Want my Shoulders Back (and the rest of me too)

[Giggle]

Hi All -
I've been enjoying your logs, and thought you could help me as well. I've been training for my adult life; sometimes more seriously than others. I cut back drastically the last year to attend to other things - and now I find that I've lost considerable muscle (no surprise). I want my body back!

First step is diet, so here goes:

56 years old, female. 142# and not sure body fat. 5' 5". There's still some muscle but a lot more fat than I'm used to.
My TDEE if I did it right is 2040, and I subtracted 400 cal from that = 1640.
Macros for now is 45 protein, 25 carbs, and 30 fat. I seem to do better with less carbs and more fat - although I'm willing to listen. I also like the idea of doing low carb/high carb days. Divided by six meals is roughly:
30 gms P
30 gms C (for only 3 meals though)
10 g Fat

[Giggle]

The diet ends up looking like this:
Meal 1. 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1 c broccoli, 1 slice Eziekel bread 240 cal
2. Chicken, 3.5 oz, 2 c spinach, .5 oz walnuts 300 cal
3. .5 can tuna, 2 c salad greens, .5 c sweet potato, 1 T almond oil 260 cal
TRAIN
4. I scoop Isopure protein, small apple 200 cal
5.4 oz top round, 2 c asparagus, or green beans 260 cal'
6. (optional if needed) Isopure, 1 T peanutbutter 210 cal

Works out to be approx. 1650 cal, Protein = 167 grams, Carbs = 80 grams (I will double this on the "high" carb days), and 70 grams fat.

[Giggle]

Training and cardio are the last parts of the puzzle:
Cardio x 40 minutes, 4 days/week (to go up as needed)
Weight training is 4 days (Mon = back/bis/abs, Tues = chest/tris, TH = hams/quads, Sat = shoulders/abs
I do a strength lift first (squat, deadlift, bench) and then move into more bodybuilding format for the rest of the session.

Thank you for any input you can give. I've already put my plan into action a week and a half ago, and before that I had been slowing coming down for a couple months. Thank you already; I've read so much on this site. It's wonderful.

It's not easy - put then hard effort is forgotten, but results last forever!

[Giggle]

No takers or any advice?
Or can anyone tell me -did I post this in the wrong area?

[Giggle]

Training
Monday: DL's up to 205 x 3 for 3 sets (up from last week), BB rows up to bar+15's x 8, 3 sets. Shrugs with 40's x 15 for 3 sets.
Wednesday: Chest - DB flat press, worked up to 35's x 6 for 3 sets, DB incline press, up to 25's x 5, 3 sets, and flyes, 20's x 10, 3 sets.

Felt great to be back and using bigger weights (OK, bigger for ME, haha). I'm right around the corner from a 225# dead, and that makes me happy.

[Rusty11]

Hi. Nice log. Impressive workout, too. Yes, this is the right section to put your log. As you already know, there are many knowledgeable ppl here who can and will help. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I just eat, eat, eat. Gaining weight and muscle is my goal. Getting a lot tougher in my 50s. . Anyway, keep updating. Someone will chime in soon to answer your question(s).
Great job on the DL. 225# is right around the corner.

[Back In Black]

Giggle, can you give us an estimate of your bodyfat?



Are you on any kind of HRT?

What are your goals? Muscle gain? Fat loss? I'm guessing the latter if you think you are eating at a deficit.

[largerthannormal]

Unless you are sub 10% your Tdee is much lower than you are thinking.

Just based off how you described yourself I would guess your tdee is closer to the number you think is what your cutting value is ( 1600)

If you have been eating in this fashion or high cal that is a good thing, in alot of cases i run into females who are eating under 1300 cals and cant loose weight and they actually have to work backwards to get heir metabolism back working.

So in your case if you have been 1600-2000 this is a good thing.

Like BIB said, what are your goals?

also yes, most females are carb senstive but maybe think about swapping those fat cals into the the protein cals. ( again what are your goals)

maybe 50/30/20 ?

