Getting stronger, but not smaller?

[fancifulplots]

26F, 167cm, 56kg

The issues: For 3-4 weeks straight my hips and leg circumference have remained the same. Strength has progressively increased, but I've not lost any cm. I know for a fact, that I'm not eating more than I'm spending, so what's going on?
My Barbell back squat has been more and more difficult to do, which has even led me to not enjoy the workout anymore. I used to love squat day, now I'm all meh about it. Am I not eating enough? Am I pushing too hard? How do I best achieve the endurance of 5x10x55kg when I know I can lift 55kg?

Some (hopefully) helpful info:

I started weight lifting 2 months ago with 2 clear goals in mind:
1. Squat my body weight for 5 sets of 10 reps of 55kg.
2. Deadlift at least my body weight for 5 sets of 10 reps of 55kg.

My goals have been to increase my strength, reduce body fat (become smaller), and make sure I can use this strength consistently (endurance, hence why the 5x10x bw).
I've been consistently weight lifting for the last 2 months, and I've seen an increase in strength. I also do other exercises than what's shown here, but as my goals were as mentioned before, I'll only be discussnig these. My current stats are:
Deadlift 8x6x60kg (Tuesday, Friday)
Barbell back squat 5x7x50kg and 2x8x45kg afterwards (Monday, Thursday)
My lat pull down has increased to 40kg (Tuesday, Friday)

Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, are cardio. I vary it, sometimes it's high intensity, other times it's low, depending on what I feel I'd benefit most from.
I eat a high protein diet of about 110g protein per day, and I try to keep it around 1200kcal per day. I want to lose some fat tissue.

[chamelious]

Your weight is already low for your height, i'm not really sure where you're expecting to lose "inches" from.

[fancifulplots]

Your weight is already low for your height, i'm not really sure where you're expecting to lose "inches" from.

My butt.

[chamelious]

My butt.

Pics may help, i can't see how you can have anything to lose at your stats.

[fancifulplots]

Pics may help, i can't see how you can have anything to lose at your stats.

With all due respect, this is not about what you personally think I should or shouldn't lose. I posed a question. If you have answers to it, please share them.

[spradish]

5'6" and 123. You are already very light and despite wanting to lose fat from a specific area (your butt) there's no way to control where it comes off. Are you actually losing any weight at all? You never actually said one way or the other.

While it's not impossible to gain strength while eating in a deficit, eating in too big of a deficit will hamper your ability to improve performance. At a certain point you'll likely have to decide which is more important for you, losing weight or getting stronger.

[chamelious]

With all due respect, this is not about what you personally think I should or shouldn't lose. I posed a question. If you have answers to it, please share them.

To be clear: I don't know you, i don't care what you weigh, i'm simply making an observation based on the info you provided and (a lot of) experience.

You can't lose weight forever, or at least past a certain point it becomes impossible for most people. You say you're not losing weight despite eating 1200 calories, and ask why, so here is the answer: You're consuming too many calories to lose weight. You're also probably consuming more than 1200 calories, but that's another topic. If you want to lose more weight, you have to consume less than you currently are. If you're not interested in peoples opinion on what you should do then i'll just leave it there.

[katya422]

5'6" and 123. You are already very light and despite wanting to lose fat from a specific area (your butt) there's no way to control where it comes off. Are you actually losing any weight at all? You never actually said one way or the other.

While it's not impossible to gain strength while eating in a deficit, eating in too big of a deficit will hamper your ability to improve performance. At a certain point you'll likely have to decide which is more important for you, losing weight or getting stronger.

^^^
That.

And can't help but wonder how big your butt could possibly be at that height and weight. Really just curious since at least in the US most women seem to be trying to get a bigger butt, not a smaller one.

@ about 5'7/155-160 I wear size small underwear and get teased by my kid about my lack of backside.

[fancifulplots]

To be clear: I don't know you, i don't care what you weigh, i'm simply making an observation based on the info you provided and (a lot of) experience.

You can't lose weight forever, or at least past a certain point it becomes impossible for most people. You say you're not losing weight despite eating 1200 calories, and ask why, so here is the answer: You're consuming too many calories to lose weight. You're also probably consuming more than 1200 calories, but that's another topic. If you want to lose more weight, you have to consume less than you currently are. If you're not interested in peoples opinion on what you should do then i'll just leave it there.

I said I'm not losing inches (getting smaller). I never said anything about weight.
I've not done a weight measurement. What I do know is that at a caloric deficit, my body has not become smaller in 3-4 weeks.

