Help keep losing muscle and gaining fat slow metabolism
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BlueDesire89
Posts: 10 Member
I am at a loss here and not a good one. I was getting so annoyed at all my hard work and watching people stuff themselves with junk yet still look defined. Here i am watching every morsel and cant seem to change. So i spent every last cent of my savings and got a rmr test and a dexa scan well wasnt that an eye opener.
Dexa scan says im 40% bodyfat but im healthy bmi what??? I lift heavy i count every bit of macros i eat adequate protein but according to this i was over eating in protein. So i go get my rmr and find out my metabolism is god dam slow by -33% something is wrong here. My rmr is 994 calories it literally said to lose weight i had to eat 994 calories. All this time i have been over eating based on stupid calculators overestimating. I go to the doctor get every test under the sun. NOTHING THEY FIND NOTHING but guess what i dont tolerate carbs properly. I knew that. I bought a lumen device to test my rer to increase my metabolic flexibility. I change my workout to 3 days full body weights heavy last rep hard 3 sets/8-10 reps not to gain but to maintain and encourage my body to keep what im using. I do very short HIIT on same day after weights (only time i can do it no exceptions physically impossible to do on other days and or later in day, single mum to autistic child) other 2 days spin at home on spin bike dye to daughter being home cant go anywhere.
I spend 6 months working hard i adjusted macros and ate protein according to my dexa scan composition. I lost only 1 kg thats it over 6 months so i thought hey i must have lost fat and gained muscle due to proper nutrients and adequate plan. I decide to get another dexa scan to see my success and make sure im heading in the right direction. I got my results and cried for 2 weeks even while going back to the gym and still working hard. Wtf i had lost 900grams of muscle and gained 100grams of fat. How the hell is this possible???
I have no medical condition according to doctors my bmi is great they dont care im a walking sack of lard. Im so soft and squishy yet i can lift heavier that 30% of the guys in my gym. I cant eat more or i gain weight i cant lift more and more cardio seems counter productive and can cause high cortisol on the body. What is going on. How much do i eat? I mean based on my rmr a really high met workout for me literally uses barely any calories, my resting heart rate is 49 to 55 bpm depending on how hard i workout the day before if i go above 55 i know i need longer rest. I have spoken to a endocrinologist and no my rmr will never increase. The thermal affect is so minute from food it makes no difference and muscle gain will only add approx 100 -150 cals extra but as you know you cant gain muscle without gaining some fat. 40% already is to risky to gain more. So please what do i do. Im 161cm short, 61.3kgs 40yo female and workout 5 days but only very minimal on 2 of those days or i dont recover well. I just want my fat in kg reduced not just percentage. I mean yes you can gain 5 kgs of muscle and fat % goes down but fat mass hasnt therefore still unhealthy.
Dexa scan says im 40% bodyfat but im healthy bmi what??? I lift heavy i count every bit of macros i eat adequate protein but according to this i was over eating in protein. So i go get my rmr and find out my metabolism is god dam slow by -33% something is wrong here. My rmr is 994 calories it literally said to lose weight i had to eat 994 calories. All this time i have been over eating based on stupid calculators overestimating. I go to the doctor get every test under the sun. NOTHING THEY FIND NOTHING but guess what i dont tolerate carbs properly. I knew that. I bought a lumen device to test my rer to increase my metabolic flexibility. I change my workout to 3 days full body weights heavy last rep hard 3 sets/8-10 reps not to gain but to maintain and encourage my body to keep what im using. I do very short HIIT on same day after weights (only time i can do it no exceptions physically impossible to do on other days and or later in day, single mum to autistic child) other 2 days spin at home on spin bike dye to daughter being home cant go anywhere.
I spend 6 months working hard i adjusted macros and ate protein according to my dexa scan composition. I lost only 1 kg thats it over 6 months so i thought hey i must have lost fat and gained muscle due to proper nutrients and adequate plan. I decide to get another dexa scan to see my success and make sure im heading in the right direction. I got my results and cried for 2 weeks even while going back to the gym and still working hard. Wtf i had lost 900grams of muscle and gained 100grams of fat. How the hell is this possible???
I have no medical condition according to doctors my bmi is great they dont care im a walking sack of lard. Im so soft and squishy yet i can lift heavier that 30% of the guys in my gym. I cant eat more or i gain weight i cant lift more and more cardio seems counter productive and can cause high cortisol on the body. What is going on. How much do i eat? I mean based on my rmr a really high met workout for me literally uses barely any calories, my resting heart rate is 49 to 55 bpm depending on how hard i workout the day before if i go above 55 i know i need longer rest. I have spoken to a endocrinologist and no my rmr will never increase. The thermal affect is so minute from food it makes no difference and muscle gain will only add approx 100 -150 cals extra but as you know you cant gain muscle without gaining some fat. 40% already is to risky to gain more. So please what do i do. Im 161cm short, 61.3kgs 40yo female and workout 5 days but only very minimal on 2 of those days or i dont recover well. I just want my fat in kg reduced not just percentage. I mean yes you can gain 5 kgs of muscle and fat % goes down but fat mass hasnt therefore still unhealthy.
