Working out for 4 months, eating healthy and I see only little result

[pparker983456]

Hello,

I am a female of 22 years old, 5.3ft (1.62 m) tall and weight 119lb. I have been working out for more than 4 months (5 days a week), mainly lifting weights and moderate to intensive cardio for the last month. I follow a strict diet where I consume only 1,000 calories while burning 2,000 per day. I eat 80-100 grams of protein per day, limiting my fat and carbs intakes as much as possible. I would say on average my diet consists of 50% protein, 15% fat and 35% carbs. After putting all this work, I just don't seem to see any of the results I expected. I have lost 2lbs which I assume has been mainly body fat. I have also gained some muscle, but nothing very noticeable. Is there anything I am doing wrong? Is there anything I need to change or improve? My goal is to decrease my body fat percentage while increasing my body muscle mass.

[DessyDD]

Hey babe! I'd say have a food intolerance test done and maybe change the diet. Have you tried keto?
Also, it is a good idea to switch up your workout plan every 2 months, as the body gets used to the same routine!

[rockangel]

My goal is to decrease my body fat percentage while increasing my body muscle mass.

Not gonna happen if you are only eating 1000 cals a day. If this number is correct, you are very much likely undereating your RMR, which will lead to things like slowing down metabolism and weight loss coming primarily from muscle (as muscle is more metabolically demanding).

Increase the food, eating whole foods, find your maintenance cals and focus on getting stronger in the lifting, less cardio, and time. Dont overcomplicate it.

[Bagpuss13]

I agree with Rockangel completely....I had the exact same dilemma 3 years ago and thought I could do cardio and do weights and restrict my calories and get the body I want.... Boy was I wrong...your diet is key and you have to figure out first and foremost what your RMR is (Resting Metabolic Rate) this is how many calories your body needs to function if you literally laid in bed all day without moving so figure that out first...i guarantee it will be more than 1000 kcals! That's your start point, that's the minimum amount you need...your body needs all groups of fuel so like Rockangel says eat whole foods, don't restrict yourself eat what your body NEEDS. You need to ramp your metabolism up but by the sounds of it you are putting your body into starvation mode which is why you are seeing little to no improvement.
Best metaphor I can think of is when you are low on fuel in your car... what do you do? you slow down, you drive more economically to conserve the fuel, your body does the exact same thing and if you aren't giving it enough fuel it will slow everything down to conserve what little you have given it.
Look at your intake and go from there...trust me if your doing it right you should be hungry every couple of hours....if there is one thing other than the muscle gain that I love its the amount I now eat! ha ha
Good Luck!

[xsquid99]

Hello,

I am a female of 22 years old, 5.3ft (1.62 m) tall and weight 119lb. I have been working out for more than 4 months (5 days a week), mainly lifting weights and moderate to intensive cardio for the last month. I follow a strict diet where I consume only 1,000 calories while burning 2,000 per day. I eat 80-100 grams of protein per day, limiting my fat and carbs intakes as much as possible. I would say on average my diet consists of 50% protein, 15% fat and 35% carbs. After putting all this work, I just don't seem to see any of the results I expected. I have lost 2lbs which I assume has been mainly body fat. I have also gained some muscle, but nothing very noticeable. Is there anything I am doing wrong? Is there anything I need to change or improve? My goal is to decrease my body fat percentage while increasing my body muscle mass.

If you were really only eating 1000 calories while burning 2000 per day, which is a net of -1000 calories daily or -7000 calories a week, then in 4 months (17 weeks) you would have lost approximately 34 lbs (1 lb of fat = 3500 calories). So you can deduce 2 things - you aren't really eating 1000 calories a day and/or you aren't burning 2000 calories a day. This is pretty common for people that don't actually track their intake by weighing everything or overestimating your daily calorie burn.

If you've only lost 2 lbs in 4 months that means you are eating very close to your maintenance level, which at your stats should be in the vicinity of 2000 calories a day depending on your level of activity.

[alec935]

Wow, a lot of these replies are really awful. xsquid99 is right, if your calorie math is accurate you should be losing tons of weight. Some muscle and a whole lot of fat. And neither keto nor any other fad diet will do anything for you more than the calorie math they equate to.

Do not listen to anybody who says you need to eat more calories to lose weight. If your body could simply conserve everything you eat, starving people wouldn't be emaciated. Yes, your metabolism will slow down to a degree when calorically restricted but unless you're near death, it's more from NEAT (which you can combat by consciously moving more) than anything else.

[rockangel]

Wow, a lot of these replies are really awful. xsquid99 is right, if your calorie math is accurate you should be losing tons of weight. Some muscle and a whole lot of fat. And neither keto nor any other fad diet will do anything for you more than the calorie math they equate to.

Do not listen to anybody who says you need to eat more calories to lose weight. If your body could simply conserve everything you eat, starving people wouldn't be emaciated. Yes, your metabolism will slow down to a degree when calorically restricted but unless you're near death, it's more from NEAT (which you can combat by consciously moving more) than anything else.

