Underweight trying to increase muscle/lose fat

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jenncrowe
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Underweight trying to increase muscle/lose fat

Post by jenncrowe »

Hi, so at the moment I am 5'1 and weigh about 44kg. I am aware that this is on the verge of being underweight, and I don't want to be unhealthy, however I still have fat I want to lose on legs especially. How can I change body composition to have more muscle (without looking bulky) and less fat? I don't want to lose anymore weight but I don't know what to do.
current routine is 30 minute strength training circuits 4 times a week (I use 5kg weights and then just body weight exercises like jump lunges etc), I do low intensity cardio (a walk or run) for 45 minutes 3 times a week and High Intensity interval cardio (skipping or sprints) 2 times a week for 15 minutes. I also eat around 1600-1700 calories each day.
I feel frustrated because I used to massively undereat and only do cardio which made me unhealthy, I thoughtwith this new routine I was finally on the right path but after a while progress seems like it's stopped. Any advice would really be appreciated!
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Boss Man
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Re: Underweight trying to increase muscle/lose fat

Post by Boss Man »

Hi Jenn, good to talk to you.

One issue you're going to have is what you're doing is not very progressive, as you're using the same weight for certain things and body weight for the rest, so I'd suggest finding suitable alternatives for some of the body weight stuff and using small amounts of weight that you can gradually increase over time.

As for the diet, what times do you eat at and what foods do you eat at those times?
jenncrowe
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Re: Underweight trying to increase muscle/lose fat

Post by jenncrowe »

Boss Man wrote:Hi Jenn, good to talk to you.

One issue you're going to have is what you're doing is not very progressive, as you're using the same weight for certain things and body weight for the rest, so I'd suggest finding suitable alternatives for some of the body weight stuff and using small amounts of weight that you can gradually increase over time.

As for the diet, what times do you eat at and what foods do you eat at those times?
So do you suggest I should lift heavier weights than 5kg?
With the diet, I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks in between every 3 hours or so, i first have breakfast at about 6:30 every morning. As for what i eat, I always eat the minimum amount I can to make sure I get daily servings of each food group. So for grains I usually have dark rye bread (1 slice is 1 serving), quinoa, brown rice etc, avocado for healthy fats, low fat cheese or yoghurt for dairy etc. For protein I have chicken tuna or eggs. I generally think I eat quite good, no processed foods or refined sugars etc.
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Boss Man
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Re: Underweight trying to increase muscle/lose fat

Post by Boss Man »

jenncrowe wrote: So do you suggest I should lift heavier weights than 5kg?
(It depends on what you're doing, as some exercises will allow you to lift more, relative to the size and strength of the muscles worked, but as added muscle improves fat burning, then you should be aiming to lift more than 5kg on certain exercises, providing you maintain good technique and you're not using too much weight.
jenncrowe wrote: With the diet, I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks in between every 3 hours or so, i first have breakfast at about 6:30 every morning. As for what i eat, I always eat the minimum amount I can to make sure I get daily servings of each food group. So for grains I usually have dark rye bread (1 slice is 1 serving), quinoa, brown rice etc, avocado for healthy fats, low fat cheese or yoghurt for dairy etc. For protein I have chicken tuna or eggs. I generally think I eat quite good, no processed foods or refined sugars etc.
As for the diet, I was kind trying to ascertain what foods you what at what times, as you've described what meal spacings you have and what you eat but it doesn't tell me how that all stacks up in terms of a daily menu.
ryanbCXG
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Re: Underweight trying to increase muscle/lose fat

Post by ryanbCXG »

Focus on slowly increasing the weight used for each exercise. Progressively adding weight will force your body to increase its muscle mass. For women this wont be a striking increase in muscle but can really change the look and make the body much more toned and tighter.
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