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Replies
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How incredibly frustrating. I’m short (5’1”) and I’m finding it hard to get leaner and my doc said it was hormonally related as I’m 52. But I’m damn stubborn and keep pushing anyway. Running has helped me the most in terms of leaning out. But I hear your awesome dedication to health and fitness and your frustration as your body just isn’t cooperating. Not sure I have any words of wisdom. Just coming alongside to hear you.2
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To be honest, these numbers, both bodyfat and BMR sound very wrong. Did you go to a lab that is known for proper results or is it a Doctor Nick?
Btw, I got over 40% bodyfat on a resistence thingy. It was set up such that it seems likely this machine took my boob fat into the calculation. That's one reason. Plus I'm still waiting for an appointment to see someone for a connective tissue disorder. Several people in a patient group said they commonly get odd fat measurements that make no sense.
Also, under what conditions were those tests done? When did you eat last at the moment of the test? Were you dehydrated? Did you fast the days before? All those things can influence the results.
Quite honestly, there are variations within BMR, but they normally not that big. If your body was using so little energy when resting then your organs would scale back at running properly.
How tall and heavy are you at the moment? What is your age? What's your goal?12 -
Even Dexa scans have a margin of error, especially at different levels of hydration. I find it highly unlikely that you have lost 1kg and 900 grams of that being muscle mass.
Do you take progress pictures? Do your clothes still fit the same?
As for your metabolism: how many calories have you been eating on average over those 6 months between scans?8 -
You repeatedly talk about how heavy you lift, but how many reps/sets? Plus are you trying to lose, gain or maintain your weight? Gaining muscle while eating in a deficit is challenging and more likely for newbies. A HIIT workout directly following weights is not the best plan if you’re trying to gain muscle either.
And sorry for the obvious question: but you are using a food scale and weighing everything you eat right?9 -
You have some misunderstandings....
"My rmr is 994 calories it literally said to lose weight i had to eat 994 calories"
No it doesn't mean that at all - you aren't resting all day so your RMR is just one (estimated) component of your TDEE. Your daily activity and exercise are on top of your RMR plus the minor contribution from TEF.
It's your TDEE that is your maintenance level.
"but as you know you cant gain muscle without gaining some fat."
That's false - especially when you have plenty of bodyfat as an energy source. You only gain body fat in a calorie surplus and there is zero need for you to switch to a surplus.
What do you do?
Eat at a small calorie deficit from your maintenance level (whether using the MyFitnessPal method or a TDEE calculation), continue to train and elevate your daily activity too, adjust your calories to result in a slow rate of weight loss. If you think you have cortisol issues then don't do HIIT - it's a small calorie burner and causes fatigue and recovery issues plus interference with your lifting performance and recovery. Moderate intensity cardio of a type you enjoy (or can endure!) would be a better choice IMHO.
I would also generate a heathy scepticism of estimates. Although DEXA can be good some clinics do very weird things with the data they gather.
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How many calories are you eating? Do you weigh your food?5
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I’d also like to know how they calculated your “slow” metabolism. I’m not being unkind here, but metabolisms rarely differ by that much - unless you have a medical condition, and by that I mean a diagnosed endocrine disorder. There are people in here with Haishimotos and thyroid disease and they do still lose weight - albeit maybe at a slower rate.
The questions about using a food scale and the weights you lift are really important here. Sometimes tiny mistakes can make a huge difference in weight loss (like things which are really calorie dense and not quite accounted for properly or too high an estimate on exercise calories).
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Ok so to make things clear i did a professional dexa scan where i had to lay in a machine for 20 minutes that scanned my entire body. It has a 99.8% accuracy rate. No eating for 12 hours before. Yes i am 40% fat.
Yes the rmr was not a calculation it was a machine i had to breath into for 28 mins no exercise for 24 hours before (i had not worked out for 48 hrs).
I had to fast for 14 hours and was allowed water upto 1 hour before. No moving no talking.
My rmr was 994 plus approx 298 for daily activities so cleaning making food etc. Add those together and thats what i have to eat to maintain wait. Now yes you are meant to adjust for exercise but according to my rmr test approx 30 mins if high mets only burns a whooping 114 cals for my metabolism. Now to create a deficit you are meant to eat a consistent deficit. Eg 500 cals a day less. For me that is ridiculously low cals based on test (i have had this test done 4 times now and it only changed once because i lost muscle so my rmr went down again).
You can choose for your deficit to be entirely from your workouts (very inaccurate and risky did this for years but impossible to calculate what im burning if all calculators are wrong due to my rmr test).
Or eat a deficit, it actually says on the sheet of paper maintance, weightloss, medically supervised weightloss. And under weightloss based on my clinical very expensive very accurate test i had to eat between 1000-994 cals to lose weight.
Do not tell me its wrong because i have has this argument with multiple professionals and thats why i had the test done multiple times. Its not wrong.
My reps and sets are in original post you just gave up reading. So is my height weight and age. Reread it. My workout was written up for me by s bikini comp trainer i make the decorated bikinis for comps so i have had lots of knowledge imparted to me, most believe i have a medical condition.
