Female, 36 yr. old. 133 lbs. need some help.

[Ani Maserjian]

Hi everyone,
Im new to this board. Not sure where to start but I would appreciate any help or advice. I was overweight my whole life. NOT COOL. I finally lost 30lbs 2 years ago. I had no issues keeping it off. I dont eat grains or dairy and I was maintaining my new weight of 123-125 by running, push ups, etc. I was pretty toned once I lost a lot of fat. I had been working out for 6 years and didnt see any results until I quit the grains and dairy and dropped the lbs. I started Crossfit 7 months ago. I was going 2x per week and then started going 5x per week about 2 months ago. Here's the thing. I have been gaining weight since I started Crossfit. I quickly went from 123-125 to now 132-134 and I cant seem to lose any weight. I had my body fat done professionally at our box. Came back at 14.86% which I was quite impressed with myself being a former fatty. Anyway, my thighs now touch again (which as a former fatty totally freaks me out) and Im not losing any weight or inches off my belly which seems to be the thorn in my side. I am soooo in love with crossfit but im not really liking the way my body is looking. Looks less feminine, thighs are huge (again) and touching...is there anyway to do crossfit and keep a lean composition? I run on off days. 2-3 miles, 2-3 times per week. Should I increase running? Decrease weight? Im at a loss here..Any advice would be great.

Im sure you would need info on my diet so here it is...

Breakfast everyday:
4 egg whites filled with veggies
1 oz almond cheese
2 oz low sodium chicken breast (boars head)

snack:
3 tablespoons coconut flour mixed with cinnamon, 1 packet stevia and water and 1 tablespoon organic almond butter

lunch:
8 oz chicken breast or fish w .5 cup sweet potato and a veggie

snack:
3 tablespoons coconut flour mixed with cinnamon, 1 packet stevia and water and 1 tablespoon organic almond butter

Dinner:
8 oz. chicken or fish with .5 cup sweet potato and a salad or vegetable

I drink 1-14 glasses of water a day and I dont cheat and I dont drink alcohol. Maybe 1-2 drinks every 6 weeks or so. I dont eat fruit becuase my dr. told me vegetables are better suited for me.

So any help here would really be great. Thanks so much!

PS: When I look at my pictures before crossfit vs. now I actually liked my body slightly more then I do now. Im really struggling here as Im addicted to the box just not happy with the outcome. If theres a way to do this and not get "bigger" I would love to hear it!

Ani~

[Michael Dries]

Welcome and hello to a follow Bergen Countier.

Here's what I took away from your story.

You were maintaining an ideal body weight/level of leanness by running and some body weight calisthenics.

You've recently added crossfit.

You've gained weight and now your thighs touch.

You've recently been told you have 15% body fat.

At 15% body fat you should have some pretty good abdominal definition going on. Has that changed since you've gained the weight?

A few things could be going on here.
1) Crossfit has introduced heavier lower body work and you've gained a significant amount of muscle in your legs.
-- Maybe this happened but holy crap I would kill for the genetics that would allow 10lbs of muscle development in 2-7 months (in a female!).

2) If your abdominal definition has deceased since the weight gain, you've put on fat.
--This needs answering, has your diet changed in the last 2-7 months in terms of macros and calories? Have you changed foods that might account for measuring, caloric reporting inaccuracy?

3) You've somehow only gained fat in your legs while putting on a bit of muscle as well.
-- This is possible, keep reading.

I forgot the pod cast (might have been Robb Wolf or Keifer from athlete.io) but I recall hearing that women who do crossfit can sometimes develop body fat stores on their thighs due to high cortisol levels, despite being lean through the rest of their body. It's possible that you've put on some muscle in your legs as well as put on a weee bit of fat and that having a compounding effect on your leg diameter.

I think it comes down to this... You enjoy Crossfit but since adding it your physique is moving in a direction you don't like. Either you're eating more than you think, or Crossfit is having a negative effect on your physique.

If you're 100% tight on the diet, try dialing back the Crossfit again for 4-6 weks and see what happens. I understand you like it, Crossfit can be addicting and super fun especially in a group environment. But if it's not leading you down a path that reflects your goals it's not helping you.

[Ani Maserjian]

Thanks for the reply fellow BCér...that pretty much sums it up. I do have some definition in my core..but nothing I didnt have since before crossfit. I can actually feel my abs..there just hiding under a distended and somewhat bloated belly (i think its the veggies). but no significant change since starting. no smaller waist, no pants getting bigger in the waist..nada. just tighter in the butt and thighs...

My diet is 100% tight...thats for sure. I did take a month off of crossfit some time ago..i worked out a lot, just mostly cardio, air squats, push ups, box jumps...i went down to 131 but I was missing my post workout "pump"so i went back and quickly rose back up on the dreaded scale. ugh..there has to be a way to do this and not add mass of any sort (muscle or fat). or is this just wishful thinking? I guess Im looking for more info on changing diet or staying away from certain wods...

[Ani Maserjian]

Let me add its not only my thighs that have gotten bigger...my arms and back too...As fat as diet changes i started crossfit without the 1 cup of sweet potato. I added that because I was told by many that I needed more carbs. adding the sweet potato actually started slowing down the gains. now im hearing my protein intake may be too high...very confusing for someone who isnt a nutritionist...

[Paulo Santos]

Have you tracked your calories? Looks like you are eating a lot.

[Ani Maserjian]

I track them Paula. I eat 1250-1310 per day. what do you think? oh, and im 5 ft 3.5 inches tall.

[Michael Dries]

myfitnesspal puts the above food at about 1450 calories assuming chicken breast for lunch and salmon for dinner. Not counting veggie intake.

Are you accurate on the tablespoons of almond butter? Are you cooking the veggies in any added fat?

[Ani Maserjian]

I use spark people..I input all the food myself and its 8 oz. of wild sole filet. I dont like salmon..haha..I use a tablespoon measure for the almond butter and the coconut flour. does this make sense with the sole as fish? Thanks so much! I cook on my foreman grill and dont add anything for cooking other than sea salt, pepper and some onions or paprika.

[Ani Maserjian]

even if i was off by a 1/8 of a tablespoon or so, I was eating this same exact way (minus the sweet potato) before crossfit. would i be ok considering the dramatic increase of work outs? say running 5 x per week to wodÃ*ng 5x per week with a few runs still in there?

[Paulo Santos]

Originally Posted by Paulo Santos

Have you tracked your calories? Looks like you are eating a lot.

I got 1582 with MyFitnessPal. That is not a lot of calories, especially for all the workouts you are doing. To maintain your weight, you should be around 1900 calories. Do you know what your BF was before? It could be that you are just gaining muscle.