19 year old girl trying to get fit, WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

chewychocolatechipcookie

Hi everyone. I need some advice on my workout plan. I am a 19 year old female and am a vegetarian. I am 5'1 and currently weigh 110 pounds. I have never gotten professional advice so everything I'm saying is based on my own online research and so it probably isn't that great. Anyhow, I think my weight is healthy for my age and height, however, I still feel fat. I have a pear-shaped body so my butt/thighs/legs are quite chunky while my upper body isn't so bad.

About 3 months ago, I started following my own workout plan. This is basically what it is:

Day 1: stretch/warmup, 30 minutes of jogging/running on the treadmill, stretch/warmup

Day 2: stretch/warmup, 30 minutes of jogging/running, "strength" training = 3 sets of: 20 squats, 20 lunges, 15 pushups, 20 bicep curls w/ light dumbells, 20 leg lifts

Day 3: stretch/warmup, 30 minutes of jogging/running on the treadmill, stretch/warmup

Day 4: stretch/warmup, 30 minutes of jogging/running, "strength" training = 3 sets of: 20 squats, 20 lunges, 15 pushups, 20 bicep curls w/ light dumbells, 20 leg lifts

Day 5: stretch/warmup, 30 minutes of jogging/running on the treadmill, stretch/warmup

Day 6: stretch/warmup, 30 minutes of jogging/running, "strength" training = 3 sets of: 20 squats, 20 lunges, 15 pushups, 20 bicep curls w/ light dumbells, 20 leg lifts

Day 7: rest day

One of the 7 days is a cheat day where I eat whatever I want... Also, I'm not that strict with this routine and I'm not gonna lie, I tend to skip 2-3 days every now and then..

I exercise at night at around 9pm. I usually sleep by 11 or 12 and have 7 hours of sleep on average.

In addition to exercising, I cut out a lot of unhealthy foods from my diet. I only eat whole wheat breads, drink more water, and have breakfast every day. I keep a food journal to keep track of what I eat and consume approximately 1800-2000 calories/day. This is typically what I eat in a day:

Breakfast: bowl of bran flakes with 1% milk, flax seeds, almonds or walnuts
Snack: an apple
Lunch: small bowl of greek yogurt, 2 whole wheat roti's, 1-1.5 cups of cooked vegetables or a cup of lentils
Snack: a big plate of watermelon or a whole wheat bagel w/ cream cheese with a glass of 1% milk
Dinner: 1 carrot, 2 sticks of celery, 1 beet, 1 nectarine, 1 plum

After my workout, I recently started drinking 1 cup of milk

Here is the progress I've made:

June 8, 2013:
waist = 27.5 inches
stomach = 29 inches
thigh (right above knee) = 15 inches
calves = 14 inches
arm = 9.5 inches (right above elbow)
weight = 110 lbs

July 10, 2013:
waist = 26 inches
stomach = 27 inches
thigh = 14.5 inches
calves = 14 inches
arm = 8.6 inches
weight = 106 lbs

August 4, 2013:
waist =26.5
stomach = 28.5
thigh = 14.5
calves = 13.5
arm = 8.5
weight = 110 lbs... I weighed myself a few days ago and I was about 107...

So about a week ago, I totally went off track and pigged out on a crapload of food.. in one day in addition to what I normally eat, I ate an entire 100g chocolate bar, potato chips, ice cream, about a dozen and a half of homemade chocolate chip cookies. I don't know why but I just couldn't help myself. I regret it so much now, it was the stupidest thing ever. Anyways, I'm past that and now I started having a 'cheat' day so once a week I eat whatever I want (mostly what I've been craving the entire week). These are my results now. I did make a little progress but not enough.. My body feels a little more toned and my butt is starting to get a little more defined, although I have cellulite and its really gross. My goal is to have a flat stomach, defined legs and arms, and a nice tight looking butt! I want to get rid of the cellulite or minimize the appearance as much as possible.

What are your views on my routine? What should I change to get better results? Am I doing anything right/wrong and how long do you think it will take me to see the results I want?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

sub10orbust

make a 3 - 4 day split. Decrease the amount of cardio ur doing.

