Thinking of taking testosterone

[zazen5]

Its not that too much cardio will waste the muscle, it will put the muscle function at cross purposes. Anaerobic type aerobics interacts correctly with weightlifting: Karate, sprinting, plyometrics. The main thing though is health above all else. Try different things and see how your body responds remembering to train with good technique which is especially important during sprinting and plyometrics to avoid injuries. Keep in mind that the heavier you go in general the easier it will be to burn calories, so gaining fat will not even be an issue. The key is to tailor the training so not only do you get results but the training is fun too, as it should be.

 

[CML0915]

I totally agree with you guys. Just need to dial in more on my diet and log my nutrition every day. And no more alcohol for me :/ mind over matter for sure considering alllllll my friends like to drink lol but I'll the DD and learn to have fun drinking lemon waters. I do take creatine already, but the zinc sounds like a good idea for sure. So cardio wise, you think too much will waste my muscle? I never go past 25 mins doing HIIT


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A glass of wine 1-2x per week isn't going to make or break a diet and I'd be skeptical of anyone who tells you otherwise. It's the binge drinking or getting "tipsy" that kills a diet.

For one week (longer would be better) weigh all foods and liquids with calories on a digital scale (in grams). It will be eye opening!
A good "rule" to follow is...
1g of protein/lb
.5g of fat/lb
And the rest in carbs until you have reached your daily calorie allowance.
At your stats you would see steady fat loss at 1600 calories (as long as you're tracking correctly).
I have to say though, you've only got 10lbs at the MOST before you hit the underweight category. If you are still unhappy with your body composition at that point it's due to lack of overall muscle.

 

[TheBuffSwan]

I really do appreciate all of the advice yeah I need a digital food scale for sure. I've been talking about wanting to get one for awhile now actually. And yeah I calculated 1500-1600 for myself too. I just need to weigh my food so I know for a definite fact I am not going under or over my calorie goal. And I'm not really concerned with "weight." Just cutting my fat, I'm actually pretty content with my muscle right now


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[caligirl85]

Its not that too much cardio will waste the muscle, it will put the muscle function at cross purposes. Anaerobic type aerobics interacts correctly with weightlifting: Karate, sprinting, plyometrics. The main thing though is health above all else. Try different things and see how your body responds remembering to train with good technique which is especially important during sprinting and plyometrics to avoid injuries. Keep in mind that the heavier you go in general the easier it will be to burn calories, so gaining fat will not even be an issue. The key is to tailor the training so not only do you get results but the training is fun too, as it should be.

Gaining fat is always an issue for women!! Do your cardio at the end of your weight training, keep your protein high enough and you will not waste muscle. That is a huge bodybuilding myth.

OP..it sounds like you are on the right track...just time to kick it up to the next level. Try that out first and then decide on an aas.

 

[musclemom]

A glass of wine 1-2x per week isn't going to make or break a diet and I'd be skeptical of anyone who tells you otherwise. It's the binge drinking or getting "tipsy" that kills a diet.

I'm going to disagree with you on this one. If a woman wants to cut her bodyfat then alcohol is one variable that should be eliminated. It's a no brainer. We're talking about empty calories that also have a medically proven metabolic impact.

For the entire time your body is metabolizing alcohol you will not burn fat. You simply can't. Your body is going to burn the acetate first. Not to mention the fact alcohol has a tendency to elevate your estrogen levels and it throws your hydration off.

I mean, yeah, the occasional drink here or there when you're not trying to reduce body fat isn't going to hurt anything but not when they're trying to cut and don't have the nuances of their diet dialed in.

 

[CML0915]

I'm going to disagree with you on this one. If a woman wants to cut her bodyfat then alcohol is one variable that should be eliminated. It's a no brainer. We're talking about empty calories that also have a medically proven metabolic impact.



For the entire time your body is metabolizing alcohol you will not burn fat. You simply can't. Your body is going to burn the acetate first. Not to mention the fact alcohol has a tendency to elevate your estrogen levels and it throws your hydration off.



I mean, yeah, the occasional drink here or there when you're not trying to reduce body fat isn't going to hurt anything but not when they're trying to cut and don't have the nuances of their diet dialed in.

