2 months and still no result?

Eathelyn
Eathelyn Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
(First of all, I'd like to apologize for putting this in the wrong category before - woops)

Hey guys,

I'm feeling a little bit discouraged.

I started working out about 2 months ago. I exercise 6 times a week (one day for intense, 30/40 minute cardio, the rest are a combination of muscle toning/muscle strength and cardio) and my diet consists of mainly fruit and vegetables. (I am a vegetarian).

I started working out in the hopes to tone up/slim down my stomach. (I have no idea if this will make any sense - but I was hoping to get that nice line down the center of your abs?). Since then, the only change I've noticed is that when I clench/flex my stomach muscles, it shows up, when I don't, I'm back to my normal stomach.

I am also constantly bloated. No matter how much water I drink, what I eat, if I eat, WHEN I eat, it doesn't matter. I get about one day out of each month where my stomach actually feels normal.

I am 5'1 and weigh about 98lbs. I'm not looking to lose weight, I'm just looking to tone up. I still have some fat around where my belly button is, which is why I started working out in the first place - but two months later and I see little to no change! What am I doing wrong?

Replies

  • ShinjiruGhetto
    ShinjiruGhetto Posts: 54
    Greetings llama.
    First of all, do not be discouraged 2 months is nothing and as I've read your post I can't help but notice that you might have no idea about what you're doing, let me clear some points
    1) there is no such thing as "muscle toning"
    2)There is no such thing as spot reduction, you will slim down as your BF decreases, which bodypart slims more is entirely dependant on your genetics, and no you can't change that..for now ;)
    3) AB visibility is dependant on body fat levels, you need to drop your BF down if you want to have constant abs.

    Can you please post your workout routine?
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    you can't out-exercise a bad diet.

    are you logging/measuring/weighing your food accurately?

    You can work out all day, but if you're eating more than you need... you won't lose fat.

    if you don't lose fat, you won't see definition.
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
    In order to see changes in composition you have to be training appropriately and have your macronutrients in line with your goals as well. Cardio and what I assume are probably high rep, low weight and/or circuit workouts aren't going to show you noticeable change in body composition when you don't have much weight/fat to lose.

    A good recommendation is to do some sort of a progressive overload program... aka lift heavy. A couple good resources are New Rules of Lifting for Women, Strong Lifts 5x5 and Bret Contreras' Strong Curves. They provide a lot of helpful information for working out and New Rules also includes some good nutritional information.

    As far as what to eat, you need to figure out how many calories it takes to maintain your weight and also set up better macronutrient goals for maintaining/gaining lean body mass which will achieve the toning that you're looking for. 30% protein, 30% fat and 40% carbs is usually a good place to start or roughly 0.8g protein per lb of body weight and 0.35g fat per lb of body weight, fill the rest in with carbs or however you see fit. Fat and protein are typically looked at as minimum goals, if you go over it's usually not a big deal as long as you stay within your calorie goal.

    This is a really helpful link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • kuth340
    kuth340 Posts: 1
    I'm far from a nutritional expert, but the one thing that did catch my eye was that you eat a lot of fruit with your vegetables.

    Generally you want to eat a lot less fruit than vegetables. I have one serving of fruit a day and at least 4 servings of vegetables. Sometimes 5 or 6. And then as much protein as I can get without the other bad stuff that comes with it (sodium or fat). Since you're a vegetarian, tilapia or haddock won't work so a lot of plain greek yogurt would help with the protein. Tastes great with cinnamon in it. Sometimes I put a littke Kashi cereal in it to for some texture.

    A GOOD morning shake as a meal substitute (there are a million different opinions on what is good and bad) will help with that little extra bit of weight loss you want for better tone. Don't substitute more than 1 meal a day with it though. I've tried a couple, but ended up on one of the more expensive ones. Try a couple and find one that works for you.
  • bjshields
    bjshields Posts: 677 Member
    You said you "mainly" eat fruits & veggies. What else are you eating? You can totally eat vegetarian junk food and extra salt. Do you eat a lot of meat and dairy substitutions? They can have a lot of fat, therefore a ton of calories.

    Just a thought about the bloating -- I cannot consume gluten, or I bloat up and end up with tummy troubles. Maybe this could be you? Good luck! :drinker:
  • kessler4130
    kessler4130 Posts: 150 Member
    Your logs are not visible to the public, but based on what you have stated, you are probably very high in carbohydrates and very low in protein. A lot of fruits are very calorie dense, and mostly carbohydrates, I understand people get into the whole fruit and veggies are healthy thing.... a carb is a carb, doesn't matter if its from a snickers bar or an apple, still a carb. I would find a means to make sure you are getting .8 grams of protein per lb of lean body mass and just continue to work hard.
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
    sounds like you may need to bulk and cut to create the look you want... at your fitness level it is no longer about weight... it's about body composition.. a "normal body" requires a certain amount of fat... NO ONE... gets to zero without dying... do some research on a healthy body composition... just because you can "pinch an inch" in one location doesn't mean your over all fat % is out of control...

    So.. bulk and cut... bulk and cut... and do some ab work WITH weights... nothing comes without pain as far as "the look" goes
  • Eathelyn
    Eathelyn Posts: 7
    Hello!

