A LADY WHO LIFTS - 1 year of progress! (pics)

pusheen12

Great results for sure. My nutritionist told me not to have that much protein as it can lead to gout. You might want to check into it.

craftywitch_63

I recently started "lifting heavy" (actual heavy lifters would laugh at me for saying that) with the help and advice of an actual honest-to-goodness professional weightlifter and a bodybuilding app. My friend swears I can get good results - if they're 1/2 as good as yours, OP, I'll be thrilled witless. Thanks for the encouragement.

:drinker:

missmeee

Looking great! But you have the body type to not be bulky, others like me that are big boned tend to look bulky when we lift weights

marybowldseddington

Just curious about why not 5x5 now and doing the split?
Can 5x5 alone get good results?
I just started it at the beginning of march mostly because I hate cardio but not sure if SL alone with good diet can get weightloss of around 20 lbs while building muscle.

fittiephd

Aw thanks so much everyone! @the nutritionist's comment, don't worry I have done a lot of research on my macro intake and it's been 2 years, I'm good!

I recently started "lifting heavy" (actual heavy lifters would laugh at me for saying that) with the help and advice of an actual honest-to-goodness professional weightlifter and a bodybuilding app. My friend swears I can get good results - if they're 1/2 as good as yours, OP, I'll be thrilled witless. Thanks for the encouragement.

:drinker:

You definitely will see great results! And don't worry, everyone starts somewhere (aka the beginning :P) with lifting, and you'll progress pretty quickly especially if you have a trainer helping you!

Looking great! But you have the body type to not be bulky, others like me that are big boned tend to look bulky when we lift weights

Everyone's definition of bulky is different, and there is no such thing as being big boned. Sorry but that's an excuse people tell themselves thinking they can't lose the weight they want to lose. You can if you put your mind to it! If you lose the body fat you have and do gain muscle, you will not look bulky. But it also depends what you call bulky, some people may call me bulky, it's a personal preference.

Just curious about why not 5x5 now and doing the split?
Can 5x5 alone get good results?
I just started it at the beginning of march mostly because I hate cardio but not sure if SL alone with good diet can get weightloss of around 20 lbs while building muscle.

I got bored of SL 5x5 after about a year, so I started adding accessory lifts. I've since started following various programs that incorporate big lifts and accessory lifts, and also design my own workouts sometimes. Plus accessory lifts can help you strengthen weak parts of the body.

SL + good diet can DEFINITELY help you build muscle and lose fat. You can't actively build more than a couple lbs of newbie gains of muscle when you are losing fat, but you will lose inches and tighten up. I also hate cardio so I only do it once in a while. Just trust the process! It will take time, probably 6-12 months to lose 20 lbs and tighten up. I've been lifting for 2 years and I still am not where I want ot be, everyhting is a constant work in progress! Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the sweet comments, Maybe I'll post an update on my progress now that it's been over another year!

Feel free to follow my fitness instagram, @fit_ky to see my progress

k1431

You look fabulous! I just read all 16 pages of this thread & I want to thank you for answering all of these questions.

I will start by reading New Rules as you suggest, and then I am going to begin lifting!

Calfuray

You look sensational, and strong! Very envious and inspired.

Can I ask a question?
I read your previous posts about eating near to maintenance when you are lifting, but what if you have a lot of weight to lose? I'm on 1600 just now, my goal weight is literally half of my starting weight, so I have a long way to go! Would it be okay to eat at more of a deficit?

lenore304

Awesome! Muscles FTW!

miniimuscles

Amazing transformation! Yay for ladies lifting heavy!

QueenE_

Amazing! You are beautiful and strong!

fittiephd

You look sensational, and strong! Very envious and inspired.

Can I ask a question?
I read your previous posts about eating near to maintenance when you are lifting, but what if you have a lot of weight to lose? I'm on 1600 just now, my goal weight is literally half of my starting weight, so I have a long way to go! Would it be okay to eat at more of a deficit?

I sent you a PM about this with more info, but for everyone else wondering....

so the way losing weight works. You can lose weight faster while you have a lot to lose until it slows down. When you lose fat you inevitably also lose muscle. The bigger your deficit the more muscle you lose with your fat. To put this in perspective, when I started lifting I lost almost another 2 inches off my waist bc muscle takes up less space and makes you tighter. If you do strength training (even body weight exercises) while losing weight, you will lose lbs slower but you will be losing fat and less muscle so in the end you will end up smaller. It may be hard to believe but gaining back muscle is even harder than losing weight in general.

