Help - stuck with high fat % and high lean body mass

[BlackbettyA]

Ladies,
I need some advice from women who've been in the same situation .
I'm a pretty strong woman, and I am pretty impressed by my stamina sometimes. I've been working out for about 3 years - a few weeks on and off, but I'm now constantly embarrassed by going to the same gym and looking the same , despite my bursts of effort.
I'm pretty heavy - at 115 kg for the past 1 year. But I carry it well, many would say, until I put on a suit, then I absolutely disgust myself. I'm about 5'11- 180 cm, so yes I'm pretty tall too.
Last year I went to a medi diet doctor and using the digital scales - she came up with 54 kg fat, 48 kilos lean mass, don't ask me how that adds up to 115( that's what I remember her writing down ) - when I went to her I might have been swinging in the 113 area. She was pretty impressed with the almost equal amounts of lean mass, but worried that both percentages make me so heavy, that I will have knee issues in a while.
The point is despite working out - I haven't been able to get down to 110 kg or 100 kg in years, 12 years ago I weighed 98 kg. I am almost 30, but yes I've been fat since I was a teenager.
Yes, diet is one thing- hubby and I do Keto as a lifestyle and yes, I cheat, but generally, we have no grains at home. I reckon if its a lifestyle, it shouldn't be so strict. But it isn't working for me . Still I'm scared to go off lowcarb, as a day of being exposed to normal carbs bloats me up to a kilo or 3, so I'm sort of glad, I'll always go back down to 115 after each sin. I am trying to track my intake at less than 1300 calories, and I'm wondering if I should go down to 1000?
I've also been avoiding breakfast in the name of prepping myself for intermittent fasting...

I see a lot of people talking about having no lean mass,I haven't had that problem in years, and you can even feel my muscle on top while my turkey wings flag below. Any pointers on how to attack fat first and then muscle? I know my body has re-organized itself, as some people get fooled that I've lost weight, but the scale won't budge. I carry a lot of my fat in my abdomen, and thighs, and that's worrying with all its health risks. So working out, makes me look a bit firmer, the fat all comes together as stodgy , as my belly potrudes as though I were pregnant

I am currently doing the James Granger 12 week Rewired program 3x a week, and using the 20 minutes slot to train for a 5K - so I end up with 30 mins cardio before I lift heavy. Today, I worked out for 90 mins, got everything in, ate just 1160 kcal - I'm proud of myself, but I get sad when I look in the mirror . I'm also trying to get in at least an extra day of Focus T25 dvd workouts a week.
Help

[oregonchick76]

I would not say your LBM is exceptional. 48kg is 106 lbs. On someone who is 5'10" that is actually pretty low.

You should lose quite steadily at more than 1600 calories per day. Not sure why you'd take it so low.

[laurab384]

I agree 1300 calories is way low for someone at your stats. I understand wanting the weight off asap but you're really just making it harder on yourself. When you lose too quickly your not really losing fat and it's practically impossible to keep it off long-term. 1-2 lbs/week would be reasonable for where you're at. I'd think 1700-1800 cals/day would put you at a good rate of loss. But read the stickies in the nutrition section, they have a ton of good info.

I don't know a lot about keto so I won't say much about it. Just that I believe bloating is normal when you first add carbs back in. Do you weigh yourself daily? If minor fluctuations bother you I'd switch to only weighing yourself weekly (it's hard I know!) It'll give you a more accurate picture of what's going on with your body.

Keep doing the cardio & lifting. People generally feel better about themselves and their bodies (regardless of size) when they exercise regularly. You're right that abdominal fat has significant health risks but it's also generally the easiest to lose. If you stay consistent with diet and exercise the fat WILL come off.

[kimm4]

If you were truly eating 1300 calories (which is way too aggressive) the weight would literally be falling off of you. If the scale hasn't moved it's because you're eating too much period. Get yourself a food scale to weigh, measure and track all foods accordingly. If you do this, stick to it and stay in your deficit there will be steady loss.

If you're training for a 5k you need carbs. It's an important fuel that's needed for that style of training. Getting all freaked out about some bloating from carbs should be the least of your worries. Start adding carbs back into your diet and your body will adjust within a few weeks.

Your calorie intake for steady fat loss should be around 1900-2000 calories to start.

[BlackbettyA]

Ladies,
I'd like to add a quick update on how your advice, helped snap me back to sense.
I've since lost and retained a 2kg loss in 2 weeks, its not extraordinary for some but good for me. Being keto and with my body used to working out, I don't have the typical amounts of bloating that inflate initial weight loss number in obese people .
And although I've stuck to being low carb pretty much, in the past two weeks- I've had carbs about 3x, trying to slowly break my fear of it and obsession with the 1kg fluctuation. I'm trying to teach myself how to choose which carbs I go for and learn to control what I eat over the diet I'm on.

