Eating to support exercise/weight training

Yes it was one singular mention of protein. People then said she was overdoing it.

Your post barely mentions protein

????

I had cut out breakfast and was just having a protein shake then decent healthy protein heavy choices (chicken/tuna sandwich , lentil soup, yoghurt, chicken curry/steak etc...) throughout the day. I have some chocolate too but have switched to a smaller amount of dark chocolate

I'm an 8/10 too, also doing the same type of exercise as you. I go to the gym on a day on, day off basis, as rest days are very important for good results. I eat less on days off, but make sure I eat lots of protein every day.

Your post barely mentions protein so I am utterly bewildered as to why everyone is telling you you're overdoing the protein: you want loads of protein to gain muscle, and you want carbs to gain weight.
Of course, it should be healthy carbohydrates like rice, wholegrains and potatoes - but a little chocolate won't go amiss. I like brown pasta, I cook with proper oil, I eat steak, salmon, chicken.

Grilled chicken and greens are your friend to lose fat, but you'll need to eat a lot of that to maintain weight gain, as chicken and greens aren't very calorific. So eat carbs, you want brown pasta, brown rice and potatoes. Not too much, but maybe a quarter of your plate. Don't rely on protein shakes for protein as they're kinda crappy and processed. Don't feel bad for eating the carbs, if they're clean (wholegrains) you won't see a fat gain while you're exercising in my experience.

To gain weight, in essence, you want to eat more calories than you're using up.

No of course it's not a competition - just that the weights you are lifting are not what most people who lift weights would call "heavy." And you need to know that if you want to progress and get stronger.

They're a starting point, and you & your PT are absolutely right that you need to fix your squat form before you lift more than 20 kg (ie the weight of a normal bar).

Maybe instead of doing more intense exercise each day, you could do some mobility & flexibility training? A deep squat is a wonderful thing - if you sit a lot (I do!) being able to go into that deep squat (in yoga they call it 'malasana' I think) is really good to stretch the spine and glutes.

And I second a PP who said sled exercises! I love pushing or pulling the sled - I can go really heavy (over 200kg) and it strengthens me all over. That's the thing about the big compound lifts - deadlifts, squats (not benching, really) - if done properly, they are an all-body exercise. Learning good squat technique will also require you to develop really strong corset of abs, for example.

Someone here a couple of years ago recommended the online content of Achieve Fitness, Boston - they are really good, and very accessible. MoveU is good for fixing stuff re technique. Also I think MegSquats content is brilliant. Have a look at them all online (Instagram & YouTube) and see if anything chimes with you.

And if you can get into a gym, start a programme to get to lifting heavy. It's fantastic, picking up 80 kg and feeling really strong!

@doorornottodoor For correct form, common errors and how to correct them this website has a ton of videos athleanx.com/video-gallery?cat=388 I never watch the women videos, I prefer those for men.
Remember that the gluteus is composed of three different muscles, to challenge the gluteus Maximus think high box jumps, pushing a sledge and so on in addition to weights, in other words, using the muscle for what it is intended to do. You can't really challenge the maximus lying down with a band.
Spend some time on Athlean-X, there are really a ton of resources.

This is one of my favourite when I am in rush, and not going to the gym athleanx.com/articles/best-fat-burning-workout-no-equipment

For measuring the body fat, this US Navy tool is far more accurate than "smart" scale at the gyms fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

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and for @BIWI Teaching French to a native speaker.. ...Too bad language is more complex than the internet, you will NEVER hear any child say " Mum can I have/ I want/ do you have / pointing at a shelf / ...saying an "encas" (light meal taken instead of a meal if you need to go somewhere, or you are feeling a bit rubbish so don't want to eat a lot, cannot be used for an apple, yoghurt, chocolate, crisps, or random wrapped crap) or worse a "casse-croute" (this one is hilarious , haven't heard it in decades, a very low class word, usually a factory workers' word for meal in the early 1900, or used in old hiking guides , again cannot be used for apple , chocolate, ....) .

I’m lifting pretty heavy but more 3 sets of 12 to exhaustion. Using resistance bands for glute activation as my glutes are pathetic (one of my goals is to build them up). So shoulder press with 5kg dumbells, ditto triceps dips, body weight press ups/dips. Squats, deadlifts 24kg bar as that’s all I have at home.

Sorry, but those aren't particularly heavy weights - I'm in my early 60s and can squat 60kg, and deadlift 85kg. You sound rather overly anxious about food & body weight - your habits sound a bit on the edge of an eating disorder. If you really are doing intense training, you may weigh more: muscle is denser than fat. So you can stay the same size, but weigh more.

