Weight Loss Dilemna

tonyalanae

New member
I am a 40 year old female who has been lifting 5-6 days a week for about 2 years. Lifting has changed my body dramatically, but I still have some stubborn fat to lose. I also do some HIIT and metcon training but I'm not losing the fat as quickly as I feel I should. My diet is in check (I eat clean about 90% of the time). I don't know if I should concentrate on continuing to build muscle and the fat will come off slowly, or if I should go into a calorie deficit and do more cardio which will make me lose some gains. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
As you want to lose weight and you are 40 yrs age female then fat saturation is a common thing and you are lifting weight from past 2 years and I don't think it's pretty helpful for fat loss rather you do cardio exercise which will benefit you tremendously to solve weight loss problem. In addition to this you can also plan diet and take advice for this from a well experienced physician.
 
It is mostly diet dependant do eat for your goals. How much weight do you have to lose?

You should start eating in a deficit (a small one if muscle loss is a concern as it should be) and continue working out.
There are supplements to help with the dieting or with retaining your lean mass, but with good diet/training it is enough
 
Driven2lift said:
It is mostly diet dependant do eat for your goals. How much weight do you have to lose? You should start eating in a deficit (a small one if muscle loss is a concern as it should be) and continue working out. There are supplements to help with the dieting or with retaining your lean mass, but with good diet/training it is enough
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This^^ a fat burner can be added if needs be but generally there is no reason if your diet is good, it's just gives you a little help with stubborn fat when you are leaner.

Generally speaking.
 
Thanks Driven2lift! I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but I want to look hard. I want to be able to see the muscle from all the hard work I've put it and I feel with that extra layer of fat the definition isn't that visible. I'm probably wanting a quick fix which I know isn't the answer, but I want to look a certain way before I put that bikini on this summer!
 
tonyalanae said:
Thanks Driven2lift! I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but I want to look hard. I want to be able to see the muscle from all the hard work I've put it and I feel with that extra layer of fat the definition isn't that visible. I'm probably wanting a quick fix which I know isn't the answer, but I want to look a certain way before I put that bikini on this summer!
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Lots of time before summer!

Eat in a deficit of about 500 calories to start and gauge your progress speed from there.

You will definitely need to shed the weight to see your hard work.
 
I think that you have put in a lot of hard work, and it took you time to get here. Getting to that next level will take a little time too - and probably requires you to be more precise. I know you say your diet is in check - but use a log and keep track of everything you eat, and weigh what you eat on a scale so you are sure of how much. Then you will know exactly what happens at a certain calorie level. This makes it easier to know what "eating 500 calories less" actually means.

Honestly, I've had lots of experience in my life in losing weight - particularly between the ages of 10 and 22. I'm 35 and for the past 2 years I've been slowly losing a TON of weight that I gained. I just started a PSMF diet and it has made me realize just how much I was still eating and how wrong I was about the calories I took in. I thought I was below maintenance but I was maybe even a little above maintenance if I am honest with myself. Planning what I ate and keeping track made all the different.

And given how close you are, you have plenty of time to get in the shape you want before summer at a reasonable pace. Keep up the great work!
 
I totally understand the frustration! I am working on the same things! Everything seems to move quickly at first and then it's just small changes. Sometimes it seems impossible! Luckily it's not! It just takes some work to get things moving again! ...I agree with several of the comments in here! Dropping into a slight deficit will help you loose the extra fat. Log your foods, create a log on here to log your workouts and progress! I joined AM last year and everyone here has helped me a lot with tips/advice, supports, and motivation!! It's made a huge difference in my progress! I have a log right now and I'm cutting as well! I am using an ECA stack to help shed the fat! Feel free to check it out!
 
Calorie shifting will be your best bet. This will activate "thrifty genes." Take a look at these articles below.

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Yes, I'm a 26 year old male, but calorie shifting has been my saving grace in getting very peeled.

I would even do an alternate-day-fasting protocol from 8:00pm Day 1 to 8:00pm Day 2. Begin feeding on day 2 with some lean beef or a light protein shake. Then in the morning have some oatmeal or fibrous carb. Take in more carbs at noon, and maybe 3pm. Then lift around 6-8pm and take in nothing but protein post workout.
 
tonyalanae said:
Thanks for the encouragement HIT4ME! May I ask what a PSMF diet is?
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PSMF = Protein Sparing Modified Fast. It is an extreme diet that is best suited for obese individuals (me). I don't think you are looking for such extreme measures and you don't need them.

