New To BB forum and Looking for some Advice

[Brisfitgirl]

Hi there, I'm new here but have been training on an off for a while now. I will post photos here and in my bod space tomorro


-max deadlift Dec. 2016 was 60kg for 16 reps and 95kg for a single, I never tested 1 RM on my other lifts as I didn't take them as serious as deadlift but for DB bench I was doing 12.5 kg for 8-10 reps and OHP was quite weak for me and I was doing 20 kg for 10-12 reps. squats I was doing sets of 5 for 57.5kg lifts were at body weight of 60 kg and unknown body fat...prob not much different than now

-took 5 months off of lifting after last lifting session as I went to a third world country to volunteer and then relocated back to Canada where I currently go to a much ****tier gym than my gym in Australia and it's very demotivating

-Currently VERY Weak and just trying to get my fitness back Deadlift = 60kg for 5 OHP = 18kg for 6 lol.....this was today, and was third time doing these lifts since starting again deadlift went up 5kg so far, OHP I increased by 2-3 reps.

-Due to my wedding coming up in 1.5 year I have been focusing on fat loss and dong cardio now in addition to weights. Steady state, metabolic resistance workouts and hiking

-Had fat loss isses in the past doing macros C30/P40/F30 and a calorie deficit but dropped 7kg when transitioned to more 300-400 more cal and ketogenic diet. Issues with insulin resistance and diabetes runs in my family


-My body then plateaued and stopped recomping as far as my eyes could see but I was still getting stronger and at the time this didn't bother me because I was content with my body

- my body is currently plateaued again and not losing fat, but I am now discontent with my body because I want to be in the best physical form of my life for my wedding

I am really wanting to lose more fat as well as regain the strength I lost. Is it possible to regain my strength given the info I posted about where I was and where I am now and be on a calorie deficit? Or does it make more sense to eat more, regain the strength and THEN focus on cutting body fat? I am currently eating a very low carb with lots of fat and sufficient protein around 1300-1400 cal/day....

I am curious, does anybody else have knowledge or experience with insulin resistance and genetics that lean towards diabetes? Is there a body fat level at which is actually becomes beneficial to consume more carbs in the diet to see fat loss?

I suspect some other issues going on that are screwing with my hormones as well and I most likely need to resolve them before I see the weight drop. I developed cystic acne while I was volunteering and suspect it had to do with the insane amount of carbs they fed me....potatoes, rice, cassava ,taro every freaking day and the lack of physical activity.

I also had terrible PMS symptoms which I normally wouldn't have. My boobs were painfully sore for an entire week or more before one of my periods and it was also delayed by 5 days and I had nausea. My periods have also been a bit odd, from the very start the blood looks stale, like very dark brown-black and then turns more of the red/wine colour after 2-3 days. Sorry if that's TMI. I have a copper IUD and think this may be giving me some issues, so I will be going to the doctor to get it removed. I read an article on here re: them potentially increasing estrogen levels. If anyone has any insight or advice regarding my cycle, hormones and copper IUD that would be greatly appreciated as well.

All in all I am a bit bummed out that my weight isn't dropping and my strength hasn't increased much at all in three weeks :/ It's a bit discouraging, but I guess I need to accept I may need to take things slow at first and focus on healing my hormones and building up my strength again over the next couple months rather than putting too much stress on my body and getting nowhere from it.

[Partyrocking]

Way too much text. Not enough spacing.

I want to help, but no one is going to read that.

Start Here

[Brisfitgirl]

Thank you! I will edit it down to get more to the point. Perhaps I don't need to be quite so detailed and if need be I can include any missing info in later posts as people ask.

[Brisfitgirl]

I posted some pics in my body space if that helps anyone give me advice. The "Before" pic was after 3 months of terrible eating and absolutely no physical activity. The current pic is after 1 month clean eating with sporadic exercise and another month of clean eating with 3 weeks of focused training.

Can I realistically continue to build my strength back to my previous level while still cutting fat? or would I need to increase calories to maintenance?

The scale measured my fat at just under 25% and I thought I look visually similar to photos I have seen stating 25%, I'm not sure if I am accurate or not, but curious to know other people's estimates of my bf%

My end goal is to achieve better proportions and visible muscle definition, given my current form does it make most sense for me to do further fat loss and then start focusing on gaining muscle or should I do that now and cut?

[Partyrocking]

Don't use a body fat scale. They're made up.

25% is not a bad estimate, but that's luck more than anything else. Even a broken clock can be right twice a day.

It's not that hard to regain lost strength on a cut. Just keep the deficit small. In other words, I wouldn't lose more than 1% of your body weight per week. Go for even less than that .7% if you want to try to recomp.

I would slowly cut until you're 20-21% body fat and then lean bulk.

[Brisfitgirl]

wow thanks for the very fast reply! I will keep at it and likely increase my calories slightly as I may be in too large of a deficit given the minimal strength gains over the past 3 weeks. Will also get my medical stuff looked into to see what's going on hormonally in case there is something there hindering me. Once the fat starts coming off a bit more easily I'm sure a point will come where it slows again.....at that point I will check back the forum re: some of the fat loss programs that are available based on my fitness level at that time. Cheers

[LunaLifts]

macros C30/P40/F30

&

I also had terrible PMS symptoms which I normally wouldn't have.

You shouldn't track macros in ratios, your body doesn't care if you get "x" carbs compared to "y" protein, it just cares that it gets enough of what it needs to function optimally. By that I mean enough protein for muscle maintenance, and enough fat for hormone health. The minimum you need is .8g/lb of body weight in protein, and .4g/lb in fat. The rest of your calories you can fill with carbs, more fat and protein, whatever you prefer. Being too low in fat intake can screw with your hormones, so make sure you're getting enough along with clearing any potential medical issues.

I am really wanting to lose more fat as well as regain the strength I lost. Is it possible to regain my strength given the info I posted about where I was and where I am now and be on a calorie deficit?

You can gain strength in a deficit, muscle gains, and strength gains aren't always hand in hand. Just make sure you're following a solid, established program with progression. PR already covered the whole rate of weight loss thing.

Is there a body fat level at which is actually becomes beneficial to consume more carbs in the diet to see fat loss?

Nope. Calories in, calories out. Cutting carbs will result in a drop in water weight, but once you resume a normal carb intake, it comes back. Just track accurately, use a food scale, as volume measurements can be off quite a bit, and be consistent.