Need Advice on Body Recomposition: I Can't Lose Body Fat and Gain Muscle - What am I Doing Wrong?

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Replies

  • natasor1
    natasor1 Posts: 271 Member
    " I follow start off Monday chest and triceps Tuesday back and biceps Thursday shoulders Friday legs hit almost every day abs everyday...)"
    Now explain for what reason you going to do split? Imaging, that when you do chest and triceps day you can do only 4 exercises per workout. If you hit the same muscle time after time your capacity to lift will decrease dramatically unless you stay idle for 2-3 min. So much of the preciouse gym time you will stay idle. if you think this is optimally effective workout, you are in huge mistake. Man can do it, but Women workout has to be EVERY DAY LEGS WORKOUT. Try to do differently: Women have to train intense with smaller weight.
    Exercise should follow each other every 15-30 sec. no breaks of more than 30 sec between sets. How you can do it?- by switching from legs to arms every set. You hit your legs with dead lifts. Rest only 20 sec and you start arms on pule ups. You go between legs and arms 4 times and your legs muscles have rest while you doing arms pule ups. Very weak arms muscles need long rest, so while you doing your legs dead lifts, arms will have enough rest.
    When you done with one pare of legs/arms exercise, you choose another pare, for example leg pres and triceps dumbbells. Again perform 4 sets of both in turn (legs/arms)
    HIIT do not need to be included in the weight days. But the good news, that when you performing legs/arms without long rests, it becomes a HIRT = High Intensity Resistance Training, which even better then HIIT for re-composition purpose.
    If you complete 60 min weight training try not to finish it with cardio or HIIT. You actually kill all your 60 min effort for growing so much needed muscles. Better do your cardio, if you really need it do them on free of strength training days. But better, just stop doing cardio, they are almost not necessary exercise, to waist your time.
    If your goal heart strength, so be advised that strength exercise train your heart even faster and more efficiently than cardio.
    Looking at your pictures I can notice that you missing HGH pretty much. Your skin is loose and muscles are soft, like you doing only little dumbbell training or running/walking too much. Muscles are not gonna grow from walk in the park. For extra HGH release get more things promoting its release. It will be just few, but very important: you have to exercise on empty stomach, get in the bed on empty stomach, do exercise till you getting pink, short of breast and sweat, muscles have to burn or have to give up. That is al for today
  • natasor1
    natasor1 Posts: 271 Member
    You are 130 lb on the pics? You are on the stage of ideal women weight. If you really want to become chiseled, you need to loose on my estimate 10-12 lb. From ideal weight to reach skinny look you just need to eat less. On the pics you look like girl who eats as much as she wants. Very skinny girls on those pics with 15-18% fat had this weight only for short period of time for making shooting sessions. Very possible this is not sustainable, and they gain little fat later in season. Do not despair. Everything possible, you have good physique, good build. But after trying for 3 years unsuccessfully, you d better change something in training technique. Definitely, split training is not for you. Leave this technique for men with great muscles mass, good concentration due to huge influx of testosterone, adrenaline, epinephrine and HGH.
  • sheahughes
    sheahughes Posts: 133 Member
    I think you look great as you are, but understand you'd like to be leaner and able to show off your hard won muscles.
    Regarding your anxiety around food, weight, medicine etc, I'd like to gently suggest you see an accredited sports nutritionist, trainer and psychologist. I'm not having a go at you, I don't know any women who aren't insecure or anxious about their bodies at some point of life, and having accredited specialists on your side to hep with the nutrition, training and psychological components of body recomp would be really help (IMHO) if you can afford it, of course. Seeing them working would also help with your career plans :)
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,877 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    1. The Fitbit Aria scale is a bioimpedance scale, which may work for tracking trends over time, if you weigh under identical circumstances, including hydration level each time, but are notoriously inaccurate. So you may not be 29% BF. However, if you were close to your goal of 15%, you'd probably know it.

    Can you post some pictures? There are people here who are very good at estimating BF.

    https://www.builtlean.com/body-fat-percentage-men-women/

    cx91rrmvntez.png

    ...Body Fat Percentage Women 15-17%

    This is still considered a very low body fat for women, which is similar to the 6-7% body fat for range men. Many bikini and fitness models will reach this body fat level and some may not be able to menstruate. Muscle definition in the abs, legs, arms, and shoulders is apparent, there is some vascularity and some separation between muscles. Hips, buttocks, and thighs generally have a little less shape because of the low body fat.

