New Girl Here! Not sure if I'm doing things right...

TayTayDrenDren

So a little bit about myself and why I want to put on some lean muscle...

I'm 19 years old, 5' 10" and about 115 lbs. I spent most of last year living in New York City with the hope of becoming a model. I was so excited about the opportunity and I wanted to work as hard as I could to get myself "model ready" and hopefully travel the world. Unfortunately, going along with the modeling stereotype, they asked me to lose weight because my hips were too big. Not only that, they wanted me to lose the weight within a couple months. I was very skeptical about the whole ordeal, but I wanted the opportunity so bad that I ended up going to extreme measures. I put myself on a very restricted diet and worked out in the gym on top of countless hours of walking and sure enough, the weight came off but, I wasn't happy with what I saw in the mirror. I could see my sternum through my chest and I always felt weak. I was always hungry too but I was afraid that if I ate like I used to, I would gain all that weight back and ruin my modeling career. Luckily, I was able to come home this past October and I am extremely determined to get back to a healthy weight.

At the beginning of this year, I finally started my fitness journey. I talked with a good friend of mine who used be a trainer and he told me to eat about 2200 calories a day while doing full body strength training 3-4 times a week ( i only used the machines) with about 15-30 min of cardio. I felt like 2200 was a bit much since I was normally eating about 1750 before that so I only increased it to about 2050-2100 per day and trying to eat 45% carbs, 25% protein, and 30% fats.

I've been following this routine for almost a month and I'm not sure if I'm doing things right. At the beginning, my weight was 113. After the first week it jumped up to 114.6 and the next week it dropped back down to 113. Then the third week was a bit weird. I ate a little bit more during the week at about 2150 cal per day and for the first few days, my weight increased by a pound and then stayed around the 115-116 range and it's not going back down! This scares me because I really don't want to gain too much fat while doing this! Also, I've been measuring myself with a measuring tape to track my progress and I've gained about a .5 inch on my thighs and about .25 inch on my hips. I know these are my problem areas so I know I'm gaining some fat.

I also have an semi active job as a hostess where I spend at least 4-6 hours on my feet.

Can anyone help me pin point where I might be going wrong?

chocolate_owl

You're not going wrong anywhere. You're gaining weight, the number on the scale should go up! You're gaining at a reasonable rate. There will be fat gained along with muscle; it's not something you can avoid. And at your height and weight, a little more fat will most likely be beneficial. Once you've reached a healthy weight, you can reassess your body composition - perhaps switch to recomping, or continue to bulk a bit longer before cutting. The important part right now is getting to a healthy weight - your weight is very low for your height, and that puts you at risk for health issues.

TayTayDrenDren

I know the number is supposed to go up but it went up 3 pounds in a week and that seems a bit much.

psuLemon

TayTayDrenDren wrote: »

I know the number is supposed to go up but it went up 3 pounds in a week and that seems a bit much.

There are a lot of factors that will drive weight to go up besides fat gain/muscle gain. When you start to eat more calories than you are used to, your body will have extra food to digest, which creates more waste; if you eat more carbs, you increase water weight/glycogen, and so forth. I would keep your calories constant for a few more weeks before you make any adjustments. A person can naturally fluctuate several lbs a day (especially women), so ideally, you should weigh yourself every day and see the average over a week.

In terms of exercise, I would recommend getting off machines and move to a free weight program. Free weight (dumbbell or barbell) allows for a more natural movement, engages more muscle fibers (activates stabilizer muscles) and allows for quicker progression in weight. Personally, I would recommend one of the programs in the below thread. Generically, programs like the M&S dumbbell routine is a great for complete beginners, or if you want to get into fitness a bit more and learn, I would recommend one of the following books: Thinner, Leaner, Stronger; StrongCurves; New Rules of Lifting for Women. All are very good and will provide you a basis of knowledge for nutrition and exercise, as well as, a year long workout program to get you started.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

TayTayDrenDren

Ok thank you! What about cardio? I've always been a really lean person if that helps with figuring out how much I should be doing. I've been doing about 15 min of cardio on my workout days and I do intervals of 4mph for 2 min, 6mph for 2 min, and 7mph for 1 min 3 times.

psuLemon

TayTayDrenDren wrote: »

Ok thank you! What about cardio? I've always been a really lean person if that helps with figuring out how much I should be doing. I've been doing about 15 min of cardio on my workout days and I do intervals of 4mph for 2 min, 6mph for 2 min, and 7mph for 1 min 3 times.

Cardio is it makes you happy. I do HIIT 2x a week and will continue during a bulk. I also do 1 day of flexibility training. Some dont do cardio during a bulk as it can burn more calories than they can consume.

