Female weight training - bulking but no fat loss?! HELP

little_gemm

I'm 20, 5'4" and CW is 134 lbs (GW 120 lbs)
I had a routine of going to the gym and doing 1-1.5 hours of cardio about 5 times a week. Initially I lost 4 lbs but then weight loss completely plateaued. I decided to switch up my work out routine and incorporate much more resistance and strength training in the hope it would help me tone up and boost my metabolism. However after 3 weeks of this routine, I have lost no weight but actually put on a couple of lbs. I do feel fitter, but I am building a lot of muscle but not losing any fat! I'm scared I'm gonna just bulk out. (I have not lost any inches either)

Shall I stick with weight training and hope the fat will start coming off? I am starting to build masculine shoulders, arms and thighs which is not a look I was going for!

Also, I am eating 1200-1400 calories a day and no shifting any weight. Today I have started a 5:2 diet in the hope that might kick my metabolism up the butt.

Any advice would be really appreciated! x

Branstin

What do you consider a plateau? How long has it been since you lost weight? Switching from cardio to resistance training is fine but you will never bulk up unless you eat about a monster amount of calories and take muscle building supplements. Don't believe the false myth that women bulk up from weight lifting or strength training. It is hogwash. More than likely the problem is with your food intake or water retention. Here is a great place to start:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

aling01

When you say fat, do you mean like your problem areas? Or do you mean actual body fat percentage?

I would ask one of the trainers to do measurements for you so you can compare with now and later down the road.

Also I would switch from 1-1.5hrs of cardio to a 20min interval cardio. I hate cardio myself but when my first trainer told me to do 20-30min of interval cardio, that made a big difference.

I would also keep with lifting weight as well and maybe eat a little more? What is your typical day of eating like? Do you eat more carbs? Also 3 weeks of training will not bulk you up unless you are eating a lot more than what you are eating now. It's very common to gain some weight when you start lifting and not lose weight. Sometimes you have to also look at inches. But you said you have not lost any inches either. Give it some time. I'd say, as long as you're feeling good is what matters the most.

brower47

Eating 1200 -1400 calories and putting on a lot of muscle?

I'm sorry but this does not compute.

You can not build A LOT of muscle on a deficit, especially at the deficit you're eating at. You're retaining water, a common initial effect of weight lifting.

Keep lifting, get enough protein and enjoy the results.

SugaryLynx

You just started a bunch of new routines. Your muscles are holding onto water for repair. You're not building an appreciable amount of muscle. As a newbie to weight training, you might be able to build a TINY bit in a deficit but it's not going to stall you and you aren't going to bulk up. For a women, even intentionally bulking (aka eating at a surplus and doing a good hypertrophy routine), building muscle is difficult. Do stick with it though. Weightlifting combined with a good amount of protein will help you retain your current muscle and help you look leaner as you lose

If you're not losing, I'd look at one of two places.

1. Your logging accuracy. Are you logging every bite? Are you weighing and measuring your food if necessary (I do because I like to be as accurate as possible, things add up quick and labels alone are not enough, especially calorie dense items).
2. Are you overestimating your calorie burns from exercise? MFP highly overestimated burns, as do machines like ellipticals. It's recommended to only eat about 75% of calories given for those exercises.

Here's a good read. Read it and the links within.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

skullshank

its probably water.

youre not building muscle.

keep it up...dont stop lifting, and you will see/feel the difference.

JuliRamone

About the gained pounds: weight training / lifting is one of the worst exercises if you follow a scale
I usually put on 4-6lbs the day after I lift - hello there water.
If you have the possibility: ask a trainer to guide you around the whole thing. But I'd definetly stick to the lifting thing especially when you realize it makes you fitter.
With only 1400 calories I don't think you're gonna bulk up.

DanaDark

Are you taking steroids? If not, you won't bulk.

Sorry. You're female. It is just how it goes. If you want to be bulky, you're gonna have to REALLY work at it. Like 2 hours a day lifting HEAVY (Not dozens, but hundreds of pounds) and pump yourself with enough steroids to make Arnold look like a Russian Ballerina.

little_gemm

its probably water.

youre not building muscle.

keep it up...dont stop lifting, and you will see/feel the difference.