    Body Fat Percentage Women 20-22%

    This is body fat percentage is usually in the “fit” category of most body fat charts and is typical of many female athletes. Some definition in the abs is apparent, there is body fat on the arms and legs, but it’s not too pronounced. There is minimal, but some separation between muscles.

    Body Fat Percentage Women 25%

    This is on the low end of what’s average for most women and is characterized by a shape that is neither too slim, nor overweight. Curves in the hips are usually more apparent along with more fat in the buttocks and thighs. A 5’4” women who weighs 130lb and has 97lb of lean body mass has 25% body fat.
    I'm confused about those pics.

    Various sites say 25%-30% BMI is overweight, and over 30% is obese. However, looking at those pics of women, the 25% and 30% pics don't look anywhere close to overweight or almost obese imo.
  • nay0m3
    nay0m3 Posts: 177 Member
    @LadyDaenerys I am in a very similar place as you except I have much more muscle in my upper body and midsection which I have obtained from heavy lifting.

    I definitely think you need to eat more calories which will help you lift heavy which will help build muscle and shed more fat.

    I am SO SO hard on myself as well when thinking about where I want to be and how I envision my body looking but I compare my body to others and I am a different person. Be gentle with yourself!

    I love Mike Matthews and he has a program Thinner, Leaner, Stronger that may be good. My boyfriend has helped me design my training and I have designed my most recent training my self but I realize through much reading that I need to incorporate more leg and glute specific.

    You look awesome my dear and you can keep going but I do think you need to try eating more maybe in partnership with a dietitian and reevaluate your training.

    I am trying to figure things out for myself too right now but wanted to at least offer you this bit of info. <3 HUGS!
  • LadyDaenerys
    LadyDaenerys Posts: 89 Member
    natasor1 wrote: »
    " I follow start off Monday chest and triceps Tuesday back and biceps Thursday shoulders Friday legs hit almost every day abs everyday...)"
    Now explain for what reason you going to do split? Imaging, that when you do chest and triceps day you can do only 4 exercises per workout. If you hit the same muscle time after time your capacity to lift will decrease dramatically unless you stay idle for 2-3 min. So much of the preciouse gym time you will stay idle. if you think this is optimally effective workout, you are in huge mistake. Man can do it, but Women workout has to be EVERY DAY LEGS WORKOUT. Try to do differently: Women have to train intense with smaller weight.
    Exercise should follow each other every 15-30 sec. no breaks of more than 30 sec between sets. How you can do it?- by switching from legs to arms every set. You hit your legs with dead lifts. Rest only 20 sec and you start arms on pule ups. You go between legs and arms 4 times and your legs muscles have rest while you doing arms pule ups. Very weak arms muscles need long rest, so while you doing your legs dead lifts, arms will have enough rest.
    When you done with one pare of legs/arms exercise, you choose another pare, for example leg pres and triceps dumbbells. Again perform 4 sets of both in turn (legs/arms)
    HIIT do not need to be included in the weight days. But the good news, that when you performing legs/arms without long rests, it becomes a HIRT = High Intensity Resistance Training, which even better then HIIT for re-composition purpose.
    If you complete 60 min weight training try not to finish it with cardio or HIIT. You actually kill all your 60 min effort for growing so much needed muscles. Better do your cardio, if you really need it do them on free of strength training days. But better, just stop doing cardio, they are almost not necessary exercise, to waist your time.
    If your goal heart strength, so be advised that strength exercise train your heart even faster and more efficiently than cardio.
    Looking at your pictures I can notice that you missing HGH pretty much. Your skin is loose and muscles are soft, like you doing only little dumbbell training or running/walking too much. Muscles are not gonna grow from walk in the park. For extra HGH release get more things promoting its release. It will be just few, but very important: you have to exercise on empty stomach, get in the bed on empty stomach, do exercise till you getting pink, short of breast and sweat, muscles have to burn or have to give up. That is al for today

    I currently lift 15 to 25 lbs dumbbells in my arm and workouts and 30 for back and I only have a 40lbs dumbbell for legs. I only rest 30 seconds between sets no break between exercises in my super sets. I do HIIT 45/30/15 second on with 30 second rest. Afterwards, I do legs mostly in my second workout everyday after weight lifting. It's full body cardio with no weights but gives me more of a burn than a full blown leg day.
  • LadyDaenerys
    LadyDaenerys Posts: 89 Member
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    LadyDaenerys wrote: »
    Hello all!

