Hi,

I'm having trouble with losing too much body fat while working out.

I'm a 25 year old female, I'm 5 ft 3 inches and weigh about 105 pounds.

I've been working out for about a year now, 2-3 times a week lifting weights and doing a little pilates. I don't do any aerobic. I'm not working out to lose weight, my goal is to be healthy and strong.

The problem is that I'm losing what little body fat I have, which I don't like. I eat very little processed food and cook most of what I eat. I would say my diet is pretty healthy.

I would like to know if there are adjustments I can make to my diet or if there are supplements that I can take that might help me maintain my body fat while working out. Is simply trying to consume more fat my best bet?

Hi voidphocus,
You haven't mentioned what your diet consists of so adjustments would be pretty hard to suggest. First of all forget the pill pushers, they'll swarm you as soon as they see this post and you do not need them. Did you increase your caloric intake when you started training, perhaps you were barely maintaining your weight before you started. Your BMI is currently 18.6 which is a bit low so it would be good to increase your weight to 53.8 Kg (118 lbs) which gives you a BMI of 21 which the Okinawans believe is about perfect.

Is there any reason why you have left cardiovascular exercise out? It is pretty important to balance strength and cardio training. When you lift weights, your heart pumps more blood per beat, and if this is all you do eventually the walls of the heart become thicker and stronger, in order to pump enough blood per beat. With aerobic exercise your heart pumps less blood per beat, in a more rhythmical beating pattern, and the walls don't thicken.

My suggestion would be to eat more calories, make sure you are eating enough protein for muscle repair, most people easily achieve the amount required, from memory I think it is 1.8grms per Kg body weight per day for body builders, and unless your a vegan that doesn't know anything about complimentary protein blending than you should easily achieve the required amount.

HealthCastle could probably add some more to this.

Cheers

try to eat more and more health, eat 1 or 2 eggs daily and it will surely help you a bit, also eat more and more fruits

Thank you for your advice!

I'm not doing aerobic because I can lose a lot of weight in a short period of time when I do that type of exercise. My weight before working out was between 108-112.

I prefer to eat lots of fruits, vegetables and pastas/rice. I eat tuna, chicken, or salmon maybe once or twice a day. Red meat sparingly. I do take a womens multivitamin, and an omega supplement.

Only since I started noticing that I've lost body fat have I made a conscious effort to consume more food with each meal. I find I can eat much more than I previously had and still feel comfortable after.

I would advice you to drink milk with a couple to spoons honey in it daily.