TayTayDrenDren

I feel weird not doing any cardio. It drives me nuts when I'm not on my feet doing anything.

TayTayDrenDren

Is there anything else you would recommend to me?

Dano74

Congrats on recognizing the danger you were in both mentally and physically and being brave enough to ditch the path leading you there.

If you love cardio, do cardio. If you're lifting and eating enough, it'll work itself out. Thing is, this is a journey of adjustments and seeing what works for you. Because patient with it and yourself. 3 lbs. Isn't bad at all... and more than likely isn't fat but other factors as well.

psuLemon

TayTayDrenDren wrote: »

Is there anything else you would recommend to me?

The one you enjoy the most. If your current program is working, stick with it.

jaybird20162016

I'm the same height as you (5 10) and now 130lbs. Have been bulking since around October 2016. I currently eat about 2450 calories a day.

I seem to lose weight quite easily, so was finding it hard to gain for a while. I actually had to stop doing cardio and just focus on lifting 3-4 times a week. Now the scale is going up each week! If you start lifting heavy (doing progressive overload) it seems to be good cardio anyway!

Check weight every week and track progress - you should be gaining approx 0.25 - 0.5lb a week. If after a few weeks you're not you might have to cut cardio (for a while) or increase calories until you are.

Oh and make sure you're eating enough protein (approx 0.8g per lb should be good) I wasn't getting nearly enough when I started and it makes all the difference!

Good luck

TayTayDrenDren

Thank you! I know I'm getting enough protein. The only thing I'm worried about is that the scale hasn't been going up by .25 or .5 pounds per week. It's going up by full pounds! While I was in New York I was very restrictive on what I ate and I think I screwed up my metabolism and that's why it's going up like this and staying there.

chocolate_owl

TayTayDrenDren wrote: »

Thank you! I know I'm getting enough protein. The only thing I'm worried about is that the scale hasn't been going up by .25 or .5 pounds per week. It's going up by full pounds! While I was in New York I was very restrictive on what I ate and I think I screwed up my metabolism and that's why it's going up like this and staying there.

You said you've been at this for almost a month, yes? In that time, you've gained 3 lbs - that's an average of 0.75 lbs a week. Considering your current weight, that's a good gain rate. Also keep in mind that your weight will fluctuate some anyway because of waste, water weight, TOM... Some of the jump in the scale you saw is probably related to those factors.

richardgavel

How often are you weighing? It sounds like you are weighing once a week and i think that might not be frequent enough, at least in the beginning, to accurately understand how your weight moves up and down and understand trends.

TayTayDrenDren

There have been weeks where I've been weighing once a day in the morning after I use the bathroom. It's been confusing because every week it's inconsistent. The second week I went up to 114.6 but went right back down to 113 at the end of the week. The week after I ate a bit more that the previous 2 weeks and it went up 1 pound every day and now has stayed between 115-116. I'm not sure what's going on.

DancingMoosie

TayTayDrenDren wrote: »

I feel weird not doing any cardio. It drives me nuts when I'm not on my feet doing anything.

A free weights lifting program will have you on your feet for the most part. Squats, ohp, rows, deadlifts are all standing. Only bench press would be laying on a bench, but you still use your feet for the heel drive.

TayTayDrenDren

Sorry for asking so many questions but also about how big should your thighs, hips, arms, etc be getting each week if your are doing everything right? My hips and thighs are my problem areas and they've been growing at about 1/8 to1/4 inch a week.

psuLemon

TayTayDrenDren wrote: »

Sorry for asking so many questions but also about how big should your thighs, hips, arms, etc be getting each week if your are doing everything right? My hips and thighs are my problem areas and they've been growing at about 1/8 to1/4 inch a week.

That is largely genetic and pretty much hard to answer.

TayTayDrenDren

Little bit of an update. I weighed myself this morning and my weight dropped to 113.6 but my hips and thighs still stayed at the same measurements. I know you are supposed to take a weekly average but these huge weight fluctuations are confusing me.

psuLemon

So in the past month, based on that, you essentially haven't gained any weight. You may want to consider adding more calories. Like 250 calories more than current.

TayTayDrenDren

But wait...if I haven't gained any weight then why did my hips and thighs grow a .5 inch?

psuLemon

TayTayDrenDren wrote: »

But wait...if I haven't gained any weight then why did my hips and thighs grow a .5 inch?

You are relatively new to weight training which can cause some inflammation as you retain more fluid to repair the muscles. It could also have some mismeasurement in there as it can be difficult to hit the same exact spot.

DancingMoosie

Yep, my measurements seem to change because it is hard to measure yourself completely accurately every time. If your clothes fit the same, then you're probably not gaining inches.