I think I need to focus on recomp but scared of scales going up

If you aren't losing weight you're not a deficit.........

For recomping, you need to focus on both macros and calories. Since you are trying to maintain and strengthen the muscle you have, you need to make sure you get a good amount of protein in. I just started maintaining and recomping last week and my breakdown in macros is: 45% carbs, 30% fat, and 25% protein (however, I tend to be more 40% carbs, 35% fat, and 25% protein). Calories wise, make sure that you are eating to maintain, not to lose or gain. If you really want to gain muscle, you will have to eat at a surplus, BUT since the scale increasing scares you, I would stick with your initial idea of recomping.

You will want to start a good progressive strength training program, lifting heavy will be the best option, but a body weight program will be good too.

Take measurements and plenty of pictures to measure your success.

Also, check out this thread: community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

That thread will answer all of your questions much better than I just have. Good luck OP!

You're on the right track! In fact, you can drop body fat and, (in some cases) add muscle at a deficit. That gets technical and stuff but most folks don't necessarily want to "gain" muscle as much as make their body look more muscularly defined, which simply comes with picking up weights and doing resistance workouts consistently and progressively while reducing fat to allow those muscles to pop. Not to assume your muscle goal, of course- just speaking generally.

That said, shifting a mentality from scale to progress is TOUGH. The proof is in the "aesthetics" and seeing that change can really make a difference- say, for example, you're the same weight but pants are more loose and you're seeing visible changes (take pics for comparison-- this goes miles to help bust the "I'm not changing" roadblock)- you know the scale number doesn't mean much because you're LOOKING the way you want to.

Just remember this: "Nobody ever says "Wow, she weighs sexy."

As for focus on macros and calories- where you're recomping and wanting to retain muscle, you'll probably want at least a minimum protein intake of .8-1g per lb. of body weight. That's the general rule- the rest of your calorie goals fill up with carbs and fats. This combination of macros will be based on caloric needs, so even if you track macros, you're still operating within caloric requirements which may change-- (where you've been at a standard deficit for so long, don't be afraid to experiment with moderate and increased calories if you're hungry).

Here's a decent example of weight fluctuation and how, really, it's something that doesn't always equate to aesthetics:

(photo courtesy of avatar nutrition and @mysweatlife)

"How do I shift the focus from obsessing over the number on the scale, to measuring progress by the way I look? Also, should I focus on macros instead of calories?

I'm not sure if I'm explaining this properly "


I see goals for which you need to focus.

One you want to change your body composition, two, you want to stop focusing on the scale and the numbers, and three, not sure if dietary changes such as macros are needed?

First of all, you are wanting to lose fat and work on body composition changes at the same time, so recomp is how you do that. Eating maintenance is not going to make you gain real fat weight, you might gain additional scale weight in the form of water retention, perhaps as you increase calories (more food in gut/waste not eliminated.. sorry tmi) etc. temporarily, but you have the capability to control most aspects of this yourself by using the scale as a TOOL (trend your weight weekly/monthly and work with the fluctuations) and not this as an indicator of sucess, results, or anything that pertains to you feeling good about yourself. I sort of look at this way, if the scale is a large part of your sucess and failure, make peace with your scale..

Next, find you a good strength training program (i see your other threads where you are looking for something).. If you have been doing the same things expecting different results, its time to change things a bit.

As far as macros, you should focus on min protein at .8 gr/body weight or 1 gr/ lean mass. You can fill in the carb range and fats accordingly.

You can progress and move forward, just got to take the leap of faith, know that all changes are actually good, and if something is not going right with the plan you can always change it or modify.. all of this is within your control.

halimaiqbal00 wrote: »

Thank you so much Roxie Dawn. You always help me massively so it's much appreciated! And that is exactly what I meant by the post..you've broken it down perfectly.

I have done a little research and at 143 pounds of weight, I am thinking of 125g carb, 50 fat and 220carb I think it was...and 1900 calories (tdee is approx 2100) I've seen a fitnessblender 8 week fat loss programme that focuses on lifting heavy. Does this sound ok? I'll weigh the once at the beginning of the programme and then again when it finishes but will take progress pictures and measure weekly or fortnightly.

Please do continue on advising me and correcting me. It's incredibly helpful!

You are most welcome... any time!!!!

If you mean 125 protein? If that is around .8 grams of your body weight, you are good!

Fitnessblender is a good place to start. I have not done this myself, but I have seen it. I DO recommend that once you start a program to complete it or at least give it ample time to see if you are getting results from the program before changing.

I take measurements monthly, photos monthly, I use a trending app (weightgrapher.com) with my scale and weigh daily (i can weed out my monthly cycles issues and work with the day to day fluctuations using a 28-30 day trend).. Libra, Happy Scale and others you can use too.. If you want to weigh weekly or monthly that is certainly ok too.