No one said eat more to lose weight.
First, she is losing weight, at 2 pounds in 4 weeks, thats exactly what i would expect some one to lose eating 1000 cals day, with a slowed metabolism, underating RMR, and doing a shyte ton of work on top of it.

The eating more is in reference to her either A) building muscle (which is a stated goal of OP) or B) recomping (slower but also what OP stated by referencing losing fat and gaining muscle).

Your cal math would be correct if you were dealing with someone who isnt small and at a low weight and likely has never eaten much to optomize her metabolism (which yes im generalizing but experience tells me someone at her stats and goals likely hasnt been eating enough, so ill go with my gut).

There are also a lot of other red flags in her post (strict dieting, intensive cardio, percentages of cals etc) so my advice to eat whole foods, increase the cals and build muscle isnt awful, its literally the healthiest thing about this thread.

[xsquid99]

No one said eat more to lose weight.
First, she is losing weight, at 2 pounds in 4 weeks, thats exactly what i would expect some one to lose eating 1000 cals day, with a slowed metabolism, underating RMR, and doing a shyte ton of work on top of it.

The eating more is in reference to her either A) building muscle (which is a stated goal of OP) or B) recomping (slower but also what OP stated by referencing losing fat and gaining muscle).

Your cal math would be correct if you were dealing with someone who isnt small and at a low weight and likely has never eaten much to optomize her metabolism (which yes im generalizing but experience tells me someone at her stats and goals likely hasnt been eating enough, so ill go with my gut).

There are also a lot of other red flags in her post (strict dieting, intensive cardio, percentages of cals etc) so my advice to eat whole foods, increase the cals and build muscle isnt awful, its literally the healthiest thing about this thread.

She said she's lost 2 lbs in 4 MONTHS not 4 weeks. So no, the math doesn't compute to eating 1000 calories a day for her. 2 lbs in 4 months is barely a caloric deficit at all, and could very well be no deficit depending on water weight shifts and how/when she's weighing herself (spot weighing or daily with a rolling average). And since she's barely lost any weight why would you assume that her metabolism has slowed? Generally a persons daily caloric requirements is only going to drop by 100 cals a day for every 10 lbs lost.

[rockangel]

She said she's lost 2 lbs in 4 MONTHS not 4 weeks. So no, the math doesn't compute to eating 1000 calories a day for her. 2 lbs in 4 months is barely a caloric deficit at all, and could very well be no deficit depending on water weight shifts and how/when she's weighing herself (spot weighing or daily with a rolling average). And since she's barely lost any weight why would you assume that her metabolism has slowed? Generally a persons daily caloric requirements is only going to drop by 100 cals a day for every 10 lbs lost.

4 weeks or 4 months, either way your statements are incorrect. If she is not losing weight as you said, then she is not in a calorie deficit is she??? Which means either A) her metabolism adapted to the strict 1000 cal diet and is not going to drop fat/weight at said adapted state or B) she is not eating 1000 cals a day and her tracking is incorrect.

I literally see this all the time, excpet i have fun toys to test things like RMR and Vo2 max, but yes, people's metabolism can slow more than 100 cals that you state, as it adapts to the inputs and outputs. I recently dealth with a 45 yo male bodybuilder in this situation, mostly because of the extreme dieting that he has done for so long his body adapted. We have had to work for several months doing just what i told OP, eating and lifting, with less intense cardio and more focus on recovery (sleep, stress etc)...... So again, ive seen this, worked with clients, and been around people long enough to know if op is doing strict dieting and intense workouts, she needs to up the cals and focus on gaining strenth and muscle, generally working on being healthy first, then work on the other issues.

But since op hasnt come back, its a moot point and you are simply arguing with me about telling someone to be healthy, lol.

Geez, tell people to be healthy and for some reason that makes me awful??? get off with it.


EDITED TO ADD: I took a look at op's posting history. 4 posts, 3 of which she claims to be an 18 year old 6'2 male in 2017. Likely op is a troll as each post claims that they "just started lifting" or some such.

Either way, the answer to the question would not to be slash more cals and add more work. Thats irresponsible, unethical, and sets people up to fail long term. Dieting harder is not always the answer to life.

[1stCoachJoe]

Hello,

I am a female of 22 years old, 5.3ft (1.62 m) tall and weight 119lb. I have been working out for more than 4 months (5 days a week), mainly lifting weights and moderate to intensive cardio for the last month. I follow a strict diet where I consume only 1,000 calories while burning 2,000 per day. I eat 80-100 grams of protein per day, limiting my fat and carbs intakes as much as possible. I would say on average my diet consists of 50% protein, 15% fat and 35% carbs. After putting all this work, I just don't seem to see any of the results I expected. I have lost 2lbs which I assume has been mainly body fat. I have also gained some muscle, but nothing very noticeable. Is there anything I am doing wrong? Is there anything I need to change or improve? My goal is to decrease my body fat percentage while increasing my body muscle mass.

The conclusion drawn from what you have described is quite obvious. You have miscalculated your numbers. As many have alluded to, the math doesn't add up. Time to go back to the drawing board and get your numbers right. Once you get them dialed in correctly you will see progress on a weekly basis. It takes time and patience to do it right, but when its finally done - it's worth it!