Muscle Mass goals

[Frank_ie]

Hi,

I`m new to the forums and I appreciate all of those who take the time to answer other people`s questions about nutrition and training. Great site.

My situation is this:

I`m very confused as of late about my training and how it`s affecting my goals which are to be leaner and SMALLER (and healthier of course).

I`ve been struggling for over 2 years now to lose the same 20 lbs. Started excercising (cardio and WT ) over 3 years ago at 162 lbs and lost 20lbs in over a year but since then, I can`t seem to get below my lowest weight of 142lbs. I currently WT 3 days a week (50 minutes and completed New Rules of Lifting for Women last May) and cardio 2-3 times a week (30 - 50 minutes). I lift very heavy and cardio is always getting my heart pumping hard (I use a HR monitor). I have a HARD and solid body but the fat over it is driving me over the bend. My muffin top is depressing me and my clothes still feel the same way they did 2 years ago - I`ve had the same jeans from 2 years ago so I know!). I tracked calories for over half a year and read the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle book twice over and although I always managed to be at my calorie intake goal, I still didn`t lose to get under 142lbs.

I`m currently up to 148lbs. Still working out hard, eating well and now I can`t get under 145lbs!!

So, with this bit of history in mind, where do I go from here? My muscle mass seems good so do I still need to hit the WT hard 3 days a week? Should I ease up on it or stop lifting heavy? I feel like those strong women you sometimes see with big arms and legs but that`s not my goal. I want to be smaller. I see so many here that weigh so much less then me and their muscles aren`t big like mine are now. I don`t want these big muscles - I want smaller muscles if that makes any sense at all; smaller muscles to make me appear smaller. Is this a genetic thing or should I really start starving myself to get smaller. I can`t imagine eating any less then I do in all honestly. I`d be weak and miserable.

Thanks for your support.

[brasuca6]

How's your diet? What's a typical day like?

[aznprincess]

it's your diet... SO tell us more about that. what's your typical day look like. how many grams of protein / day and also grams of carb and fat? total calories? how do you track ... do you track at all?

[Frank_ie]

Typical day is

Breakfast

one serving of whey protein with either skim milk or water or soy milk (unsweetened) - depends what`s in the fridge at the time
banana or other fruit
less then handful of raw unsalted almonds
multi vitamin and fish oil capsule

or

one serving of shredded wheat (unsweetened) with stevia and strawberries
with one serving whey protein with milk or water

snack (pre workout)

20 almonds (unsalted)
10 baby carrots or other veg
sometimes add a couple of slices of Allegro cheese (high protein low fat cheese)


Lunch (always try and have some protein and a bit of carbs and some healthy fats)

spinach salad with tomato and chicken breast with balsamic vinigrette (2 tablespoons of balsamic and one table spoon virgin olive oil and salt and pepper)

or

leftovers lean meats and veg or whole wheat spaghetti with homemade meat sauce (made with lean ground beef and drained) or homemade soup (MIL is a sweetheart and makes them for us almost weekly!) with a lean meat.


work out on my lunch hour for 50 minutes 4- 5 days a week (mostly 5) and burn on average 330-420 cals a session - WT 3X and cardio 2X

post work out

one serving of whey mixed with water and sometimes a banana (if I still have some left)

pm snack

veg (either orange pepper or zucchini)
Allegro cheese serving

Supper

lean meat with veg (steamed or served as a salad)
sometimes I`ll eat a healthy carb too - depends on what we make

Evening snack

apple with nuts or cheese or air popped pop corn

Weekends aren`t as structured but I don`t overindulge but do permit myself a treat like a couple of drinks (red wine or vodka with water and Crystal Light) and a bit of snacks and one heavier meal like a slice of take out pizza or something.

When I tracked (on Livestrong - Daily Plate) my macros were almost always 40-45% protein 25- 30% carbs and 25-30% fats and my calorie goals were 1500 to 1700 cals/day.

I tried upping my calories to close to 2000 and gained 5 lbs so cut back. Haven`t been able to get back to where I was when I started increasing calories. My body hates me.

I honestly haven`t tracked in over 3 months because I just got to a point that I was beating myself up so much for not loosing anything and becoming obsessed with everything I put in my mouth.

I wish right now that I had a reset button on my body that would let me start from scratch. I feel like I`m loosing focus because I`ve been obsessing over this for so long.