[largerthannormal]

Also I know GGR has a nicely laid out 1300 cal diet that may suite you, ( no matter your weight i would not suggest below 1300) just my 2 cents,

Maybe check out her log

again bf% would help us get closer

[Giggle]

Thanks for the encouragement, Rusty. I'm glad I'm not the only one here in the 50's!

Hi. Nice log. Impressive workout, too. Yes, this is the right section to put your log. As you already know, there are many knowledgeable ppl here who can and will help. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I just eat, eat, eat. Gaining weight and muscle is my goal. Getting a lot tougher in my 50s. . Anyway, keep updating. Someone will chime in soon to answer your question(s).
Great job on the DL. 225# is right around the corner.

[Giggle]

Hi BIB -
My goals are to put back some of the muscle I lost the last year or so, and to lean out a little more. There's a visible difference between this year and last, and I know for this weight, I'm not as lean as I was. My guess is 25% maybe. I'm leaner in my back and arms, and less so in my legs and abs.

I started a few months ago, and have lost almost 15# so far. My muffin top is gone!

No HRT. I'm eating much tighter though, and training intensely.
Thank you!

[Giggle]

Hi Larger -
No I'm not 10%...far from it
Maybe I figured it wrong, and I'm thinking of the BMR as 1317. I used the 1.55 calculation for moderate activity, which gave me 2040 cals I think.
The only other thing is I didn't log in about 3 hours a week of Krav Maga, which burns calories like crazy. I've only been doing it for a month, so trying to see what my weight does.

I could do 50/30/20, and I have seen GGR;s log.
Thank you so much.

QUOTE=largerthannormal;6632679]Unless you are sub 10% your Tdee is much lower than you are thinking.

Just based off how you described yourself I would guess your tdee is closer to the number you think is what your cutting value is ( 1600)

If you have been eating in this fashion or high cal that is a good thing, in alot of cases i run into females who are eating under 1300 cals and cant loose weight and they actually have to work backwards to get heir metabolism back working.

So in your case if you have been 1600-2000 this is a good thing.

Like BIB said, what are your goals?

also yes, most females are carb senstive but maybe think about swapping those fat cals into the the protein cals. ( again what are your goals)

maybe 50/30/20 ?[/QUOTE]

[Back In Black]

As LTN alludes to, your maintenance level is somewhere close to where you are eating now.

Cutting and gaining at the same time is an almost impossible task with the minimal amount of test that you will have in your body and will take an absolute age (although if you are just restarting training again you may get some good quick results for a short time). At 25% it may be wise to focus on a slow cut so as to lower that fat without risking too much in terms of LBM or strength. You can then apply additional cals to move into a lean bulk.

What bf% do you want to be?

What is your training regimen in terms of lifting and cardio?

[Giggle]

I understand, and then I will drop my calories to around 1300.

I would like to be around 18% I think. Maybe I'd decide then to go down to 15%. I'll have to see. I hope by the Fall to be able to start to grow a bit. I feel like a stick right now ( but sorta a fat stick!).

My training and cardio are laid out roughly in the third post, and to elaborate, I usually start the day with fasted cardio for around 40 minutes, 4-5 x week. Sometimes a HIT circuit with a rower, elyptical, and stepper. Other times I just do steady state, and go on a long walk (2 - 3 miles).

For training, I try to go 4 x week, and do a body split. Warm up, then start with my compound move (squat, DL, bench, or shoulder press). Usually a lot of sets here, but then move into more of a bodybuilding style of 3 sets of 8-12, for another 3-4 exercises. I try to go all out, and I listen to you all about intensity. I generally go to momentary failure, then sometimes throw in some rest/pause, negatives, or drop sets. Anything to get a few more reps.

Weights are going up slowly, so I haven't changed anything yet. But I'm sure willing to listen!!
Thanks

[Giggle]

Legs today felt great:

Squats-worked up to 185 for a max. Up from last week. The work sets were 160 x 3 for 5 sets. Squats felt solid, I can go up next week.

Leg press - this is the first day in ages that I went up to 3 plates! 2 sets of 10 with 2 plates, the one set of 6 with 3 plates. Rest pause on the last two reps.

