How to lose body fat without losing weight?

[revivedfitnessgirl]

Hi I'm new to this site but I enjoy reading through the forums, getting tips, advice etc. I wanted to get some perspective on my routine.

I am in the process of losing weight - 2kg away from my goal weight of 50kg (I started at 65kg in Feb). I am 24 years old, 162cm. I still feel I want to lose more body fat though, mostly from my hips and stomach, and also more from arms and back area-I want them to get more toned. How do I lose body fat with out losing more weight? Or should I lose more weight? Is going below 50kg alright, seems a bit low? My weekly exercise is:

Mon - 7am-45min bootcamp, 9am-BodyPump

Tues - 7am-bootcamp, run around Panmure basin afterwards or sometimes Ill do the 6am bootcamp class as well as the 7am

Wed - 7am-bootcamp, 9am-BodyCombat

Thurs - 7am-bootcamp

Fri - 7am-bootcamp, 9am-BodyPump

Sat - 8am-BodyPump, 9am-BodyCombat

Sun - used to be my rest day but now have started doing RPM class and sometimes BodyPump afterwards as well but quite light on weights this day.

I also was interested to know what others thought about doing Pump classes, like are they enough to get tone and definition, or should I spend time doing my own weights session. Does anyone have a routine I could follow to do this? I have slowly upped my weights in Pump, squats 25kg, chest 10kg as my right back shoulder has a pinch in it in this track, back track 17kg, triceps 10kg, biceps 7kg, lunges 10kg, shoulders 10kg. My gyms weights area isn't that great but am willing to work with it if you thought it could get me the results I want.

Also soon I will be doing two crossfit sessions a week to switch up my routine abit, and I've heard they are quite intense (will probably replace my tues and thurs bootcamp sessions).

I am stoked with my weight loss so far, and am now looking to really tone up and lose some more fat in areas, I would love to have a muscular arm unflexed but I know that takes a lot of time to achieve for a woman, but to just have that groove in my arms would be great.

My diet consists of:

-half a banana if I feel I need it before 7am workout

-half banana or marmite on wheatmeal toast before 9am workout

-low fat yoghurt after workout, sometimes only half the pot

-lunch 300g low fat soup & two crackers(60cal each) or a turkey wheatmeal sandwich with lettuce tomato

-mid arvo snack apple

-dinner usually meat, potato and veges but I watch my portions

-half an apple later on if I still feel hungry

I have found this has really worked for me, pretty much have eaten like this for the last 3months, sometimes as a snack I will have a protein shake but it is 150 calories and I feel an apple is less..? I used to eat like real crap but have cut out fizzy, takeaways, sweets, ice cream, alcohol, I only drink water now, and on Saturday I have a cheat dinner meal (& not even McD's more like a kebab) or I'll have a dessert.

Would appreciate any advice anyone had for me and thanks for reading

[Shutupandsquat]

Okay well, if you want to piss every 5 seconds for the rest of your life by drinking lots of water, that's probably the only way you'll lose fat without losing weight, but otherwise, you're gonna lose weight.

For dropping under 50 kilo; it's not unhealthy as long as you look healthy. Basically, scales are your enemy, mirror is your friend (or so everyone says).

For your diet, you could maybe look at adding some good carbs in like rice (brown or white), potatoes and oats, so you can maybe drop the sugar a bit. It's also a lot more filling. For me sugars just make me more hungry, and I'd rather feel full then just wanting more food, also, eating sugar just makes you crave it more.

So uhhh yeah... my 2 cents.

[Dinahlady]

If you want to stay 50kg(ish) and lose body fat ish that means you are decreasing the weight of bodyfat from your body (obvious). So to stay at 50kgs (ish) what do you need to replace that lost body fat with?

Muscle.

At the moment your diet is not adequate enough in calories or proteins to be able to build much muscle and your training isn't really geared towards any type of muscle gain either. Therefore you will either need to work on your nutrition and your training to achieve that goal or rethink your goals...

