Would appreciate some help!

[cellardoor04]

Hi ladies. I'm in serious need of some advice right now as I have plateaued pretty badly for quite a long time. Quick summary about me:

25, female, 5'10, 77kg (about 170lbs), I'm not sure about my bf% but I'm not cut or lean. Started weight training in Nov 2011, started doing strength training (5,3,1 programme) in Aug 2012 and am still continuing it. I am currently eating at 100-200cal ABOVE maintenance (so about 2200 cal altogether), with 240g protein, 150g carbs and the rest fats. My foods are mostly healthy things, salmon, grass fed steak, chicken breast, veggies, brown rice, eggs, and protein shakes. I take creatine mono as well. I do not do cardio and only weight train. My only supps are protein and creatine. I get about 7 hours sleep.

Before starting working out I was 85kg and very fat. Now I have much more muscle mass and less fat, but I simply cannot get rid of these problem areas: inner thights, butt and lower abdomen. I'm not saying that it's just a little bit of stubborn fat, it's huge massive amounts of fat that just isn't leaving. I don't know what to do about these areas as I have plateaued in my fat loss for over 6 months. I've tried eating at below maintenance (1600cal), fat loss training programmes, but I did not notice any significant changes.

What would you ladies suggest I do in order to push past that plateau? I am very focused on my strength programme, but should I change the accessory exercises to a more fat-loss-oriented one? The inability to get rid of the fat in these areas are seriously stressing me out!

Thanks for the help in advance

 

[BLaQz]

I hope you don't mind input from a man, but why are you eating above maintenance & not doing any cardio if you want to lose fat?

 

[cellardoor04]

I'll appreciate input from anyone!

Previously I was doing cardio about 4x a week, which were intensive martial arts sessions, and I was eating in a deficit (about 1600-1800cal). I was doing this for over a year but nothing much was happening. So in my newest programme I decided to just focus on strength and muscle gain, so I've only been eating at a surplus for about 6 weeks. I've gained quite a bit of muscle mass, so was looking for opinions on how to cut out the fat once I'm done.

 

[BLaQz]

Seeing that you aren't doing any cardio at the moment, I'd begin to eat at maintenance & add regular cardio to your routine... I'd try to consistently burn 200-400cals in every cardio session... The cardio will be your deficit until you feel your progress is slowing down, then start decreasing your calories accordingly...

 

[Dimitrius]

I'll appreciate input from anyone!

Previously I was doing cardio about 4x a week, which were intensive martial arts sessions, and I was eating in a deficit (about 1600-1800cal). I was doing this for over a year but nothing much was happening. So in my newest programme I decided to just focus on strength and muscle gain, so I've only been eating at a surplus for about 6 weeks. I've gained quite a bit of muscle mass, so was looking for opinions on how to cut out the fat once I'm done.

I doubt it happened with 1600-1800 calories, but it *may* be that you actually slowed your metabolism down a bit eating like that for a year. You may also be overestimating your maintenance calorie level. I've seen a lot of nutritionists and "experts" advocating AGAINST increasing low-intensity cardio while simultaneously decreasing calories at a steady rate... your body may adapt and you also may cause yourself metabolic damage.

I would try HIIT training (sprints, prowler pushes, sprint swimming, whatever) 3X a week while decreasing calories (from carbs) on off days and increasing them (via carbs eaten around workouts) on training days.

 

[Epolis13]

I would actually just decrease cals before adding in any cardio. You want to leave as many cards in your pocket as possible for as long as possible.

OP, I would get your cals down a little below maint and stay there for a few weeks and then see where you are. If you don't see progress, add in some cardio. Then keep that cycle going. But you need to stick with each dietary/cardio change for a while before you pull the trigger on another drop in cals or increase in cardio. It takes a bit to see things move.

I agree with the above poster that eating in a severe deficit can end up being problematic. It's never a good idea. You also need to accurately determine your maintenance cals. How are you calculating what you need to consume? Your macros also seem a bit off. 240g protein seems a bit high.

 

[madiskinny]

you should really really stick to a clean diet and add just a bit of cardio into your regular lifting sessions. 10 minute cardio warmup and maybe 15 minutes after you're done lifting should help!