Adjusting Sails

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." - Jimmy Dean

I am 88lbs of pure MUSCLE!

Yeah, not very impressive, is it? I'm petite at 5'0", but this still sounds puny. Bleh!

And I've got 41lbs of pure FAT!

Bleh, bleh, bleh!

Once I figured out my numbers of lean mass, I immediately started considering whether I should work on building more muscle first, or lose continue shedding fat.

Muscle will definitely improve my metabolism, but in order to do significant gains, I would have to increase my calories. Can't gain muscle in a calorie deficit. Anyone who says otherwise is mistaken. The only case where that is true is someone who is extremely out of shape and very overweight. The body will compensate by adding more muscle, even when in deficit.

It's summer time, so I've decided that I will continue focusing on shedding fat, and I'll just accept I'll be a runt for a little while. I'm hoping to set my goal weight to 110lbs. At the end of summer, I'll work on adding body mass.

Yes, 110 is very small. Before anyone gets concerned about it, I'm 5'0". I have 88lbs lean mass. 110lbs is 21% bodyfat, which is the lower end of normal.

While many girls would love to be that tiny, I do not. I'd rather have more muscle. I'm active, and I'd love to be a pseudo athlete. I'd rather be sleek and lean like a cheetah.

So my goal for the summer term is 88lbs muscle/22lbs fat ~ 110lbs.

In the winter, I will get a personal trainer to help me bulk up properly. Not that I will not be 'bulky' muscle like a man. I'm a woman. I lack testosterone to get the BIG muscles. I will just get tighter and leaner, like a cheetah.

The women you see with really huge, man-like muscles have to do it by taking steroids. Or they have an unnatural level of testosterone for a woman. Lay off the steroids if you don't want to look like a man, but pick up the weights.

[Edit: Some women may big up more easily, but this is generally not the norm.]

I am positive that I now know the correct formula to shed fat. It requires some sacrifice.

I see myself as a pseudo athlete, not a runway model.

I want to look like this:



So it starts with this:



To be healthy, do this:



I am active, so I am healthy. But I am still fat. I have learned that body shape really is 80% what goes in here:



In order to get this:



I have discovered I need to get rid of this:





Sure I enjoy bread, pasta, and rice. Rice being my favorite of the three. But I have discovered that I don't need it. The most nutritious slice of bread cannot compete with a big bowl of salad for vitamins, mineral and nutrition. I have also discovered that I don't want it as much as this:



If all it takes is ditching the grains and starches, all I can say is, I wish I had done it sooner. I wish I had not banged my head against brick walls. I wish I had not continued to try to force a square in a round hole. My dietary component was just wrong, wrong, wrong for my goals.

My goal was always just over the horizon. All I had to do was adjust my sail.