    Let me just start this by telling you a bit about my health and fitness journey so far.

    I was 210 lbs at 5ft 6in and thanks to MFL, Fitbit, and Beachbody On Demand workouts (not a coach... I hate MLM) I'm now about 130lbs. (I did get down to 124, but I can't seem to get back.)

    Regardless... I have some loose skin and based on my Fitbit Aria scale I have a Body Fat percentage of about 29 percent.

    I want to have a lean body... 20-22 percent body fat... I feel all of my muscles under this layer of fat though and I love to lift... But, I feel like I LOOK skinny fat, not fit. I can't see all my hard work... and it breaks my heart... It makes me feel discouraged. As though all my hard work isn't worth it anymore.

    I've worked so hard to get to where I am now and I feel like I can't get any farther in my journey. I've been stuck at this stage for almost three years now and I feel like what I'm doing isn't working. My inches are going up, my weight went from 124 to 130, I heard to eat more calories, but that scares me. I'm afraid of being 210 again or even 140... It terrifies me.

    Stats:
    • 5ft6in
    • 130 lbs
    • 36-year-old female
    • 29% body fat percentage
    • I work out 30 to 60 mins a day (30 min of LIIFT4 and 30 min of Barre Blend for strength training and cardio) Some days I will walk 2.5 miles uphill if I can't get to a BBOD workout.
    • I eat about 1350 calories per day and burn about 200-300 calories a day on average.
    • my macros are 40 Carb 30 Fat 30 Protein
    • Chest: 35in
    • Waist: 28.5in
    • Hips: 39in
    • Arms: 11in
    • Legs: 22.5

    I don't eat gluten, grains, or dairy (unless I'm treating myself to pizza/bagel once a month and I do put some parmesan Romano cheese in my morning omelet). Other than that, I eat whole foods. (For medical reasons, I have autoimmune issues that concern GI and my nervous system, etc...)

    I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm not gaining muscle or losing fat, just fluctuating in weight. I have muscle but it's not showing through my softer outer fat layers... I'm worn out and need some advice. Feel free to scour my diary. I fell off the wagon last week due to the frustration of seeing no changes, but I typically stay rather consistent. I'm actually more consistent than my diary, as sometimes I forget to log everything, but stick to my diet, etc...

    Anyways!

    Thank you for any help and advice you can share!

    Lily~

    Hey I’m not an expert but on this but I went through something similar where I ate low calories for years and long term it ruined my health. 1350 is waaaaay to low for that kind of activity so I think you’ve definitely got some adaptive thermogenesis which is what happened to me.

    You NEED to break through the mental fear of eating more! It took me ages to realise this. I used to eat 1000-1400 calories and I wondered why my metabolism was so slow even though I worked out like crazy. I did loads of research about ED recovery and the long term effects of undereating and speeding up your metabolism and I basically found out your body slows down it’s functions if you give it such little food over a long period of time through- cold hands and feet, hair loss, inability to lose fat or build muscle, fatigue, digestive issues, mood swings, irregular heartbeat and many more. Like this is all serious stuff!

    The good news is that I slowly reverse dieted out of it and it took me 6-7 months as I didn’t want rapid weight gain. I cut down on my intense workouts and just did 3 fullbody lifting sessions a week and I ATE MORE. I gradually added 100 calories per 2 weeks. Until I could eat a normal amount and not gain fat. I can easily maintain my weight on 2200-2400 calories a day and I’m not even crazy active. I just do my 3-4 workouts of lifting or callisthenics and walking. I don’t do any super intense exercise because it puts pressure on my adrenals.

    Recently I injured my knee and I’ve been pretty sedentary except for walking and physio exercises. I’ve been eating like normal and not restricting myself. I haven’t gained any weight either! It just makes me soooo happy to know that I can eat like a normal person and not gain weight! Right now I’m eating between 1700-2000 calories a day (and most days I’m super full!). Oh and I’m 5’ 4”, 160-165lbs (muscular) and 28 years old.

