Telsera Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Hello,Need some help figuring out a good goal I'm female, 5'9", and currently weigh about 140 lbs give or take about two depending on what my body is doing.From most of the calculators I've run, that seems like its appropriate to my height. Some background, last January I was probably about 172ish lbs, so I did manage to lose 32 lbs. However I had no clue what I was doing (watching calories only and not lifting weights, boo!) and now am probably "skinny fat." Then again, I didn't exactly have any muscles to start with... So I guess I didn't really lose any... I know they aren't the most accurate things in the world, but both the electricity resistance bodyfat measurers I used put me at about 21%-20% body fat. I measure first thing when I wake up after I've gone to the bathroom and stuff. I wonder how accurate that is because I still feel pretty jiggly in spots, especially my tummy and love handle areas. Maybe I'll be brave enough to post a picture soon.My diet is a work in progress, I like the idea of paleo and could probably handle giving up grains and sugar (I eat very little grains as is, mostly kashi cereal, kicking the sugar is a little hard, I am a recovering coca cola addict), but the thought of not having cheese occasionally makes me sad. There's a good chance I'm not eating quite enough, I use myFitnessPal to track my food and usually don't make it much past 1400 kcal per day. It probably should be at 1700-1800 per day. Maybe I need to start putting olive oil on more stuff? Or up my proteins?So now I want to reduce my body fat but I also want to get stronger and a lot of the research/reading I've done says you can't do both Also my friend is getting married at the beach at the end of June which means I may possibly have to put on *gasp* a swimsuit.What I really want to know is what should I focus on to get rid of the excess fat and look damn good in my swimsuit? And what is a realistic %bodyfat goal? I tend to be really hard on myself and set goals that are a bit too high.So who wants to join me in trying to escape the land of the skinny fat? Maybe we can compare notes Quote Link to comment
Durandal Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Hey Telsera, welcome to the rebellion! The notion that you can't lose fat and get stronger at the same time is a myth - you can do both as long as you change your diet and do exercises that actually push your body to rebuild itself stronger - chroic cardio or anything low-intensity for a really long time is not going to do that, but sprints and lifting heavy will. From what I know, it is impossible to bulk up when you're on a caloric deficit but I'm gonna guess you're not too interested in gaining pounds and pounds of raw muscle (and if you are, you'd have to eat like 5000 calories a day and spend four hours at the gym lifting heavy for several months before you'll see anything). Quote Link to comment
Sco Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Welcome! Durandal's right in that you can't bulk up while trying to lose body fat. However, if you're eating right (a lot of people swear by paleo on this site) and doing strength training, you can strengthen your muscles and lose some of that body fat at the same time. I think in your case that diet will be pretty important, as that's 80% of the battle.Be sure to ask around on the boards too, and I'm sure people will come up with some helpful ideas and pointers! Quote "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle If you have the inspiration, you have the talent. Strive to be happy. Link to comment
ebm1224 Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 welcome to the community! right off the bat, i can see where you maybe set goals too high or are too hard on yourself like you mentioned. Assuming your body fat measurements are correct, that's an ideal place for you to be, depending on your goals. according to my assessment at the gym, non-athlete women (and by that i think they mean women who are competitive in some type of sport or whatnot which i'm assuming you are not) should be around 19-20%. also, at 140lbs you are likely at a healthy weight if you're 5ft9. i think the best thing for you to do is to focus on what your body can do and how you feel. i know that can be difficult since we all have aestetic goals. but it sounds like you're really just looking to firm up (and i doubt your jiggly spots are really that jiggly) so you're not going to see HUGE changes right away. What kind of workouts do you do now and how do you like them? it sounds like you've already made some positive changes to your diet. if you want to try paleo, give it a go...but it doesn't sound like you need something that extreme. start healthy habits now (things you can live with long term) and you won't have to worry about that bathing suit! Quote Link to comment
'Roos Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 *waves* Welcome! I'm also 5'9" but I'm closer to 210-215, 35% bf so that'll give you a bit of perspective - congrats on losing the first 30 lbs! You're at the point where probably any of a number of changes would do you well - try out Paleo, give lifting a shot, give up sugar, etc. You can definitely start with one change (stop eating sugar!) and see what happens. I don't see how any of those positive behaviors wouldn't result in performance or appearance improvement though! Quote Link to comment