My food is clean i eat mostly things you cant mess up in weighing and accurate calculating. I saw a nutritionist she said i eat very well but hates my rmr results and knows my difficulty. I do not undercount and i have s calibrated scale from said nutritionist.3 -
Argue with this clinical test where i had to breath into a machine. Lots of requirements before test could be performed.1 -
It doesn’t matter how “clean” you think you eat, you can ABSOLUTELY eat more calories than you need eating ANY food. Spend some of your expendable income on a food scale. Less than $30 for one. Start weighing your food and see how many calories you REALLY EAT. Are you using this calibrated scale to weigh foods or yourself? That’s super unclear FYI.
Again, HIIT post weight lifting, not smart. You will likely burn muscle. You’d be better off with lower intensity cardio post weight lifting. You never did say what your weights are that you lifting, you just say “heavy”. Well heavy to you and me are likely to be wildly different weights.9 -
So you don't weigh your food? Eating clean you can still eat way more calories than you realize. Something has to be off somewhere.7
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Sijomial just for you, because you misunderstand. I know what im talking about. SEE IT LITERALLY SAYS IT.1
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BlueDesire89 wrote: »Ok so to make things clear i did a professional dexa scan where i had to lay in a machine for 20 minutes that scanned my entire body. It has a 99.8% accuracy rate. No eating for 12 hours before. Yes i am 40% fat.
Yes the rmr was not a calculation it was a machine i had to breath into for 28 mins no exercise for 24 hours before (i had not worked out for 48 hrs).
I had to fast for 14 hours and was allowed water upto 1 hour before. No moving no talking.
My rmr was 994 plus approx 298 for daily activities so cleaning making food etc. Add those together and thats what i have to eat to maintain wait. Now yes you are meant to adjust for exercise but according to my rmr test approx 30 mins if high mets only burns a whooping 114 cals for my metabolism. Now to create a deficit you are meant to eat a consistent deficit. Eg 500 cals a day less. For me that is ridiculously low cals based on test (i have had this test done 4 times now and it only changed once because i lost muscle so my rmr went down again).
You can choose for your deficit to be entirely from your workouts (very inaccurate and risky did this for years but impossible to calculate what im burning if all calculators are wrong due to my rmr test).
Or eat a deficit, it actually says on the sheet of paper maintance, weightloss, medically supervised weightloss. And under weightloss based on my clinical very expensive very accurate test i had to eat between 1000-994 cals to lose weight.
Do not tell me its wrong because i have has this argument with multiple professionals and thats why i had the test done multiple times. Its not wrong.
My reps and sets are in original post you just gave up reading. So is my height weight and age. Reread it. My workout was written up for me by s bikini comp trainer i make the decorated bikinis for comps so i have had lots of knowledge imparted to me, most believe i have a medical condition.
My food is clean i eat mostly things you cant mess up in weighing and accurate calculating. I saw a nutritionist she said i eat very well but hates my rmr results and knows my difficulty. I do not undercount and i have s calibrated scale from said nutritionist.
"Most believe I have a medical condition" from non-medical people .... yet your 1st post says doctors state you don't have a medical condition. Which is it? It matters.12 -
Clearly people here just want to argue. And when you have proof and documentation because their brain can't comprehend the unexplainable they immediately dismiss hard copy proof as “has to be *kitten*”. Dont you think i have had this talk with professionals. My endocrinologist was adamant i had something but she hugged me with absolute sincere shock when all tests said healthy as an ox. She said there are people who are just born like this and its not fair.4
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So how do they know your maintenance calories considering you were resting during the test? You can easily get higher activity burns by moving more. Heck, even fidgeting burns calories! And all this has nothing to do with this measurement. That's what you do7
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Most of us have been here for years, and through that experience, we find that there is almost always something off with counting calories, or calorie burn. That is why we are skeptical, and you are so argumentative that that raises flags for people as well. We aren't trying to argue just to argue with you. Again, most of us have been at this for a long time and see new people come on with issues such as yours and it is usually something simple like not measuring your food, or a miscalculation of some sort. For what it's worth, my BMR is about 1275, if I'm not moving at all, that would be my maintenance, but I move, so I get a few hundred more calories depending on my activity, so your numbers don't seem that strange to me. According to the image you uploaded, your maintenance is up to 1292, which is at rest.12
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If professionals can't help you, I'm not sure why you're asking a bunch of amateurs on the internet. And then getting angry with them for not being able to give you answers.31
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »If professionals can't help you, I'm not sure why you're asking a bunch of amateurs on the internet. And then getting angry with them for not being able to give you answers.
For free, too.
I agree that there's something off and it's the two things already stated over and over.
Digital food scale.
Move more, eat more.
When you lose weight you'll lose muscle, too. There is no other way. If you're gaining fat you're still eating more than you think.
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »If professionals can't help you, I'm not sure why you're asking a bunch of amateurs on the internet. And then getting angry with them for not being able to give you answers.
^^^
This! And she doesn’t do the number 1 thing that COULD help and weigh and track food accurately. 🤷🏻♀️8 -
How many calories are you actually eating each day?9
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