How long with no results before you change a routine.

[senimoni]

I've been working out since the beginnning of the month, and to date my weight has not changed.

Here are my stats;

5'2" 180 lbs
Female

Old diet- Lived off of coke and SUGAR (candy bars, sweets, carb laden foods)

New diet - Basically complex carbs, no candy, no pop (well I've had 2 20ozs) 12-1600 calories, avg of 1400/1500

I know it takes time to see results sometimes so I don't know if I should continue what I'm doing or make a change. I didn't expect 30lbs in 30 days, but dang, is 3 lbs too much to ask for.

My exercise routine isn't stable just yet, I was doing one body part and 30 mins+ of cardio 4x a week. Now I'm doing weights only 3x, full body, and 2 days of Tennis, and one other day of cardio.


So my question basically is, should I give it another two weeks or should I cut my calories some more.

My sister and others claim its muscle gain, but I seriously doubt I've gained any appreciable amount of muscle in that time.

[akm3]

Originally Posted by senimoni

I've been working out since the beginnning of the month, and to date my weight has not changed.

Here are my stats;

5'2" 180 lbs
Female

Old diet- Lived off of coke and SUGAR (candy bars, sweets, carb laden foods)

New diet - Basically complex carbs, no candy, no pop (well I've had 2 20ozs) 12-1600 calories, avg of 1400/1500

I know it takes time to see results sometimes so I don't know if I should continue what I'm doing or make a change. I didn't expect 30lbs in 30 days, but dang, is 3 lbs too much to ask for.

My exercise routine isn't stable just yet, I was doing one body part and 30 mins+ of cardio 4x a week. Now I'm doing weights only 3x, full body, and 2 days of Tennis, and one other day of cardio.


So my question basically is, should I give it another two weeks or should I cut my calories some more.

My sister and others claim its muscle gain, but I seriously doubt I've gained any appreciable amount of muscle in that time.

Believe it or not, as a newbie weight lifter, you very likely are gaining muscle! However, ignore the scale for a second: When you look in the mirror do you LOOK smaller? Do your clothes fit looser? Can you fit into jeans you haven't been able to fit in in awhile? If the answer to those are YES then keep doing what you are doing.

If the answer is NO, you MIGHT consider trimming your Calories, but it looks like you are already pretty bare on the Calories. Perhaps upping your cardio intensity?

Be honest with the mirror and clothing measurements though, those are far more important then what the scale says to gauge progress.

-Allen

[RTE]

Drop 100 calories a week until you get to 1100 then add 100 calories a week til you return to 1600. Count everything you eat and drink. Weight training: try to increase weight or reps each workout, cut rest between sets to one minute or less.

[Mooshie]

2 20oz of regular pop? Isn't that like 500 calories? If it's diet it's okay, but you can't drink that much sugar and lose weight. :d_eek:

[Lost]

i doubt the two 20oz is a regular occurance, i imagine they have had two since they started.

[fitness_nerd]

First off, you need to decide what metrics are important to you. Weight? I hope not. Inches? Body fat loss? Please say yes.

1. Take a photo of yourself once a week or so. Photos don't lie.

I would agree. At your height and weight, any change should yield you some appreciable weight loss. Something is wrong.

My guess? Your calorie consumtion is not correct.

Stick with me here. We're gonna get you on the right track.

Write down everything and the size on a 3x5 card and approx. size. You need to do this until you can really familiarize yourself with what you are eating. THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL.

You cannot judge how mjany calories you are consuming for your level of work. Sorry that is the truth. YOu wouldn't be here if it were. Or me for that matter.

10 times your current weight = calories will yield weight loss. So for you 1820 calories. Divide that by your waking hours = 100 calories per hour is your goal.

The trick is to that you should never be more than 400 calories over or under your energy requirements. Simple enough in concept. Requires some retraining in your eating patterns. Remember never 400 UNDER or OVER. This means NO 800 calorie meals.

Okay. Workout science.

To make goals you need to take a couple variables into account

Work Volume (weight times total reps)
Time

From one workout to the next, something has to happen. Either your work volume must increase, or the time you do that work in must decrease. This must happen for your muscles to be stimulated to grow.

Interestingly enough, even experienced lifters lifting "more" will unknowingly rest longer between sets thereby decreasing their work factor. Your body is smart like that.

The solution??? Regiment it exactly. All you need is a clock with a second hand. That;s it.

Using pushups as an example:
WORKOUT #1
10 sets x 5 reps When the clock starts @ twelve, rack out 5 pushups. Rest until it hits 12 again. Do 5 reps (set 2) rest until it hits 12 again.

You might do them in 10 secs with a 50 sec rest. That is fine. Total work? 50 reps in 10 minutes.

WORKOUT #2

Okay, this time, we are gonna do 10 sets X 6 reps. Same protocol.
Totall work? 60 reps in 10 minutes. The muscle must get stronger.

MAKE SENSE?

Apply this principle to all your lifting work. No guessing here, you know exactly what you need to do each workout to improve.

Now, I incorporate 2 exercises in my one minute and do 15 sets.

EX: 10 curls/10 triceps extensins / minute


The good part is its solid science and yu have taken out all the guessowrk and variables. You will see improvement b/c you are lifting more each workout.

[tennisball]

Since I don't know your age or your bf%, I'm guessing at your caloric need, but to maintain you would need around 1800-2000cals/day. I think 1300-1400 should be sufficient, but a challenge of will power.

You are doign enough activity right now, or so it seems. I think what you really need to be careful of is that diet of yours. I feel that there may be what we call "calorie creep". You aren't counting everything that's going in.

If you cut all refined sugars, processed foods, soda, etc, you will have trouble finding enough to fill you up. And that weight will fall off.

Originally Posted by senimoni

I've been working out since the beginnning of the month, and to date my weight has not changed.

Here are my stats;

5'2" 180 lbs
Female

Old diet- Lived off of coke and SUGAR (candy bars, sweets, carb laden foods)

New diet - Basically complex carbs, no candy, no pop (well I've had 2 20ozs) 12-1600 calories, avg of 1400/1500

I know it takes time to see results sometimes so I don't know if I should continue what I'm doing or make a change. I didn't expect 30lbs in 30 days, but dang, is 3 lbs too much to ask for.

My exercise routine isn't stable just yet, I was doing one body part and 30 mins+ of cardio 4x a week. Now I'm doing weights only 3x, full body, and 2 days of Tennis, and one other day of cardio.


So my question basically is, should I give it another two weeks or should I cut my calories some more.

My sister and others claim its muscle gain, but I seriously doubt I've gained any appreciable amount of muscle in that time.