Well I definitely am building muscle as I am using a 50%-100% weight increase on resistance machines compared the maximum I could do about a month ago. I am also tracking my "progress" photographically with snaptrack, I can definitely see my shoulders and back are more muscular. I'm all for toning up, and obviously I'm not exactly hench, I just don't want to get muscly but keep my fat haha. But yeah hopefully if I stick at it, I'll start shifting some body fat

Wetcoaster

its probably water.

youre not building muscle.

keep it up...dont stop lifting, and you will see/feel the difference.

Well I definitely am building muscle as I am using a 50%-100% weight increase on resistance machines compared the maximum I could do about a month ago. I am also tracking my "progress" photographically with snaptrack, I can definitely see my shoulders and back are more muscular. I'm all for toning up, and obviously I'm not exactly hench, I just don't want to get muscly but keep my fat haha. But yeah hopefully if I stick at it, I'll start shifting some body fat

You are not building muscle....you are getting stronger and there is 0% chance you will get "muscly".

albayin

its probably water.

youre not building muscle.

keep it up...dont stop lifting, and you will see/feel the difference.

Well I definitely am building muscle as I am using a 50%-100% weight increase on resistance machines compared the maximum I could do about a month ago. I am also tracking my "progress" photographically with snaptrack, I can definitely see my shoulders and back are more muscular. I'm all for toning up, and obviously I'm not exactly hench, I just don't want to get muscly but keep my fat haha. But yeah hopefully if I stick at it, I'll start shifting some body fat

I am no expert but just speak from my personal experience, this is just all temporary. Keep lifting and eating right (amount) that bulkiness will shink down eventually. When I first started, my thighs increased 1 inch on each just after one month of weight training...now they went back down.

little_gemm

When you say fat, do you mean like your problem areas? Or do you mean actual body fat percentage?

I would ask one of the trainers to do measurements for you so you can compare with now and later down the road.

Also I would switch from 1-1.5hrs of cardio to a 20min interval cardio. I hate cardio myself but when my first trainer told me to do 20-30min of interval cardio, that made a big difference.

I would also keep with lifting weight as well and maybe eat a little more? What is your typical day of eating like? Do you eat more carbs? Also 3 weeks of training will not bulk you up unless you are eating a lot more than what you are eating now. It's very common to gain some weight when you start lifting and not lose weight. Sometimes you have to also look at inches. But you said you have not lost any inches either. Give it some time. I'd say, as long as you're feeling good is what matters the most.

I mean both body fat percentage and problem areas. I had a session with a training a couple of weeks ago, and told me to start incorporating HIIT into my workouts which I have been doing at least 3 times a week.

I eat low calorie meals (200-300), but my downfall is probably snacking (albeit mainly healthy snacking). But I may try changing my eating routine so that I eat 3 slightly larger meals and cut down on the snacks.

Like you said, I guess I just have to give it time! Thanks

ravenmiss

You're gaining strength not muscle, gaining muscle whilst in a calorie deficit is impossible.

little_gemm

its probably water.

youre not building muscle.

keep it up...dont stop lifting, and you will see/feel the difference.

Well I definitely am building muscle as I am using a 50%-100% weight increase on resistance machines compared the maximum I could do about a month ago. I am also tracking my "progress" photographically with snaptrack, I can definitely see my shoulders and back are more muscular. I'm all for toning up, and obviously I'm not exactly hench, I just don't want to get muscly but keep my fat haha. But yeah hopefully if I stick at it, I'll start shifting some body fat

I am no expert but just speak from my personal experience, this is just all temporary. Keep lifting and eating right (amount) that bulkiness will shink down eventually. When I first started, my thighs increased 1 inch on each just after one month of weight training...now they went back down.

That's encouraging to hear! How long did it take for you to "shrink"? haha Thank you

albayin

If any help, I started training with heave weight about a year and half ago, and the first half, none of my old pants fit any more. It's just recently I started noticing they are fit again, even a bit looser.

Wetcoaster

From a BB.com thread today.......


"You can but it's CNS adaption. Strength gain via muscle gain generally happens after CNS adaption is over and there is a surplus of calories to actually BUILD muscle"



Exactly this, creating muscle requires a lot of energy, approx twice the energy it contains so it's extremely unlikely your body will waste all that energy in a deficit as it will already be doing what it can to preserve energy.

For a total beginner you usually have a period of 6 weeks of pure CNS adaptions and reconstruction/reconfiguration of the muscles (assuming not much lifting has been done before) you can see some size increase by muscle atrophy recovery,increased glycogen stores/water content, inflammation etc. but it's unlikely you will build muscle and near impossible if you are in a deficit unless you are a genetic freak (there are indications of some but it's incredibly rare) and it will still be a minute amount.

