just finished push, onto lean today

lin7604

well i just finished the push phase and once again i am so disappointed with my results, i still see no changes from burn so on i go onto the lean phase and i sure hope that this is the month that will show some of this hard work i am doing. I do know that i am stronger then i have ever been in my life but it doesn't show , why

kiekie

It can be demotivating when you don't see the results you want but you know you're getting stronger so you just have to be patient and keep at it. You are on your way. A lot of people say LEAN is where the results come in.

I don't know your personal stats and circumstances but some things to think about are:

- Are you lifting heavy enough to challenge yourself? Are you really working to failure every time? Same for effort during cardio sessions.

- How is your diet? You won't see your new muscles until you reduce your body fat % so diet is crucial. You need to be eating enough to fuel your activity and muscle growth but not going over your TDEE if you're trying to lose weight. The CLX booklet calculations had me eating at way below my BMR so I follow In Place of A Road Map. I seriously recommend it if you're lifting and there's so much helpful here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13
Easy BMR and TDEE calculator here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

- Are you drinking enough water and not consuming a high amount of sodium to avoid water retention?

- Do you need to take an extra day off per week? I personally find I have better results taking 2 rest days a week. If you're constantly putting your body under stress, your muscles will be retaining water as they repair and you may not see the loss of inches or weight for a while. A large amount may then come off in a "whoosh" when you take a longer rest period.

- If you're doing all of the above and still nothing, try eating at maintenance calories for a week and then continuing. It sounds counter-intuitive but I've read many successful posts on here and did it myself and lost 4.8lbs in that week after a 7 month stall!

Hope that helps.

agata44

I will start Lean phase, next week. I don't see massive results neither, but it wasn't my goal, as I don't need to loose weight. I am stronger and faster than I ever was and really got into lifting and thinking what to next. Btw I was browsing and found this article you might be interested in, it's not mind blowing but has got some good points
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-10-commandments-of-lean.html

lin7604

thx so much.....

i am 5.2 ft and 118 lbs. my final goal was 115 but i don't care if i ever reached it as long as i got the extra body fat off, so that was my main goal doinf clx was to reduce my body fat. i was in between 23% - 24% i think and want to be 20 %

I too was set under my bmr with clx recommendations. i think it was 12-1300 cals... i have been doing 1400 before, so i kept it at that and go up to 1600. my tdee was 1766.

i was only doing 1 rest day a week as i thought i needed that extra burn it off in there a week, for one, to keep me going and not get lazy but two, to keep me burning cals to burn the fat off.

I find i am lifting heavy enough, the only thing is a few exercises i need a inbetween weight. like in lean she want 12 reps max and for bicep curls 10 is too east but 15 is too much, where as 15 i was doing in push...

kiekie

Looks like you're in your healthy weight range so this is where you have to change your game a bit. I'm struggling with this at my last 5-10lbs too.

If you have lots of weight to lose, a large deficit and cardio are beneficial but when you get to the last few pounds and you want to gain lean mass (muscle burns fat), a large deficit and lots of cardio kinda work against building muscle. To grow muscle you need to be eating at a minimum deficit, around maintenance or even above it, depending on your goals. Of course, when you have built the muscle, it works for you in burning off the fat and making you leaner.

I would try a few things out. Work out your TDEE -10 or 15% calorie goal at Scooby's and try eating that for a few weeks. You didn't mention how your diet is but make sure you're eating mostly healthy and getting enough protein, especially post-workout. 0.8-1g per lb bodyweight is recommended. All my female 'heroes' on here eat around 1800-2000 cals a day and are ridiculously lean! If you want to get really geeky and refine your numbers, a member of the IPOARM group made this spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE#gid=14

If you make tweaks like this remember that you may very well gain scale weight and/or inches to begin with but you will be building muscle which will eventually burn off fat. You may be heavier but leaner. Don't be afraid!

I personally would lose the extra Burn it Off and rest. But if you feel you need to keep it up, as long as you've included it in your activity level on the calculator, you should be fine as it will be covered in your calorie goal.

Could you buy an in-between weight to use? How many reps can you do with the 15lbs? If it's close to 12 and you don't want to buy any in between weights, I'd just work on progressing and adding one rep every time. But have patience, Rome wasn't built in a day and you can always do another round and increase your weights throughout that.

LisaGirlfriend

do you take measurements? I lost inches but only 5 pounds during the entire 90 days.

lin7604

i do a 10-15 % deficit from my tdee. i am eating 1500-1600 most days, closer to 1600 i'd say . on my day off it's between 14-1500.

i am at a good weight and i really don't care if i lose any lbs, that was not the reason why i went on clx, it was to lose BF! i have measured myself weekly since starting and NO changes at all. I also use that fat tester but i tell ya it is frustrating as i don't always get it in the same spot twice, so i have no idea if i really lost bf or not. but looking at my pics, i have lost nothing! if it makes a difference i will post my pics for you to see, so you understand that there is no real changes. the only visual change i have is my obliques when flexed are a bit more defined, that's it.
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mdwelch123

Your abs are noticeably more defined. That means you DID lose body fat! great job!

iNkedFiTmama

Your thighs seem slimmer..and your shoulders have improved IMO.

PrincessMonica05

I agree that your thighs do look slimmer and your abs look more defined.

lin7604

thx everyone. i have finished clx now and i see a bit more with changes, it's so hard b/c they all were so subtle each month that i didn't really see them till the end. now looking at day 1 to my last day last weekend, i do see some changes even though they weren't what i was expecting... but now i am onto t25 to burn the rest of my fat off... i hope

LisaGirlfriend

you look FANTASTIC!!! I'd die to look like you. ;-) Keep up the great work. T25 is kicking my butt and I am so missing CLX!

lin7604

thx. i am too already... i hope i will get the results i want with t25. i was expecting way better results from clx then i got but i was happy that i just got some results... i have a image in my head of how i want to look by the end of the year, not sure if it is achievable or not but what ever results i get is a added bonus!