    You might not find my story helpful or anything but I just wanted to share it with you because of your history of fearing food and not wanting to eat more. Hope you manage to find peace with food ❤️

    Thank you for your insight. I've been having some major health issues too (GI and nervous system) I will look into reverse dieting. Hopefully I can get back on track!
  • LadyDaenerys
    LadyDaenerys Posts: 89 Member
    nay0meh wrote: »
    @LadyDaenerys I am in a very similar place as you except I have much more muscle in my upper body and midsection which I have obtained from heavy lifting.

    I definitely think you need to eat more calories which will help you lift heavy which will help build muscle and shed more fat.

    I am SO SO hard on myself as well when thinking about where I want to be and how I envision my body looking but I compare my body to others and I am a different person. Be gentle with yourself!

    I love Mike Matthews and he has a program Thinner, Leaner, Stronger that may be good. My boyfriend has helped me design my training and I have designed my most recent training my self but I realize through much reading that I need to incorporate more leg and glute specific.

    You look awesome my dear and you can keep going but I do think you need to try eating more maybe in partnership with a dietitian and reevaluate your training.

    I am trying to figure things out for myself too right now but wanted to at least offer you this bit of info. <3 HUGS!

    Thank you 🥰 Looks like that's the consensus! To eat more for sure... I find it difficult to eat a lot... When I do I get sluggish... I feel stuffed... I guess this is gonna take time.
  • LadyDaenerys
    LadyDaenerys Posts: 89 Member
    edited October 2021
    I found this site which was SO helpful: https://physiqonomics.com/body-recomposition/

    I came up with the following:

    BMR for Women = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)

    BMR = 655 + (4.35 x 131) + (4.7 x 67) – (4.7 x 36) = 1370.55

    My BMR = 1370.55

    Because I have unlimited access to Beach Body on Demand and no gym access, I will be choosing one of their programs and I will just have to up my weights to see progress overall... I also work from home and don't get to move much outside of my workouts, which is why I will be adding a simple step goal on top of my workouts.

    If I do 80 Day Obsession which is 30 to 60 mins a day 6 days a week and I try to get in 10,000 steps a day, I've decided that I would be at the "Light Activity Level" because I'm otherwise sedentary throughout the day.

    The 80 Day Obsession program includes:
    • Strength
    • Bodyweight Training
    • Cardio
    • Recovery
    • Mobility & Flexibility
    • Weight Loss
    • Muscle Building
    • Core
    • Slim & Sculpt

    (I couldn't decide if this program with the 10,000 step goal combined would be considered an activity level of active or lightly active as the descriptions for each are pretty vague on multiple sites and some sites have conflicting information, etc... I might exercise each day, but I'm mostly sitting at a desk all day - So, with that, I think I'll go with lightly active to be safe.)

    ***If anyone has advice on choosing the proper activity level or strongly believes that I should be going with the active level, that would be VERY helpful :smiley:***

    Site I found says the following:
    • Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2
    • Lightly active (1-3 days per week of exercise): BMR x 1.375
    • Active (3-5 days per week of exercise): BMR x 1.55
    • Very active (5-7 days per week of exercise): BMR x 1.725
    • Extremely active (physical job + 5-7 days per week of exercise): BMR x 1.9

    However, I found this MFP thread that goes into more detail:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10070162/choosing-the-correct-activity-level

    If my Activity Level is Lightly Active at 1.375, then the following would be my calculations:

    1370.55 x 1.375 = 1884 Calories to maintain my current weight of 131lbs

    This would put me at 1884 Calories per day for my maintenance and a macro split of the following after rounding:

    P: 131 grams - 28%
    F: 52 grams - 25%
    C: 223 grams - 47%

    This is still rather close to a 40/30/30 split just with more calories.

    If my Activity Level is Active at 1.55, then the following would be my calculations:

    1370.55 x 1.55 = 2124 Calories to maintain my current weight of 131lbs

    This would put me at 2124 Calories per day for my maintenance and a macro split of the following after rounding:

    P: 131 grams - 25%
    F: 52 grams - 22%
    C: 283 grams - 53%

    This calorie bracket scares the $h*t outta me! I don't think I've eaten over 2000 calories per day in over 10 years! I think it might even give me a panic attack... But perhaps I have issues, lol :lol:

    Anyways! Moving on!