People need to realize building muscle is a difficult process, it's incredibly slow even while bulking when everything is working at optimal levels and there is a excess of energy going around.
When it is that difficult/slow under optimal conditions just imagine how much worse/impossible it is when you are in a deficit, hormones dropping, recovery going down the drain, strength/endurance loss as glycogen stores start emptying,inflammation increasing, psychological responses to the deficit reducing your energy/ability to push further than before to conserve energy and again no surplus energy to waste on creating new energy consuming muscle tissue that has a high energy cost to create.

SugaryLynx

From a BB.com thread today.......


"You can but it's CNS adaption. Strength gain via muscle gain generally happens after CNS adaption is over and there is a surplus of calories to actually BUILD muscle"



Exactly this, creating muscle requires a lot of energy, approx twice the energy it contains so it's extremely unlikely your body will waste all that energy in a deficit as it will already be doing what it can to preserve energy.

For a total beginner you usually have a period of 6 weeks of pure CNS adaptions and reconstruction/reconfiguration of the muscles (assuming not much lifting has been done before) you can see some size increase by muscle atrophy recovery,increased glycogen stores/water content, inflammation etc. but it's unlikely you will build muscle and near impossible if you are in a deficit unless you are a genetic freak (there are indications of some but it's incredibly rare) and it will still be a minute amount.

People need to realize building muscle is a difficult process, it's incredibly slow even while bulking when everything is working at optimal levels and there is a excess of energy going around.
When it is that difficult/slow under optimal conditions just imagine how much worse/impossible it is when you are in a deficit, hormones dropping, recovery going down the drain, strength/endurance loss as glycogen stores start emptying,inflammation increasing, psychological responses to the deficit reducing your energy/ability to push further than before to conserve energy and again no surplus energy to waste on creating new energy consuming muscle tissue that has a high energy cost to create.

^this

There's a small window given ideal conditions to build a teeny bit of muscle in a deficit with weight training.

However, OP. Strength gains doesn't not equal muscle gain. Your existing muscles can build strength without new muscle being built for a good duration. That's how my weight loss went. I lost 53 lbs and still gained quite a bit of strength. What you are noticing is existing muscle surfacing from fat loss. Not from an appreciable amount of muscle gaining.

albayin

From a BB.com thread today.......


"You can but it's CNS adaption. Strength gain via muscle gain generally happens after CNS adaption is over and there is a surplus of calories to actually BUILD muscle"



Exactly this, creating muscle requires a lot of energy, approx twice the energy it contains so it's extremely unlikely your body will waste all that energy in a deficit as it will already be doing what it can to preserve energy.

For a total beginner you usually have a period of 6 weeks of pure CNS adaptions and reconstruction/reconfiguration of the muscles (assuming not much lifting has been done before) you can see some size increase by muscle atrophy recovery,increased glycogen stores/water content, inflammation etc. but it's unlikely you will build muscle and near impossible if you are in a deficit unless you are a genetic freak (there are indications of some but it's incredibly rare) and it will still be a minute amount.

People need to realize building muscle is a difficult process, it's incredibly slow even while bulking when everything is working at optimal levels and there is a excess of energy going around.
When it is that difficult/slow under optimal conditions just imagine how much worse/impossible it is when you are in a deficit, hormones dropping, recovery going down the drain, strength/endurance loss as glycogen stores start emptying,inflammation increasing, psychological responses to the deficit reducing your energy/ability to push further than before to conserve energy and again no surplus energy to waste on creating new energy consuming muscle tissue that has a high energy cost to create.

I wish I had known better when I first started...I totally missed that 6-week golden era.

little_gemm

From a BB.com thread today.......


"You can but it's CNS adaption. Strength gain via muscle gain generally happens after CNS adaption is over and there is a surplus of calories to actually BUILD muscle"



Exactly this, creating muscle requires a lot of energy, approx twice the energy it contains so it's extremely unlikely your body will waste all that energy in a deficit as it will already be doing what it can to preserve energy.

For a total beginner you usually have a period of 6 weeks of pure CNS adaptions and reconstruction/reconfiguration of the muscles (assuming not much lifting has been done before) you can see some size increase by muscle atrophy recovery,increased glycogen stores/water content, inflammation etc. but it's unlikely you will build muscle and near impossible if you are in a deficit unless you are a genetic freak (there are indications of some but it's incredibly rare) and it will still be a minute amount.

