[chaitea115]

So I'm 5'5 and in my mid 20s. Highest weight was 175 and lowest recent adult weight has been 128 lbs. I fluctuate between 128-145 lbs (been eating junky the last few months but am committed to getting back on track). My problem is that I'm '' skinny fat''. I look okay in clothes but am flabby all over w a stomach overhang pooch Uuuugh. I got a DEXA scan last done at 135 lbs and measured at 34 percent body fat - don't even wanna know how high my BF percentage was at 175 lbs!!!

I am so focused on getting back to the 120s but also want to focus this time on reducing body fat and adding muscle. To lose weight I eat approx 1200-1300 cals a day w only doing average exercise per week ie a few hours of walking. I'm just worried if I start working out I'll gain a bunch of weight cause I'm SO HUNGRY non stop if I actually start going to the gym 3-4 times a week like it's insane how much I eat! I'm always like what's the point of working out if all I do is eat an extra 1000 cals a day lol. I feel my best at 128-137 and start feeling chubby in the 140s and definitely start looking on the heavier side in the 150s. However I'm thinking this has alot to do w my high body fat percentage.

Is 20 percent too lofty a goal to aim for? I used to weigh 115 lbs in high school and was tiny but also had like no muscle and couldn't run for longer than 2 minutes without dying.

I just have the hardest time w my stomach area and it drives me NUTS - even when I'm skinny I look funny w my '' spare tire '' - I always feel like getting lipo cause nothing I ever do gets rid of it...see what I mean? Maybe I'm just overly critical analyzing of myself...What does everyone think? (I also have pics posted under the '' Goal'' section is anyone is interested in looking through pics of my weight loss journey)

[Tuscany]

I would try resistance training 3 or 4 times a week (weight lifting) or perhaps Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred program (a DVD, but you can also google it and get it for free). At your age, a calorie intake of 1200-1300 is too low. You'd do a much better job of losing fat and gaining muscle if you increased your calories and increased your exercise by adding weight training to some cardio. Just make sure the additional calories you eat are good ones (grilled chicken, baked salmon, steamed veggies, etc.) not junk...and avoid eating empty fats. No doubt others here will have additional suggestions.

[chaitea115]

I normally eat super clean and healthy for the most part fairly unprocessed w lean meats and lots of produce. Getting back on track for the last few months I've been pretty junky compared to my normal intake. Should I eat more at maintenance and just work out to lose BF? I'm guessing my maintenance is probably around 1800 normally without major exercise and if I start working out 3-4 times a week it'll probably be more like 2200 w exercise (eating back my exercise calories)
Not too sure cause I wasn't really counting maintenance when I was maintaining but I know my set point is roughly around 128-135 cause I can easily maintain without counting cals in that range. It's the whole if I start exercising thing that's going to really throw me off w the intense hunger I get
I just don't want to eat at maintenance say 1800 cals... Work out and eat another 600-1000 cals a day and end up gaining weight back

[2FatCats]

What Tuscany said!

[Tuscany]

If you were to eat around 1,800 cal per day and work out daily (a decent work out...or, as my son would say, "a WORK-out, not a play-out"), then I'd suspect you turn fat into muscle and lose a bit of weight along the way.