Do I need to lose weight?

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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,386 MFP Moderator
    OP, it would even be unlikely that you are 26% body fat. And if anything you are probably closer to 22%. This bigger issue is that you lack muscle mass, which is why you have a bit of stomach fat and aren't as lean as you want to be. This is something that is very common in those who are almost underweight (in fact, we see it all the time in the body building section). At this point, you need to get back into lifting, and then bump up your calories to address the issues that you have created with low calorie diets and cardio; the very low calorie diets and cardio only is one of the reasons you maintain on 1400 calories or less. Adaptive thermogenesis and the muscle loss has just had a huge impact on metabolism.

    First thing I would do is a controlled refeed, which would be a moderate protein, very high carb low fat diet for 2 weeks. This should help with reducing cortisol levels, which is one reason you could be seeing weight gain (according to Lyle McDonald's research, there is potential of cortisol levels causing water weight increases by as much as 20 lbs in women). I'd put you at 120g of protein, 40g of fats, 175g of carbs (with 20g of fiber). That is about 1500 calories and this is where I would probably stick to for awhile. Over time you might see some weight loss. At that point, if you start seeing a good amount, I would start upping calories by another 200 until it stops. Additionally, I would add back in some resistance training or weight training by incorporating one of the programs below (body weight is acceptable but it does have it's limitation).

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    The big thing is trying to get calories back up to normal levels to see if that addresses some of the issues and at the same time, recomping. And while recomping is a bit slower than cutting/bulking, you won't have to deal with the psychological issues as a bulk. While recomping, you can add some mass and cut a bit of fat. But adding that mass is going to help to lean you out, as shown in the link belowl; note that Staci went through bulks/cuts to achieve that level... but it's hard to gain 20 lbs of mass and takes time).

    https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/




    As an aside, 132 to 140 would have been an ideal number between that would put you at 16-20% body fat.

  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I dont get it... I'm 2 inches taller than you and weigh 4lbs more and i don't look nearly as thin as you! Is there a spare tire hiding under your shirt??
    You must carry a hell of a lot more muscle than me..

    these pictures she is posting do not suggest a ton of muscle mass - if anything quite the opposite.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Muscleflex79 wrote: »
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I dont get it... I'm 2 inches taller than you and weigh 4lbs more and i don't look nearly as thin as you! Is there a spare tire hiding under your shirt??
    You must carry a hell of a lot more muscle than me..

    these pictures she is posting do not suggest a ton of muscle mass - if anything quite the opposite.

    Well I'm stumped then :neutral:
  • cbohling1987
    cbohling1987 Posts: 99 Member
    The scale is broken? I'm struggling to believe the OP is only 15 pounds lighter than me (a 5'11" male with love handles). I could be off base but I am really confused.

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