    If this is too much in carbs, the article I found says I can adjust as follows:

    How to make adjustments during a recomp

    The goal of the recomposition is to keep your weight pretty much the same (barring some fluctuations) while changes occur in your body composition. Over time you’ll likely be a little heavier due to increased muscle mass.

    Below I’ve detailed how to make adjustments for the changes most likely to occur.
    • Losing weight? Increase carb intake by 30–50 grams per day.
    • Putting on weight and looking softer in the mirror? Reduce carb intake by 30–50 grams per day.
    • Putting on weight but looking the same? Leave things as they are.
    • Putting on weight, looking bigger but also softer? Reduce carb intake by 20–30 grams per day.
    • Losing weight but looking tighter and leaner? Leave things as they are.

    I think I'll give this a go and see how it helps! I'll be sure to come back and give updates, etc.

    Thanks again for all of your kind words and input!

    Cheers!

    Lily~
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited October 2021
    Lily,

    The BMR calculation and activity levels are done for you when you either use MFP or a decent average TDEE calculator (such as - https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/ ) you really don't have to crunch the numbers yourself.

    Be aware of the difference in how MFP and average TDEE methods accounts for your exercise calorie expenditure as that changes what the activity settings means (MFP excludes purposeful exercise) and what the subsequent BMR multipliers that get applied.
    Mixing and matching sources talking about two different methods isn't a true comparison and lead to you getting the wrong numbers. e.g. You looked at a thread on how to set MFP's activity settings which specifically excludes exercise and also mentioned "another site" which very clearly includes exercise.

    Your first decision is whether you want a calorie goal that varies daily in line with exercise or a same every day goal that already accounts for your exercise.
  • LadyDaenerys
    LadyDaenerys Posts: 89 Member
    edited October 2021
    sijomial wrote: »
    Lily,

    The BMR calculation and activity levels are done for you when you either use MFP or a decent average TDEE calculator (such as - https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/ ) you really don't have to crunch the numbers yourself.

    Be aware of the difference in how MFP and average TDEE methods accounts for your exercise calorie expenditure as that changes what the activity settings means (MFP excludes purposeful exercise) and what the subsequent BMR multipliers that get applied.
    Mixing and matching sources talking about two different methods isn't a true comparison and lead to you getting the wrong numbers. e.g. You looked at a thread on how to set MFP's activity settings which specifically excludes exercise and also mentioned "another site" which very clearly includes exercise.

    Your first decision is whether you want a calorie goal that varies daily in line with exercise or a same every day goal that already accounts for your exercise.

    I want the same goal every day. and I know the difference between mfp and tdee but I want to know how many calories I actually need to make my goals... for example, I posted this on that thread:
    I'm a 36 year old female looking to recomp and up my calories from my 1350 calls per day to something that will help me gain muscle and lose fat.

    When I do calculations outside of MFP I get calorie maintenance of 1644 calories per day when I put sedentary and 1601 inside MFP.

    I work a desk job but I exercise 30 to 60 mins a day and try to get in 10,000 steps a day. I've been eating 1350 calories a day and I was maintaining there. i lost 85 lbs eating like this and now I'm stuck here and cant see any of the muscle I built.

    Long story short, I wanted to know how to set this up in MFP. If I include my exercise in calculations outside of MFP which INCLUDES exercise it says I'm light active to active and I should be eating 1884 or 2024 calories respectively, but when I put lightly active or active in MFP its 1793 and 2049 calories which DOESN'T include exercise.

    Should I put in the 1884 or the 1793? or the 2024 or the 2049???

    If MFP only counts lifestyle how should I track what I'm eating? this is kind of confusing tbh lol

    my fit bit adds exercise to MFP and I add my workouts as well but I have it set up so they counter each other so I don't double dip
  • LadyDaenerys
    LadyDaenerys Posts: 89 Member
    edited October 2021
    sijomial wrote: »
    you really don't have to crunch the numbers yourself.

    I'm a nerd and LOVE crunching numbers. I've used so many calculators and they all say something different. its just nice to do it myself. This is why I like this stuff its a numbers game and its science. its like cracking a code for me. I'll do this stuff all day for FUN
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,899 Member
    For me, 10,000 steps a day and 30-60 minutes of exercise puts you beyond lightly active.

