I have had a clean diet for the past 8 weeks. I MEAN CLEAN.

I really don't see a change in my physique and I am getting frustrated. I have been going to the gym for the past 3 months, approximately 4 times a week. I am a recovered Marathoner....have completed five....and decided my body wasn't responding to all the running. My IT band was getting annoyed and I felt I was "skinny fat" with not much muscle tone. I was into pure aerobics not following a clean diet or weights. I decided to change that and hired a trainer at the gym.

I am a little disheartened because I see some lovely ladies on this form who truly are making a drastic change in their appearance in a short period of time. Here are my stats:

-I am 5'10, 45 years old.
-My body fat is 19% (down from 22% 3 months ago..so yes, an improvment).
-I weigh approximately 138. I don't like the scale because we all know how deceiving numbers are.
-People think I am thin, which I am, but I want to tone in the midsection and drop about 7 pounds of fat.
-I eat mostly Grape Nuts with skim milk
-tuna
-hardboiled eggs
-chicken breast
-whole wheat pasta
-peanut butter
-brown rice
-no soda, no liquor, water only.

Pep talk please! I just want to know if this is common among people who are on the thin side to begin with, but want to improve the muscle tone, etc.

Thank you!

Hi jovigal!
I'm here to try and give you some pep! :)

I think it sounds like you've made a good deal of progress, 19% bodyfat is incredibly good! It certainly sounds like you're quite thin, and other changes really do take a much longer time for you to notice, but other people would notice them before you do. It's just not as dramatic when you're starting at a lower bodyfat, I believe.

I'm the same weight I was a year ago, but I've had people make comments to me about looking very fit, or having lost weight. I don't really notice the difference in appearance but I notice the difference in the way I feel, and my capacity for work and fun! I also like the way my clothes fit more than I did a year ago.

I didn't start taking better care of myself to lose weight, but to improve my health, so the lack of noticeable progress didn't bother me so much. Plus, when I lose a pound on the scale, my allergies go haywire. I think I was around 26% bodyfat when I started though, but I don't really know what it is now. Someday I may post my pictures... (P.S.-- take pictures of yourself and see if you notice the difference.)

You'd want to look at your diet, too, I think-- because you probably need more vegetables, and to build muscle you'll want to make sure that you're getting the right amount of protein, carbs, and fat, and that you're getting enough calories. There is good information on nutrition on this site-- plenty of links in the stickies on the different boards.

I'm going to be good now, and go clean my apartment up some more... I hope that more people come along to give you better info. If you post your diet details and workouts, they'll really be able to help you out! :cool:

Welcome to the boards! (you'll find a few of the guys like me enjoy posting in the womens forum as well)

Here are some suggestions:
-We're all here to help you and the more you post and the more specific you are the better equipped we all are to help you. That said, post a sample day's diet including your calories and macronutrients..also tell us what kind of exercise you'er getting.

-Dont look at others to compare yourself. Its fun, but just don't get too caught up in it...

-Lift heavy! Please refer to the thread in the Women's Forum about this...its so important if you're trying to lose fat and "tone up".

-You can't just be "tone in the midsection". You probably know by now that spot reduction isn't possible.

-Take your time! Losing seven lbs of fat is a good goal, but it could take you a while...just keep moving forward...no sense in moving back.

-Finally, TAKE A CHEAT DAY!!! After 8 weeks of eating strict and clean, I'll bet you're discouraged! Cheat days are actually GOOD for sparking your metabolism and adding energy. I'm serious when I say...go treat yourself to WHATEVER you want to eat for one day...ice cream, cookies, cake, Big Macs, etc. etc. etc. and don't worry about it...its actually GOOD to do this to help you lose fat. If you search around this site you'll find that nearly everyone takes cheat days or eats cheat meals occasionally, just to stay sane (even John "Superdude" Stone)!

Enjoy,
-Andrew

Welcome.

Now for the meat (pun intended) of your diet. Since you're an ex-marathoner, I assume you are still in the high-carb mindset. While the high carb mantra has its place in pre-competition diets, it may not be working for you anymore, now that you're not training at that volume. (Again, I'm assuming all of this, and I'm sure I could be wrong)

While you have some good lean meats in your diet, you have no good fats. Shoot for a macro ratio closer to 40/30/30 (protein/carb/fat) for your diet. Maybe even 35% fats if you can swing it. I know it's tough, but it may help your body start shifting in the right direction. I believe that stalls in body comp come from diet: timing, food choices, lack of certain micronutrients, readjustment of macronutrients.

