So I've been racking my brain because although I've lost all the weight I'm not really thrilled with my body. It's kinda flabby with the exception of my arms (thanks to WT and a toddler) and my legs (thanks to running and squats). My mid section and butt are just blah...very squishy. So I know some of that is loose skin, which I accept, but there's gotta be something I can do right? So I've been trying to look into body recomposition and I can't really seem to figure out how it's much different than what I'm doing and then it occured to me that I'm being much too impatient. I don't think there is anything wrong with my program, I just need to give my body more time to adjust and now that I'm finally eating more I can start gaining muscle and *maybe* replacing some fat. Before all my work was to lose weight and I was also losing muscle. So I guess I just wanted to get some input on my program and if you all think that within time I will start to see some more results. I just started the yoga and today I'm going to start to log my WT and lift heavier. While I know that adding some more weight training would be good, it's not possible with my schedule. And running can't be replaced by lifting because I run when the gym isn't even open.

Exercise
M - run 3-5 miles
T - WT and yoga
W - run 3-5 miles
Th - WT
F - run 3-5 miles
S - rest
Su - run 8 - 10 miles

Diet
M-F 1800- 2000 cals of the cleanest possible, non process whole foods (although I think I'm a little low on the protien 60 grams on average)
S/Su 2500-3000 cals clean for Breakfast and Lunch, but "treats" for dinner/dessert

So improvements I know I can make, would be to increase protien where possible and be careful on the weekends. Other than that, and a whole lot of patience in the weight room I think I may start to see things tighten up a bit in time. I realize too that there might be a point where I need to go through a cut phase where I cut my cals back to lose some more fat and I guess I just watch the scale and how my pants fit to determine if that's necessary. So anyway does anyone know anything else about body recomposition?

Add a couple of yoga classes.

Curious to see what the responses will be......

I don't know a whole lot about it, but I've been reading up on it over on the forums at jpfitness.com. There seems to be a school of thought that to build muscle, you must eat enough calories that you will automatically gain fat also. Then, when you get "bulked" enough you can "lean" down and lose the excess fat you didn't desire to gain in the first place. I know you're not going to be happy with that!

A couple things come to mind. (You're really not going to like this, sorry.) Limit cardio, eat at or above maintenance, eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight, keep your diet at 40/30/30 carbs/fats/proteins, and lift fewer reps of heavier weights with appropriate rest periods between sessions.

But YMMV, read up on it. . .Good luck!

No I would not be happy at all with that! I've also read this, but read that it can be avoided by "clean bulking" which means you eat at maintenance and not above.

Other than the limit cardio and eating 1 gram of protein this is pretty much what I'm attempting to do. I'm not positive, but just in case others are following, it's actually 1 gram of protien per lb of lean body mass. So if you weighed (just to make the math simple) 100 lbs and were 20% BF you'd be 80 lbs of lean body mass and need 80 grams of protien.

I think simply eating a diet heavy on the protein, especially right after a lifting session, and eating at maintenance calories would work, given time. Your logic sounds very good to me.

I'd like to see what your specific lifting routine is. How are you breaking down your workouts? Are you focusing on one or two specific muscle groups at each session or are you doing full body?

If you find a good ab routine, let me know. I'm needing to beef up mine now too.

You know what has been working my upper abs without me meaning to? I like to use a cable machine with what I call a V-rope. Standing facing the rope, isolate the arms and extend them downward from about navel height down, pulling down on the rope. This is supposed to work the triceps but my abs are sore after doing this every single time! I know it's using the core, but wow. It's better than any abs exercise I've ever done. I tried to find a picture, but couldn't, so here's a link: http://munfitnessblog.com/triceps-wo...ceps-pushdown/

For the rear, I did some abductor/adductor work on my thighs today also using the cable. I stuck my foot in the ring and pulled one foot across my body then turned myself around and pulled my leg out. I felt this in my rear as much as in my thigh.

I also love running up and down stairs for both the gluts and the calfs.

Spin class!! I love spinning and haven't had to focus on the gluts at all!

Eliana, I was doing New Rules of Lifting for Women, but I didn't take it very seriously although I got fantastic results in my arms and legs. Now I'm done with that one (it was a 6 month program) and am going to do New Rules of lifting for Abs. It's 2-3 (I do 2) full body work outs. After I'm done with that I'll probably do New Rules for Women again.

The only thing I just can't seem to figure out is how to get more protien. I eat lots of beans, chicken, edamame, nuts, nut butter, greek yogurt, egg whites and have a lean protien and a complex carb with every meal including snacks and I'm still only around 50-70 grams...what is the problem?

ETA: I was just looking over my food journal and it looks like I'm missing info on some of my foods. When I started I only tracked cals. At some point I started looking at my macro Nutrients too...SO I guess I'll need to start editing my database to get a more accurate picture of where I am with my macronutrients. YAY! New obsession/hobby

I've never track my macronutrients so I am no help. Protein shakes? LOL!

You know I was doing post workout whey protien shakes, but wasting 180 cals on a watery chocolate drink is just depressing. Do you know what I can do with 180 cals?!

I think you need to give it some time and keep on the program. New Rules of Weightlifting for Women is a great for training and pretty easy to follow.

It's very hard for a woman to gain muscle. I think the average is a pound a month depending on genetics and how hard/heavy you train. So, it'll probably take at least 2 months for you to see results you'll appreciate.

In addition, the amount of definition you have is all about how much body fat you have. Maybe the reason you see the definition in your arms and legs is because that is where you have less body fat remaining.

I don't think it's necessary to "bulk up" to gain the muscle you need. You just need to lift heavy and make sure you're eating at maintenance if you don't want to lose any more weight. I think the reason bodybuilders, fitness competitors and the like "bulk up" is because it's fastest way to put on as much muscle as possible in a short amount of time(don't quote me here). When they "cut" they try to lose the fat they accumulated (unavoidable) and keep the muscle. If you're willing to put in the time, you could avoid this. Actually, I think this is in New Rules somewhere (again, don't quote me).

Finally, you might not want to hear this but as you gain muscle, the scale WILL go up. That whole muscle "weighs" more than fat concept really plays out here. But you're going to love your body more for it.

Definitely increase your protein... To increase the roundness in your butt add a WT session of only legs, doing squats (all variations), lunges, step ups, leg presses, do stairs 2 at a time (this has really increased my endurance in running too) ... I do 3 WT sessions/week, 1) back/biceps, 2) chest/triceps, 3) legs... I add in shoulders in whatever upper body session doesn't take me too long... abs I do regularly...