    I usually start my day with a 10 minute cardio workout (or end with it). After that, I actually DO do "spot toning" - (but when I asked my doctor about it he said that as long as I'm doing cardio I should be fine?) Then I either go back to another 5/10 minute cardio routine or move on to the next "muscle toning" workout.. Then the next day I'd just fill 30/40 minutes with "intense" cardio.

    I'm actually using pilates as my source of exercise which I've heard mixed reviews about? But I would like to try to start using weights as well.
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
    Hello!

    I usually start my day with a 10 minute cardio workout (or end with it). After that, I actually DO do "spot toning" - (but when I asked my doctor about it he said that as long as I'm doing cardio I should be fine?) Then I either go back to another 5/10 minute cardio routine or move on to the next "muscle toning" workout.. Then the next day I'd just fill 30/40 minutes with cardio.

    I'm actually using pilates as my source of exercise which I've heard mixed reviews about?

    Unfortunately, none of those workouts do much for lean body mass retention/gaining. Cardio basically creates a calorie deficit which aids in fat loss but with that fat comes a lot of muscle if you aren't eating adequate protein and training with some sort of resistance training with an increasing load. Pilates will not provide that either.

    Your doctor is also mistaken. Weight lifting not only helps retain muscle, it also increases bone density which is helpful for women as we are prone to osteoporosis. It improves posture and also can help alleviate joint pain. You don't necessarily get those proven benefits from cardio or pilates like you do with weight lifting.
  • Eathelyn
    Eathelyn Posts: 7
    Hello :)

    I do not consume meat substitutes - as one of the (many) reasons I became a vegetarian is because I hate the taste of meat, haha. But I do, however, drink almond milk instead of regular milk. But I don't really drink it that often. I just mainly drink water.

    And yes, I have thought about having a sensitivity to gluten and am trying to read up on it and begin to cut gluten out of my diet.
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
    Hello :)

    I do not consume meat substitutes - as one of the (many) reasons I became a vegetarian is because I hate the taste of meat, haha. But I do, however, drink almond milk instead of regular milk. But I don't really drink it that often. I just mainly drink water.

    And yes, I have thought about having a sensitivity to gluten and am trying to read up on it and begin to cut gluten out of my diet.

    If you're primarily consuming fruits and vegetables, that is a high fiber and low fat diet. That may also be contributing to your bloating. You need to get your macros in line before you start looking for rare issues like gluten sensitivity as your problem. Balanced diets usually solve a lot of digestive issues. Fruits and vegetables only is NOT a balanced diet.
  • ShinjiruGhetto
    ShinjiruGhetto Posts: 54
    That routine looks terrible, no offense.
    as shutupandlift recommended you should really start some proper routine like SS or some other variation of it, I'm pretty certain it will "tone" you more than whatever it is that you're doing.

    Is whey okay to vegetarian/vegan lifestyle? I'm not too familiar with either of those, if so I'd chug down enough scoops to fill your protein intake(though meat would be better)
  • Eathelyn
    Eathelyn Posts: 7
    Ahhh - thank you so much! I'll start looking into weight lifting now :)
  • Eathelyn
    Eathelyn Posts: 7
    Thank you! I try to consume a balanced amount of fruit, vegetables, protein, ect., but most of the time I fear I may end up eating mainly just fruits and vegetables. I also thought about writing down what I eat so I can keep track and start to balance stuff out?
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
    Thank you! I try to consume a balanced amount of fruit, vegetables, protein, ect., but most of the time I fear I may end up eating mainly just fruits and vegetables. I also thought about writing down what I eat so I can keep track and start to balance stuff out?

    You do know there is an app with this site for tracking food right? You can also set up your calorie and macro goals on there as well. You can track food from the main site too.
  • ShinjiruGhetto
    ShinjiruGhetto Posts: 54
    No need to write it down
    myfitnesspal has the application for that
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/
    Yes it's very wise to keep track of your calories.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I'm a bit astonished that at least two people in this thread have advised that a 98 pound woman lose weight.
  • Eathelyn
    Eathelyn Posts: 7
    I actually used to drink a glass of whey everyday but then my doctor advised me otherwise because it apparently wasn't good for my (personal) health.
  • Raclex
    Raclex Posts: 238
    Hi there!

    Great advice given by all :-) I'm also vegetarian (lactose intolerant on top of it!) and getting your macros right is key. It's important to eat right if you want to get strong. There are many vegetarian/ vegan athletes out there that are rockin' the scene so rest assured that it is possible.

    There a few real good websites out there that will help you get the proper nutrition in order to build muscle. Here are a few:

    http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-diet-athletes/

    http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/athletes.htm

    Good luck!
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
    I'm a bit astonished that at least two people in this thread have advised that a 98 pound woman lose weight.

    I agree and maybe they missed her stats that she posted.

    She would benefit from maintaining her weight and recomping or even trying to slowly bulk. Trying to drop more weight especially with the macro breakdown she's been eating and the workouts she's been doing won't do much for her goal of toning up/seeing more definition. I always cringe when I hear people say that abs are all about cutting body fat. While true, they are a muscle like any other on our body and if they aren't developed then it doesn't matter how low someone's BF% is, they probably won't be visible.

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