Can't seem to be able to get back lost muscle

[kajcomp]

I'm new here, and I do know I should be in the over 40 forum, but looked like more activity here.
I'm 55 and lost from my heaviest at 165 during my 40's down to 128 when I was 49. The weight loss was due to severe stress, basically not eating, etc., all due to taking of best friend dieing of cancer. So, I decided to keep it off but all the while trying to improve my horrible diet. I really think I went through a period of malnourishment, however at age52 I felt that my diet was great, I was exercising with yoga and mild strength trng and mild resistance trng. My body shaped up quite well, in fact I felt as if I looked better at that point than I had in my 20s, felt wonderful, etc. Then a year and a half ago, my Dad went into the hospital, severly ill, consequently, with round the clock in hospital care from me, there went my diet and exercise again - down the tubes. I totally was unable to do anything - eat properly, sleep was gone and exercise was nil. He was hospitalized for 5 months straight, he passed away last June. Somehow I knew I needed to get back into my routine but just did not have the energy to do nothing else but sleep (and weep). Depression...again. Needless to say, I realize how hard it is to bounce back and get back to where your physique once was after giving it up for a while, but when you are my age and also in the throws of menopause with numerous hormonal changes on that end, it is almost impossible to get back what you've lost. For the first time in my life I was actually flabby and had lost the nice firm rounded muscles I had built so very easily 3 years ago. And to think all my life I had lead a fairly active life, I had never really exercised purposely for my health - and then at age 52 to be able to develope very nice muscle, then just to loose it..... I decided that I should do cardio along with the same routines I had been doing - I bought a very good rebounder and have loved using it - it has made a tremendous change in my endurance of the respiratory, however, when I get off it my legs are pumped, but I loose it an hour later and back to flab. Also, I finally notice cellulite like fluid filled "bags" on my inner thighs. No matter what I do I cannot get back my firm upper thighs and inner thighs. What's going on that I can't build back my legs again? Also I can't tighten my belly as I had before and I have the extra loose skin where fat once was on my back opposite my breasts. So much is hormonal I know as just the last year has brought on a huge difference in my skin - the crepiness has set in and even the skin on my forearms is "slack" and crinkly.
Can anyone advise me on what is going on with the flab turning back on just a couple of hours after pumping up with exercise? It's as if I just can't build, something won't let me. Also, some of the sellers of rebounders says that with the exercising of the cells using the rebounder and how it improves lymphatic drainage, then it is very beneficial for the cellulite. Does anyone have any experience with this? I do not go to a gym nor have a trainer - all I do is from DVDs I have acquired, i.e., Rodney Yee Yoga Burn, Denise Austin Shrink Your Female Fat Zones (this DVD with her is actually a decent one). Does anyone use the P90X series? Does this make you look like you are about to split the seams of your britches with bulging muscles? I am getting plenty of cardio on the rebounder, I know. So something else is missing, my old programs aren't working after a 9 month hiatus. By the way, I have a Taylor scale and my body fat is always 32, 31 and one time it got to 30 for one day! I don't know how I could have that percent of body fat as I barely consume any fat, only the Omega 3s, some olive oil, some coconut oil, no sugar, starches, breads, sweets; mostly proteins, veggies, some fruits and nuts. My hydration level is 48 and 49 - I am 5'4" and weight is generally around 136; however I can gain about 4 pounds within a few hours time - go figure - there again, the wonders of menoapuse and bloating!
Thanks all for any guidance - goodness knows I need it.

[stikfigure]