And you need proper rest days. Your fitness will actually improve!

@doorornottodoor a balance life is the ultimate bad ass goal. I can only dare to dream.

But yes, you need to work on your form, that’s way more important than the weight right now. You might want to try taking a video of yourself. Either straight from the back or the side. Then you can see what’s happening which is always much different than what you think is happening. You can also try something like tempo squats (in consultation with your pt) as these can really help with your form and you can clearly handle the weight. Also maybe look at something like SquatUniversity in IG or YouTube for cues about your back. I’m sure you’ll be in the rack before long.

I have a program were I do volume squats one day 3x8, then 3x5, then a rising set of 3 with the last set being the amrap. The weight varies each day and the amrap (as many reps as possible) is the heaviest.

A BW squat, in this instance, would mean squatting your own body weight. So if you weight 70kg squatting that. Although I would say generally a 1x BW deadlift would probably come sooner.

So as part of my bad ass bitch goals I would like to squat my BW by the end of July. I don’t do heavy singles because of a previous injury so that would be for reps. I would also like an OHP of 40 kg by September, although that seems like a some what impossible dream. You can also think able having a skill goal- a head stand, push up or pull up.

And in one more bit of semi unsolicited advice- consider creatine supplementation. It made a huge difference to my performance and recovery. I am annoyed I didn’t go it sooner.

A good principle is carbs before exercise (fuel) and protein straight afterwards (repair and rebuild) - but either way don't go overboard.

Sounds like the weight is newbie gains. I’m crazy jealous. Remember that in all likelihood you will not be able to put on a large amount of muscle easily so keep going the weights.

I know how easy it is to become overly attached to the scale but maybe it’s time to have some bad ass bitch goals instead of scale goals. How many inches can you add to that bum? How far away from a BW squat are you? Are your times coming down for your running? Are you distances going up?

I wholeheartedly encourage you to keep going, take up all the space, and the eat all the snacks

I agree that you need to make peace with the number on the scales going up but you looking better and feeling stronger. Could you take measurements instead of weighing?

I don't know about the ladies in Monaco, but there definitely are words for snack in French!

From The Cambridge dictionary:

snack

noun [ countable ]

/snæk/

sth small to eat between your main meals
en-cas [ masculine ] [inv]
The children have a snack during the morning.
Les enfants prennent un en-cas durant la matinée.
(Translation of snack from the GLOBAL English-French Dictionary © 2016 K Dictionaries Ltd)

TRANSLATION of snack | PASSWORD ENGLISH-FRENCH DICTIONARY

snack

noun

/snӕk/

a light, hasty meal
casse-croûte
I usually have only a snack at lunchtime
(also adjective) We had a snack lunch in the pub.

@doorornottodoor I wouldn't worry too much about the number on the scales - you're obviously not overweight with those stats! You will be building muscle, which means that your weight/BMI may go up - but your shape is likely to remain the same or even reduce, as muscle is denser than fat (not that it looks like you have much of that!)

Can you get a body composition analysis at your gym?
If seeing your weight go up worries you, would it reassure you if you knew that actually you'd lost 1lb fat and gained 2lb muscle, for example?

Have you looked at you TDEE and then at how many calories you are consuming? I think what you are eating is fine, but it’s hard to tell if you are eating enough of it.

Also, with the weights are you lifting heavy? Progressive overload and all that? If your goal is to build muscle you will have an increased protein requirement which can be meet with a shake. This can also be impacted by how old you are as well. Older people will generally need more protein to build muscle.

I would say that you are doing a lot of exercise, which is awesome and totally fine. But to do all that you are going to need enough food to make it happen and it sounds like you aren’t getting it. When you say the scales are going up a bit does that show on your body? If you are lucky enough to be building muscle it’s quite possible it isn’t. I have to say that I am not in love with the scales as the only means of measuring progress when trying to change our bodies. Have you taken measurements as well?

I am (possibly) in a similar situation as you and I find that some days I am just more hungry and I respond to that by eating. Overall my weight/size is still coming down slowly (I have recently gained some weight due to illness) but for me it’s more about being able to exercise effectively.

I will keep reading up and tweaking and assessing how I feel

this 100000 times.
Every body is different. Listen and learn from how you feel.
Once the ZOE predict study will be available in UK, you should do it and discover how your body responds to nutrients,

Have fun experimenting