No Big Results After 3 Months of Working Out

Hi everybody!

My name is Kathrine and i’m 20 years old…
I have a past of very restrictive dieting, and i lost about 20lbs and gained it all back because i decided to break the ‘‘chronic undereating cycle’’ - And yes it was a hell… I can absolutely not recommend ANY crash diets at all ;)…

Now to the case…
3 months ago i started to go to the gym because i want to lose some of the weight i have gained back. I feel a little bit chubby right now and to be honest… I HATE IT… :slight_smile: And after 3 months i only got minimal results…
In the beginning i didn’t really count my calories but one day i decided to count them just to check how much i actually consumed, and i was only eating between 1300-1500 calories a day! I think it’s a pretty small amount of calories, isn’t it?
Do u guys think that i need to eat more calories to see some better results and to shred some fat??

Hope you guys can help me, i hate waisting time doing the wrong things :disappointed_relieved:

Regards Kathrine from Denmark

No one gets big results after three months.

If you’re 6’4" and 250lb, yes. If you’re 4’9" and 90lbs, no.

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im 5 ft. and 5,654 inches = 169 cm…
And my weight is 136 pounds…

My frame is pretty small and when i gain weight it looks like i have gained a ton of weight…

What exactly are you eating?

Which program are you following?

3 months is nothing. You got started, let’s get going in the right direction.

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i’m eating around 1800-2200 calories now. I eat more the days where i workout…

Breakfast:
Whole grain bun = 179cal
cheese, 20g = 55cal
Proteinshake with oat milk = 265cal
Macros: p45g, c52g, f11g
Total Calories: 499

Snack:
1 banana =125cal
peanuts = 37cal
Macros: p3, c31, f3
Total Calories:162

Lunch:
Rye bread, 120g=238cal
Avocado, 100g=197cal
Chicken, 30g= 35cal
Macros: p15, c48, f22
Total Calories: 466

Snack:
Chocolate 70%, 17,5g=70cal
Carrot 120g = 47cal
Macros: p0.8, c13, f6.8
Total calories: 117cal

Dinner:
Chicken, 200g = 212cal
Potatoes, 220g = 189cal
Broccoli, 100g = 35cal

snack:
Peanutbutter, 15g = 99cal
Apple, 138g = 72cal
Macros: p2.9, c20.9, f8.4
Total calories: 171cal

Total calorie intake: 1855cal
Total macro intake: p122, c210, f54

My workout plan is 3x full body workout a week.
Normally i train 45min-55min
I train with heavy weights and high intensity, 5-6 sets with 9-11 reps pr. exercise. I normally do 5 different exercises.
My strength is growing and my family members say that my body has changed, but i don’t think it’s much…
But i went from 70/153.3lbs leg press to 140kg/308.6lbs leg press in these 3 months…
BUT i still feel pretty soft and chubby at some places… Hope i can make some better progress the next 3 months, is it realistic?

Thank you, JFG :slight_smile:

Fat loss takes time, but you are making good progress so stick with it and you will definitely see some changes, whether thats more muscle or less fat will depend mostly on your diet.

It sounds like you are training well, better than most women just starting out for sure.

Your sample diet looks relatively high calorie for a 5ft 130lb female, if you aren’t losing fat then yes, reducing that would what I’d suggest.

Looking at your meal plan I would personally want to reduce your carbohydrate intake to get the calorie reduction you need, I certainly wouldn’t reduce protein and that fat intake will help keep you feeling full.

Good luck.

Doubling your leg press is not minimal results.

If you feel you need to drop some fat then lower your calories slightly or increase activity for a little bit then get back on to building muscle.

Just keep nice steady progress with any weight gain/loss.

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Thank you everyone!..

Yes my strength has increased, but i have not lost much fat…
It’s like my body doesn’t want to lose the fat after i’ve been underrating for almost 2 years…
I tried to reverse diet, but i just think i need to have patience… But as i said before, i really hate waisting time doing the wrong things, so i’m glad that you guys can help me.
Maybe my metabolism will become better as the time goes…

I forgot to say that i’m walking for 30-50min everyday :slight_smile:

okay :slight_smile: Thank you :slight_smile:
I also think It’s so hard to believe in a fucking number… The body is pretty complicated…

BEtter then most. So, good job.

Lower your carbs slowly. 25 grams at a time.

Lower the carbs, if you go down in weight, stay where you are. If you stagnate for a couple weeks, lower carbs again by 25 grams.

