Lost lots of weight over the past year (211 lbs down to 165) and the last bit of fat is frustrating. Need some guidance

[ericameeran]

So as the title states, I have gone from 211 lbs to 165 lbs over the past year, primarily through reducing calories, lifting weights on a PPL scheme, and doing short HIIT after each lifting session (like 10 minutes worth). I am a 5’9” 36M.

I have recently (as of June 1st) been following a caloric level of 1,750 per day in an OMAD fashion. It helped get me from 22% to 18.0% BF over the past 6 weeks. I’m kind of struggling getting below 18%. Goal is to be sub 15% to see my abs.

My protein sources are mainly seitan, nutritional yeast, hemp protein powder, and almond butter. I have a skin allergy to legumes (soy, pea, beans).

My carb sources are whole grain pasta, steel cut oats, and sweet potatoes. I do include veggies like broccoli and brussel sprouts. My fat sources are almond butter, chia seeds, hazelnut butter, and some soy free earth balance. I use almond milk with my chia seeds.

I have a few things that I can still do:

1) lower calories to 1500-1600, but I would prefer not to go this route

2) increase protein from 130 g/day average to 155g/day average

3) lower carbs and primarily use fats as an energy source with a refeed on carbs once or twice a week

4) increase the HIIT workouts to 15 minutes after each lifting event

Which of these strategies would be the most effective? Any other general advice?

 

[boazd]

@ericameeran Energy balance is the most important factor, adjusting macros won't change anything unless you go into a deeper calorie deficit. You can do this with more cardio, but it's generally less efficient than just dropping calories as more HIIT will take a huge toll on your overall fatigue, potentially trashing your weight training performance.

Good resources for this are sites and channels like Rennaissance Periodization and Barbell Medicine to look into it further.

EDIT: great job on the weight loss BTW, well done.

 

[ericameeran]

@boazd That’s what I am afraid of… so I need to drop calories then?

 

[boazd]

@ericameeran In short, yes.

There are other things you can do such as trying a maintenance phase for a while to manage diet fatigue, and maybe looking at your meal frequency to manage hunger. But there are other resources like the ones I mentioned that can fill you in on different strategies.

 

[ericameeran]

@boazd Got it, thanks!

 

[architectdave]

@ericameeran Noooo!

 

[katie4469]

@ericameeran If you've dropping from 22% to 18.0% BF over the past 6 weeks, it sounds like your current plan is working just fine. Why do you feel like you need to change things exactly?

 

[ericameeran]

@katie4469 Could be simply just expectations. Not sure what kind of time table it should take to go from 18 to 15 and lower.

 

[katie4469]

@ericameeran If I were you, I would just continue to stick with your current plan, and then reassess in another month or two. And if you're still making progress in the right direction, I would keep going.

 

[thanksyoueel]

@ericameeran Also consider body recomp. Focusing on adding muscle to your body will make fat loss easier in the long run and will make maintenance of a particular body type and weight easier. Muscles have a higher caloric cost to maintain. It won't make things change right away, but it will make things easier as you go on.

 

[cadestin]

@ericameeran From the options you gave, 1 will be most effective. I don’t know how many calories you’d burn with 5 min addition HIIT training but it won’t be as much as reducing calories. Manipulating your macros like suggested in options 2 and 3 will have little to no effect I’m afraid if total calories are the same.

That said, the speed you lost weight would be considered quite fast so I don’t think you can expect that rate of weight loss anymore. For context, typically you’d aim to lose 0.5-1% of your body weight per week and I think you were around 3%. Faster rates of weight loss result in more muscle loss. Regarding timelines, if you’re 18% and you want to be 15% you’d be aiming for at least 160lbs; if you only lost fat which doesn’t happen in reality. So you might need to aim closer to 150-155lbs. That means you have somewhere between 10-15lbs to go. So realistically it might take another 10 weeks to reach your goal. You got this

 

[arrabon]

@ericameeran I’d say it just takes time at this point, I’m 36 y/o male at 5’9 just like you, I’m 153lb and 12% body fat. It’s hard to lose fat and build muscle at the same time, but you can do it. Try to hit your 100g protein a day and keep working hard. If hitting 100g protein would put you over your caloric goal, do more cardio. This is just my experience, I am no scientist.

 

[ericameeran]

@arrabon Awesome! Ive also been worried about weighing less than 160 lbs since I have always hovered at 200 or more. Last time I weighed close to 150 or so was while I was growing up.

I suspect that if I keep the course Ill end up at around 155 or so

 

[arrabon]

@ericameeran We sound super similar, I’ve been 210lb before. Now sitting between 150-155lb for a few years with consistent eating and exercise, plus I feel great! I bet you are feeling as good as ever too.

 

[ericameeran]

@arrabon Sure am! Did you ever find that gaining weight was easy? I know somatotypes aren’t really a thing, but I can swear that I am super endomorphic

 

[arrabon]

@ericameeran I think I could gain 50lb in about 4 weeks if I wanted to lol. My body feels like it is constantly begging to be super fat.

 

[ericameeran]

@arrabon Exactly the same here

 

[arrabon]

@ericameeran Not sure if you need to hear this, but I wish someone said it to me years ago when I started shedding the weight: Buy the new clothes. Trust yourself. You’ll maintain this. It isn’t temporary. You aren’t destined to regain the weight. Throw away the old clothes, you won’t need them again.

Edit: spelling

 

[ericameeran]

@arrabon Man, that is awesome. Thank you!

What kind of diet/workout scheme do you adhere to?

 

[mitoman]

@ericameeran Consider that it might be loose skin and not fat. I was at the same point as you and just wanted to loose that belly fat. I actually went to almost under 70 kg which is underweight for my height.