[fancifulplots]

^^^
That.

And can't help but wonder how big your butt could possibly be at that height and weight. Really just curious since at least in the US most women seem to be trying to get a bigger butt, not a smaller one.

@ about 5'7/155-160 I wear size small underwear and get teased by my kid about my lack of backside.

The circumference of my butt is 97cm. xD There.

[katya422]

The circumference of my butt is 97cm. xD There.

So you have about an inch on me. Not exactly big IMO, but different people want different things.

Happy to take that for you if I could. @ 99cm my hips would match my chest.

We all carry weight differently. Big legs and thick arms here...

[chamelious]

I've not done a weight measurement. What I do know is that at a caloric deficit

Ok, just to clear this up for you, the only way you know if you're in a caloric deficit is if you're losing weight over time. If you're not tracking your scale weight accurately, you have absolutely no idea if you're in a caloric deficit or not.

[fancifulplots]

Ok, just to clear this up for you, the only way you know if you're in a caloric deficit is if you're losing weight over time. If you're not tracking your scale weight accurately, you have absolutely no idea if you're in a caloric deficit or not.

Really? The ONLY way?
How about tracking calories and what you eat?

[chamelious]

Really? The ONLY way?
How about tracking calories and what you eat?

Tracking calories and what you eat does NOT tell you if you're at a caloric deficit, it simply tells you how many calories you're consuming. To know whether or not this corresponds to a caloric deficit for you, requires accurate tracking of your scale weight. If your scale weight isn't going down, you're not in a caloric deficit.

[spradish]

Tracking calories and what you eat does NOT tell you if you're at a caloric deficit, it simply tells you how many calories you're consuming. To know whether or not this corresponds to a caloric deficit for you, requires accurate tracking of your scale weight. If your scale weight isn't going down, you're not in a caloric deficit.

This is correct. A TDEE calculator or Fitbit can only give you an estimate of calories burned. It is a starting point to tell you how much to eat. Once you've done that for a few weeks, you have to review results (i.e., how much weight you've lost) to determine if you're in a deficit. If you haven't lost, you're not in a deficit.

[jay283]

Reduce you sugar intake or go sugarless when drinking tea or beverages.you'd be surprised at what items are high in sugar.

[fancifulplots]

This is correct. A TDEE calculator or Fitbit can only give you an estimate of calories burned. It is a starting point to tell you how much to eat. Once you've done that for a few weeks, you have to review results (i.e., how much weight you've lost) to determine if you're in a deficit. If you haven't lost, you're not in a deficit.

How can you possibly NOT be at a deficit when you eat 1200kcal a day, do a weight lifting session and bike for 40 minutes?

What you say makes sense - I understand fitness trackers provide estimates. But it's also impossible to not be at a deficit under the parameters I mentioned above.

[chamelious]

How can you possibly NOT be at a deficit when you eat 1200kcal a day, do a weight lifting session and bike for 40 minutes?

What you say makes sense - I understand fitness trackers provide estimates. But it's also impossible to not be at a deficit under the parameters I mentioned above.

There are a few explanations. Your TDEE really is that low because of your current stats/time spent dieting, or you are overcounting how much you consume.

[spradish]

How can you possibly NOT be at a deficit when you eat 1200kcal a day, do a weight lifting session and bike for 40 minutes?

What you say makes sense - I understand fitness trackers provide estimates. But it's also impossible to not be at a deficit under the parameters I mentioned above.

I agree that if an adult actually eats 1200 calories and is active, she's eating in a deficit. But we don't know if you fit those parameters because you have not weighed yourself. Measuring your hips and thighs indicate whether you've lost or gained size in those areas. They don't indicate whether or not you've lost weight. And weight loss/gain over time is the definitive word on whether or not you are eating in a deficit--whether you truly are eating 1200 calories while being active. If you don't want to weigh yourself, that's fine, but it also means you don't know if you're in a deficit.

[jay283]

Your butt is not completely mad of fat, theres significant muscular tissue there. I don't its healthy for you to be trying to lose weight. In fact its not. Accepts your weight and put on.muscle if you want to.

[JLC0]

You do realize that by working the glutes (squats, DL) you are going to increase their size not reduce it, right? Lifting will increase the amount of muscle, which means your bum will likely get bigger.

