Barely any transformation...

queenierz

i've been lifting, doing T25 workouts, some body resistance circuits, dancing, and all and eating around 1500-1600. I'm already skinny and underweight (small bones), but I want to get ripped and get leaner. It has been two months, and comparing the pictures... Barely any change. Yet, it is almost like I havent't done anything! However, the only thing I noticed was my strength and fitnesd level increases, and I can lift heavier weights. BUT i dont understand why there is NO body transformations!!!! Take a look at my profile picture-this is two months comparison. Can anyone tell the differences? It is so frustrating; I'm becoming extremely more obsessed with eating right because I dont know what is the mistake! Am i being too impatient? I mean, i know I am, but there should at least be some changes... i really feel like giving up... It is so stressful and frustrating..i really need help... I want to gain muscles but LOSE the belly fat as well! I don't know what I'm suppose to do. If I eat a lot to gain muscles, will my belly fat ever go away?

WolverhamptonFitness

you get "ripped" you need to gain muscle mass, to gain muscle mass you need to be eating more calories then when loseing weight or maintaining. Eat more protein etc...

Also follow body weight work outs, these are a good sorce for getting ripped.

Jennilyn79

It looks like you need to gain muscle, it's great that your strength is increasing. To gain muscle you need to eat at a surplus, so you'll need to eat more than 1500-1600, try at least 2000. Make sure you get a lot of protein, it's what will help build muscle and prevent you from losing it. There are many formulas ie 1gm/pound of body weight etc, so I would make sure you're getting at least 100gms per day. And of course continue to lift heavy and increase the weight as you do. You could try a heavy lifting program 3-4 days a week with rest in between and cut down on the cardio. That being said if you love your cardio, dancing etc, don't cut it out but realize you need to eat more on those days too.

I was looking for a previous poster that was about your size and also Asian. She did only heavy lifting and the results were amazing, she went from a body that looked like yours to one that was lean. She did it all with eating a surplus and lifting. Unfortunately I can't find it in the success stories. I wish I could send you the link.

ana3067

You're not eating for your goals, likely both for calories and protein. If you're at a body fat that you are happy with, or you are simply very skinny already and would be too small if you cut down your body fat right now, then you need to eat above maintenance to put on muscle. Strength training will provide some muscular hypertrophy but if size is all you care about then aim for 6-10 (or 8-12) reps for 3-4 sets using a weight that will tire you out by your last few sets. Eat 5-10% above your maintenance calories. Eat your bodyweight in protein (or 0.8g to 1.5g; or 30-35% of your calories from protein).

Make sure you are resting between workouts. You need ideally 48 hours between workouts, but 24 is okay for some people. So if you do full-body workouts (meaning you work out your whole body in one workout session) then Mon Wed Fri is a typical schedule most people follow, although 2x a week is fine. If you do an upper/lower body split then 4x a week is sufficient, as you get 48+ hours rest despite working out 2 days in a row.If you do muscle groups on individual days then you can work out most days, but do not repeat the same muscles back to back.

I suggest these sites for estimates on calorie needs (I just put in averages based on what I'd normally do for 7 days, but you can calculate your sedentary and active days separately and then average your results out):
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html
http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

The latter gives a hgiher estimate, so you can either choose which number looks more reasonable to you and monitor for a month or average them out and monitor for a month. ETA add ~10% to the TDEE/maintenance you are given to get your bulk needs, or at least 200 cals.

queenierz

Thank you for the replies... Because of my small body, i dont burn a lot when I workout. Im scared if I eat 2000 or too much protein, won't it become fat? i mean, i am not even certain about my maintainance calories numbers...

queenierz

Sorry i just saw your post! I see; I'll try the websites you've sent me. Yep, i workout full body monday, wednesday, friday, but cardio everyday. Thank you so much. I think i am scared to bulk up because initially my biggest goal is to lose the belly fats- its the one that I had struggled for sooo long and can't trim it off no matter what.

