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End of the newbie gains, and where do I go from here

Hi everyone,

A bit over a year ago I decided to get healthy, and since then I’ve lost 60lbs and put on a ton of (or just a lot) of muscle. I lift weights and do kickboxing, TRX, HIIT and yoga classes, usually 5-6 workouts per week.

I lost most of the weight (50lbs) the first six months. The last six months I’ve only lost 10lbs, but clearly put on more muscle (my measurements go down even when the scale doesn’t). I was very consistent with my calorie deficit the first six months, and more lenient the last six months.

A few weeks ago I decided to start losing weight more consistently again, and I’m back to a bigger deficit (around 5-800 calories daily). Since then my lifts have gone down, for the first time since I started lifting about a year ago. I talked to a trainer, and he said it’s likely the more aggressive deficit that’s causing it, and that I’ve reached the end of my newbie gains where I could lose weight and build muscle at the same time.

I’m aiming to lose another 20-25lbs, but I also want to keep building muscle. What do I do from here? Do I stick with the 5-800 cal deficit and accept I won’t build much muscle till I get to my goal weight and can increase my calories again? Or do I go for a lower deficit - would that allow me to build muscle while losing slowly?

I really want to lose more weight, but I also don’t want to lose the muscle I’ve built, and ideally I’d keep building.

I’m 35F, 5’8, 200lbs and aiming for 175-180 (my body is quite curvy, so going for a slim thick look - hence the relatively high goal weight). Currently aiming for 1800 calories and 100-120g of protein per day.

(crossposted to r/xxfitness)

submitted by /u/Quick-Painter522
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/1aelan4/end_of_the_newbie_gains_and_where_do_i_go_from/

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