@woollybear 1000% I’m with you.
Everytime I seriously start lifting I gain 5 lbs when I stop I lose.
Lifting makes a person hungry too but I really like the definition
@woollybear Yes me too.. also water retention after lifting and drinking lots of water. What worked for me was changing a lifestyle in general. So if I eat more then it will be whole food which will not cause much weight gain.
@woollybear You have to build up the muscle and then cut to lean out if you want that lean tone physique. That means eating at a surplus and then going in to a deficit to see what you built. You are gonna have to be ok with the scale fluctuating too. The scale is not a great metric at all for someone in a body recomp phase because you could be burning fat and building muscle at the same time and the scale may not move at all or it may go up higher some days and dip down others etc.
@woollybear I feel this post in my bones and I don’t care what the science or anybody says! It’s bloody true. I have the exact same experience.
I think what gave some balance was for me to do 60% light cardio (slow jog, elliptical), 20% pilates/yoga, 20% strength training with low weights and high reps.
The stress hormones from high intensity stuff do make you feel hungrier and it’s a lot harder to maintain a good diet.
@woollybear Because you’re likely burning valuable muscle and not fat, your fat % goes each time you do this. Not a good trade off. It reduces your metabolism, so over time you’ll require fewer and fewer calories to maintain. Focus on adding muscle to whatever composition you have right now. The scale may read heavier, but you’ll look better because your lean muscle % is higher. I know this is not the answer you want.
@prayforgaza I already said I’m not talking about the scale because I know muscle weighs more than fat, but I can visually more body fat on me when wearing clothes and in the mirror
@woollybear Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat: a pound is a pound. A pound of muscle takes up less ***room*** than a pound of fat because it’s denser. So if you lose a pound of fat, but gain two pounds of muscle, the scale will read more, but you’ll look more toned (and maybe look smaller).
@woollybear Are you eating enough protein? Make sure you get at least around 1 gram per pound of body weight. When you get hungrier from exercise, you need more satiating food or you will crave more carbs and sugar which will lead to inflammation and water retention. Lean protein such as turkey breast is best, especially because you are petite and don’t have a lot of calories to work with. Once you get enough protein, not only will your muscle definition help your look, but you’ll be full and won’t need to consume extra calories which up your fat %.
@woollybear I totally feel you! I got to 102/103 from ~120 relatively 'fast' without any exercise other than walking - mostly 15k steps until the last month or so where I did 20k a day. I wasn't toned at all though other than where I am naturally lol. Meanwhile, when I was lifting it took me like 3 months to lose 10 lbs (135ish to 125ish) and I dealt with SO much bloating so I felt like I was bigger. I will say the muscle I built I think I still have though and my butt looked nice for once. I loved feeling stronger, but the scale drove me insane and I have an ED/BDD past, so I really couldn't trust the mirror for actual progress tracking. I think I'll just shoot for an even lower GW with the consistent but mild exercise I'm doing (walking, and a video or more a day mainly for abs since I have 0 core strength, also some hula hooping) and then build up to very slightly above maintenance again and try lifting then.