Seated HS curls - up to 40# x 8 on top set. Hard.

Leg extensions - up to 70# for 3 sets. Failed about 7-8 reps, and had to do rest/pause at the ends.

[GirlyGymRat]

Also I know GGR has a nicely laid out 1300 cal diet that may suite you, ( no matter your weight i would not suggest below 1300) just my 2 cents,

Maybe check out her log

again bf% would help us get closer

Hi. LTN!!!!I agree with you that females can get too low. I am struggling to eat 1000 cal a day and I am not dropping weight.

Giggle what is your bf % estimate now. If I missed it I apologize

[Giggle]

I recalculated everything, but I come up with basically the same numbers. I'm sorry - but going crazy here. Maybe you can figure out how I;m screwing up!

For the BMR:
655 = (9.6 x 64) = (1.8 x 167) - (4.7 x 56)= 1306
For TDEE I used the 1.55 multiplier, so that's 1306 x 1.55 = 2023 cal

I know this - I have never done much calorie counting, but over the last few months I've slowly dropped weight, and I've been eating maybe 2000 - 2200 per day (after looking it up on fitday).
I'm not even sure what to cut out to get to 1300 from there.

Sorry - but are my calcs that far off?
I really don't want to come off as I'm not willing to listen - I am I just can't figure it out.
Thank you in advance.

[Giggle]

Hi Girly -
I'm still not sure about my BF, but I'm going to get into the Bodpod this week, and have a better idea then.
Also,
LTN suggested maybe a 50/30/20 split, and my weight is still slowly sinking a bit more.
Next week I'm going up on cardio again, and lowering calories.

Life is good!

[Rusty11]

I have nothing to add except to say that you are one strong 50-something yr old woman. DL and squat #s are very impressive. A LOT of guys can't do that. Keep it up.

[Giggle]

Oh, thanks! You my made my day!!

[GirlyGymRat]

G. Are u active throughout day? Like a physical therapist for ex. When I was (over) training 10 -12 hrs a week I was still sedentary bc I am sitting at desk mostly. Trying to understand the 1.55 multiplier in your calc.

Bod pod scares me. But it would be nice to know

[Giggle]

Hi GGR,
I scheduled that Bod pod for tomorrow! Yep, it is scary because it will give black and white results - no guessing then about where I am.

I used the sticky in the Nutrition forum titled" Diet 101, Cutting" I think by GBrice, but it says Admin.

For the TDEE, there are 5 categories, and I picked the middle one, Moderate Activity. It says moderate exercise or sport 3-5 times a week. That seemed about right, so that gave the 1.55.
Did I do it incorrectly? My job is pretty sedentary at times, but I try to make up for that with early morning cardio, lunchtime walks, and weights after work.
Thanks!

[largerthannormal]

Hi GGR!

Hi. LTN!!!!I agree with you that females can get too low. I am struggling to eat 1000 cal a day and I am not dropping weight. Yep, like i was saying my significant other is in the same boat, but the slow reintroduction of carbs BASE and BIB suggested is working great, she is taking in more and more and staying same LBM and weight. Which i think is cool because at some point we will be able to pull cals and start dropping weight. Im trying to keep her increasing cals slowly until the scale starts moving up.. ( VERY SLOW) esp with carbs.

Giggle what is your bf % estimate now. If I missed it I apologize

[largerthannormal]

Let us know what is says, I would maybe suggest a hair higher than 1300, 1300 leaves no room for adjustment, i would suggest at calculated maintenance stay here for 2-3 weeks make sure LBM does not move or scale ( of course unless activity level changes) then you could start pulling,

If you wanna take a stab at it id say 1400-1500 to start if you did not want to start at maintenance and work down.

Lets see what Mr bod pod says first

Also i have not looked at his sticky in a while, that could be orientated for males? ill take a peek

also 50/30/20 or 60/20/20 ( either will have to be modified when started and again is just a start point)

Hi GGR,
I scheduled that Bod pod for tomorrow! Yep, it is scary because it will give black and white results - no guessing then about where I am.

