Well been training for a little over a month now, and I've stayed the exact same weight (80kg), even though I've cut everything bad out of my diet and started lifting hard.

My friends and family say I look more toned etc, but I havn't noticed it much, anyway, my question is, is this normal for a beginner, I would've though some weight would have been lost, shall I change anything or just continue on as I am?

Yes it's normal.

Don't use the scale to judge where you are at as scales don't count water weight, lean mass, ect. It's better to measure yourself and keep tract of things that way.

With that being said, I can understand why you'd be alittle frustrated. I went through the same situation this past week. I didn't freak out about it as I know my diet has been clean and I've been working hard, the scale just didn't want to "show" what I had been doing all week.

In the end, I dropped a half pound Wednesday or Thursday, then dropped a full pound from yesterday. I have no clue as to why, but I did notice that my shoulders have taken on some definition that wasn't there earlier in the week so I'm not going to rack my brain trying to figure out the loss and how it came to be.

I know how you feel as well. I've been eating clean for nearly a month now, and been losing weight pretty regularly (about 10 pounds since April 30). But this past week the scale was stuck Monday through Thursday, which is frustrating when you're eating cleaning AND I'm counting calories, so I know I'm in a deficit on top of exercising 6x a week! However, the past few days have been better. Like Zilla said though, the scale is not a good indicator of day to day progress. It's been to measure yourself every week or so. Inches off your waist is a true indicator of progress.

Click here (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showpost.php?p=468644&postcount=6) for a pretty good way of telling what's going on with your body.

Well been training for a little over a month now, and I've stayed the exact same weight (80kg), even though I've cut everything bad out of my diet and started lifting hard.

My friends and family say I look more toned etc, but I havn't noticed it much, anyway, my question is, is this normal for a beginner, I would've though some weight would have been lost, shall I change anything or just continue on as I am?

Read John's update on the front page today.

5 lbs of fat loss + 5 pounds muscle gain = weight stays the same.

Have you noticed an increase in strength?

How many pounds of fat would you estimate you have to lose? As a generalization, the higher your BF% is, the greater the chance that your lbs of weight loss will be able to outnumber the added lbs of muscle mass.

Since you're just starting out, your muscles are very willing to grow in size if you're hitting them with the right intensity and fueling them with the right foods. Like the others have said, keeping track of some form of body composition can paint a better picture on your progress.

5 lbs of fat loss + 5 pounds muscle gain = weight stays the same.

Have you noticed an increase in strength?

How many pounds of fat would you estimate you have to lose? As a generalization, the higher your BF% is, the greater the chance that your lbs of weight loss will be able to outnumber the added lbs of muscle mass.

Since you're just starting out, your muscles are very willing to grow in size if you're hitting them with the right intensity and fueling them with the right foods. Like the others have said, keeping track of some form of body composition can paint a better picture on your progress.

What he said. :)

Easiest would probably be to measure your gut once every couple of weeks. If its going down don't worry about the scale.

Shahar.

Alrite, thanks for the replies and links people, they've been informative, I have noticed an increase in strength, and I'm really lifting as hard as I possibly can at the moment, so I guess I'm doing something right.

Well been training for a little over a month now

Give it a chance. Seriously you have to be in this game for a long time to get the results! Keep on keeping on and you will get the results you want.

I would say keep on doing what you're doing. As a newbie your most important goal should be getting your form nailed down on the big lifts such as squats and deads. It sounds crazy now, but in looking back on it, it probably took me AT LEAST 6 months to get my form good enough to be safely nailing the big exercises ... and i'm still learning!!

Well been training for a little over a month now, and I've stayed the exact same weight (80kg), even though I've cut everything bad out of my diet and started lifting hard.

My friends and family say I look more toned etc, but I havn't noticed it much, anyway, my question is, is this normal for a beginner, I would've though some weight would have been lost, shall I change anything or just continue on as I am?


I am on week #6.

I've gotten the same comments you have but myself haven't noticed much difference if only in how I feel during the day.

I keep reminding myself that it took years for me to be an out of shape couch potato with a gut so it'll take some time, exercise and diet to lose about 15% body fat and gain muscle.

Thanks a lot for the replies people, I shall remain vigilent about my diet, and persistant in my lifting.