Hi everyone! I have read the stickys! :)
Firstly, I have been a long time stalker on these forums but I posted years ago. Thank you to everyone who writes all the information in things like the stickys to help people like me out. I apologise in advance for the long post, but I felt like some context was necessary.
I am a 30 yr female, height 5'7-5'8. Since the start of the year I have been slowly losing weight as a blood test from my doctor said my cholesterol was too high and she suggested I try to lower it. I started at 157lbs (Jan) and am currently at 138lbs, with a relatively steady loss of 2lbs per month. I have been tracking my calories, trying to hit my protein macros and have been trying to hit the lower end of the fat macros. To lose weight I have been eating a small deficit. My average calories for this period have been 1800-1900cal. I got my blood tested again last week and my cholesterol was back in the healthy range.
I am a novice with weights. I did Bodypump classes about a decade ago and bought a barbell which hadn't been used for a good 5 years. Since January I have been doing sessions with the barbell and free weights we have in the garage (due to corona) and trying to lift as intensily as possible with compound movements like squats, rows, OHP... I plan to start a gym membership soon now that lockdowns are kind of eased in my country.
(Finally the questions!) I am not particularly lean, but honestly that is not my personal goal. I would like to be healthy, strong and with a healthy bf%. I would like to put on some muscle in the gym by doing a novice program, as I have a large bone structure and currently look skinny fat. I actually wanted to take a diet break at 143lbs and eat at maintanence just as I thought it would be a good idea, but continued to lose despite eating what I perceived as maintanence (2000cal). I dropped to 137lbs and started to see my ribs and thought I looked sickly, so I have boosted them to 2100cal and have stablised at 138lbs.
Firstly, if I was to do a novice program like Stronglifts or the like, would you advise I stick to 2100cal or try to up it a bit more for the sake of gaining a bit of muscle? Do you think it is pointless trying to gain muscle with a surplus if you have sufficient bodyfat?
Secondly, I currently have my macros set at 150 protein (min), 70 fat (min), carbs approx whatever is left. Do you think the fat proportion is too high? I see a lot of professional bodybuilders recommend a low fat intake while the stickys here seem to encourage hitting a minimum, and some seemed to encourage a higher amount if trying to gain muscle. I try to eat a lot of healthy fats (almonds, peanut butter, avocados) with minimal sat fat except for eggs and low fat dairy/meat. Do you think having it this high is a problem for cholesterol? I actually prefer lower carb, higher fat as it keeps me satiated and I'm not highly active in my opinion.
Thanks again for anyone who reads my novella and feels inclined to post!
Firstly, I have been a long time stalker on these forums but I posted years ago. Thank you to everyone who writes all the information in things like the stickys to help people like me out. I apologise in advance for the long post, but I felt like some context was necessary.
I am a 30 yr female, height 5'7-5'8. Since the start of the year I have been slowly losing weight as a blood test from my doctor said my cholesterol was too high and she suggested I try to lower it. I started at 157lbs (Jan) and am currently at 138lbs, with a relatively steady loss of 2lbs per month. I have been tracking my calories, trying to hit my protein macros and have been trying to hit the lower end of the fat macros. To lose weight I have been eating a small deficit. My average calories for this period have been 1800-1900cal. I got my blood tested again last week and my cholesterol was back in the healthy range.
I am a novice with weights. I did Bodypump classes about a decade ago and bought a barbell which hadn't been used for a good 5 years. Since January I have been doing sessions with the barbell and free weights we have in the garage (due to corona) and trying to lift as intensily as possible with compound movements like squats, rows, OHP... I plan to start a gym membership soon now that lockdowns are kind of eased in my country.
(Finally the questions!) I am not particularly lean, but honestly that is not my personal goal. I would like to be healthy, strong and with a healthy bf%. I would like to put on some muscle in the gym by doing a novice program, as I have a large bone structure and currently look skinny fat. I actually wanted to take a diet break at 143lbs and eat at maintanence just as I thought it would be a good idea, but continued to lose despite eating what I perceived as maintanence (2000cal). I dropped to 137lbs and started to see my ribs and thought I looked sickly, so I have boosted them to 2100cal and have stablised at 138lbs.
Firstly, if I was to do a novice program like Stronglifts or the like, would you advise I stick to 2100cal or try to up it a bit more for the sake of gaining a bit of muscle? Do you think it is pointless trying to gain muscle with a surplus if you have sufficient bodyfat?
Secondly, I currently have my macros set at 150 protein (min), 70 fat (min), carbs approx whatever is left. Do you think the fat proportion is too high? I see a lot of professional bodybuilders recommend a low fat intake while the stickys here seem to encourage hitting a minimum, and some seemed to encourage a higher amount if trying to gain muscle. I try to eat a lot of healthy fats (almonds, peanut butter, avocados) with minimal sat fat except for eggs and low fat dairy/meat. Do you think having it this high is a problem for cholesterol? I actually prefer lower carb, higher fat as it keeps me satiated and I'm not highly active in my opinion.
Thanks again for anyone who reads my novella and feels inclined to post!
from Bodybuilding.com Forums - Nutrition https://ift.tt/3jh5GUk
0 comments:
Post a Comment