I Build Muscle FAST and I don't want to... HELP

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mandiemma
mandiemma Posts: 128 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I'm just wondering if it is normal to build extreme amounts of muscle in a short time without losing fat? I ask this question because I am 274lbs but my legs and arms are SOLID... I can lift close to my own body weight in pull ups even... My trainer and I incorporate full body exercises, and do a lot of cardio, and I am building muscle at an alarming rate however my fat content is not going down? I'm not sure what to do because my caloric intake is at 1500 cals because I am so overweight and I do not want to struggle and fail by setting a drastically low caloric intake after years of high intake...

Also, my trainer and I have been working together for over a year three days a week and I followed the Herbal Magic diet and I gained 24 pounds...

Help!
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Replies

  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    You're not building muscle fast, so relax. Women simply don't have the testosterone necessary naturally to bulk quickly - unless you've sprouted a penis, you have nothing to worry about. What you may be doing is reducing body fat and revealing what you already have. And being strong has very little to do with the SIZE of your muscles - lean muscle is very powerful stuff, even in small quantities.

    Bodyfat may not be showing up as dropping because certain areas tend not to lose it at the same rate - if I measure my arms for instance, I'll get 20% or so, but my stomach area is MUCH higher than that. Another point to remember is that if your legs have been carrying around a lot of excess weight for years, they will be damn solid. My calves are monstrous because I've always stayed active despite my weight.
  • mandiemma
    mandiemma Posts: 128 Member
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    Hi, sorry, I forgot to mention that I have PCOS and have extremely high testosterone for a woman :-s

    My trainer and I are just confused as to what to do because it does not seem normal to gain 20plus pounds on a restricted diet and regular exercise... Also, my measurements went up however my fat content according to their measurements has stayed the same?

    So confused lol
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    Even with high test. men struggle to put on a couple of lb's of muscle a month, so you really don't have any worries there. Your muscle may well be becoming stronger and thus more dense, but you have no concerns about bulk.

    I've no idea what herbal magic is, but I'm assuming it's a calorie restrictive something or other? Open up your diary if it's in there so we can have a better look.
  • duharvalgt
    duharvalgt Posts: 320
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    How much muscle? exactly , for an average woman she can expect to build 10-12lbs of muscle in her first year of weight lifting and in the 2nd year around 5-8lbs.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
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    I think that these men have good points if you were talking about a normal person here. I think if you personal trainer is even puzzled, then maybe you should talk to your doctor and see if there are resourses out there for you.

    When I read your first post I immediatly thought there was something hormonally wrong and was going to suggest that route. Seeing how you answered that with the PCOS then I think you need to do things differently. Maybe you need to make sure you are doing more reps with smaller weights, instead of the larger weights and fewer reps. I am thinking doing pull ups and lifting your own body weight is more of an intense program, designed to build muscle. You don't need to do that, so maybe you should maintain, what you've got and focus on other areas.

    I don't know a lot about PCOS, other than it wreaks havoc on your body. I think an edocrinologist specializes in this, maybe seeing one of those would help too.

    Best wishes to you,
    :flowerforyou:
  • JBeansie
    JBeansie Posts: 33
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    IMO, I think you are using muscle building as a scape goat for other things that may not be working. There is no reason that you shouldn't be losing weight (especially at your body weight) so you need to evaluate your choices. Your equation is wrong. Either your input or your output is off. And you are on some "Magic diet"? Ditch that immediately.

    I just heard a bunch of excuses:
    - I can't lower my calorie intake
    - But I've been working hard
    - I have the ability to build lots of muscle ( I realize this is hormonal, but it isn't an excuse for your fat content remaining steady)

    Sorry to be the bad guy, but those are all excuses for an explanation as to why you are gaining weight. Not going to cut it sister.

    Here is my advice, time tested:
    - Ditch any diets with the words "magic" in them
    - Go low carb, low sugar, high in nutrient dense foods
    - Exercise more than 3 times a week; try 5.
    - Lower either your calorie intake or improve the quality of your foods.

    It is simple math and at over 200 lbs, you are either the hulk or not fooling anyone.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    Please post pictures of your super human muscle gains
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    Maybe I should try the 'Herbal Magic' diet...
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    Even for a man it's incredibly hard to build huge amounts of muscle that quickly - especially on a calorie deficit! 2lbs a month is good, and that's with a surplus and specific training (and for a man!)

    The average woman has around 1/10th of the testosterone that men do. Now, even with high levels for PCOS I still don't think it would reach the same as a mans. If it did, you'd have more signs than just increased muscle mass.

