Hi,
I'm pretty new to fitness/nutrition and I've tried doing my own research online but there's a lot of info that's either contradicting, full of jargon, overwhelming, etc. so I thought I'd ask here.
I'm a 26yo female, 152cm (5'0) and 49-50kg (~109lbs). The last time I checked (via body measurements) I was around 25-26% body fat.
Exercise:
I started working out regularly around May 2020; these workouts were just videos I found on YouTube. Because I was living abroad in an apartment, all of these were no equipment and no jumping workouts. I moved home in November 2020, which is when I started eating more but was also now able to incorporate equipment (dumbbells, resistance bands) and jumps into my workouts
I was mostly following Heather Robertson the most with the occasional Madfit video for a while, but a few weeks ago I started following Caroline Girvan with the occasional GrowingAnanas video instead
I workout almost everyday (6 or 7 days per week)
I used to work out for 40-60 min per session, but since making the switch of who I follow I've just been doing at least 30 min (average 30-40 min, but sometimes longer on weekends) because I find that Caroline Girvan/GrowingAnanas workouts are more of a challenge
Majority of these workouts will still not involve jumping since I like working out upstairs in my room so it's mostly things like squats/lunges/bridges/curls/presses/flies/rows/etc., but I try to get in a weekly HIIT session involving jumps on one of the weekend days (although this usually ends up being biweekly lol)
I also go on occasional walks of at least 10k steps (WFH right now so my daily step count is really low) every week or so
Nutrition: (I typically eat the same thing daily)
Breakfast is what varies the most but usually I'll do a bowl of cereal (1/2 berries, 1/4 PC Ancient Grains, 1/4 Fibre 1, all with oat milk), some fruit (usually 1 or 2 of: apple, banana, nectarine, orange), and a Simply Protein bar if I'm still hungry
Occasional variations will include subbing out cereal for toast with peanut butter, or just having all fruit, or a fruit/protein shake, etc. but majority of the time it's cereal and fruit, with the occasional protein bar
Lunch I'll have a skyr bowl (~165-200g of skyr, collagen powder, protein powder, berries, and Fibre 1 cereal) and either a boiled egg or another one of those Simply Protein bars (I normally workout between breakfast and lunch so I try to go protein heavy here)
Dinner I always have a salad (some kind of salad base like kale/romaine/cabbage/brussels sprouts, cucumber, pepper, red onion, corn, carrot, tomato; I sometimes add tofu and/or kidney beans as well) the size of a standard soup/cereal bowl, along with a main protein (usually chicken or fish)
If I get peckish in between I try to stick to either a nutrient- or protein-dense snack, with my main go-to being a small plate of veggies, crackers, and hummus. I'll occasionally treat myself to something else but I'd say it's pretty rare?
My diet is fairly consistent. And regardless of whatever adjustments I make, my skyr bowl and dinnertime salad are always had no matter what. I was doing IF this whole time but stopped in May 2021 when I noticed I would really overeat at lunch because I'd be so hungry by lunchtime.
When I first returned home from being abroad (November) I was about 45-47kg (more often on the higher side, 45 was a good day for me lol). While I was abroad, I ate very little (definitely not enough) so when I got home, although I maintained my regular exercising, I indulged quite a bit at first (it was also Christmastime so). At the end of 2020, I was in the 49-50kg range.
I got back on track starting 2021 and have been fairly consistent with eating well/exercising, but I've still been stuck in the same weight range. I knew I would've gained some weight since coming home because I was eating more (and had a two-month treat yourself spree), but I can't figure out why I haven't budged since I got back on track at the beginning of this year. My ideal weight is 45kg, but I'd obviously prefer a higher weight if that weight is coming from increased strength and muscular development. However, I feel like I'm still not losing fat/gaining muscle because I'm not seeing much (any) progress in my body composition, and although I'm not tracking calories, I really can't see my daily diet putting me in a caloric surplus. I heard starvation mode is a myth that you can only hit if you're really undereating for a long amount of time, but I'm wondering if it's possible that this could be what's happening to me? Or should I just invest in a food scale and start tracking calories? I've been avoiding that because I feel like the habit of weighing out your food like that could be a segue to something unhealthy (especially for me, since I've struggled with body issues my whole life). Should I try reverse dieting? Or do I just need to train harder? Should I seek help from a professional trainer and/or nutritionist?