So I'm happy with my 2 kilo loss, especially because I'm now on week 4 of running the couch to 5k, and I was able to fit into two dresses I bought in Dec 2012 and couldn't get back into due to back fat. My arms are showing progress, and so is my back , I reckon my belly will be the last to show .
I'm loving the James Grange program as I get to run and lift weights in a single efficient workout. Although I would like to switch it up to two workouts a day soon, or 4-5 workouts a week- I am only at the gym 3x a week for now as that's what my schedule allows.

The fat is melting ... I haven't take body measurements, especially as I've got a long way to go, so I don't see them counting much . I will continue to watch the weights, as it really would signify the biggest breakthrough for me to get down to below 100 kg.

Thanks for the wake up comments ....

[otakumom]

My stats are almost like yours, but you really need to take it slow. I resumed working out three weeks ago (lost 2 kg so far), and I'm all for taking it slow.

One of the main reasons why slow is the key is due to body elasticity. If you lose too much too quick, you may end up with tons of loose skin. Another one? You'll avoid putting on back any lost weight if you take it slow.

I also have a high amount of lean tissue: I used to do lift all sorts of heavy weights and used to pole dance and despite all my extra fat, I still managed to keep good muscular tone. I also resumed pole dancing recently as well: moved to a new house five weeks ago and immediately got a pole. Pole dancing can either get you all toned up, like a gymnast, or get you big bulky muscles. I got the latter, but big muscles are preferred over lots of fat.

[amiaow]

If you're 115kg, you've been maintaining on at least 3000 calories a day. Something is very very wrong with your tracking.

There's no need to eat keto. Eating carbs is wonderful, and it's great when you're doing endurance exercise such as running. Your body burns primarily glucose on runs of that distance- you need to provide it energy or you'll bonk or just feel awful when you run.

Eating carbs is also necessary to gain lean body mass. You don't actually have much of it. As a comparison, I'm the same height as you and in my profile pic have 64kg of lean mass and I don't consider myself particularly muscular.

Get yourself a kitchen scale, weigh everything you eat and sort out your intake properly. You could easily lose weight exercising a 3-5 times a week on 2300 calories.

[oregonchick76]

My stats are almost like yours, but you really need to take it slow. I resumed working out three weeks ago (lost 2 kg so far), and I'm all for taking it slow.

One of the main reasons why slow is the key is due to body elasticity. If you lose too much too quick, you may end up with tons of loose skin. Pole dancing can either get you all toned up, like a gymnast, or get you big bulky muscles. I got the latter, but big muscles are preferred over lots of fat.

I'm 99% sure that pole dancing does NOT give a person "big bulky muscles". Big bulky muscles are hard to come by and require a progressive weight load and a calorie surplus. No way does pole dancing offer enough resistance to grow big muscles. I have no doubt one must be strong to contort their body on that pole, but that doesn't = big bulky muscles.

Also, losing fast or slow does not change the skin's elasticity. Doesn't work that way at all.

[otakumom]

Also, losing fast or slow does not change the skin's elasticity. Doesn't work that way at all.

Losing too much weight in a short period of time DOES have adverse effects on body elasticity.

I can't still post links on this site, but science doesn't agree with your comment.

[rockangel]

I'm 99% sure that pole dancing does NOT give a person "big bulky muscles". Big bulky muscles are hard to come by and require a progressive weight load and a calorie surplus. No way does pole dancing offer enough resistance to grow big muscles. I have no doubt one must be strong to contort their body on that pole, but that doesn't = big bulky muscles.

Also, losing fast or slow does not change the skin's elasticity. Doesn't work that way at all.

You are right, pole dancing does not have enough resistance to grow big muscles. It does help with upper body strength, and just like everything else, a newb will see muscle gains so this may lead them to think they have "big bulky muscles"

but even my instructors who have been doing it for years are not that big in the upper body, even though they have incredible strength.

and i swear, "all toned up like a gymnast"..... i lol'd at that. So someone who trains hours a day, for many years, and is at a high competitve level is merely "toned" and the same results can be gotten solely with pole danceing .... yeah...sorry no.

[kimm4]

My stats are almost like yours, but you really need to take it slow.

How are your stats almost like hers? She's got an extra 40 lbs on you. She's only been at it a couple weeks and her loss isn't too fast. She's doing just fine. There's always quick water loss in the beginning from cutting calories. She's got more to lose and could easily go more aggressive in her deficit if she wanted to and get away with it. When a person has more to lose, it's not going to hurt them to go more aggressive especially in the beginning of their program.