Body Fat/Weight/Body Composition

:bigsmile: me too....hovering for thoughts........

I've never heard that women need a calorie surplus to build muscle. Training intensity is more important - 3 sets of 8-12 reps with enough weight to cause muscle failure at the end of the set. That's the range of hypertrophy (got this info from a fitness coach), where your muscles tear and grow.


Have you checked out Oxygen magazine? That focuses more on weight training than weight loss, and there's a ton of useful information on the subject that you might like.

I'm not really focused on an actual weight goal. It's more of a body composition goal. I want to see my abs. I want to have definition in my arms when I'm not flexing. I want to look as good as I feel.

My question is this- at what point to I stop eating deficit and start eating more to build muscle? I've lost 18 pounds and am in a health weight and health body fat percentage (my scale measures it and flucuates between 28%-31% Body Fat) I have been eating a 500 cal deficit and of course eating back my exercise calories. I know to build muscle you need a calorie surplus, but when do you make the switch between losing and building?

I feel like I still have 10-15 vanity pounds to lose but without muscles I would just be thin and not fit.

Muscles are already there. Just covered with fat. If you're a female, it's not uncommon to see more detail of your muscles at 15% bodyfat.
If you want to put on muscle, then do it now. Why waste your time going for those "vanity pounds" when you would just be thin?

Ok so if I start building the muscle now, how do I get rid of the fat? Do I just wait for my muscles to burn it off?

You will add some fat along with muscle, just like you lose muscle along with fat when you lose weight. It's almost impossible to add muscle and not add fat.

I'm also confused. And 16 to 18 percent body fat seems unrealistic for most females other than professional athletes, especially us older women.

I'm also confused. And 16 to 18 percent body fat seems unrealistic for most females other than professional athletes, especially us older women.

I personally know several females in my club with bf% in that range. 3 are clients and they are in their late 30's and mid 40's. It's doable, it's just that you have to train really hard and be spot on in nutrition.

Just curious--do those clients who train really hard and have such low body fat also have full-time jobs and kids? Also, how much time do they spend at the gym to get those results?

My girls all have full time jobs and kids. They whine alot (I normally train all 3 at the same time) but they train hard. I don't let them use light weights. I keep their rest periods between sets at about 45 seconds or less and they do lots of compound exercises. They didn't buy into a lot of what I taught at first (being lifting heavy and hard) because their previous trainer (who isn't there now) had them doing functional training mostly. Took a good 4 months meeting 2 times a week to get them where they are now. They weren't in that bad of shape to begin with, they just couldn't get their body fat down. I meet with them 1 hour each session 2 times week and expect them to at least do on workout on their own, for a workout of at least 3 times a week. I see them in the gym at least 3 times a week sometimes more, but they aren't there for usually more than an hour.

I obiously haven't gotten there myself, but what I've read is what he said: you have to cyclically bulk up and lose fat until you are at your desired physique... Eating a surplus to build muscle for However long and then getting rid of the fat you just added. I'm actually kind of dreading this... It's like knowing that my goal isn't really 20 pounds away, it's 20 pounds and probably a few bulking/losing cycles

Comes with the territory. I personally just try to bulk up 2 months out of the year, then the rest of the time is maintaining or just "cutting" up more. I don't intend to try to add hardly any more mass at my age now. It's just about maintenance for me, or possibly going for my current unreachable goal of 7% BF. I don't care if it's just for a day, I just want to achieve it and that will be all.