Originally Posted by kajcomp

I'm new here, and I do know I should be in the over 40 forum, but looked like more activity here.
I'm 55 and lost from my heaviest at 165 during my 40's down to 128 when I was 49. The weight loss was due to severe stress, basically not eating, etc., all due to taking of best friend dieing of cancer. So, I decided to keep it off but all the while trying to improve my horrible diet. I really think I went through a period of malnourishment, however at age52 I felt that my diet was great, I was exercising with yoga and mild strength trng and mild resistance trng. My body shaped up quite well, in fact I felt as if I looked better at that point than I had in my 20s, felt wonderful, etc. Then a year and a half ago, my Dad went into the hospital, severly ill, consequently, with round the clock in hospital care from me, there went my diet and exercise again - down the tubes. I totally was unable to do anything - eat properly, sleep was gone and exercise was nil. He was hospitalized for 5 months straight, he passed away last June. Somehow I knew I needed to get back into my routine but just did not have the energy to do nothing else but sleep (and weep). Depression...again. Needless to say, I realize how hard it is to bounce back and get back to where your physique once was after giving it up for a while, but when you are my age and also in the throws of menopause with numerous hormonal changes on that end, it is almost impossible to get back what you've lost. For the first time in my life I was actually flabby and had lost the nice firm rounded muscles I had built so very easily 3 years ago. And to think all my life I had lead a fairly active life, I had never really exercised purposely for my health - and then at age 52 to be able to develope very nice muscle, then just to loose it..... I decided that I should do cardio along with the same routines I had been doing - I bought a very good rebounder and have loved using it - it has made a tremendous change in my endurance of the respiratory, however, when I get off it my legs are pumped, but I loose it an hour later and back to flab. Also, I finally notice cellulite like fluid filled "bags" on my inner thighs. No matter what I do I cannot get back my firm upper thighs and inner thighs. What's going on that I can't build back my legs again? Also I can't tighten my belly as I had before and I have the extra loose skin where fat once was on my back opposite my breasts. So much is hormonal I know as just the last year has brought on a huge difference in my skin - the crepiness has set in and even the skin on my forearms is "slack" and crinkly.
Can anyone advise me on what is going on with the flab turning back on just a couple of hours after pumping up with exercise? It's as if I just can't build, something won't let me. Also, some of the sellers of rebounders says that with the exercising of the cells using the rebounder and how it improves lymphatic drainage, then it is very beneficial for the cellulite. Does anyone have any experience with this? I do not go to a gym nor have a trainer - all I do is from DVDs I have acquired, i.e., Rodney Yee Yoga Burn, Denise Austin Shrink Your Female Fat Zones (this DVD with her is actually a decent one). Does anyone use the P90X series? Does this make you look like you are about to split the seams of your britches with bulging muscles? I am getting plenty of cardio on the rebounder, I know. So something else is missing, my old programs aren't working after a 9 month hiatus. By the way, I have a Taylor scale and my body fat is always 32, 31 and one time it got to 30 for one day! I don't know how I could have that percent of body fat as I barely consume any fat, only the Omega 3s, some olive oil, some coconut oil, no sugar, starches, breads, sweets; mostly proteins, veggies, some fruits and nuts. My hydration level is 48 and 49 - I am 5'4" and weight is generally around 136; however I can gain about 4 pounds within a few hours time - go figure - there again, the wonders of menoapuse and bloating!
Thanks all for any guidance - goodness knows I need it.

First of all: cut yourself some slack.
enhanced circulation immediately after exercise probably has something to do with the sense of some tissue plumping for a short while.
what do you mean by "hydration level is 48 and 49" what units of measurement are you using? tissue hydration depends greatly on exercise, stretching and mineral / electrolyte tissue content, so you could be taking in a lot of water and not actually feeding any of it into your tissues.

don't rely too much on the electrostatic body fat measurements - they can be really inaccurate.

I would just recommend working on getting back into a routine of moving regularly whether it's yoga or swimming or walking - start a routine. Then once you've committed taking care of yourself / having you time regularly you can work in more specific weight training or cardiovascular work.

Wait and see what the others on the forum have to say. Everyone has different valuable points.

hang in there and good for you for reaching out!!

[kajcomp]

Thanks for your time - I'm using a Taylor scale that measures weight, Body Fat % and hydration levels for my age and height. I'm okay with not really adhering to what the scale says - just trying to continue to feel good through "older" age, and would also like to keep up my decent looks for as long as I can. For now, I need to change my fitness routine. As I say, I believe that I am getting sufficient cardio with the rebounder that I do on a daily basis - it is supposedly cellular exercise and tremendously supports lymphatic drainage which is beneficial for the release of toxins that build up in the body, especially cellulite prone areas. It is supposedly great for entire circulation and within a short 20 minutes workout on the rebounder, it is stated that it is more beneficial than running, but without the jarring on the joints that traditional running is infamous for. I have to take care of my joints at this age. It seems that my weight and resistance trng has my muscles nice and firm, but it's just this jiggly stuff that's on the surface that moves around that makes me ill. It looks like I have'nt worked out a day in my life! It is mostly at the tops of my thighs and the inner thighs seem droopy and also on the belly and back at braline and the tricep area. What type of exercises are recommended on the inner thigh and upper thigh for firming? The only equipment I have is my rebounder, 2 lb. wrist/ankle weights, 5 and 10 lb. free weights, various strengths of resistance bands that I use mostly over the door for back shoulders and arms, and an exercise ball which I use mostly like a bench for presses, etc. Also a yoga mat for my yoga. I really don't want to buy anything else as my living room already looks like a gym! That's okay with me though, maybe my visitors will be motivated by it for themselves! I did purchase P90X last fall and started the program and went through 2 months of the 3 month program. It was so surprising how well I kept up - I backed off of the program when I read somewhere that intense workouts were bad for causing period irregularities which I started to experience. I also quit because my arms and shoulders started to explode in size which I do not want. I have a natural muscular-looking physique, but the intensity really gave me size across the back and arms which are already large enough anyway.
I would like to work on my quads, hamstrings and glutes and ALSO the inner thighs - my calves are perfect now. Also, what do I need to do about the area around the braline down to my waist on my back that extends under the arms on the torso? without adding lots of bulk? And of course my belly. I suppose anthing to do with core? Should I be doing anything differently with my diet?
Thanks again for any advice - this really is a great site.
Kathy