    What is most likely happening is you are reducing fat, revealing the muscles afterwards, getting stronger and getting a "pump" which is common after lifting and can give you the appearance of bigger muscles. Don't worry about it, it won't carry on like this forever :)
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    If you are absolutely confident your calorie intake is really 1500 and that you're not underestimating how much you eat, then I suggest a visit to your doctor. Explain the situation. Go prepared. Bring your food and exercise diary with them, at least a months worth. Make pretty charts and graphs if you need to. Demonstrate to your doctor that you're really gaining on a 1500 calorie diet and that it's not just random weight fluctuations. Then ask them to do a full endocrine work up on you (assuming your insurance will cover that). If they don't cover it, then start with a basic thyroid test. If you can swing it, get them to test growth hormone levels and testosterone levels too.

    Your doctor will probably be skeptical, just like most of us on MFP are going to be skeptical... women especially do not gain muscle quickly, even women with PCOS. And nobody gains muscle on a calorie deficit... er... at least not unless they're a newbie to weigh lifting (and then only sometimes) and/or they're very obese (and then only sometimes).

    There are metabolic disorders that can cause abnormal muscle gain.

    Good luck.
  • eve7166
    eve7166 Posts: 223 Member
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    all trainers are not good..i dont know your and your work out plan but sounds like your doing alot of lifting (which is good) but how are you doing with cardio??? Up the cardio after the weight lifting to atleast 45 min to an hour.. if your not losing weight doing that you should go to a dr... you might need some meds to help regulate your hormones GL!!
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
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    If you have been with your trainer for a year and you have gained weight AND not dropped body fat percentage, it is WAY PAST TIME to find a new trainer!
    Have you tried mixing up exercise, or have you been doing the same thing for a year? What about diet? You should be focusing on calories in, calories out with REAL food. No fad diets! Are you incorporating weight lifting into you workouts at all?
    If you REALLY feel that the testosterone is an issue, I would STRONGLY suggest you go to your GYN and have them do a blood draw to see exactly how high it is. It may be high "for a woman", but my guess is it is not near where even a low-testosterone male falls. If the blood test proves us all wrong here, then I'd find a trainer who specializes in slimming down males(if there is such a thing???)
    Also, when you say your legs are "solid" are they just firm feeling or are the muscles defined? Because I have several overweight friends who's legs appear "solid", but they are not defined at all, which, to me, indicates that there is a layer of fat covering those muscles.
    I'd try counting calories and eating REAL food and changing the exercise you are doing for 4 weeks. Take pictures and measurements and after that time, if you still haven't lost INCHES(odds are, if you gain muscle as fast as you are saying you do, you won't lose pounds, but if it is muscle, you SHOULD lose inches), I'd contact your Dr to find out what is going on. Perhaps they can refer you to a nutritionist and/or different trainer who can help.
  • mandiemma
    mandiemma Posts: 128 Member
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    Just clarifying a few things that have been pointed out...

    1.) The Herbal Magic diet is like Weight Watchers...
    My daily food intake is as follows

    2 Starch
    4 Protien
    2 Fruit
    4 Vegetable
    1 Oil/Fat
    1 Dairy


    2.) I did not say I can't lower my calorie intake... I choose to sit at 1500 cals after years of eating well over 2500-3000 + so a 1000-1500 calorie intake should start some kind of loss would it not? MFP (when I first signed up and said I wanted to lose 1.5 pounds a week) my intake should be at a little over 2000 cals a day?


    3.) I work out 6 days a week. Three with a trainer and three on my own.

    I appreciate the input though and will also take into account the recommendations of those who suggested seeing an endocrinologist to do further testing on my hormones etc.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    2.) I did not say I can't lower my calorie intake... I choose to sit at 1500 cals after years of eating well over 2500-3000 + so a 1000-1500 calorie intake should start some kind of loss would it not? MFP (when I first signed up and said I wanted to lose 1.5 pounds a week) my intake should be at a little over 2000 cals a day?


    3.) I work out 6 days a week. Three with a trainer and three on my own.

    You work out six days a week.. Three doing weights... you need to eat more.. 1500 is not nearly enough IMO.

    Muscle burns more calories than fat at rest.. which in turn up's you're metabolism... Set you're loss to a pound a week, and see what happens.
  • chachita7
    chachita7 Posts: 996 Member
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    Question is are you doing heavy weight or low weights with lots of repetition.

    A few month ago I was doing weights - more on the heavy side and my reps at 10-12 -- I didn't like the way my body was looking and I stopped...

    When I started back in November, I did 3 weeks of nothing but cardio then I started a fat lost workout that I found at bodybuilding.com - which mixes both cardio and weight training very well, and I am loving the results... I since have added 3 days of interval (walking/running) on the treadmill followed by a complete ab workout.

