OP—so I got a new scale and I have 30.7% body fat!! I need to get rid of the body fat
49 F 5’1 134lbs BMR 1280 87.4lb muscle mass 92.8 fat free body weight I strength train 2-3 times a week, walk on all Sit all day for my job I need to drop 20lbs. How?! I’ve realized my body fat just increases and my weight just goes up. Is that a thing that some bodies just don’t lose fat? Or am I just eating too many calories and/or the wrong things. I’ve been tracking my macros and I eat around 1100-1200 a day so I guess my deficit needs to be under 1000 calories? |
If you are clinically obese you will need professional medical guidance and possibly drugs. For most people it's pretty straight forward calorie counting |
OP, do not drop below 1000 calories, it will damage your metabolism and send your body into starvation mode. You don't need to lose 20 pounds to be a healthy BMI, and I would not trust a cheap/home scale to accurately calculate body fat percentage. How far are you walking and for how long? Have you talked to your doctor? If you are tracking macros, what is your breakdown? |
This is a very outdated idea/thought. It is much more complicated than just calories. Do your research. |
It's virtually all calories in and calories out. People might say that it's more complicated that that, but calories in/calories out IS complicated. There are many factors that affect your calorie intake and your movement. For example, what and how you eat has a huge effect on how much you eat. You're going to be less full after 1000 calories at McDonalds than 1000 calories of vegetables and whole grains. And calories out depends on movement, but if you exercise, you may subconsciously move less for the rest of the day. |
what kind of scale? How can it tell how much body fat you have? |
There's an expression re: weight. The supreme importance of calories compared to exercise: you can't outrun the fork. |
I don’t know how it works. It’s called FITINDEX smart body analyzer. The stupid fat measure scale at orange theory also told me I had 30% body fat so I think it’s right??? |
Tell us about your research PP. What are your thoughts on what is not outdated? Because everyone on here who has successfully lost and kept off weight has done so mainly through being aware of their calorific intake and limiting it, permanently. |
This is not as hard as you are trying to make it. Saying that as someone who was in your shoes and has lost 85-90lbs this year. (Male 6’4” was 330 not 245 ish) Ignore the body fat on the scale or anywhere unless you get a dexscan. Ignore macros you are going to be competing. 99% of the time if it comes in a can, box, bottle don’t eat/consume. No bread, pasta based meal, no milk or items with a lot of dairy. It is all calories in calories out. But you can’t short yourself on calories either or your body will start hoarding them. Unless your strength training is part of a HIIT workout stop doing it. Start doing a hit workout. You can keep walking for relaxation if you want. Workout wise do 10-15 minutes of intervals in days you aren’t in gym. If you can do intervals morning and night even better. Try to consume double the amount of protein you would normally have at a meal immediately after any intense workout. Chicken and fresh veg should be your friend. No rice, no potatoes, no anything that doesn’t benefit you. Taste is as a benefit (in moderation). |
Thanks, I like that you've taken the time to spell some of this out. And I want to add that folks throw in hormones, metabolism, etc. My assumption is that they are part of the calories in calories out equation. If your hormones are making your body hold onto fat -- you need to take in fewer calories to make that equation work for you. Anyway, I don't know really anything. I know for me, if I go up a few pounds, the best way to lose them is to restrict my calories, because I've been over indulging. |
For me, that’s what it takes to stop the gain. But to actually lose, I’d need to cut to levels that I can’t sustain because I can’t lie in bed and wait to die, I have work that requires a sharp mind and young kids that require an attentive mother. I’m the PP with 35 pounds to lose. This is what happens after a lifetime of yo-yo dieting- your body gets very, very good at sustaining basic functions at the bare minimum. You definitely lose everything else that makes you a human, but yeah you can exist as a hunk of fat useless flesh on 1,000 calories pretty easily. It’s been proven that what would work for a normal person, I’d have to eat 30% less to match. See above about this not being sustainable. Until you fix that part of the problem, you are not going to fix obesity. I couldn’t help that my parents fed me junk food crap for my formative years, but I can help what I eat now, and it’s still not enough. |
If you have high cortisol, dieting won’t help you lose weight. |
So you mean it's not just calories? Well look at that. |
sure there ar metabolic disorders and issues, but for the VAST majority of people it is in fact just calories. If you think you have a metabolic issue then get tested. But if results come back normal you need to drop the damn excuses. |