People need to realize building muscle is a difficult process, it's incredibly slow even while bulking when everything is working at optimal levels and there is a excess of energy going around.
When it is that difficult/slow under optimal conditions just imagine how much worse/impossible it is when you are in a deficit, hormones dropping, recovery going down the drain, strength/endurance loss as glycogen stores start emptying,inflammation increasing, psychological responses to the deficit reducing your energy/ability to push further than before to conserve energy and again no surplus energy to waste on creating new energy consuming muscle tissue that has a high energy cost to create.

I am aware I would need to increase my calorie and protein consumption massively to build a lot of muscle, I understand that. I'm not saying I'm huge.

Ok so by the sounds of it I mean I have "gained strength". But there is definitely a visible difference in bicep, shoulder and back muscle, to the point that several of my friends have commented. This is why I am concerned, muscle, strength, whatever it is - it's starting to look masculine and I am worrying about that continuing haha!

Also as a side note, as I am in a deficit and have been for over a month... any idea why am I not losing any weight or inches?

devil_in_a_blue_dress

Oh this thread.

First of all, muscles aren't "masculine". You can see definition in your arms because you actually are losing fat. You aren't seeing the scale move because water weight. Seconds, as other have pointed out, it takes a lot to build muscle if you are female. Like a lot of time and effort that you could not have done in 3 weeks.

Are you measuring yourself?

Cranquistador

.

PikaKnight

From a BB.com thread today.......


"You can but it's CNS adaption. Strength gain via muscle gain generally happens after CNS adaption is over and there is a surplus of calories to actually BUILD muscle"



Exactly this, creating muscle requires a lot of energy, approx twice the energy it contains so it's extremely unlikely your body will waste all that energy in a deficit as it will already be doing what it can to preserve energy.

For a total beginner you usually have a period of 6 weeks of pure CNS adaptions and reconstruction/reconfiguration of the muscles (assuming not much lifting has been done before) you can see some size increase by muscle atrophy recovery,increased glycogen stores/water content, inflammation etc. but it's unlikely you will build muscle and near impossible if you are in a deficit unless you are a genetic freak (there are indications of some but it's incredibly rare) and it will still be a minute amount.

People need to realize building muscle is a difficult process, it's incredibly slow even while bulking when everything is working at optimal levels and there is a excess of energy going around.
When it is that difficult/slow under optimal conditions just imagine how much worse/impossible it is when you are in a deficit, hormones dropping, recovery going down the drain, strength/endurance loss as glycogen stores start emptying,inflammation increasing, psychological responses to the deficit reducing your energy/ability to push further than before to conserve energy and again no surplus energy to waste on creating new energy consuming muscle tissue that has a high energy cost to create.

I am aware I would need to increase my calorie and protein consumption massively to build a lot of muscle, I understand that. I'm not saying I'm huge.

Ok so by the sounds of it I mean I have "gained strength". But there is definitely a visible difference in bicep, shoulder and back muscle, to the point that several of my friends have commented. This is why I am concerned, muscle, strength, whatever it is - it's starting to look masculine and I am worrying about that continuing haha!

Also as a side note, as I am in a deficit and have been for over a month... any idea why am I not losing any weight or inches?

Um..what do you mean build a lot of muscle. Most natural male bodybuilders would be lucky to add on 6-10lbs of muscles a year. Seeing as building/gaining muscle as a woman is super hard....I'm not sure you understand about bulking and such.

Here are some links I suggest reading in regards to muscle and weight loss.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

http://body-improvements.com/2013/09/04/can-you-build-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/

http://body-improvements.com/2012/08/22/qa-how-can-i-go-about-building-some-muscle/

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

ETA: Also, you may be noticing muscles, etc as you lose the body fat. This doesn't mean muscles are gaining in size. And strength =/= size of muscle.

And unless you are a guy, it's not "masculine."

If you don't want to continue leaning out, then gain back the body fat.

wilsoje74

its probably water.

youre not building muscle.

keep it up...dont stop lifting, and you will see/feel the difference.

Well I definitely am building muscle as I am using a 50%-100% weight increase on resistance machines compared the maximum I could do about a month ago. I am also tracking my "progress" photographically with snaptrack, I can definitely see my shoulders and back are more muscular. I'm all for toning up, and obviously I'm not exactly hench, I just don't want to get muscly but keep my fat haha. But yeah hopefully if I stick at it, I'll start shifting some body fat

You can't build muscle eating that little. The muscle needs calories to develop. You can't build muscle on a deficit and you wouldn't build much in 3 weeks.

cmeiron

Oh this thread.