    Whatever settings and calorie intake you choose, it's just a starting point. The important elements being:
    - whatever your choice, the number is significantly higher than your current intake, so you'll have to build up gradually
    - and then monitor your weight and adjust if necessary - no matter what calculator or setting, the true test is what happens in real life, since you may or may not fit the statistical averages upon which these calculators base their number

    If you want a fixed number per day, I personally would disconnect your Fitbit, unless you want the data it sends over for documentary reasons: by choosing a fixed intake per day, you'll have to ignore any calorie adjustments you get from it anyway.
    The alternative (which is my method) would be to just follow your Fitbit with regards to your total calorie burn and see if it's accurate for you, based on your weight trend (after reverse dieting/increasing calories gradually).

    Basically: just pick a calculation method, build up to it gradually and then see what your body does in real life and adjust if necessary.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    "If MFP only counts lifestyle how should I track what I'm eating? this is kind of confusing tbh lol"

    You track your food just the same whichever method you use, it's your exercise tracking that changes (either an estimated average in advance or individual sessions on the day).
    You wouldn't log exercise for calories when doing the TDEE method you prefer as it's already accounted for.

    Put your details into the TDEE calculator I linked and eat to that goal - simple.
    But please, please, please don't pick sedentary as that's a million miles away from reality for someone who is doing so many steps and also exercising.
    After several weeks your weight trend will start to emerge and you can modify your goal if required.

    The reason your numbers are different is that they either use different methods or same method but just based on different studies - there isn't one perfect number apart from the one that works for you.

    If, for fun only, you want to compare numbers you have to look at a week and not a day - 7 days at average should be very close to your 7 days varied in line with exercise.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    1. The Fitbit Aria scale is a bioimpedance scale, which may work for tracking trends over time, if you weigh under identical circumstances, including hydration level each time, but are notoriously inaccurate. So you may not be 29% BF. However, if you were close to your goal of 15%, you'd probably know it.

    Can you post some pictures? There are people here who are very good at estimating BF.

    https://www.builtlean.com/body-fat-percentage-men-women/

    cx91rrmvntez.png

    ...Body Fat Percentage Women 15-17%

    This is still considered a very low body fat for women, which is similar to the 6-7% body fat for range men. Many bikini and fitness models will reach this body fat level and some may not be able to menstruate. Muscle definition in the abs, legs, arms, and shoulders is apparent, there is some vascularity and some separation between muscles. Hips, buttocks, and thighs generally have a little less shape because of the low body fat.

    Body Fat Percentage Women 20-22%

    This is body fat percentage is usually in the “fit” category of most body fat charts and is typical of many female athletes. Some definition in the abs is apparent, there is body fat on the arms and legs, but it’s not too pronounced. There is minimal, but some separation between muscles.

    Body Fat Percentage Women 25%

    This is on the low end of what’s average for most women and is characterized by a shape that is neither too slim, nor overweight. Curves in the hips are usually more apparent along with more fat in the buttocks and thighs. A 5’4” women who weighs 130lb and has 97lb of lean body mass has 25% body fat.
    I'm confused about those pics.

    Various sites say 25%-30% BMI is overweight, and over 30% is obese. However, looking at those pics of women, the 25% and 30% pics don't look anywhere close to overweight or almost obese imo.

    25-30 *BMI* is overweight. However, the numbers in those pictures refer to *bodyfat*, which is expressed in a percentage, and is not the same as the BMI values :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,672 Member
    LadyDaenerys wrote: »
    So I took some of all of your advice and.... It's working!!! I started eating more and lifting heavy! I've already lost 5 in around my entire body!! I didn't really notice it much until I took a progress photo today Ty so muchfor the help

    Yay: That's wonderful! Thanks for reporting back.
  • kerstenk141
    kerstenk141 Posts: 83 Member
    As someone who was once in your shoes I will say for me, lifting weights and reverse dieting got me from that skinny fat look to toned and strong. I was terrified to eat more after having lost 50lbs by diet/deficit alone (no intentional exercise). Once I started to weight train, eat more and by more I mean I went from 1350 calories to 1850 the body recomp I wanted happened. Its nerve wracking at first and you gotta learn to snub the bathroom scale, but after about 6 weeks you really start to see and feel the benefits of fueling your body and challenging it. Best of luck to you!

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