I imagine that 1600 cals is too low for you if you have half your bodyweight to lose. Try using the calculators at iifym.com to calculate how many macros and calories you should be eating. If you need to halve your body weight, expect the weight loss journey to take at least a year if not more. But slow little changes will make a big payoff and the way I think about it, stopping will never get you closer to your goals. You just gotta keep going! I don't know your height weight age or activity level, but I imagine you need at least 1800 plus exercise cals. But ideally just try different calorie intakes until you start losing no faster than 1 lb per week. I would just accept now that it's going to take longer than you would like to lose weight. But it will be worth it!!!

To keep your sanity, my biggest tip is to take progress photos. Every 2 weeks or every month and it will help you see that you are making progress even when the scale isn't moving. And also take measurements once a month because those will also help you track progress.

fittiephd

For anyone wondering how things have been going for me in the past year since this post was originally posted...

In the past year I've continued various heavy lifting / accessory lifting programs. I've added in a little cardio here and there, more recently about 3x a week 15-20 min hiit since January 2014. In May 2013 I hurt my left knee and had to slow down with my lower body lifts for a good 6 months. I still have not come even close to where I was on squats, but have done a lot of other heavy leg work to shape my legs how I would like them. Certain moves hurt my knees and others don't. I'll be really happy to be able to squat my body weight again after all this time! That being said, I've been able to really progress on my deadlifts despite my squats staying behind!!! (see below)

I follow IIFYM religiously, I just finished a 6 week metabolism reset / reverse diet kinda experiment with higher carbs to see if that would help me lose weight at a higher caloric intake. I am back down to 2000 cals now (total, not net), 200g carbs, 71g fat, 140g protein.

My weight has gone up to about 141-144 lbs depending on the day. I started the year with my measurements up a little from some holiday fluff too, but I've since leaned out again and am making great strides towards my goal of seeing my abs this summer I'm pretty sure in the past 2 years of lifting and eating a lot that I have successfully put on a good amount of muscle. My goal weight is no longer as low as it was before. I am thinking 138-140 now. But I mostly go by pictures, how I feel, and measurements.

New measurements:
03/21/12

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> 03/21/13 ----> 3/9/14
Waist: 26" ----> 24.75" ---> 25.5"
Hips (hip bone): 33"

---

> 31.5" ---> 32.8"
Thighs: 20.2"

---

> 21.0" ----> 22.5" (FINALLY the gains in my quads!)
Arms (flexed): 10.0"

---

> 11.1"

---

> 12"
Just below bellybutton: 29"

---

> 27.25" ----> 28"
Under Breasts (ribs) 29.5"

---

> 27.1"

---

> 27"
Over Breasts: 34.5"

---

> 31.0"

---

> 31.8"
True Hips (widest part) 37.5"

---

> 38.5" (Yay a butt!!!!)
^^ I didn't measure this until 01/27/13.

Lift Progress: (March 2012 --> March 2013 ---> Now)

Squats: 50 lbs (2x15) ----> 145 lbs (5x5) ----> 125 lbs (3x5)
Rows: 30 lbs (2x15)

---

> 90lbs (5x5)

---

> 100 lbs (3x5)
Deadlifts: 60 lbs (2x12) --> 145 lbs (1x5) ----> 200 lbs (1x5) (!!!! Huge goal accomplished here :laugh: )
OHP: X

---

> 70 lbs (5x5) ----> 80 lbs (5x5) (I haven't done OHP regularly since last summer)
Bench Press: X

---

> 90 lbs (5x5) ----> 105 lbs (3x5) (Again I only recently started doing bench again)

As you can see, I've fluctuated a bit but mostly maintained my measurements despite being up about 10 lbs from last year. So yay muscle!

I am especially happy about my back's progress since 2 years ago when I started lifting. It's one area where I can really tell that I've gained muscle.



Despite being up 10 lbs, the areas where I gain fat are generally the same.



