Don't know what my weight goal should be. Pics included.

If you are running a recomp I wouldn't sweat the number as much- your improvement is super impressive, just keep on keeping on!

I see definite progress. I'd say keep it up and use measures in addition to your scale.....measuring tape, general appearance and strength/fitness.

That picture before and after speaks volumes....don't ignore that just because of your scale.

That said it's unlikely you've put on any actual muscle mass if you are in caloric deficit. There is a difference between gaining strength and gaining actual muscle mass. You can double your lifts going from untrained to trained without putting on an ounce of muscle.

Ya, eat at maintenance and lift heavy.

You're currently running too large a deficit for your height, weight, and pounds you want to lose. Under-eating stresses the body and mind. Stress increases cortisol, which leads to water retention, which makes it look like you're not making any progress:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/

...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.

They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.

And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).

When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, lets cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.

I ran stats.. BMR=1340, sedentary TDEE =1610, 1-3 hrs exercise TDEE=1845 (http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator)

1200 calories is too low.. And read that article from Lyle McDonald that @kshama2001 posted. I think it will help explain a lot to you.

Perhaps re-think your rate of loss, make sure that you are following a structured lifting program designed to help with body composition changes.. you can benefit from doing maintenance and recomp.

adriennevy wrote: »

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

I see definite progress. I'd say keep it up and use measures in addition to your scale.....measuring tape, general appearance and strength/fitness.

That picture before and after speaks volumes....don't ignore that just because of your scale.

That said it's unlikely you've put on any actual muscle mass if you are in caloric deficit. There is a difference between gaining strength and gaining actual muscle mass.

I have been using a measuring tape which has been my recent marker of progress. That and before and after pics.

I know I gain bulk easily, my mother does, too. I have noticed mass gain, mostly in my biceps and deltoids, that wasn't there before. Maybe not lbs worth, but definitely something. Also, I'm doing low carb/sugar and am eating between 35-40% protein, 40-45% fat, 20% carb.

Muscles being larger is not actually a sign that you have gained muscle tissue (ie muscle mass). Muscles swell with water and become engorged with regular use and become denser as fat is lost between the muscle fibers (less marbled basically) both of which give them a much harder look and feel. Also as you lose fat around the muscle they appear more defined and larger. None of these things are from the addition of actual muscle tissue but they do give the muscle a physically larger appearance.

It takes a calorie surplus and a long time to gain actual muscle mass, especially as a woman. With a deficit its not going to happen, best you can hope for is keeping the muscle mass you have.

The only way to really know if you have gained muscle mass is if you are actively tracking your body fat percentage and notice that your lean mass (the amount of mass without the bodyfat) has increased. Last time I got lean I lost 35 pounds and tracked my bodyfat from 28% to 12%. During that time I worked out 6 days a week and lifted regularly. I doubled in strength, my muscles looked much larger and much more defined (can see from profile pictures). From bodyfat tracking though I could tell my lean mass didn't change at all. I didn't gain an ounce of muscle. My before and afters in my profile I have the same amount of muscle, it just looks like I have more because I lost covering fat and from use the muscles swell and become more dense.

Unless you are actively tracking your lean mass and it is going up not sure how you could even tell you are gaining muscle. In caloric deficit and as a woman that is extremely unlikely.

Thats fine though, you are focused on losing fat and building strength and you look like you are having great success. Your before and afters show definite improvement which is awesome.