Do not go under 1300

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I’m so glad that you guys are saying that!..
Sometimes i just don’t know what to expect :)!
I hope the next months will give me some good progress! :slight_smile:

Increase your exercise intensity first if you can before you go cutting calories, because once you cut them, you can’t exactly increase them again if fat loss stalls. The aim, at least I think, is to lose the weight but whilst eating as much food as you possibly can. Eating 1500 calories and less sucks and you only want to go down there if you absolutely need to and I don’t think you need to yet. Your workout routine needs to be more intense. How to do that? If you squat first in a workout normally, try squatting last for example. Or aim for more reps for 1-2 sets per exercise. The leg press is a great machine to to this on as lesser chance of injury. So instead of only doing 11 reps, aim for 20 with the SAME weight you would normally only do 9-11 or so for. You may have to pause around 15 reps or so but jump right back in till you get to 20. Maybe look at completing your current workout faster, ie shorter rest periods.

You’re 169cm and weigh 136 which is a good weight to be. (I’m 164 and weigh 135 but I have been lifting for 7 years though, so I have a fair amount of muscle on me). That said focus on improving your technique form, and strength in the gym. You’ve only been lifting 3 months. I personally don’t think you need to be below 130 but it depends on the look you’re going for of course. But if you stick to it for at least another 9 months, push hard I’m sure you’ll lose more fat gain some muscle and you’ll look more “toned”, not as soft as you said, and achieve the body you want. But it takes time. Don’t rush to cut calories especially if you have a history of disordered eating in the past since it may send you right back into that world. Good luck :slight_smile:

Thank you :slight_smile:

You are right I will not go under 1500cal…
I need to eat so many calories as possible…

This morning i have been working out with high intensity! Damn! I was totally done after 35min and especially my legs are hurting… 140kg x 20 leg press is a killer…
Is it only strength or will i also build muscles??

If no one hasn’t mention this… i would advice you not to gauge any change in body weight totally on scale weight alone… Take some body circumference measurements at key locations .

yes it will build muscle.

I’m glad it’s worked for you. This technique will help you do both, build
strength and gain bigger muscles. I find higher reps work better for the
lower body. They need the extra push. And it’ll also help you build some
mental toughness, as you can see, since you have to push through till the
end. Good luck.

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But how many different exercises should i do? And how long should my workouts be?

Don’t overthink it or stress out. There’s a lot to learn as a beginner but if you keep it simple and keep a log of what you’re doing you’ll be fine.

I usually say legs should be between 4-8 exercises. More isn’t always better, remember that. It’s about intensity. Personally I do 6 main ones to hit my quads, hamstrings, adductors and abductors and then 2 sometimes 3 for calves. I focus on squats, (all variations, but I mainly do back, front, hack or jefferson squats) leg press, hip thrust, bridges (usually single leg on a Bosu or medicine ball, leg curl (lying or standing) lunges (all variations walking, Bulgarian, side, jumping), kick backs (on the machine or with a cable), jump squats. I don’t do all of these when I do a workout but choose six which hit different areas of my leg. First movement is usually a compound one like back squats sometimes leg press. Then another compound exercise like hip thrusts then followed by isolating exercises like leg curls, lunges, kick backs etc. Stick with the same exercises for a while 6-8 weeks then switch them up slightly from there. Meaning maybe swap out leg press with two leg and do single leg instead. I don’t go changing all the exercises all at once. You need to get the basic exercises learnt properly first so those should be staples in your workout.

Same with back. Exercise like pull-ups, lat pull downs, deadlifts inverted row, barbell row, t-bar row, seated cable row, dumbbell row, hyper extensions, reverse hyper extensions, face pulls. Once again I don’t do all of these exercises but I choose about 6, starting with the compound ones, seeing which area of my back they hit and finishing with the isolating ones.

Chest, shoulders and arms. Personally I don’t think women need to train these on separate days like bodybuilders do, so they can be combined into one workout. So 2 exercises per muscle group, 2 for chest say push-ups and bench press (either barbell or dumbbells), chest press, shoulders- shoulder press and side raises, biceps- barbell curl and either cable or dumbbell curl, triceps, dips, push-downs, triceps extensions.

How long your workout should be depends on you and how quickly you move of course. Between compound exercise rest can be between 60-90 sec, isolating exercises 60 sec roughly between sets. Compound exercises roughly 4-5 sets, isolating ones 3-4. Your workout should take you about an hour or less.

But like I said you should definitely check out the beginner articles here on T-nation, and then if you wish pick one and run it for as long as they prescribe (12 weeks usually). Or read some other beginner articles and come up with one yourself. Whatever you do, track your numbers (weights, reps, sets per exercise), take progress pick every couple weeks than go from there. Keep it simple. One thing at a time. You’ll learn a lot at the beginning which will help you later on down the road in your training.
Again good luck.

I wouldn’t try to sort this out for myself. Pick a program that suits your goals and is from a reputable coach and all this will be answered for you.

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Wall of crit dude.

Way too much info.

As noted above, get on a program from a reputable coach.

Or, write an article and send it in.

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