aj_rock Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 skinny fat = next step is get stronger. 140 is actually a 'healthy' weight for 5'9" in girls, so you aren't in danger anymore Yay!That being said, just focus on eating healthy; since you got this far without it, paleo might not be necessary. I'd look up some good women's training programs and just focus on getting plenty of protein and healthy foods! Quote Why must I put a name on the foods I choose to eat and how I choose to eat them? Rather than tell people that I eat according to someone else's arbitrary rules, I'd rather just tell them, I eat healthy. And no, my diet does not have a name.My daily battle log! Link to comment
Telsera Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Thanks for all the good advice. Its nice to hear that other people think I'm at a good weight. Its so hard seeing all the skinny people on the magazine covers every time I go to the grocery store or run other errands. Photoshop can make me feel bad... The diet thing is a work in progress, the best thing I've done is give up soda, and I try to eat really healthy during the week. Weekends can sometimes be a problem if my friends want to go out somewhere, in which case I do what I can to minimize the damage. Order the healthiest thing or do an intermittent fast the next day. I like lowfat cottage cheese and greek yogurt, but I'm starting to get sick of them so maybe I'll be able to phase them out of my diet and work towards full paleo.Do you think the New Rules of Lifting for Women is a good book? Alwyn Cosgrove is the author and I hear he's well respected. I'm trying to get started with his workouts, but deadlifting rather frightens me. I'm considering hiring a trainer long enough for me to learn to do it properly without accidentally hurting myself.The current plan is to do weights MWF and do couch to 5k on my rest days to help with the soreness (plus I suck at running and would love to be able to do a 5k). I go to the gym after work, and then I go home, change again, and go to martial arts MWTh. I'm still a beginner so I don't get a ton of exercise from martial arts, with the exception of the wednesday boxing class that routinely kicks my ass. I really need to get better at pushups for that one Do you think I'm over doing it? Quote Link to comment
ebm1224 Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 it sounds like you are likely overdoing it. you need to have at least one day (maybe two) where you don't work out. your body needs to rest in order to recover. i'd keep with the weights 2-3 days a week and either C25K OR martial arts 3 days. Quote Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Welcome Rebel! As I'm not a female, I've leave the advice to the fairer gender. If you haven't already, check out Steve's article regarding the Rebel known as SPEZZY. Staci's story is amazing. Welcome! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
aj_rock Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Yeah, don't trust magazines one bit. It's so unrealistic it's criminal. Anyway, like you said just don't let the weekends get away from you. Technically, as long as you aren't sitting on your butt the whole time, it's not really all that damaging. 3-4 drinks + hours of dancing... your net intake is negative NRLW is pretty good, but trying to improve cardio and strength is hard to do. Aim for a max of 3 hard working days a week, at least until you get more used to it, and then start increasing the days in a week you do work. Too much right away is a good way to injure or exhaust yourself. Especially if you wanna gain strength, do c25k, and martial arts. I don't think you need both c25k and martial arts at the same time. Quote Why must I put a name on the foods I choose to eat and how I choose to eat them? Rather than tell people that I eat according to someone else's arbitrary rules, I'd rather just tell them, I eat healthy. And no, my diet does not have a name.My daily battle log! Link to comment
Pat G Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Sorry, but a swimsuit at a wedding? i thought you girlfolk just swapped out the high heels for a pair of sandals or barefoot. and wore those Hawaiian flower chain things...I concur with the guys, don't overwork yourself, you've got 5 months of training time, don't burn too hard to early and pick up a physical and mental setback in the form of injury. Otherwise, you're off to a good start Quote "Strength is the cup. The bigger the cup, the more you can put in" - JDanger Link to comment
Telsera Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Its a destination wedding thing. I have to drive down to the outer banks for it, so I might as well enjoy my stay. Most of my buddies from college will be there Also this just in: I won against or tied all the other noobs at brazilian jiu jitsu today I got my first win against a person who was actually fighting back!This was after I got coated in greasy hair goo from the first person I fought and couldn't grab anyone properly because my hands were all greased up.Thankfully you don't really need hands to do a triangle choke!Makes me more motivated to get stronger now. Rawr!I think you guys are right about the running thing. I don't really have time for it anyway. Quote Link to comment
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