Lose weight or recomp?

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Lexikat21
Lexikat21 Posts: 22 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I'm a 43 year old woman, 5'5" and weigh 143. I've been seriously lifting since last August about 5 days per week. I also do about 4-5 days of intense cardio. I *think* my bf is somewhere b/w 27-30%. I don't know what I should focus on at this point, losing weight or doing a recomp. I love working out, but food is my nemesis. I eat really well for a bit, but then have times where I eat a bunch of junk if I'm stressed. I just hired a fitness nutritionist, so hopefully that will help me figure some stuff out. I'm honestly so tired of constantly eating at a deficit and feeling like I'm on a diet. I'm just confused about what I should be doing...

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  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    At 30% bodyfat I would pick fat loss. A small calorie deficit, sufficient protein and a good progressive lifting programme. When you get down to the bodyfat level/ look then increase calories to maintenance to recomp.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    trigden1991 wrote: »
    At 30% bodyfat I would pick fat loss. A small calorie deficit, sufficient protein and a good progressive lifting programme. When you get down to the bodyfat level/ look then increase calories to maintenance to recomp.

    ^^^^ This ^^^^

    Might be worth taking a month at maintenance to address this part.....
    I'm honestly so tired of constantly eating at a deficit and feeling like I'm on a diet.
    .... and then resume with a small and sustainable deficit.
  • dudebro200
    dudebro200 Posts: 97 Member
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    I feel like I achieved a recomp, but I am not sure.

    I lost 19 lbs so far. 197 to 179 @ 5'9. However, I can wear a size 33, which I normally can't fit unless I am at 170-175lbs.

    I want to believe that I put on a few pounds of muscle while losing weight, but I feel like that is not possible.

    I lift weights 4-6 times a week
  • Lexikat21
    Lexikat21 Posts: 22 Member
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    Thanks! I am guessing at my body fat, but am waiting for a call back to get an appt using a BodPod. I have a body fat scale and have attempted to use calipers.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    Lexikat21 wrote: »
    Thanks! I am guessing at my body fat, but am waiting for a call back to get an appt using a BodPod. I have a body fat scale and have attempted to use calipers.

    You can post pics and we can try to give you an estimate ...front flexed and unflexed in good light
  • Lexikat21
    Lexikat21 Posts: 22 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Lexikat21 wrote: »
    Thanks! I am guessing at my body fat, but am waiting for a call back to get an appt using a BodPod. I have a body fat scale and have attempted to use calipers.

    You can post pics and we can try to give you an estimate ...front flexed and unflexed in good light

    Okay, I will do that today then. I did get an appt for the BodPod next Tuesday, so I'm happy about that too.

  • Lexikat21
    Lexikat21 Posts: 22 Member
    edited April 2017
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    lopkm7inss10.jpg
    Ok, here's a pic. Now that I look at it on screen, I feel like I'm closer to 35%. :-(
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
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    There is no way you are 35%. It is hard to tell from the pic but I would guess 27ish.
  • Lexikat21
    Lexikat21 Posts: 22 Member
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    Traveler120 wrote: »
    It doesn't really matter what your exact body fat % is. All measurement methods vary. Pick one method and use it for monitoring change. What matters is how you feel about how you look. If you don't like it, lose more fat until you're satisfied.

    Since you're already lifting and doing cardio, then if I were you I'd keep doing that and just focus on fat loss. Recomping means maintaining the same weight while losing fat and building muscle. The rate of muscle growth for women is 0.5-1 lb per month under perfect diet and training conditions.

    It's going to be easier to lose fat than build muscle and I can't imagine why you would NEED to build more muscle than what you have right now. If you shaved off just 10 lbs of fat covering the muscle mass you already have, you'd look really good.

    Thanks for your help! So keep eating at a deficit until I lose more weight/fat? I'm thinking I'd probably be good at 133-135ish. I try to make sure I'm getting at least 120 g of protein a day, I don't want to lose a bunch of muscle. I've been working hard since August.

    I understand what you said about just picking one way of measuring bf. I guess I was just not sure if I still needed to lose lbs. or if I could stay the same weight and just worry about recomping. I'm not happy with how I look yet. I know I have built a decent amount of muscles, I'm stronger and I can see them when I'm lifting. But there's still too much fat imo.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
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    I'm 5'3 and started recomp at about 125+lbs. My bf % was around 24+% at the time. I worked on recomp for close to a year and a half (maybe even closer to 2).

    You'll be happier (and likely less frustrated with the slow process) with the results if you lose a bit more weight first. My guess (based on my own body) is that you are under 30% but over 25%.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
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    I would disagree that it doesn't matter what youre exact body fat it. For long term trending that may be true, pick a method and keep measuring. But recomposition goes slower the higher your BF is. So depending on actual value, it may be worth it to lose a little more before a recomposition.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    bioklutz wrote: »
    There is no way you are 35%. It is hard to tell from the pic but I would guess 27ish.

    That's my guess, too, fwiw. I think taking a diet break as pp suggested is not a bad idea and you can re-evaluate from there.
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
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    Lexikat21 wrote: »
    Traveler120 wrote: »
    It doesn't really matter what your exact body fat % is. All measurement methods vary. Pick one method and use it for monitoring change. What matters is how you feel about how you look. If you don't like it, lose more fat until you're satisfied.

    Since you're already lifting and doing cardio, then if I were you I'd keep doing that and just focus on fat loss. Recomping means maintaining the same weight while losing fat and building muscle. The rate of muscle growth for women is 0.5-1 lb per month under perfect diet and training conditions.

    It's going to be easier to lose fat than build muscle and I can't imagine why you would NEED to build more muscle than what you have right now. If you shaved off just 10 lbs of fat covering the muscle mass you already have, you'd look really good.

    Thanks for your help! So keep eating at a deficit until I lose more weight/fat? I'm thinking I'd probably be good at 133-135ish. I try to make sure I'm getting at least 120 g of protein a day, I don't want to lose a bunch of muscle. I've been working hard since August.

    I understand what you said about just picking one way of measuring bf. I guess I was just not sure if I still needed to lose lbs. or if I could stay the same weight and just worry about recomping. I'm not happy with how I look yet. I know I have built a decent amount of muscles, I'm stronger and I can see them when I'm lifting. But there's still too much fat imo.

    Yes, you'll have to keep eating at a deficit to drop more body fat. There's no way around that.

    And I wouldn't worry about losing muscle. You're getting more than enough protein and you're exercising, so there's no good reason why your body would give up its muscle when there's plenty of excess body fat available to use for energy.

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