You can achieve your goal (losing bf and staying the same weight) if you are smart with your calories/macros in your nutrition and change your training to be "replacing" that lost weight with muscle. (to be inb4 others on the forum, lots of people say its imposisble to "build muscle and lose fat" any big losses or gains of these two things are difficult at the same time but at a maintenece level they are possible)

I would start with doing some research into macronutrients and their roles in the body in terms of "sports" nutrition - from your comment about an apple being better than a protein shake I think this might be an essential first step. also look into the idea of maintenece calories to get a guide as to roughly where you "should" be.

In fact I would possibly consider your goal of "not losing weight but only losing body fat" as that in itself as floored and consider researching into how to achieve the physical "look" of the result you want, as I think the results you want to see might not necessarily fit the goal that you have made. But this is something for you to read and discover about for yourself.

I would focus on getting a decent macronutrient split and calorie level and trying to add more weights workouts to your training. Yes if you raise your calorie level your weight may go up - But it will be temporarily or from increased stores of glycogen and water (not fat) but in the long term its more likely that you will achieve the results you are looking for.

Maybe read bodybuilding.com Jamie eastons 12 week program or something like that which will have examples and pictures of people changing their body composition by gaining muscle AND losing fat or something that will be a program that will make you think you arent going to "get huge" (even though nothing would make you do that anyway)

Good luck. PM me if you want more help.

[Pseudonym]

Good post, Dinah.

I would start with doing some research into macronutrients and their roles in the body in terms of "sports" nutrition - from your comment about an apple being better than a protein shake I think this might be an essential first step. also look into the idea of maintenece calories to get a guide as to roughly where you "should" be

Just to add to this... if you go into the Diet/Nutrition forum, you'll see a Resources box in the top right corner of the page. You'll find a calorie calculator and a couple of articles explaining exactly what Dinah is talking about here.

[revivedfitnessgirl]

Wow thanks a lot for all the responses, I will definately research those things, saw macros being mentioned on other threads a few times and had no idea what that was so I will look into it now.

Do you have any other suggestions for how I could add more protein into my diet and when to have it etc? I think I will definately start making more protein shakes to add in to my daily diet now.

[teamfatboy]

Firstly, well done on your progress so far :clap:

There are (purely my 2c worth) two overlooked times when it's good to have protein: first thing in the morning and last thing at night:

a. at breakfast, your body's been "fasting" for however long you slept - so make sure there's protein (eggs, a shake, whatever) in your breakfast - a full sized serving, not just whatever comes in your cereal or toast;

b. last thing at night, you ideally want to make sure you give your body protein to keep the muscle breakdown at bay. Again, a shake's not a bad choice - especially if you use casein rather than whey, since casein metabolises more slowly, which is what you want. Another candidate's cottage cheese which is also casein-based. This is "after dinner" - in the last few minutes before you go to bed. Otherwise, the gap between dinner and breakfast can be twelve hours - a whole half-day where there's potential to get muscle built, or lost, if the nutrition's not right.

The immediate post-workout meal is another key time - protein and carbs helps utilise the time-window in your metabolism that your workout has opened.

Dinah's point about "macros" is important, as not all calories are equal. In particular, the role of calories from sugars (fructose and glucose, from eg fruits) versus calories from protein. An apple at night may stave-off the hunger pangs, but cottage cheese would be better because it's much more protein-centric.

Meal timings will be key around cross-fit - those sessions can be really intense and you'll want to pay particular attention to things like the immediate-post-workout meal.

Good luck

[startinfromscratch]

this excellent article should clear up alot of your confusion, and even help you to construct a diet approach. ive used its advice successfully, and still am.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/layne36.htm

[rileys rainbows]

drop some cardio & lift heavy

replace bodypump / combat (mon,wed & fri) with some real weight sessions.

& eat clean, get your nutrition sorted

squat, bench, press, do it all. more squats cause it looks hot as f*ck on girls when they have a nice set of legs / ass :grin: