The more I lift the heavier I’m getting!!

[AllAboutTheWrinkles]

Can I ask for some advice/reassurance please. I’m a 68 year old woman and till last year never felt the need to bother a gym. Never lifted anything heavier than a laptop or a baby in my life. Got a fright about how fragile and unbalanced I seemed to be getting so started working with a PT three times a week from last July. Last week I deadlifted 90kg and I can sled push 150kg and back squat 30kg. Lat pull down currently at 70kg and bench press is only 20kg (I find upper body really hard still) I’ve no real idea if any of this is good or not although my PT says I’m doing great and I’m trying just to trust. But on Friday I had a check up with the practice nurse and got a real telling off about the fact I’ve put on a stone in a year and now have a BMI of 27. I do look different - broader shoulders and bigger thighs and bum but I don’t think I have more fat than before but she said ‘at your age’ I needed to lose the weight because ‘it’s a slippery slope’. I’m pretty sure my diet hasn’t changed that much - it was always pretty healthy - but I have added in breakfast which I never used to eat, simply because I’m hungry. That amounts to two eggs, one slice of sourdough and a glass of milk. I’m not really sure what to do - I actually feel healthier and stronger than I ever have and I’m loving my sessions with the PT plus cardio by myself on another three days. But am I just going to get bigger and bigger? I’ve always had a problematic relationship with food and the thought of having to go back to restriction and calorie counting is really upsetting me.

That’s so sad about your mum. What pushed me into changing was I saw myself on a ring camera (never flattering!) but I was taking short, hesitant steps as if I was scared of falling. I hadn’t even realised I’d started to do it. I was horrified as I was always a strider and decided there and then that I needed to take action before it was too late.

I’ve just looked that up. Apparently I’m practically perfect 🤩

No, you are probably right re the back squat. My PT is keen that I ramp that up a bit. We’ve taken that one very slow as for some reason it’s a move I (still) find really frightening but Im gradually building confidence with a box behind me.

Box squats are great for building confidence, and for working on mobility as well. If you’ve got a 90kg deadlift it’s likely that strength is not the limiting factor in your squats.

I hope you continue to enjoy your strength journey and take a dim view of that nurse’s attitude.

You are amazing! Definitely have a go at pull ups and enjoy your muscle definition. It’s great to have proof of your hard work.

@AllAboutTheWrinkles i really want you to have a go at the pull up and report back here! Also, you might want to try negative pulls as a way of building up that muscle group. And I really agree with @erinaceus about the squats. Your back and legs should be able to take way more than 30kg given the rest of your numbers. Finally….core muscle is critical for pull ups (and general stability), so don’t forget about that too!

On a separate note….i think this is the first time I’ve stuck my head into The Weights Room after 20 years active MNing and at least 5 years lifting. Probably time for me to explore further 😂

I'm 10 years younger than you and no way could I do those weights. BMI is not that useful a stat if someone has a lot of muscle. In fact if you have lost around the waist then the chances are you have reduced your risk of diabetes etc as there is a widespread view that waist circumference is actually a better predictor than BMI. Quite a good discussion on BMI vs circumference here https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265215#Waist-to-height-ratio-better-than-BMI

Did you challenge what she said? Did you add context re what you have told us here?

Just wondered if you did, what her response was.

No, not really, it sent me into an immediate tailspin of ‘oh shit, this is what happens when I don’t weigh myself every day like I used to’. It wasn’t till I came home and really thought about what I’ve been doing differently over the last year and looked at myself very critically in the mirror that I started to think about it more rationally.

i haven’t read the full thread so someone else may have mentioned this. How about getting some weighing scales that actually measure fat/muscle etc. mine are brilliant and give a breakdown of fat/protein/muscle mass/ bone mass etc. So when you weigh yourself, you’re not just getting an overall weight, you’re getting a breakdown and even if you put on weight, you can see where it has gone and that perhaps, your muscle mass has increased whilst your visceral fat has gone down etc. It makes you look at the bigger picture and see your progress holistically. Mine were around £30 from Argos!

BMI works for the majority of people (how many of us are actually jacked athletes?) but even at the most basic level it's meant to be used in conjunction with waist circumference, and it sounds like you're doing great (and that you have a gift for lifting, as well as training hard!)

Not to excuse it but I imagine 99% of the people that nurse sees are gradually putting on weight from overeating and being sedentary and they're only looking at it at a surface level. I come from a family of very skinny women (partly due to smoking) and the change from 'skinny' to 'frail' comes suddenly, and it's pretty scary if I'm honest. I've lost several family members to falls or what could have been routine illnesses but they were too frail and it overtook them. Definitely healthier to have a stronger body, and being able to balance, and catch yourself if you trip/fall is huge.

Out of curiousity I just weighed myself for the first time in many, many months and I'm now BMI 25.4. I have a 25in waist and wear a 6-8. I'm not going to say I have zero body fat but I am really quite confident I'm not overweight. So there you go.

Body comp scales are definitely the way to go. I noticed quite quickly when I started lifting that the number on the scales had started having little relevance to the condition of my body.

You sound similar to my build and changes. I've always been a pear with muscle on my lower body, but since starting regular heavier weights about 9m ago, my upper body has filled out. Sleeves are going tight on tops and I've had to go up a chest size on bras, and that tallies with where my muscles get tired from workouts.

I've also tipped into "overweight"
I've just upgraded to some body analysing scales and there's a lot of green on there.
Being in my 40s there is a subtle amount of unecessary fat that has crept up in recent years. It isn't a problem yet, but at my age the trend would be as it cumulates over time, so I'm nipping it in the bud for the benefit of my next 20-30 years.

I'd rather keep my muscular BMI of 25-26 than be a leaner, less muscular 22 at this point of life though. It's hard when the system gets hung up on a number and doesn't look at the nuance.

@AllAboutTheWrinkles I’ve literally just started on the same journey as you, 5 weeks ago - I saw how frail my late dm got and I’m determined to invest in my older age. I’d be delighted by your lifts and I’m 20 years younger than you! What you’ve achieved is amazing, I bet you’d beat the nurse on the sled push 😊

OP I am younger than you but just started with a PT. I was so shocked at the state of my DPs at Christmas that I decided I would finish this year stronger than I started it with the objective to avoid becoming so frail in my 70s.

Wow you are inspiring op 🙌

Well done, I'm younger than you and I've just started trying to improve my strength, you've inspired me to keep going. Not to put nurses down but I've had a few experiences where the advice I've heard is so generalised and hasn't taken into account the individual, so I'd just keep doing what you're doing, as it's clearly working for you.

Could your PT recommend somewhere for you to do a good bodycomp or dexa scan? It would be very interesting for you to see your muscle/fat and bone density.
If you do a quick Google, more recent studies show a BMI of 26 27 is best for longevity as you age (for active people) so no idea why the NHS sticks to 18-25 so rigidly.

You're 68 with a BMI of 27 and lifting well. I'm pretty sure you are good.