out of shape and want to get muscle

sweetbreuv13

Hello all, lately I have really been looking into building muscle on my body. First here is some probably useless info you can skim over if you want:
I'm skinny but I learned that I am "skinny fat" being 20 yrs old, 5'1 90-95 lbs (never really weigh myself so it varies) with NO muscle or energy to do much cardio. I'm taking small steps first like building up energy endurance by walking, and doing other things like trying to get more water intake during the day ( I don't drink much at all since I don't get real thirsty.) I did Jillian Michaels 30 day shred for a week a while back and I loved it but after the first week my body couldn't take it anymore and my side started aching like crazy after 10 mins which is why I'm taking small steps this time.

My food intake since I know diet has alot to do with things:
First off I can eat whatever I want and still look the same but I don't eat much really, and I eat no sweets, they make my stomach hurt
Breakfast: used to be cereal, now its scrambled eggs with sausage lately
Lunch: haven't ate much of a lunch lately, but used to be just like sandwich or leftovers from previous nights dinner
Dinner: always meat, I love meat, and rarely any veggies but I'm working on getting my taste buds used to them, so far I like carrots, peas, and pickled okra
Food I need to not eat as much: potatoes! I eat too many, I love mashed potatoes, chips, french fries etc lol, Fried food, I work at my dad's new cafe and all they cook is fried food so I eat too much of it.
Food I need to start eating: fruits and veggies, would say multigrains but they give me bad stomach aches right after I eat them, need to eat foods high in protein also

So my question is how should I go about gaining muscle, and possibly weight, I'd love to be back to 100lbs at least with some defined muscle similar to this body shape, my body looks just like the before pic fat and no muscle wise and I want it to look like the after picture. https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1000478_546778065378760_1316712554_n.jpg

Would cardio at first to get energy, then something like Jillian Michael's Body Revolution, and then try some chalean extreme be good? and my main question is is heavy weight lifting really required to gain muscle like the girl's in that pic? I can't lift much right now, heck I can barely sweep floors without my arm tiring out lol so would I see ANY results from just starting small like with 5lb weights and building up to 10-20 lb weights. What is considered "heavy lifting"? cause I keep seeing that to go from skinny fat to fit and toned I would have to do heavy weight lifting, does that mean like 50lb, 100lb, higher or is like 20lb considered heavy lifting also??

Sorry for the long post , but one last question, How long should it take me to get my energy back to be able to do core workouts etc, or does it vary from person to person? since my energy and muscle tolerance is really low from not being active, I plan on getting my belly pierced really soon and I'm hoping by the time that heals ( if it doesnt reject etc) which should take like 6 months or less, that my body will be rid of "fat" and ready for some weight lifting

diannethegeek

I'm not an expert and there are a lot of people here who will be able to answer this better than I can, but I'm giving you my two cents (and a bump so more people will see).

If you don't want to lose any more weight I think you should start eating for maintenance (or even a little above) and progressively lift heavy weights. Here's the thing about heavy lifting: it's whatever is heavy for you. Start where you can and work your way up. You'll be surprised at how much strength you can gain early on.

Use a TDEE calculator like scooby's (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) to figure out your calorie intake. Make sure you get plenty of protein and fats. Mashed potatoes and fried foods are okay as long as you're getting enough nutrients in with a balanced diet.

I can't see your diary (and don't even know if you're currently logging your food) but I would guess that getting your calorie levels up and adding some exercise will increase your energy quickly.

vorgas

Lifting weights is a neuro-muscular function. It uses glycogen in an anaerobic process to provide fuel. Your heart beats faster while certain blood vessels constrict to create a pressure load allowing you to move the weight.

Cardio training is a cardio-vascular/cardio-pulmonary function. It combines fat with oxygen in an aerobic process to provide fuel. Your heart beats faster to rush more oxygen through the body to allow you to continue to move effectively.

As you can see, training one first is not going to have a significant impact on the other because it's two totally different processes.

If you want to weight train, look at either Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. Both start with very low weight and encourage form and technique over raw weight moved. They are both EXCELLENT places to begin any strength program. And just like you don't get cleaned up in order to take a bath, you don't have to get in shape to begin lifting weights. The act itself provides the training you need to get going.

Showcase_Brodown

Your question(s) are kind of a lot to address completely all at once, but there are a few things to say that hopefully will help.

The first is just repeating the rule that in order to gain weight, you need a calorie surplus, just as you need a deficit to lose weight. Consider attention to calories a very important part of your goal.

To extend from the previous paragraph, to add muscle, you'll need to lift and have somewhat of a surplus. Not huge. Enough to facilitate muscle growth and not add too much fat in the process. You will gain some fat in the process, though. Lifting while in a calorie surplus is usually what is called a "bulk."

If you remain below maintenance calories while lifting, don't expect much if any muscle growth. You can gain strength and keep the muscle you do have, though, with the added bonus of getting rid of some fat. This is usually called a "cut."

It is common to hear of bulk and cut cycles, where you are in a surplus for a period of time and then in a deficit for another period of time. This cyclical approach is usually regarded as more efficient in the long run than trying to gain all muscle and no fat.

I would suggest trying to get a lot of protein. Setting your macro goal to 30% might be a good place to start, or you could aim for 1 gram per lb. You probably can't get too much, but you'll want to have more than enough, if that makes sense.

How "heavy" you are lifting is probably best explained by how many repetitions of a lift you can do before you fail. If you can do more than 10 in a set, by my personal definition, that's not heavy. Basically, as you start to be able to pull off more reps, you add some weight for your next workout. Sets and rep ranges are things of personal preference and are dependent on what your goals are.

Hope that is some kind of help.

sweetbreuv13

thanks for all the answers! very helpful