You're not eating for your goals, likely both for calories and protein. If you're at a body fat that you are happy with, or you are simply very skinny already and would be too small if you cut down your body fat right now, then you need to eat above maintenance to put on muscle. Strength training will provide some muscular hypertrophy but if size is all you care about then aim for 6-10 (or 8-12) reps for 3-4 sets using a weight that will tire you out by your last few sets. Eat 5-10% above your maintenance calories. Eat your bodyweight in protein (or 0.8g to 1.5g; or 30-35% of your calories from protein).

Make sure you are resting between workouts. You need ideally 48 hours between workouts, but 24 is okay for some people. So if you do full-body workouts (meaning you work out your whole body in one workout session) then Mon Wed Fri is a typical schedule most people follow, although 2x a week is fine. If you do an upper/lower body split then 4x a week is sufficient, as you get 48+ hours rest despite working out 2 days in a row.If you do muscle groups on individual days then you can work out most days, but do not repeat the same muscles back to back.

I suggest these sites for estimates on calorie needs (I just put in averages based on what I'd normally do for 7 days, but you can calculate your sedentary and active days separately and then average your results out):
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html
http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

The latter gives a hgiher estimate, so you can either choose which number looks more reasonable to you and monitor for a month or average them out and monitor for a month. ETA add ~10% to the TDEE/maintenance you are given to get your bulk needs, or at least 200 cals.

ana3067

Sorry i just saw your post! I see; I'll try the websites you've sent me. Yep, i workout full body monday, wednesday, friday, but cardio everyday. Thank you so much. I think i am scared to bulk up because initially my biggest goal is to lose the belly fats- its the one that I had struggled for sooo long and can't trim it off no matter what.

No worries, and you're welcome Also, if you're worried about adding on body fat (which will happen when bulking, but if done correctly - adequate protein and not overdoing the surplus - the gains shouldn't be much) then you can do a recomp. So instead of eating above your maintenance you just eat your maintenance. If you're newish to lifting you'll experience newbie muscle gains anyways, so it's worth trying out to help get used to eating more food. And once you get to a point where you stop seeing results or you want faster results, add in another 200 cals. Recomp is very slow though but can help you lose some of the excess body fat while maintaining or possibly adding on some muscle/strength.

Do not fear the food!

queenierz

Oh, that's nice! So, I think I'll have to eat around 1800 cals per day, according to the two websites, but it's totally way more than what the T25 nutrition guide as well as p90x3 suggested (the two nutrition guides said I should eat around 1500 cals per day). So that's what sort of stopping me from eating a lot as well. But is it possible that the guides gave me such low calorie numbers because it's for people who need to lose a lot of weights?

Sorry i just saw your post! I see; I'll try the websites you've sent me. Yep, i workout full body monday, wednesday, friday, but cardio everyday. Thank you so much. I think i am scared to bulk up because initially my biggest goal is to lose the belly fats- its the one that I had struggled for sooo long and can't trim it off no matter what.

No worries, and you're welcome Also, if you're worried about adding on body fat (which will happen when bulking, but if done correctly - adequate protein and not overdoing the surplus - the gains shouldn't be much) then you can do a recomp. So instead of eating above your maintenance you just eat your maintenance. If you're newish to lifting you'll experience newbie muscle gains anyways, so it's worth trying out to help get used to eating more food. And once you get to a point where you stop seeing results or you want faster results, add in another 200 cals. Recomp is very slow though but can help you lose some of the excess body fat while maintaining or possibly adding on some muscle/strength.

Do not fear the food!

Jennilyn79

Yes, all of those programs are for people who want to lose weight. If you're lifting heavy, eating in a surplus, and getting enough protein you will see a difference. But like the above poster said, it may take some time but you should be able to see definition within a few weeks since you are small to begin with and don't have much fat over your existing muscles. It's definitely worth a try, and then you can tweak it every 1-2 months depending on your results. Also spend a good amount of time reading the posts on heavy lifting, you'll find you will lose your fear of bulking or gaining fat when you see the results.