I looks as if your diet is filled with whole grains. That is good, however, the body doesn't necessarily need lots of them. Try to swing most of your carb choices from a post-workout shake, fruits, vegetables, and maybe one or two meals of whole grains. For protein, make sure you have having at least 30g per meal, if you are eating multiple meals a day (shoot for 6-8 meals/day, with up to 1.5g of protein/lb of bodyweight, if not more). For fats, omega-3 eggs, olive oil, flax oil, fish oil pills, fatty fish, almonds, and natural peanut and almond butter are very good choices. Try to get a lot more omega-3's in your diet.

What kind of lifting routine are you on? And how much cardio are you doing? What you do in the gym affects what you should be eating outside of it.


I have had a clean diet for the past 8 weeks. I MEAN CLEAN.

I really don't see a change in my physique and I am getting frustrated. I have been going to the gym for the past 3 months, approximately 4 times a week. I am a recovered Marathoner....have completed five....and decided my body wasn't responding to all the running. My IT band was getting annoyed and I felt I was "skinny fat" with not much muscle tone. I was into pure aerobics not following a clean diet or weights. I decided to change that and hired a trainer at the gym.

I am a little disheartened because I see some lovely ladies on this form who truly are making a drastic change in their appearance in a short period of time. Here are my stats:

-I am 5'10, 45 years old.
-My body fat is 19% (down from 22% 3 months ago..so yes, an improvment).
-I weigh approximately 138. I don't like the scale because we all know how deceiving numbers are.
-People think I am thin, which I am, but I want to tone in the midsection and drop about 7 pounds of fat.
-I eat mostly Grape Nuts with skim milk
-tuna
-hardboiled eggs
-chicken breast
-whole wheat pasta
-peanut butter
-brown rice
-no soda, no liquor, water only.

Pep talk please! I just want to know if this is common among people who are on the thin side to begin with, but want to improve the muscle tone, etc.

Thank you!

Welcome.

Now for the meat (pun intended) of your diet. Since you're an ex-marathoner, I assume you are still in the high-carb mindset. While the high carb mantra has its place in pre-competition diets, it may not be working for you anymore, now that you're not training at that volume. (Again, I'm assuming all of this, and I'm sure I could be wrong)

While you have some good lean meats in your diet, you have no good fats. Shoot for a macro ratio closer to 40/30/30 (protein/carb/fat) for your diet. Maybe even 35% fats if you can swing it. I know it's tough, but it may help your body start shifting in the right direction. I believe that stalls in body comp come from diet: timing, food choices, lack of certain micronutrients, readjustment of macronutrients.

I looks as if your diet is filled with whole grains. That is good, however, the body doesn't necessarily need lots of them. Try to swing most of your carb choices from a post-workout shake, fruits, vegetables, and maybe one or two meals of whole grains. For protein, make sure you have having at least 30g per meal, if you are eating multiple meals a day (shoot for 6-8 meals/day, with up to 1.5g of protein/lb of bodyweight, if not more). For fats, omega-3 eggs, olive oil, flax oil, fish oil pills, fatty fish, almonds, and natural peanut and almond butter are very good choices. Try to get a lot more omega-3's in your diet.

What kind of lifting routine are you on? And how much cardio are you doing? What you do in the gym affects what you should be eating outside of it.
Very good post.

I just noticed your age. I don't think it will hinder you from finally reaching your goals but it might take a little more time. Try to find something to take your mind off dieting, let another month pass and see what you got then. Also, some people respond quickly, they see changes in matter of weeks, others need more time -- regardless of age, but they'll get there. I couldn't see any change when I was working out 3-4 days a week, but increasing to 6-7 times and I saw a rapid change.

A note in the end: you've done very well! GL!

You definitely need some FRUITS AND VEGGIES! if you want to jump start some more weight loss, cut out the grain type carbs out of a couple of your meals and have a HUGE, HUGE grean salad instead. Or keep the oatmeals, grapenuts, grainy carbs for just the morning and early afternoon. Then after about 2 p.m. for your carbs, stick to just fruits and vegetables with a protein and no grains etc. That little trick has helped me drop lbs. here and there. I usually don't stay on that diet for more than 2 weeks TOPS. On the whole though, you will drop some lbs. if you can get in a lot more vegetables. Good luck!