should I increase carbs or calories?
 

I have a regular, fairly intense workout routine. I get up at 5:30 most days and work out. I have a 2-day cycle.

Day 1 - exercise bike for 15+ min, then 50+ min on my treadmill. My speed varies, but I run over 5 miles. Then some stretches and situps.

Day 2 - exercise bike for about 30 min - cover about 11 mi. Then free weights - all arms, for another 30 min. Then some stretches and pushups.

Which brings me to one question. If I eat 10-12x body weight, that's 1450 - 1800 cals. But I often burn almost 3000 cals a day, and I've read that it's not good to have a deficit of more than 600-800 cal/day.

I've been using fitday.com for the last couple of weeks, and I see that my net carbs are running between 25-30.

So what kind of advice do the experienced LCers on the forum have to give me?? I haven't losst any weight in over a month, and I don't see any difference in the way that things fit :confused:

IMHO - increase net carbs to around 40 - 50, If you do this without lowering anything else, you will also increase cals.

Might take a look at your workouts, exercising for longer than 50 mins or so produces a muscle-wasting body chemical called cortisol and you will likely lose muscle. Combine a little cortisol with too few cals and you will probably stall AND lose muscle.

See if you can keep your workouts under an hour at a time. I'm a protein and lifting advocate, so my other advice would be to try to get at lest a gram of protein per lb of lean body weight a day, and maybe even try for a gram per lb period. Also, more work with the weights will BUILD muscle and you will lose inches and raise your metabolism.

Good luck and let us know how it works.

Cheers,

Friday

how do I figure out lean body mass?
 

Thanks for the advice Fridayeyes.

I will definitely look into increasing my net carbs ... I can do it easily by adding back the fresh fruit salad that I have been denying myself.

Regarding the protein/LBM ratio. Can you, or anyone else out there, tell me how to calculate LBM. I don't have calipers.

Pop over to the LC and BFL thread in the BFL forum. Nat posted some websites in the very first post that let you calc BF% based on measurements. Don't go by one that uses just your waist - it's very innacurate.

I personally use the one at linear software, but I don't have the exact addy on me. It's in the BFL post.

You might have to be a little careful with fruit. Berries are the lowest carb. I've been enjoying a few berries and melons myself lately, but just so you know, fructose - the natural sugar of fruit - likes to live in the liver and can have a larger (negative) effect on ketosis than something like table sugar, which tends to head for the muscle stores. If you want to add carbs, you might try greater portions of veggies instead of doing it all with fruit. A smallish amount of LC fruit shouldn't be a problem, just keep an eye on things. :)

Cheers

Friday

linear
 

Hey Friday....I went over to http://www.linear-software.com/online.html
and did my numbers. It put me at over 30% bf...?????
Peace,
Bren
P.S. I've been using http://www.biofitness.com/bodyfat.html which puts me at about (no nat, I'm not saying you are right) 21%.

bf calculations
 

I used the same two sites as ItsJoyful and I had similar results:
25.6% body fat on the first one and 17.6% on the second.

And my Lean Body Weight varied from 106 lbs to 117 lbs.

What is a healthy level of body fat for a middle-aged woman who wants to be fit, but not muscular?

IMnot so HO
 

I'd say you have a healthy level of body fat for a middle-aged woman who wants to be fit, but not muscular.

Lifting weights will just make you even better.
Peace,
Brenda...

thanks for the feedback
 

Thanks, itsjoyful ... I had no idea if I should be worried or not! I feel much better now.

Now I'll try to figure out how much protein I should be eating with a lean body weight of between 106 and 117.

Bren - I also get a large range on BF depending on the site I use. I tend to stick with Linear b/c I just sort of feel it 'jives' with what I see in the mirror. My lowest reading ever from a site was 23%. Can you say NOT!!

I'll go poke around and see what some of the others give me. And hey, the one you use? Maybe I need to switch. ;)

Edit: the one Bren uses says 24.7%. I just don't believe it's accurate for me. I should follow up with a caliper test at the gym tho.

Here's another one I like. It seems to be the same formula used by the Protein Power book.

http://davedraper.com/bodyfat-calculator.html

This one says 26.4 for me. I *might* be persuaded to believe this one, but anything under 25% I think is falsely low. Would be nice to have the 149.4 lbs of lean this one says I do, tho. *wink*

Cheers,

Friday, who's off to chew another steak

yet another number!
 

Hi Fridayeyes,

I tried out the latest link that you sent. This one had the highest numbers so far: 26.4% BF and 105 lb LBM.

Anyhow, I checked my fitday records for the past two weeks, and I'm not too worried about my protein intake - it's frequently well over 140 gms/day.

But I will look into increasing my carbs, as they are too low.

I've also started eating a 1/2 cup of pecans, which has increased my calorie count so that I'm usually over 2,000 (which I think that I may need given my level of exercise). This past week I ate the most I have since starting LCing (including one planned cheat day), and finally lost a pound. So, although it does seem logical, maybe I do need to eat more to lose ;)

that one gave me a 25.something! Now I'm getting worried. Maybe I'm even more than 23!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
peace,
bren


p.s. I'm only kinda serious

Re: bf calculations
 

At the end of the first post of the link below you'll find a chart with BF%'s based on age. Be sure to pick the one for women :)

Those caculators give me anywhere from 17% to 26% - just pick on you like and stick with it - it's the change over time that matters. A decrease in LBM and an increase in BF is a sign that you're not getting enouhg protein, or calories and muscle is being burned for energy.

Short of an autopsy and under water testing ($$$) they are all going to be off.

Using BF to as a goal

Nat

OK, I think I'm beginning to get it
 

Thanks, Nat

I followed the link that you sent, and I'm guessing that I'm at about 26% BF. Which is not unhealthy for my age. As I try to lose the last 8-10 pounds, I'll see if it improves. I'd like to aim for about 24% if possible.