Low weight but still fat

MaVhenan
MaVhenan Posts: 3 Member
I recently lost 40 lbs. I now weigh 140 & am 5'9. I want to build muscle because I'm at low body weight but high body fat. My arms & legs are sticks but my trunk is exactly that, a trunk. Is Power 90 a decent strength training program for me to start? I want something I can do without joining a gym at first. Should I eat my maintenance calories & whatever I burn exercising? This is the part where I'm confused, the eating more even though I have so much fat.

Replies

  • MaVhenan
    MaVhenan Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks for the replies. I am coming from a pure cardio, mostly biking, weight loss & healthier diet. I do own the program. So I guess I could do the program & lose 10 more lbs & still be at an ok BMI. Then I can start like lifting heavy? I just don't seem to have much muscle.
  • MaVhenan
    MaVhenan Posts: 3 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    Start lifting now. I would not lose more weight, but maintain to recomp. If you do lose more weight without adequate muscle stimulation you will lose more muscle than if you were doing progressive resistance training and be even further away from your body composition goals.
    Thank you for replying. I hate to ask but I read some of the "Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat" thread, should I try something like that?

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    MaVhenan wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    Start lifting now. I would not lose more weight, but maintain to recomp. If you do lose more weight without adequate muscle stimulation you will lose more muscle than if you were doing progressive resistance training and be even further away from your body composition goals.
    Thank you for replying. I hate to ask but I read some of the "Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat" thread, should I try something like that?

    Yes. Definitely. Since you are already lower in weight for your height, and not satisfied with your body composition, losing more will not help. Keep in mind it is all a slow process. Patience is key.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    MaVhenan wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies. I am coming from a pure cardio, mostly biking, weight loss & healthier diet. I do own the program. So I guess I could do the program & lose 10 more lbs & still be at an ok BMI. Then I can start like lifting heavy? I just don't seem to have much muscle.

    Don't wait - lift now.
    You don't have to drop your cardio unless you are crunched for time (or just dislike it of course!).

    I don't think losing more weight is the right choice for you, losing more weight and NOT lifting would be a really poor choice.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    RicoFit14 wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    MaVhenan wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies. I am coming from a pure cardio, mostly biking, weight loss & healthier diet. I do own the program. So I guess I could do the program & lose 10 more lbs & still be at an ok BMI. Then I can start like lifting heavy? I just don't seem to have much muscle.

    Start lifting now. I would not lose more weight, but maintain to recomp. If you do lose more weight without adequate muscle stimulation you will lose more muscle than if you were doing progressive resistance training and be even further away from your body composition goals.

    What she said. Start lifting weights now. I'd honestly drop the cardio, or cut it down to 15-20 mins every other day. One thing I also hate to see, and I see it waaaaaay to much, is people eating back their calories burned. It's near impossible to estimate what you've burned correctly. I think it's a giant waste of time. I would just concentrate on total calories eaten throughout the day and not at all worry about what might have been burned.

    Just my .02.

    and not following how MFP is designed defeats the purpose. if you follow the TDEE method then no you dont eat your calories back from exercise because its factored in. with MFP your deficit is built in BEFORE any exercise which means when you exercise it causes a bigger deficit which is not always healthy or sustainable, using mfp and not eating back at least some of the calories is like driving your car until its nearly out of gas and then wondering why you cant go much further because you arent fueling the car(putting gas in) its the same with your body.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    RicoFit14 wrote: »
    I get 5 woos to my response? Lol, I'm going to bow out of this conversation. To many experts in here. Goodluck OP, one last piece of advice. Do some googling and read real research.

    I think maybe because you suggested not eating back calories?

    Which is actually a good approach if you account for exercise in your activity level.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    RicoFit14 wrote: »
    I get 5 woos to my response? Lol, I'm going to bow out of this conversation. To many experts in here. Goodluck OP, one last piece of advice. Do some googling and read real research.

    I think maybe because you suggested not eating back calories?

    Which is actually a good approach if you account for exercise in your activity level.

    Yes - they could have been "woo-hoo" woos!
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    I use TDEE most of the time, not the NEAT that MFP calculates. I hate having to enter my exercise calories and having different goals different days. It changes your macros and stuff. For all but the last month of my weight loss, I used a TDEE calculator and did NOT eat my exercise calories. Because I didn't enter exercise calories.

    The last month I needed to drop calories to reach my goal, but I was uncomfortable eating such low fuel on lifting days. I so let MFP calculate my NEAT and entered exercise calories. This worked, but it was a lot of work for long-term, and it's annoying to remember how many minutes I do what, and quite frankly I agree it isn't a fabulous estimate.

    Alternatively, I could pay for premium and have different goals for different days, but why would I do that.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    I would suggest you start lifting now. I use New Rules of Lifting. It's a great beginner or intermediate program. I most recently used both their Strong book and Supercharged book (I used strong, but to work out with DH we both did supercharged).
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