And on good days I even have the start of some abs! (Oh and I got a new tattoo )





Anyways, still definitely not bulky



Again I love answering questions about lifting. I dont' claim to be an expert but I can definitely tell you what I do. I don't starve myself, and I work out regularly. I meal prep all the food for myself and my bf on Sundays so I have little room for temptation during the week. But if I want pizza or dessert I eat it, I make it work to fit my macros, the beauty of IIFYM. Just like all of weight loss, getting the abs / body I want is going to require figuring out how my body works. I'm always tweaking macros or intake or workouts to find out what works for ME personally. (Like every 6-12 weeks I change things to see how it effects me). Lifting and eating well has definitely become a huge and enjoyable part of my life, it's one of the things I enjoy most and I 've made a lot of good friendships from it!

My fitness instagram is @fit_ky now because I left my phd program lol. MFP won't let me change my user name :P

Thanks for all the kind words everyone! Maybe I should post this update in a new thread? Meh oh well lol.

balancedbrunette

^Think this update deserved a new thread :P nevertheless your progress is amazing and thanks for updating us, such an inspiration to all women!

psych101

wow - to all of this!!

Your back is gorgeous! I'm on my way to that

leahcarrie

Incredible! Strong is sexy for sure!

galprincess

What a fab post please feel free to add me I bought NROLFW today and I cant wait to get tons of facts and knowledge and get strong thank you so much truly inspirational and not at all patronising way to go you and your body is fabulous I so have body envy right now and that will drive me to follow in your footsteps

foss44

bump

ZombieEarhart

Wow, great work!

fittiephd

What a fab post please feel free to add me I bought NROLFW today and I cant wait to get tons of facts and knowledge and get strong thank you so much truly inspirational and not at all patronising way to go you and your body is fabulous I so have body envy right now and that will drive me to follow in your footsteps

Aw thank you! It's taken a long time to learn all this... I was always the non-athletic type and now I'm so different! But once you find something you love, dive right in! I'll add you, let me know if you have questions.

DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh

Congrats Fittie! Love the pics and thank you for responding to people's questions!

SerenaFisher

You look absolutely amazing, well done. My goals are similar to your finish. (I am a little larger frame but my waist goal and thigh goal are the same as yours, my hip aim is to be 36' though.) How tall are you? I skimmed over your results, and I am going to reread everything so if it's there never mind the question. I ask because 130 is my target weight and I'd like to know if you are close to my height or taller/shorter.

fittiephd

You look absolutely amazing, well done. My goals are similar to your finish. (I am a little larger frame but my waist goal and thigh goal are the same as yours, my hip aim is to be 36' though.) How tall are you? I skimmed over your results, and I am going to reread everything so if it's there never mind the question. I ask because 130 is my target weight and I'd like to know if you are close to my height or taller/shorter.

Hey! I am 5'8", I think I mentioned it but maybe I didn't Everyone's goal weight will be different though, the scale really isn't what's important. As I mentioned in my 2 year update post, although my initial weight goal was 128 lbs-130 lbs, now it's more like 138 because of the muscle I have gained. Plus everyone has different builds, like boob size, foot size, water weight that is carried, etc etc etc. Don't knock getting that hip measurement up higher--- when it's all muscle having a booty looks great I love having mine at 38" now vs the pancake I started with! lol! Good luck!

ChristinaOrtiz23

omg you look incredible!! definitely going to start lifting again!!!

3laine75

Just fabulous - amazing work!!

Mygsds

Fantastic.... All I can say.... FANTASTIC

VinceDelmonte

Amazing dedication your an inspiration to women all across the USA

babydaisy81

WOW! I want to be a lady that lifts too! I still have quite a few pounds to lose, and don't know if I should deal with that first, or if lifting to start with would help. You're quite the motivation!

sjbtiger

You're awesome! I've been lifting for a little over a month now and am already pleased with the results I'm seeing. I am 5'7", currently 136 and have a goal of 130, but mostly want to tighten up my tummy and thighs. Lifting leaves me feeling so much more empowered and capable than any cardio! I just followed you on Instagram to keep up with your progress.

thankyou4thevenom

bump
(BTW you look awesome)

fittiephd

WOW! I want to be a lady that lifts too! I still have quite a few pounds to lose, and don't know if I should deal with that first, or if lifting to start with would help. You're quite the motivation!

Nope you can definitely start lifting asap! strength training helps you maintain your muscle mass while you are losing weight. without strength training and eating at a deficit you will lose more muscle with the fat you lose, if you strength train it helps you lose just the fat (well you still lose a litte muscle just not as much as if you weren't lifting)

Feel free to message me more questions!