Gaining Weight / Need Reassurance

[blumchen]

3 years ago, after a 30 month diet, all the fat was lost, but most of the muscle as well, I weighed 50 kg, and looked anorexic. I began lifting weights.

2 years ago, at 52 kg, my body seemed stable. Less effort than maintaining 50. A happy plateau. Ideal weight. Nice muscles. Same clothes.

Now, I am 56 kg, with an athletic build. Some clothes are a little tight, some not.

The theory - weight gain is due to added muscle, but oh that is a leap of faith for a lifelong dieter.

I vowed not to regain my weight. No matter what, at 53 kg I would panic. Then at 54. 55. Now I touch 57!

BMI is inaccurate for athletes. I would like see images and to compare BMI with other women who went from string-bean to sinewy.

I need reassurance that weight gain can be desirable. Thanks.

[JenMc14]

I wouldn't worry too much unless your body fat percentage is going up as well. If the gain continues, and you're not sure why, you may want have your thyroid checked as well.

[Amanda76]

Well, you're looking pretty good in your most current bodyspace photo. I'm 5'4" and in my avi I'm 128 pounds (most current bodyspace pictures are also at 128 pounds). I'm bulking now so I weigh a bit more than that, but I don't step on the scale often enough to tell you what I weigh today. My clothes are a bit tighter (hopefully a little bit of muscle gain along with fat gain...workouts are going well so that's really all that matters) and depending on whether I'm bloated, sometimes I feel like I look good and sometimes I feel bleh. But that's just how bulking goes. Fat is A LOT easier to lose than muscle is to gain, so don't worry about it. You can definitely look good at the higher end of the BMI chart and normally a lot healthier than you would at the lower.

[MaliaBot]

Check out this site.

http://www.mybodygallery.com/

[blumchen]

Thank you for your input. It is unnerving to see the scale number go up, but the body fat is same or even lower, depending on the calculator. Anyone have a preferred calculator for fit women? One told me I was 25% BF, no way!

[catskills]

I don't think those calculators are very accurate. For example they don't account for people who have above average muscle under a layer of fat. I think it just assumes a "normal" amount of muscle and the rest fat. I think that is why they can be so off.

[freebirdmac]

Go visit the bulking thread is you want muscle gain reassurance http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=128051673 I agree with Amanda. You look fine!

Forget the scale and how clothes fit. How do you like the way you look?

A lifelong dieter huh. How many calories are you currently consuming?

[blumchen]

Forget the scale and how clothes fit. How do you like the way you look?

A lifelong dieter huh. How many calories are you currently consuming?[/QUOTE]

Thanks. That thread WAS reassuring. My body uses 50 calories per hour to keep warm,
so I shoot for 1200 calories per day, and often end up at 1400 or 1500. Seems low
compared to others here. I want my muscles to draw energy from remaining unwanted fat.
Admittedly, there is not much left. It is hard to change from a dieter's mind-set to a muscle-
builder's.

[blumchen]

Has anyone found an accurate calculator for we buff gals?

[freebirdmac]

Forget the scale and how clothes fit. How do you like the way you look?

A lifelong dieter huh. How many calories are you currently consuming?

Thanks. That thread WAS reassuring. My body uses 50 calories per hour to keep warm,
so I shoot for 1200 calories per day, and often end up at 1400 or 1500. Seems low
compared to others here. I want my muscles to draw energy from remaining unwanted fat.
Admittedly, there is not much left. It is hard to change from a dieter's mind-set to a muscle-
builder's.[/QUOTE]

What you have been doing and continue to do is throttle back your metabolism making fat loss and muscle gains very difficult. Your maintenance should be around 1900 calories. Due to your long term dieting it isn't. You need to fix that. The way to do it is to go through a bulk. Slowly get the calories up to a good 1800 and stay there for at least 6 months. The initial gain will be water from more carbs, bloating, but only a very small amount of fat. You should stabilize fairly quickly, feel better, have more energy, and be able to make more progress in the gym. Then when you do lean out again you should only drop down to 1500 and take it slow. Another bulk cycle when you go up around 2100 should be the final step in getting your metabolism firing on all cylinders again. Making muscle gains and fat loss so much easier.

This process is a mind game. But it works and is well worth it. Many women in that bulking thread had to deal with the whole psychological stress. None regretted it.

[jicbeatz]

change your diet mate!