp' or lose more weight?

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Replies

  • markiend
    markiend Posts: 461 Member
    FWIW , if it were me I'd get myself out of the losing / gaining mindset and keep lifting at maintenance and see where it takes you. Then further down the road re-evalute whether a long recomp or bursts of losing and gaining are what you want.

    If you're looking for a better idea of your bf% , there is a thread somewhere with helpful people on it who make informed guesses based on decent photos. Maybe somebody else posting knows which thread ... I can't recall
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    I am definitely 'skinny fat' :]

    I think gaining at this point just isn't something I can really get my ahead around - maybe in the future when I'm a little more comfortable with the idea but right now, I definitely want to remain at the weight I am. I guess I just want to see the definition and lose this 'wobble'! I will give it time, as advised. Thank you so much.

    you have two choices then continue with the recomp and re-assess where you are in about six months. I would suggest taking measurements every four weeks to track your progress.

    OR

    you can eat in a slight deficit of say 250 calories, or less, and lose some body fat and try to retain what mass you have...

  • KaiUneeda
    KaiUneeda Posts: 46 Member
    Look into HIIT cardio, I recently started this and it already seems to be helping (sorry if it has already been recommended).
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    yogacat13 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    yogacat13 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    if you are skinny fat and are at about 22% body fat, then you may want to run a bulk/cut cycle. Aim for .5 pound per week gain and add some muscle to your frame, and you will be amazed at how you look/feel.

    I agree with others as three weeks is not enough time to assess a recomp, that will take you at least six months to a year.

    22% body fat for a female is in the fitness range, and is not "skinny fat".

    http://www.oxygenmag.com/article/the-fit-womans-guide-to-body-fat-9235

    I am going by what OP said in her opening statement which is that she is 22% body fat and is what people would call "skinny fat" her words, not mine.

    that is why I started my statement with "if"...

    how can you determine she is or is not skinny fat without seeing pictures???? If she is 22% body fat and has no mass then she may meet the qualification for skinny fat...

    The OP has pics in her profile, and my post was intended for her benefit, to realise she is not "skinny fat". 22% body fat means 78% LBM.

    looking at those profile pics there is no way to assess if she is skinny fat or not. She would need to post front and back pictures in a flexed and unflexed position to give her an accurate assessment.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    I'm going to eat at maintenance - or a very, very tiny deficit and just re-assess in a few months time :]
    I have my entire life to get this 'spot on' and I will never be that airbrushed 'perfection' I seem to assume I'll be. I need to be a little more realistic in my goals, I think. I expect too much of myself and not only is it unfair on ME, it's tiring and makes it all miserable. Let's see how the maintenance goes :)

    Thank you everyone.
  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    hekla90 wrote: »
    I know I personally wouldn't be satisfied around at that weight even recomped, but I am one of "those" people on the low end on my bmi. If you haven't given it a serious try I'd stick it out a bit longer. I will say the last 5-8 lbs I lost with cardio and weight lifting I lost a bunch of inches. I used to have 26 inch waist at 105 at 5'3" but I usually measure between 22.5"-23" these days so losing even a few more lbs in my experience I can make a huge difference. So if you find you aren't getting the results you want try losing a few more lbs while keeping up the lifting and cardio and it might whoosh off like it did for me.

    For me, it's not so much about 'weight'. And this picture is why:

    szp6m1aw0c08.jpg

    What I'm saying is - The 'heavier' weight looks the best in this photograph, in my opinion. I need to build muscle to get a look like that. I can't build muscle in a deficit..


    You literally asked if you should lose more weight and I gave you my experience. Losing a few more lbs made a huge difference with lifting for my measurements. Not every skinny person is skinny fat plenty of us are muscular and strong. If you want to gain muscle you are correct you need a surplus. However that's certainly not what you seemed to originally be asking. If you don't care about the number why would it matter if you lost a few more lbs?
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
    I am a lighter short person. I am 5 foot tall and around 100 lbs. I am 41.

    When I was much younger I looked OK around 120 pounds. As I got older and begin to lose muscle mass I started to look chubby. I dropped down to 115 and looked OK again. A few more years and I started to look chubby again and dropped to 110.

    Now that I am 41 and 100 pounds I wish I had started lifting weights much earlier. I have been working on recomp since last January and I have never looked this good before. Once I lean out a little more I intend on putting on a little weight. I would love to eat like a heavier person :smiley:

    You started a lifting program at 24. I would bet within 3 months you will seem noticeable changes in your body. In a year you will look fantastic. And when you hit my age the young men will be drooling when you walk past.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    I'm going to eat at maintenance - or a very, very tiny deficit and just re-assess in a few months time :]
    I have my entire life to get this 'spot on' and I will never be that airbrushed 'perfection' I seem to assume I'll be. I need to be a little more realistic in my goals, I think. I expect too much of myself and not only is it unfair on ME, it's tiring and makes it all miserable. Let's see how the maintenance goes :)

    Thank you everyone.

    Good girl! I think you may have this...
  • jdleanna
    jdleanna Posts: 141 Member
    I'm also 5'2, and am 124. Seriously considering moving to recomp. ... nice to see more of us happy in the middle bmi. I completely understand why you're agonizing over this decision. ..I am too. A crystal ball would help, right? So we could see if the path we're on leads where we want to be going! No advice for you, just wanted to let you know you're not alone!
  • sarab260
    sarab260 Posts: 122 Member
    Can I ask, just out of curiosity, in that photo you shared — is that the same girl? Or the same girl, for all intents and purposes, like the same height statistics and such? Just curious!
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
    edited October 2015
    sarab260 wrote: »
    Can I ask, just out of curiosity, in that photo you shared — is that the same girl? Or the same girl, for all intents and purposes, like the same height statistics and such? Just curious!

    I think it's it's the same girl.
    I believe it was taken from someones Fitness Blog.
    Very impressive!
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    I'm jumping in because I'm around OP's size. 5'1.5" and 120 lbs. and have also gone into recomp. For those who say she needs to lose more because lots of gals that height are in the 100-105lb. range doesn't take into account each individual's body type. When I was a young woman, I was that light and very thin, but no muscle definition. Also, I'm a larger body frame for my height -- big shoulders, larger hands and wrists and large feet for my size. I started toying with the idea of recomp during the late summer after I recovered from an injury and was able to work out more. Also, I haven't lost weight in about a year, despite cutting calories more and tightening my tracking, which told me this is the weight I should be. I use a Fitbit HR and basically eat what it tells me. As most said, it is a slow process, although I began to see good definition in my abs pretty quickly. My problem area is upper arms because I had to lay off working upper back and shoulder for about 6 months, so I have some jiggle there.

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