I used the sticky in the Nutrition forum titled" Diet 101, Cutting" I think by GBrice, but it says Admin.

For the TDEE, there are 5 categories, and I picked the middle one, Moderate Activity. It says moderate exercise or sport 3-5 times a week. That seemed about right, so that gave the 1.55.
Did I do it incorrectly? My job is pretty sedentary at times, but I try to make up for that with early morning cardio, lunchtime walks, and weights after work.
Thanks!

[largerthannormal]

ALSO an fyi BIB, BASE, 405, gbriece and the gurus here are much more knowledgeable around here. maybe they can chime in too

[GirlyGymRat]

Hi GGR,
I scheduled that Bod pod for tomorrow! Yep, it is scary because it will give black and white results - no guessing then about where I am.

I used the sticky in the Nutrition forum titled" Diet 101, Cutting" I think by GBrice, but it says Admin.

For the TDEE, there are 5 categories, and I picked the middle one, Moderate Activity. It says moderate exercise or sport 3-5 times a week. That seemed about right, so that gave the 1.55.
Did I do it incorrectly? My job is pretty sedentary at times, but I try to make up for that with early morning cardio, lunchtime walks, and weights after work.
Thanks!

I never counted my exercise into the calculation since I sit most of day. The bump up in calories becomes MORE significant for a girl our size when trying to cut fat. My .02.

[Giggle]

Hi LTN - I'll post up BF and lean mass as soon as I can.


I see what everybody means about 1300 might be better - I haven't made any progress this last week at all!
I upped my AM cardio today to 50 minutes, from 40.
The calc I used is the one for females, but I still may have done something wrong.
Thanks for all your advice.



QUOTE=largerthannormal;6635072]Let us know what is says, I would maybe suggest a hair higher than 1300, 1300 leaves no room for adjustment, i would suggest at calculated maintenance stay here for 2-3 weeks make sure LBM does not move or scale ( of course unless activity level changes) then you could start pulling,

If you wanna take a stab at it id say 1400-1500 to start if you did not want to start at maintenance and work down.

Lets see what Mr bod pod says first

Also i have not looked at his sticky in a while, that could be orientated for males? ill take a peek

also 50/30/20 or 60/20/20 ( either will have to be modified when started and again is just a start point)[/QUOTE]

[Giggle]

Thanks (again) Girly Gym - I sure didn't know that about not counting exercise!
It's just no fair, it's harder to lose when you're female, when you're older, and when you don't weigh all that much to begin with!!
Everything's stacked against me. But that just makes me more hardheaded and determined to succeed.

[Giggle]

Shoulders tonight - hammered em!
Behind the neck BB presses, with 10's x 10, 15's x 8, 20's x 6, then drop set 20's, 17's, 15's, 10's to failure.
Standard DB shoulder presses, 25's x 6, 3 sets. (really fatigued already, couldn't handle the 30
s).
Then I did a tri-set of: DB rears with 25's x8, Upright rows with 15's x 8, Laterals with 10's x 10...all for 3 sets.
Calves, standing and seated, abs on slant board.

[Giggle]

So I got this 1300 cal diet figured out! Here goes...

Meal 1. 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1 c broccoli, 1 slice Ezekiel bread
Meal 2. 4 oz tilapia, salad greens
Meal 3. Isopure shake and small apple
Meal 4. 3 oz lean beef, 1 c green beans, 1/2 cup sweet potato
Meal 5. 3 oz chicken, 2 c spinach
Meal 6. Isopure and 1/2 oz almonds

Works out to be 50% protein, 23% carbs, and 28% fat.
1300 calories, 153 gms protein, 77 gms carb, and 40 gm fat.

I stripped out all the fun stuff, even milk in coffee. And I started this morning.
Thanks to all for your encouragement!

[largerthannormal]

You will more than likely go down with that in terms of weight

For females i tend to think 6 meals is an over kill , prolly wont hurt anything just a pain in the butt. ( i do 7 so i shouldnt talk) try packing that into 4 meals and see which way you feel less hungry.

That diet looks pretty dang good to me.. what time do you workout?

