Seeing results but how fast?!

Happinessandyoga

Hello I recently recovered from anorexia now I'm 5'6 and 114lbs I have been doing strength training 3x a week for 30 min first thing every morning for 9 weeks now I recently (about 3 weeks ago added in 2 30 min walks and 1 hour of yoga. On my strength days I was going in on an empty stomach and having a protein shake after, I recently switched it to drinking half the shake before and the other half after because I feel stronger but am just not seeing the results I want. Any other suggestions to help? I have seen some results but I thought after 9 weeks it would be more... Thanks!

FrnkLft

Keep at it, eat right, and come back in months or a year. This whole process is slow... much slower than any marketing will admit.

All of this works exactly the same for men as for women. There is no such thing as a man workout or a woman workout, that's bull**** marketing.


Diet = Lose/Maintain/Gain Weight (be it Fat or Muscle)
Cardio = Most time efficient way to burn calories, Great for cardiovascular health and conditiong, Not *required* to burn fat
Heavy Lifting = Burns lots of calories, Builds strength, Builds or Maintains Muscle

Recipe for Toned Look = Lower Bodyfat %, Increase Muscle Mass, Mix to taste

Recipe for Ripped Look = Even Lower Bodyfat %, Increase Muscle Mass, Mix to taste

You can't spot reduce fat with exercise or diet, so where/when/how the fat comes off depends on your genetics. Usually first on means last off... is what it is. Keep lowering BF% until you're happy. You do this by eating a deficit of calories. If you screw up a day or a week or whatever, don't worry, just get back on it. No shame. You'll start looking better and getting compliments well short of reaching your actual goals anyway. Big plus. How noticable it is though depends on how much you have to loose.

Your body's natural shape is also determined by genetics, and unless it's fat that's giving you size, you're going to have trouble getting rid of it. Also, you cannot influence the shape of muscle, only size.

You have to eat a surplus of calories to put on any appreciable muscle, and some of the weight gain will be fat as well. And the whole process is slow.

So... don't worry about getting bulky, whether you're a man or a woman. Getting bulky is slow for men and even more difficult for women, so you'll know well in advance when you're approaching whatever aesthetic goal you're aiming for.

My book recommendation, and *I swear on my life* it will help you and is worth your time to read, is "New Rules of Lifting" (they have one geared a bit more towards women as well, although there's 0% difference in the way this works for either sex). The program at the very end of the book is kinda "fluffy" lol, but it's perfectly fine to use if you like it. If not...

An excellent starting program is Stronglifts 5x5, doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman. Uses the five main, fundamental compound movements to build strength, and it's a simple workout that hits nearly every muscle in your body. Do that for a while to start, and then use "ICF 5x5" to up the volume a bit and keep the "5x5" compound lifts for strength (just review the programs and you'll see what I mean).

cafeaulait7

You have to be eating enough, especially protein, to really get the results, too. So if your calories are still low in general for a woman your size, you might have to try to bump that up if you can.

And make sure you go heavy enough. I know Frank covered that well, but if you don't lift heavy these things can take forever or even never come (although your endurance could get great for the move).

Happinessandyoga

Thanks for the answers! Problem is I can't lose any weight. I just had to gain back to get to a healthy range and I am now at the lowest end of the healthy range. So weight loss is not an option.