If a woman (or man) sticks to their Calorie deficit they'll reach their goals. It really doesn't matter if those calories are Ho Ho's and Ben and Jerry's, alcohol, a "bro" diet or IIFYM. Of course some choices are "healthier" than the others. But that's not the point.

Alcohol isn't going to magically make someone gain weight.

With that said... Alcohol can make people make bad decisions (shit, really?) so keeping away from it while cutting is probably a good idea. That pint of Ben and Jerry's at 230am is probably not the best idea. Not to mention the lack of motivation to get up and lift in the morning

 

[musclemom]

If a woman (or man) sticks to their Calorie deficit they'll reach their goals. It really doesn't matter if those calories are Ho Ho's and Ben and Jerry's, alcohol, a "bro" diet or IIFYM. Of course some choices are "healthier" than the others. But that's not the point.

Alcohol isn't going to magically make someone gain weight.

With that said... Alcohol can make people make bad decisions (shit, really?) so keeping away from it while cutting is probably a good idea. That pint of Ben and Jerry's at 230am is probably not the best idea. Not to mention the lack of motivation to get up and lift in the morning

Okay, I'm apparently not clearly expressing myself. I DID NOT say that alcohol will make someone gain fat, I said it will interfere with the fat burning process, and that is a simple fact. If you want the medical details in lay terms I saved this piece I ran across years ago:

The liver cells are the only cells in the body that can make adequate amounts of the enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase. This is what effectively breaks down alcohol. When alcohol is present the liver cells are forced to metabolize alcohol (not fat) and the fatty acids accumulate. In other words the liver is too busy detoxifying the alcohol that has been consumed that it doesn't burn fat effectively.

Alcohol actually counts as 2 servings of fat per 4-5 ounces of wine, 1 light beer or 1 ounce of hard liquor according to the diabetic exchange system.

Alcohol is a harsh diuretic, but by being a diuretic, alcohol depletes the water soluble B vitamins. The B vitamins have numerous functions in the body (fighting stress and helping us digest food properly) but in terms of weight management they are important in supporting the fat burning process.

Rather than getting stored as fat, the main fate of alcohol is conversion into a substance called acetate. In fact, blood levels of acetate after drinking vodka were 2.5 times higher than normal. And it appears this sharp rise in acetate puts the brakes on fat loss.

A car engine typically uses only one source of fuel. Your body, on the other hand, draws from a number of different energy sources, such as carbohydrate, fat, and protein. To a certain extent, the source of fuel your body uses is dictated by its availability. In other words, your body tends to use whatever you feed it. Consequently, when acetate levels rise, your body simply burns more acetate, and less fat. In essence, acetate pushes fat to the back of the queue.

Now, IF someone knows their body, knows what dietary macros and caloric counts work for them for fat burning then YES they can certainly have that occasional glass of wine if they so choose (although nobody I've ever followed on a cut for competition ever opted to do that). BUT the OP does NOT have her diet nailed. So for the sake of simplicity it's just common sense to eliminate that particular variable from the equation.

NOW, that being said, speaking as a woman who has been perimenopausal for quite some time I can assure you, more goes into weight loss than just calories in/calories out. 95% of women who are peri and postmenopausal will tell you the same thing. Hormones, not just metabolic hormones like thyroid, play a huge role in gaining/losing fat. Hormonal birth control can also cause issues for certain women. Finally, various prescription medications make losing weight virtually impossible. This is particularly true of corticosteroids and many psychoactive medications, including medications for depression. Something happens with certain meds that totally shuts down all fat loss efforts. When you consider that our digestive tract and gut are lined with neural tissue, that in fact more neural tissue resides there than in our brain and spine, it makes complete sense that any medication that would affect brain chemistry has the potential to impact digestive functions, including the hormonal messengers that tell our body its hungry or that it can burn fat.

Please don't take this as anything more than an attempt to convey information. We are all here to help each other the best way we know how.

 

[zazen5]

Didn't know that women have a hard time w/fat loss. Could be because I'm a guy and to me most women look good. My wife wants to lose weight, think she is about 215 looks good in my opinion, I told her to do the reverse, eat as much as possible and then lift heavy try to gain muscle. When she was pregnant she actually lost weight. As far as weight loss goes the only really unsafe thing is abdominal fat. As far as health and appearance goes large thighs and hips aren't an issue.

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