I undertand the concept of "eat less, move more" and "calorie in and calorie out" but why on earth can I not find a formula that will permit me to lose this 20lbs. I can`t even get under 140lbs if my life depended on it! My goal is to get to 130lbs (I`m 146.5 today) so 16.5lbs. Like I said in my first post, I`ve got lots of muscle built and it seems I have too much of it. I feel "thick" not lean. When I flex my biceps, they look huge and on that part I don`t have alot of fat on there so I know that loosing alot of fat won`t change them that much. I want a more delicate look, muscular but defined, not bulky (it`s really hard to explain how I see it).

Anyways, thank you for asking about my diet and if any of you have any recommendations I`d be more then happy to hear them and apply any new strategies to help me look smaller.

I`m only 5`3 btw and 39 years old. Turning 40 this year and I`d really like this to be the year where I reach my goal.

Thanks for reading.

[brasuca6]

Well your diet doesn't look bad at all. As far as weekends, do you "treat" yourself every weekend? If so, I'd advise cutting back to 1 per every 1 or 2 months. 1 cup of wine has ~ 100 calories and 1oz. of vodka has ~ 60 calories. Aside from that, you can try experimenting and cutting calories lower than you eat now (but very gradually, no more than 100 per week.) As far as workouts go, keep up the intensity and give it time.

And remember, patience is key. I only started seeing changes on the scale after a year. And numbers aren't everything. More important, imo, is how you look in the mirror and feel.

[LolaP]

You should be changing up your routine every 30 days to avoid hitting a plateau - in gaining strength, losing fat, or whatever your goals are.

[kimm4]

Hi,

I`m new to the forums and I appreciate all of those who take the time to answer other people`s questions about nutrition and training. Great site.

My situation is this:

I`m very confused as of late about my training and how it`s affecting my goals which are to be leaner and SMALLER (and healthier of course).

I`ve been struggling for over 2 years now to lose the same 20 lbs. Started excercising (cardio and WT ) over 3 years ago at 162 lbs and lost 20lbs in over a year but since then, I can`t seem to get below my lowest weight of 142lbs. I currently WT 3 days a week (50 minutes and completed New Rules of Lifting for Women last May) and cardio 2-3 times a week (30 - 50 minutes). I lift very heavy and cardio is always getting my heart pumping hard (I use a HR monitor). I have a HARD and solid body but the fat over it is driving me over the bend. My muffin top is depressing me and my clothes still feel the same way they did 2 years ago - I`ve had the same jeans from 2 years ago so I know!). I tracked calories for over half a year and read the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle book twice over and although I always managed to be at my calorie intake goal, I still didn`t lose to get under 142lbs.

I`m currently up to 148lbs. Still working out hard, eating well and now I can`t get under 145lbs!!

So, with this bit of history in mind, where do I go from here? My muscle mass seems good so do I still need to hit the WT hard 3 days a week? Should I ease up on it or stop lifting heavy? I feel like those strong women you sometimes see with big arms and legs but that`s not my goal. I want to be smaller. I see so many here that weigh so much less then me and their muscles aren`t big like mine are now. I don`t want these big muscles - I want smaller muscles if that makes any sense at all; smaller muscles to make me appear smaller. Is this a genetic thing or should I really start starving myself to get smaller. I can`t imagine eating any less then I do in all honestly. I`d be weak and miserable.

Thanks for your support.

It's not a matter of having too much muscle, it's a matter of having to lower your body fat. It takes years to add quality muscle...especially for women. Women would be amazed at how much muscle they don't have once they drop their body fat and get lean. You need to get your diet in check or you'll continue spinning your wheels it's that simple.

1500-1700 calories should have given you some kind of results. If not, then something was missing in your program. Numbers could have been off, treats, cheats, having unstructured weekends is a huge culprit. You might think you're not eating or drinking much, but trust me those numbers add up quickly and can easily sabotage a weeks worth of work.

When you bumped your calories up to 2000 the initial weight gain was water. This is totally normal and you have to give your body time to adjust before things level off.

My advice is to start fresh. Get up to your maintenance calories for the next 3 weeks. Let your metabolism readjust and take a break from the dieting. After this get down to a solid 1600 calories a day and track your numbers. You don't have be anal with numbers, but you do have to have an idea of what you're eating in a day. Not counting anything for 3 months and just guessing never works.

Keep your head up...diets can easily be fixed...

[Adelaide.]

Honestly, I would be pretty suspicious of that homemade soup too. Just because it is made with lean meat doesn't mean it's low cal. Depending on what is in it, one serving could easily have 400-600 cals in it. When I make a batch of chili I figure out how many cals per serving there are. The last 2 batches I've made the cals per serving have varied by over 100, all because of how much water I put in it when I cooked it. They had almost the exact same amounts of stuff in them, but one was more calorie dense. I always use the same containers, so the volume was the same, but the cals definitely were not.

[Frank_ie]

Thank you all for your suggestions. All valid points.