What I've learned from this, however, is the following. I lost almost 50 pounds in 2 years by working out and just moderating what I ate. Actually, I lost it in a little over a year. Then for 6-8 months I was just stuck around 245-250 pounds. I wasn't logging or planning meals, I just added in my head and tried to keep around where I thought I should be. I have experience and this sounds stupid, but it seemed so natural and I thin most people do it this way.

I was thinking something was really wrong, I mean, I wasn't eating much and I wasn't losing anything. I started talking to Grayson about this and he suggested the PSMF. This forced me to actually plan my diet out and I think that was a big step. I'm eating 600-900 calories/day and losing about 1/2 pounds per day now. I have noticed how many times I would walk by a bowl of candy and grab a piece, or grab all these little things that were around and I never counted. The fact I am losing shows that the entire process is predictable - you just have to know where you are starting from.

I wouldn't suggest such extreme calorie restriction to anyone, but it has its place and I think part of my mental block was that since I didn't know where I was starting, I also had a feeling of "I don't want to go too low" - and so I just ate what I thought I should and wasn't precise enough.

Be more precise. This entire thing is predictable.
 
Great information Grayson! How often should I do this, and when you say take in more carbs at noon and 3pm, do you mean only carbs? Thanks!
 
tonyalanae said:
Great information Grayson! How often should I do this, and when you say take in more carbs at noon and 3pm, do you mean only carbs? Thanks!
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I can outline something brief, but I have to be honest, part of this journey is finding the research on your own on such concepts of calorie cycling and alternate-day-fasting.

Few things to note:

ADF is hard, this is why I recommend the 8pm to 8pm fast.
Second, ADF does not result in muscle loss.
Third, ADF results in increased insulin sensitivity and after a while, increased adiponectin.
Fourth, per your question, the body should not go into the post-workout period with depleted ATP stores IF muscle acquisition is the goal. If you're attempting to deplete glycogen, I do not recommend ADF, and instead PSMF. What this means is that you should have at least 75-400g of carbs in the day before your session. You can have this one bolus go, but the carbs will have to be quicker. This isn't something someone who hasn't experimented with ADF should embark upon. Basically, have some oatmeal in the morning, then some whole grain pasta for lunch, and before your workout have some fruit or dextrose as quick energy. Have protein with all these meals and keep fat low. You can have carbs post-workout, but I recommend having some lean pieces of beef. The carbless post-workout is superior to carbed if recomposition is your goal.

What we're essentially doing here is switching between fat loss and muscle gain in the same week. This is possible and doable and anyone that tells you otherwise or tells you that you're zig-zagging is adhering to the status quo.

You want carbs before you workout. As you get closer to the weight lifting event, your carbs can be higher in GI. On your eating days, your calories should be somewhat higher than your TDEE if anything as a precautionary measure to hold onto muscle.
 
You could look into our synthermo for a nice thermogenic, you can dose it for your needs and it wont have you crashing or jittering.
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I'd switch up WHAT you're eating if not the macro counts. Get carbs from more veggie sources on a regular basis and have a "traditional carb" re-feed day once a twice a week. Adding a bit of cardio may help, but too much is going to counter those muscle gains. I have found great success with this approach during a cut.
 
Lower calories by 300 a week, throw in some extra cardio HIIT and low intensity. Could do like 30 mins walking at an incline on treadmill fasted in the morning. After workout could do 20 mins of HIIT. Next day could do HIIT in the morning and Low intensity post workout. Off days could throw in like 30 mins on the stairmaster and do like 10 mins HIIT and 20 mins low intensity. Ya know just keep changing it up
 
CaraMelVixon said:
I'd switch up WHAT you're eating if not the macro counts. Get carbs from more veggie sources on a regular basis and have a "traditional carb" re-feed day once a twice a week. Adding a bit of cardio may help, but too much is going to counter those muscle gains. I have found great success with this approach during a cut.
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I haven't tried a re-feed. I get the majority of my carbs through veggies already so It's worth a shot. Thanks for your advice!
 
You could try speeding up your metabolism. Eat six to seven small meals a day 0r alternately, try to eat something every 2 to 3 hours. Or you could try adding some hot peppers or chilli flakes to your meals-this would definitely speed up your metabolism. If nothing works it could be down to a hormonal imbalance, if this is the case you should check it out with your gp or naturopath. Good luck!
 
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