    My current schedule:

    Mon/Wed/Fri = treadmill + abs
    Tues. - upper body + 20 mins on StairMaster
    Thurs - lower body + elliptical
    Sat. - complete body + some cardio, depending on what I feel like doing that day

    At least for me, I have found a good balance and I see results
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
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    2.) I did not say I can't lower my calorie intake... I choose to sit at 1500 cals after years of eating well over 2500-3000 + so a 1000-1500 calorie intake should start some kind of loss would it not? MFP (when I first signed up and said I wanted to lose 1.5 pounds a week) my intake should be at a little over 2000 cals a day?


    3.) I work out 6 days a week. Three with a trainer and three on my own.

    You work out six days a week.. Three doing weights... you need to eat more.. 1500 is not nearly enough IMO.

    Muscle burns more calories than fat at rest.. which in turn up's you're metabolism... Set you're loss to a pound a week, and see what happens.

    Agreed. Also, consider speaking with an endo who may give better dietary recommendations for PCOS. You need to be very careful about carb and sugar intake.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I don't know much about PCOS, but I do know that the general rules don't always apply when you have it. I would suggest doing a search for PCOS and seeking help from others who have it. Or repost your topic, with PCOS in the subject line. They will likely have the best answers you'll get on this site.

    Good luck!!
  • monet13
    monet13 Posts: 324 Member
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    IMO, I think you are using muscle building as a scape goat for other things that may not be working. There is no reason that you shouldn't be losing weight (especially at your body weight) so you need to evaluate your choices. Your equation is wrong. Either your input or your output is off. And you are on some "Magic diet"? Ditch that immediately.

    I just heard a bunch of excuses:
    - I can't lower my calorie intake
    - But I've been working hard
    - I have the ability to build lots of muscle ( I realize this is hormonal, but it isn't an excuse for your fat content remaining steady)

    Sorry to be the bad guy, but those are all excuses for an explanation as to why you are gaining weight. Not going to cut it sister.

    Here is my advice, time tested:
    - Ditch any diets with the words "magic" in them
    - Go low carb, low sugar, high in nutrient dense foods
    - Exercise more than 3 times a week; try 5.
    - Lower either your calorie intake or improve the quality of your foods.

    It is simple math and at over 200 lbs, you are either the hulk or not fooling anyone.



    REALLY??? Not nice, not helpful, very judgemental with no encouragement or real knowledge of this women's situation - you also jumped to a lot of conclusions - many in error - what are YOUR qualifications???
  • kmp411
    kmp411 Posts: 30 Member
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    IMO, I think you are using muscle building as a scape goat for other things that may not be working. There is no reason that you shouldn't be losing weight (especially at your body weight) so you need to evaluate your choices. Your equation is wrong. Either your input or your output is off. And you are on some "Magic diet"? Ditch that immediately.

    I just heard a bunch of excuses:
    - I can't lower my calorie intake
    - But I've been working hard
    - I have the ability to build lots of muscle ( I realize this is hormonal, but it isn't an excuse for your fat content remaining steady)

    Sorry to be the bad guy, but those are all excuses for an explanation as to why you are gaining weight. Not going to cut it sister.

    Here is my advice, time tested:
    - Ditch any diets with the words "magic" in them
    - Go low carb, low sugar, high in nutrient dense foods
    - Exercise more than 3 times a week; try 5.
    - Lower either your calorie intake or improve the quality of your foods.

    It is simple math and at over 200 lbs, you are either the hulk or not fooling anyone.



    REALLY??? Not nice, not helpful, very judgemental with no encouragement or real knowledge of this women's situation - you also jumped to a lot of conclusions - many in error - what are YOUR qualifications???

    Gotta love these MFP experts... some of the BS advice people give is mind blowing... OP.. disregard the BS advice from this person
  • JBeansie
    JBeansie Posts: 33
    Options
    IMO, I think you are using muscle building as a scape goat for other things that may not be working. There is no reason that you shouldn't be losing weight (especially at your body weight) so you need to evaluate your choices. Your equation is wrong. Either your input or your output is off. And you are on some "Magic diet"? Ditch that immediately.

    I just heard a bunch of excuses:
    - I can't lower my calorie intake
    - But I've been working hard
    - I have the ability to build lots of muscle ( I realize this is hormonal, but it isn't an excuse for your fat content remaining steady)

    Sorry to be the bad guy, but those are all excuses for an explanation as to why you are gaining weight. Not going to cut it sister.

    Here is my advice, time tested:
    - Ditch any diets with the words "magic" in them
    - Go low carb, low sugar, high in nutrient dense foods
    - Exercise more than 3 times a week; try 5.
    - Lower either your calorie intake or improve the quality of your foods.

    It is simple math and at over 200 lbs, you are either the hulk or not fooling anyone.



    REALLY??? Not nice, not helpful, very judgemental with no encouragement or real knowledge of this women's situation - you also jumped to a lot of conclusions - many in error - what are YOUR qualifications???

    You have a Biggest Loser logo and you are upset that I am giving her tough love? Wow, now who is being judgmental?

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