Also like i said you may have wanted to start a lil higher on the cals so you have room for adjustment.

I drink coffee, just black though...

[GirlyGymRat]

You will more than likely go down with that in terms of weight

For females i tend to think 6 meals is an over kill , prolly wont hurt anything just a pain in the butt. ( i do 7 so i shouldnt talk) try packing that into 4 meals and see which way you feel less hungry.

That diet looks pretty dang good to me.. what time do you workout?

Also like i said you may have wanted to start a lil higher on the cals so you have room for adjustment.

I drink coffee, just black though...

At 6 meals and 1300 cal I was eating very little per meal so I combined and reduced to 3 larger meals and a small snack b4 bed, like cottage cheese.

I know some would ideally have your diet at 1600 cal and more carbs and less protein. U need fuel for those workouts.

[Giggle]

Gotya, LTN and GGR - I think I'll stay with 6 meals for a while. I get up real early, and go to bed late, so 6 meals covers the time better. I can stand being hungry because it won't be for long until another meal is due.

The good news is that the BodPod today was 23% - so I'm happy with that. Does that change anything about the number of calories?
I;ve got to keep it up a whole longer, but I know I can do it1

[Giggle]

Oh, LTN, I train between meals 3 and 4. So I put carbs is meals 1, 3, and 4.

[largerthannormal]

23% is pretty good ( ideally what most men find attractive) in that area.

As for the calories no not really , keep in mind 1300 is pretty low.

Also keep in mind feeling hungry is not always good in terms of LBM, we want the scale to move but little LBM as possible. No need to toss muscle out the door if we can avoid it. On another note it may not make a difference all said in done cals in the end of the day is the same its only the cravings were trying to help with.

I would maybe set a goal with the BOD POD rather than scale weight? ( thats up to you)

also meal 4 carbs may help you more in meal 3 (some people may disagree) probably not a big deal.. it looks like a pretty good set up

[Back In Black]

ALSO an fyi BIB, BASE, 405, gbriece and the gurus here are much more knowledgeable around here. maybe they can chime in too

Ha, you're doing fine buddy. Giggle knows I am busy with personal projects but I know you won't steer her wrong, I already told her that

[Giggle]

That is just what I need to hear! I certainly don't want to lose LBM; I did that before during the last phases of bodybuilding competitions, and it was so hard to get my metabolism and muscle mass restored.

I was confused about the calories - I thought earlier you meant for me to drop to 1300, but now I understand...you just wanted me to use GGR's diet as an example. Good, that will work perfectly!
That's a good idea to use the bodpod as a guide. I made a note on my calendar to recheck in 6 weeks.

Thanks so much for you advice. BIB was right! You know your stuff alright.


QUOTE=largerthannormal;6636926]23% is pretty good ( ideally what most men find attractive) in that area.

As for the calories no not really , keep in mind 1300 is pretty low.

Also keep in mind feeling hungry is not always good in terms of LBM, we want the scale to move but little LBM as possible. No need to toss muscle out the door if we can avoid it. On another note it may not make a difference all said in done cals in the end of the day is the same its only the cravings were trying to help with.

I would maybe set a goal with the BOD POD rather than scale weight? ( thats up to you)

also meal 4 carbs may help you more in meal 3 (some people may disagree) probably not a big deal.. it looks like a pretty good set up[/QUOTE]

[Giggle]

Everything is going great. I just feel stronger these days, and the weights are showing it!

Pause squats tonight were solid. 160 x 3, for 5 sets with long pause. Felt pretty easy, so I did 4 reps on the last set.
Walking lunges for the whole parking lot with the 45# bar (hard and hot!)
Standing DB calves supersetted with Smith machine calves.

[largerthannormal]

There is a chance you will end up at 1300, i just feel its better and safer to start a little closer to maintenance and work down, rather than guess to low and leave no room to adjust.

keep an eye on the scale but maybe only weigh in once a week, morning on an empty bladder is most accurate.

maybe take a few measurements as well.

good luck and keep us posted

[Giggle]

I'll do that LTN, and thanks a bunch.