Example:

Monday - Upper(Pushups, Pullups, Curls etc)
T - Lower
W - Rest
T - Upper
F - Lower(squats lunges etc)
S - Cardio
S- Rest

This way u wont half *kitten* anything if u have designated rest days

j3an22

maybe try working on upper strength instead? like do more weights. I heard using dumbbells helps.

an average weight for 5'1" is low: 105, target: 122. High is 140 pounds. <im just telling you this in case this helps.

I do not know much about the food. hopefully others will be more helps on that.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Open your diary so we can give better advice. Do you use a food scale?

Follow an actual lifting routine. Look into Stronglifts or Starting Strength. Something with compound movements and progressive loading of weights.

Personally I think you ate all of that chocolate and such because you've cut "all" the "unhealthy" foods from your diet. Instead consider taking an 80/20 approach. Eat 80% nutrient dense foods, and then use 20% to have a treat. If you restrict too much it can lead to failure.

pinkstp

I would love to see your journal to see if you're getting enough protein! As a fellow vegetarian, it's important to get that in You should have roughly a minimum of 30g of protein a day, which you might be getting from the lentils/milk but just make sure you're getting that in! Good luck with your journey Feel free to add.

LorinaLynn

So every measurement is down, but the scale is showing a slight fluctuation probably because you recently had a extra carbs and sodium that caused some fluid retention. What's the problem again?

taso42

consider strength training as opposed to "strength" training

fivethreeone

Overall, your progress is good. You're losing slowly and sustainably.

A few tips:

1. Get into heavy lifting, none of this light-dumbbell stuff; you'll see a huge change in the way your body looks even if you don't drop much weight. Get a copy of "New Rules of Lifting for Women" and "Starting Strength" and take it from there.

2. Increase your protein intake. As a vegetarian you can get this from more dairy products and protein supplements. Also up your fats. You should be aiming for at least 0.35g fat per pound of lean body mass (you can google a LBM calculator online and figure that out). Fats are really important for proper hormonal function and won't cause you to gain weight as long as you are in a caloric deficit.

3. I didn't look at your diary, but as a moderately active female, if you really are eating 1800-2000 calories per day at 5'1" and 110 lbs, you're probably eating extremely near your TDEE, which is the amount of calories you need to maintain weight. You could probably drop to 1600 and be ok. However, you are making progress, so if you want to keep at that calorie level, that's totally fine, too.

Good luck!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

So every measurement is down, but the scale is showing a slight fluctuation probably because you recently had a extra carbs and sodium that caused some fluid retention. What's the problem again?

Looks like they all went down initially but now some of them are back up.

janupshaw

I was once told by an exercise physiologist TIME was more important than SPEED. Instead of 30 min of jogging, try 45-60 min of walking (3.5-4 mph).

peachfigs

Too much cardio + not enough protein = muscle loss = decreased metabolism = weight loss stall

And it also won't give you the firm look you may desire. I would do less cardio and increase your weight training, or incorporate a workout like 30 Day Shred which has a good mix of both.

DailyHiit.com also has some great HIIT exercises that will help you too.


ETA: Your measurements and weight are very small. Maybe a change in perspective would help too. You are not overweight! If you're looking to tone up a little, cut down on your cardio.

ng08

I would say 30 minutes of jogging/ running for 6 days a week is too much cardio. Make your workouts a little more diverse. You could may be alternate between one day of jogging/ running and one day of circuit training. Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred can be a good place to start. Its very effective at toning up the body and losing inches.

taiyola

1) You don't need to lose weight. Less cardio, more weights if anything.

2) Not sure how what you've listed would make up 2000 calories - a bowl of fruit for DINNER?! :huh:

3) You pretty much have no protein.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

1) You don't need to lose weight. Less cardio, more weights if anything.

2) Not sure how what you've listed would make up 2000 calories - a bowl of fruit for DINNER?! :huh:

3) You pretty much have no protein.

This is pretty much why I was hoping OP would open her diary.

jess6742

I'm the same height and weight as you only a few years older. If you are eating 1800 to 2000 calories a day then you are eating at about your TDEE.

But from what you listed as a daily meal plan there's no way that adds up to 2000 calories. Even though your small you can definitely eat more than that!

pinkstp

Lentils have a fair amount of protein, so if she's eating that plus milk and some of the other items have protein too, she's probably getting *close to* the minimum. But I would say probably not on a regular basis Eat more lentils! Or beans/quinoa/tofu/tempeh.

slim4health56

Are you trying to "get fit" or lose weight?