I work out 5 days a week lifting weights just to remain slightly overweight …wtf?

[Endlessdark]

Lifting weights 5 days a week. Diet is ok, I try to eat lots of protein, aim for about 120g a day but often miss meals because I’m busy with 2 small children. Definitely don’t eat over 2000 calories. What am I missing????

As my exercise has increased recently, my coach has said to go for the higher amount 1800.

This was me until I discovered intermittent fasting. It's worth bearing in mind for when you finish breastfeeding- it's not recommended until then.

I only put on weight doing cardio and weights, even with reduced calories. It was time consuming and led to years of frustration- for whatever reason, it didn't work for me at all. I was heavy, tired and miserable.

Now I eat healthy, balanced meals between 12pm and 7pm and drink loads of water and black coffee in between. I feel really good and have dropped 20 pounds. I do cross training a couple of times a week to keep my legs and bum toned and walk a minimum 10k steps a day.

If scale weight is all that matters then weights aren’t for you.

I don’t own scales any more. I go by measurements

Just if you're technically overweight on the bmi chart but happy apart from that, don't worry about it. You're most likely quite muscly and not fat at all.

This. Unfortunately it's a bit of a myth that woman should eat 2000 calories a day and you need to know what your body needs.

On a positive note, because you exercise, reducing that number by say 350 calories a day should lead to a weight loss of a LB every 10 days.

If you're breastfeeding, running around after 2 kids and weight training, I would be loath to cut down your calories. Your body needs the fuel! And eating less does mean less energy to get you through your workouts. The weight training is great- as someone else said, your body is benefiting from it in so many ways that matter more than weight loss.

You're making great progress. If you start starving yourself, your weightlifting will suffer, you'll feel tired and miserable and you'll ruin something you're enjoying and succeeding at.

And don't feel like you have to run if you hate running. Don't punish yourself.

I would ass the cardio without dropping calories and see what happens

You need a change in tack. A cheat day once a week to let your body it isn’t starving. Where are you storing the excess - is it your middle?

how much are you actually eating? Calories are meaningless. Are you eating enough healthy fats?

a rest from the weights a few days a week for a brisk walk.

also - check your thyroid through Thriva

Also, if you're not going to eat enough, you might as well cut out the weights and save yourself a lot of wasted time. Not going to see any results from lifting on 1600 calories plus cardio plus breastfeeding.

Your body is doing a huge amount, I think you need to be kinder to yourself! Although you were very slim pre kids, you sound like you are just about a healthy weight. What size clothes fit now, 12?
I found breast feeding made me retain or even put on weight. Something about the increase in appetite and hormones. I didn't get back to normal a couple of years after having my baby.
How's your sleep? It's hard to loose wight when your body is tired and stressed. Switch one or two weights days with yoga or a snooze?

I’m losing weight on 1600 calories a day with going to the gym 4-5 times a week and making sure I do a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. Definitely try to fit in cardio but you don’t need to run, walking on an incline is perfect for fat loss.

@GCWorkNightmare im not necessarily fussed about the numbers on the scale but my measurements have stayed the same too!

I don’t hate the size I am, just hate the general lumpiness (FUPA etc) the added weight brings and want to tone it a bit. My arms and bum have changed (as in more toned) but my stomach, hips and lower back just seem to cling on to the fat so just wanted to know what exactly I was doing wrong!

i don’t drink alcohol at all, carbs are more an accompaniment to meals and it’s always a small whole grain portion. I don’t eat a lot of pasta or anything! I di skip a lot of meals though and survive off coffee until about 2pm most days. Sleep is terrible tbh because the baby is up still 3/4 times a night and my older daughter also has a lot of trouble sleeping so I’m sure that’s not helping!

@Marlaysydney12 I definitely think it has something to do with the breastfeeding too! I am a size 12, which I honestly don’t hate! I feel more ‘womanly’ in a way because before I did look a bit sickly with not much shape. I don’t want to go back to that, would happily stay a size 12 if my middle was a bit more toned! How often is everyone training their core/abs etc? I know you can’t spot reduce fat but just wondering if that faff I train my abs/core once a week is having an impact!

You are quite a lot overweight OP. I know technically you’re just slightly into the Overweight category in terms of BMI. But BMI is about health - you won’t look slim at the top end of what’s classed as normal BMI. At 5ft 6 you’ll probably need to get down to about 9st to look slim, which means losing 2st.

That's one of many insane untruths on this thread. And very helpful in demonstrating the fucked up mindset of some posters in the 'slightly overweight = very overweight' contradiction that gives away so much.

Only very wrongheaded people advise breastfeeding mothers to reduce to 800 calories. Only very blinkered people cling to the belief that calories is all that matters, ignoring the role of hormones - yes, breastfeeding makes you store a fat reserve and lack of sleep is correlated with weight gain. You have young children, an exhausting schedule, a lot of demands on your time and body and you don't need to be at a particular number on the scales right now. Exercise for health and wellbeing (mental as well as physical), give yourself a break and look after yourself instead of making more demands on yourself.

Absolute fucking bullshit. People who consistently use weights cannot rely on the BMI scale anyway due to fat vs muscle weight.

You need therapy for your eating disorder and body dysmorphia if you think someone needs to weigh 9 stone to look slim at 5’6”.

Excess protein is peed out - your body can’t store protein as fat; that’s a myth.

OP be kind to yourself - you are breastfeeding. Your body is going to want to hold on to extra fat while producing breast milk. Don't do anything drastic while breastfeeding. Re-evaluate when you aren't breastfeeding.

Hey - go online and do a TDEE Calculator. You'll need to input weight, height, movement etc but this will throw you out a recommended number of calories to aim for each day alongside a protein target etc. rule of thumb for protein is 1g for each pound of your goal weight.

I weight train 4/5 times a week, but I know I eat a lot more than my recommend calories for my goals. If you are wright training you also may not see the scales move and you'll likely be going through body recomp where your replacing the fat with muscle. Do your clothes fit better? How do you feel?

You do not need to do cardio to loose weight. If you are in a calorie defect you will loose weight. Exercise unfortunately only equates to 10% of weight loss, the remaining 90% if from food.

Good luck! It's a long slog, I'm in the same boat x

This is nonsense. BMI is generally absolute nonsense especially when you are weight training/exercising to increase muscle and have a lot more muscle than the average person. I'm the same height as OP and weigh significantly more than her, but you absolutely would not look at me and think I was obese as my BMI will tell you ☺️ my body fat percentage is 22% that is not the body fat percentage of an obese woman (which for reference is 32%+)

No she isn't. What a stupid comment.

What absolute nonsense. You need help.

I’m the same height as OP and currently weigh 11st, which is at the top end of the normal BMI range. And I am fat, I wear a size 16 and my waist measures 35 inches. Before Xmas I weighed 10st and I still wasn’t slim, I wore a size 14 and my tummy measured 33 inches. So it’s not nonsense, it’s based on my observations of my own weight. I would need to get down to 9st to look reasonable and fit in a size 12.

That's you. Not the OP, who is by the way, a breastfeeding weightlifter. Not everyone of the same height but a different body shape, type and composition. Just you and your own experience, which doesn't give you the right to tell people that 'slightly overweight' actually means 'a lot overweight'. Because that statement is, demonstratively, nonsense.

Oh and just to add, @Speermint , when I was 10st 9lbs (some years ago) and 5'5" I was wearing a size 10. Believe it or not! Because everyone is different and what's true for your body isn't the case for everyone.