[jay283]

You do realize that by working the glutes (squats, DL) you are going to increase their size not reduce it, right? Lifting will increase the amount of muscle, which means your bum will likely get bigger.

sounds good

[kimm4]

You do realize that by working the glutes (squats, DL) you are going to increase their size not reduce it, right? Lifting will increase the amount of muscle, which means your bum will likely get bigger.

Please explain how you grow anything and or increase in size living on 1200 calories a day? Those are poverty calories and nothing grows when eating that low.

[jay283]

Self acceptance op. The only thing which shrank my butt was the inner outer thigh machine. So increase you caloric intake to at least over 2200, and use the machine. You will lose weight in the butt area. You need carbs for proper muscle though so don't be afraid of them.

So increase your calorie intake options, for your own health. Also starving the body of fat actually makes the body start to cling more to storing fat. This is why diets stops working. So eat healthy, fats, carbs, protein etc.

[spradish]

Self acceptance op. The only thing which shrank my butt was the inner outer thigh machine. So increase you caloric intake to at least over 2200, and use the machine. You will lose weight in the butt area. You need carbs for proper muscle though so don't be afraid of them.

So increase your calorie intake options, for your own health. Also starving the body of fat actually makes the body start to cling more to storing fat. This is why diets stops working. So eat healthy, fats, carbs, protein etc.

Complete and utter bs. Spot fat loss is no possible outside of surgery and low cals do not cause a body to store fat.

It's fascinating that the only people whose bodies hold onto fat while they're starving are the folks who are volunteering to eat like that. Never has an unwilling victim of famine or a prisoner of war--a person who is being forced to starve--had trouble losing fat.

[jay283]

Complete and utter bs. Spot fat loss is no possible outside of surgery and low cals do not cause a body to store fat.

It's fascinating that the only people whose bodies hold onto fat while they're starving are the folks who are volunteering to eat like that. Never has an unwilling victim of famine or a prisoner of war--a person who is being forced to starve--had trouble losing fat.

Cambridge University scientists have discovered that key brain cells act as a trigger to prevent us burning calories when food is scarce.

'Weight loss strategies are often inefficient because the body works like a thermostat and couples the amount of calories we burn to the amount of calories we eat,' says lead author of the research Dr Clémence Blouet.

'When we eat less, our body compensates and burns fewer calories, which makes losing weight harder.'

We have known that the brain must regulate this caloric thermostat, but how it adjusts calorie burning to the amount of food we've eaten has been 'something of a mystery', Dr Blouet said.



So I beg to differ. In extreme cases the body will deplete fat stores and turn to using up lean mass, however.

[marnied87]

26F, 167cm, 56kg

The issues: For 3-4 weeks straight my hips and leg circumference have remained the same. Strength has progressively increased, but I've not lost any cm. I know for a fact, that I'm not eating more than I'm spending, so what's going on?
My Barbell back squat has been more and more difficult to do, which has even led me to not enjoy the workout anymore. I used to love squat day, now I'm all meh about it. Am I not eating enough? Am I pushing too hard? How do I best achieve the endurance of 5x10x55kg when I know I can lift 55kg?

Some (hopefully) helpful info:

I started weight lifting 2 months ago with 2 clear goals in mind:
1. Squat my body weight for 5 sets of 10 reps of 55kg.
2. Deadlift at least my body weight for 5 sets of 10 reps of 55kg.

My goals have been to increase my strength, reduce body fat (become smaller), and make sure I can use this strength consistently (endurance, hence why the 5x10x bw).
I've been consistently weight lifting for the last 2 months, and I've seen an increase in strength. I also do other exercises than what's shown here, but as my goals were as mentioned before, I'll only be discussnig these. My current stats are:
Deadlift 8x6x60kg (Tuesday, Friday)
Barbell back squat 5x7x50kg and 2x8x45kg afterwards (Monday, Thursday)
My lat pull down has increased to 40kg (Tuesday, Friday)

Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, are cardio. I vary it, sometimes it's high intensity, other times it's low, depending on what I feel I'd benefit most from.
I eat a high protein diet of about 110g protein per day, and I try to keep it around 1200kcal per day. I want to lose some fat tissue.

What do you do for cardio op? We're really similar except I'm 6.5kg more than you but I only workout twice a week with no cardio.

[Powr018]

Maybe it is one of two things or a combination of both.

Your not eating enough calories and your body is in starvation mode and/or since you are getting stronger you are building your muscle mass(awesome) and weight will slightly increase. I believe the goal should always to be health and strong as opposed to fitting any body's definition of beauty. Define your own! Best of wishes