I can`t get over how much I struggle with this. I feel like I work so hard that I should see the fruits of my labor easily. Frustrating also to see others around me who just "decide" to cut back on one item in their diet and add a tiny bit of exercise and they somehow surpass me in results in a short time when I`ve been at this for years (sigh).

Self pity I know. Sorry. I know we are all different in the way our hormones, metabolisms and genetics react to diet and exercise. Need to keep telling myself that I`ve got my postitive traits too.

I`ll take Kimm4`s advise and try and start fresh (regroup) and try tracking again and aim for 1,600 calories. 2 quick questions though about this. Firstly, how do I set up maintenance calories and secondly, do you "eat back" the calories to reach your goal? If I eat 1,600 calories but exercise and burn off 400, do I eat them back so that I reach 1,600 or do I forget about them and call it a day? I used to eat them back but just wondering if this is still the way to go?

Thanks again. I really appreciate all your answers and suggestions.

Kimm4 - you are closer to me at your height and age and I have to say that at 130lbs you look fantastic and if losing this 16 lbs gets me even close to what you`ve work hard to acheive then I will be a very happy woman indeed.

[Frank_ie]

One other thing.

Should I keep lifting heavy at this time? To support my fat lose plan, what`s the best way to train? Right now I`m doing 3 sets of 6-10 reps of heavy lifting (about 80% effort). I don`t lift to failure but pretty darn close to it. I do full body 3X a week. No splits or anything (should I?) I do big and small muscles and I try to perform different routines those 3 days but then I repeat this weekly. When Lolap said to switch up my routine, how do I do this but still hit all the muscles? Do you mean find other exercises that work that same muscles or change sets or reps or effort used? Should I do splits? Is 3X enough? Is 2X cardio enough? Too much? Sorry for all the questions, just want to make sure that I do this to maximize my results.

Thanks again!

[kimm4]

Thank you all for your suggestions. All valid points.

I can`t get over how much I struggle with this. I feel like I work so hard that I should see the fruits of my labor easily. Frustrating also to see others around me who just "decide" to cut back on one item in their diet and add a tiny bit of exercise and they somehow surpass me in results in a short time when I`ve been at this for years (sigh).

Self pity I know. Sorry. I know we are all different in the way our hormones, metabolisms and genetics react to diet and exercise. Need to keep telling myself that I`ve got my postitive traits too.

I`ll take Kimm4`s advise and try and start fresh (regroup) and try tracking again and aim for 1,600 calories. 2 quick questions though about this. Firstly, how do I set up maintenance calories and secondly, do you "eat back" the calories to reach your goal? If I eat 1,600 calories but exercise and burn off 400, do I eat them back so that I reach 1,600 or do I forget about them and call it a day? I used to eat them back but just wondering if this is still the way to go?

Thanks again. I really appreciate all your answers and suggestions.

Kimm4 - you are closer to me at your height and age and I have to say that at 130lbs you look fantastic and if losing this 16 lbs gets me even close to what you`ve work hard to acheive then I will be a very happy woman indeed.

I would get up to about 2100 calories for maintenance. Don't worry about macro breakdowns, just get a healthy balance of protein, carbs and healthy fats throughout your day.

When you get back into your deficit, just stick to the 1600 calories. What you're burning during a normal workout and cardio session doesn't make enough of a difference...so no you don't eat back the calories. If you're into marathon running, cycling, triathletes, long distance swimmers, etc...then you need to look more closely to adjust and make up calories.

I don't care if your cutting or building...lifting heavy should be done year round. Some people enjoy full body and others enjoy splits...it's a personal choice. I like to follow 4-10 rep ranges for the bigger body parts (chest/back) and 6-12 rep ranges for smaller body parts and my legs...again it varies per individual choice.

There is no best program...the best programs are the ones that you keep consistent with.

[Frank_ie]

I would get up to about 2100 calories for maintenance. Don't worry about macro breakdowns, just get a healthy balance of protein, carbs and healthy fats throughout your day.

When you get back into your deficit, just stick to the 1600 calories. What you're burning during a normal workout and cardio session doesn't make enough of a difference...so no you don't eat back the calories. If you're into marathon running, cycling, triathletes, long distance swimmers, etc...then you need to look more closely to adjust and make up calories.

I don't care if your cutting or building...lifting heavy should be done year round. Some people enjoy full body and others enjoy splits...it's a personal choice. I like to follow 4-10 rep ranges for the bigger body parts (chest/back) and 6-12 rep ranges for smaller body parts and my legs...again it varies per individual choice.

There is no best program...the best programs are the ones that you keep consistent with.

Thanks!