First of all, muscles aren't "masculine". You can see definition in your arms because you actually are losing fat. You aren't seeing the scale move because water weight. Seconds, as other have pointed out, it takes a lot to build muscle if you are female. Like a lot of time and effort that you could not have done in 3 weeks.

Are you measuring yourself?

All that stuff in bold up there.

Galatea_Stone

1) It's water retention, plain and simple. It's "the pump" so to speak. You haven't built any muscle.

In three weeks, it is also very likely you've lost much in the way of fat, even it you're eating at a deficit.

2) If you aren't weighing and measuring absolutely everything, and if you're snacking, even on healthy foods, you're eating more than you think. Possibly a lot more than you think.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

You're retaining water. Not building a lot of muscle on 1200-1400 calories. It usually goes down in about 4 weeks so be patient.

frood

I would like to know the secret of getting big muscles in 3 weeks. It took me a year and a half to get these deltoids!

Aaron_K123

its probably water.

youre not building muscle.

keep it up...dont stop lifting, and you will see/feel the difference.

Well I definitely am building muscle as I am using a 50%-100% weight increase on resistance machines compared the maximum I could do about a month ago. I am also tracking my "progress" photographically with snaptrack, I can definitely see my shoulders and back are more muscular. I'm all for toning up, and obviously I'm not exactly hench, I just don't want to get muscly but keep my fat haha. But yeah hopefully if I stick at it, I'll start shifting some body fat

Strength gains do not equate to muscle mass gains. If you are eating 1200-1400 calories a day and lifting weights you are retaining water in your muscles both for repair and for storage of glycogen but you are not gaining muscle mass. You can easily put on 5 pounds of water weight from weight training.

You can gain significant increases in strength just by training your CNS through repetitive motion. Much like if you practice throwing a baseball you will eventually be able to throw it much faster and much more accurately than before without having to have gained muscle.

The apparent gain in size and firmness of your muscles with training again is due to water retention. The retained water makes your muscles swell so they look considerably bigger and feel considerably harder, but there is no extra tissue there.

As other posters have said that initial swelling will subside in a month or two. You aren't bulking. Saying that you are gaining muscle because your muscle looks bigger is like someone whose face has swollen up because they fell down stairs saying that they are worried that they have put a lot of fat on in their face. Your muscles are swollen, not bigger.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

For what it's worth, you'll earn zero goodwill here by calling muscle masculine. Actually scratch that. Negative goodwill.

whitebalance

Ok so by the sounds of it I mean I have "gained strength". But there is definitely a visible difference in bicep, shoulder and back muscle, to the point that several of my friends have commented. This is why I am concerned, muscle, strength, whatever it is - it's starting to look masculine and I am worrying about that continuing haha!

When you push your muscles beyond what they're conditioned for (i.e., progressive overload, in strength training terms), they become inflamed and swell up -- not unlike your body's reaction to a sprain or strain, although obviously not as severe. Your body sends more resources to the muscles to heal and repair them. This is what people are talking about on this thread when they say "it's just water."

That swelling is temporary -- again, similar to a sprain or strain. If you were to stop strength training for a week or so, the swelling would begin to go down and you would look less "muscly," to use your earlier term. It's not "building muscle." It's just that what's there is inflamed.

Also as a side note, as I am in a deficit and have been for over a month... any idea why am I not losing any weight or inches?

Usually this indicates that you're not really in a deficit -- that either your intake is underestimated or your output is overestimated. I can't speak to your specific circumstances, but can tell you that if I were eating 1200-1400 calories a day and lifting heavy weights for an hour and a half a day plus doing an hour of cardio, six days a week, I wouldn't have the energy to move my fingers across a keyboard. So that's what I'd look at first -- accuracy in logging, including "cheat days" and any other anomalies.

Since you're going to say next that of course you're logging everything 100% accurately, I'll also mention that the "water" mentioned above does in fact weigh something. The swelling mentioned above could easily be masking a month's worth of actual weight loss.

whitebalance

For what it's worth, you'll earn zero goodwill here by calling muscle masculine. Actually scratch that. Negative goodwill.

Also, this. And calling it "bulky" will usually draw some ridicule too.