Disappointed by little progress

[fernandosn]

I am a 28 y/o, 5 foot woman that is tired of being overweight. I have consistently worked out over the past 5 years (mainly boxing 1-3 times a week) but sometimes don’t go to the gym for weeks and eat whatever and my progress regresses. I joined a local gym rated as the best in my city for small group classes and I love it. I am doing 3 times per week as they recommend and their workouts focus heavily on lifting and functional exercises. After the workouts I seat in the sauna for 15 min and cold plunge for 3.5 min. I can see progress in my quads and arms but today I took a scan and the numbers are disappointing. Note that the scan from 11.28 was not done while fasting so it’s not very accurate. Coming up in one month I figured I would have lost more fat and built more muscle. I have increase my protein intake by a ton and also reduced and replaced carbs and sugars (for example instead of rice I’d do a cup of boiled sweet potatoes to go with my protein). Is this okay progress? I feel so discouraged. For context I also suffer from PCOS.
Scan progress:
Week 1 (11/28 - not done under the right conditions: weight (176.4), skeletal muscle mass (53.8), body fat % (45.8)
Week 2 (12/06) - weight (177), skeletal muscle mass (53.6), body fat % (46.3)
Week 3 (12/18) - weight 177.5, skeletal muscle mass (54.9), body fat % (45.1)

 

[amber101]

@fernandosn Give yourself more credit… “joined a gym and I love it”
this is awesome so don’t worry about the numbers, it is a long road so enjoy it … it sounds like the numbers don’t reflect on how you feel and I believe that your feelings are more important … keep doing it and the numbers will follow … so good on you!

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/heal...and-exercise-choices-today-healthier-tomorrow

 

[cinamon]

@fernandosn Don't give up on the weight lifting!
Cardio exhaust me and made me eat more. Strength and weight training helps me getting fit.

 

[james2175]

@fernandosn You're doing great! The best thing is that you love the workouts; that helps you stick with them. Number changes come slowly, but you're on the right track.

Make sure your eating is on point, try to get 5+ servings of fruits and veggies per day.

 

[roguemouser]

@fernandosn

...small group classes and I love it. I am doing 3 times per week as they recommend and their workouts focus heavily on lifting and functional exercises

Are these sessions built around progressive overload? If not (and I suspect not, as most fitness classes aren't) then you're wasting your time. I mean sure, you'll burn some calories, but you're not moving in any particular direction if there is no element of progressive overload.

I have increase my protein intake by a ton and also reduced and replaced carbs and sugars (for example instead of rice I’d do a cup of boiled sweet potatoes to go with my protein).

Are you implementing a calorie deficit with this? You can eat all the "healthy" foods you like but if you're not burning off more calories than you're consuming then you're not going to lose weight. A calorie deficit is non-negotiable for fat loss.

So to sum up:

• Your workouts should be built around progressive overload
• You must be in a calorie deficit in order to see fat loss

 

[lnjblessings]

@fernandosn

tired of being overweight.

Then you need to eat in a caloric deficit if you want to lose weight. Exercising without tracking your intake is not going to achieve this for most people.

I took a scan

What kind of scan? Unless your doing hydrostatic weighting, an MRI etc all of those other scans are incredibly inaccurate and the results should be taken with a grain of salt.

Coming up in one month I figured I would have lost more fat and built more muscle.

Your going to need to be more patient, one month isn't a long time.

For context I also suffer from PCOS.

"Women with PCOS can build muscle easily due to higher testosterone levels."

What's you workout routine? I'm assuming it has a built in method for achieving progressive overload?

 

[idiana]

@fernandosn My guess is that getting discouraged is what caused you to stop for weeks at a time. An okay workout and diet plan done consistently ALWAYS beats the best workout and diet plan in the world done inconsistently. So pick something and stick to it no matter what for 3 months. Sure, it may not technically be the most efficient but it is better to pick something and just do it rather than trying to recalibrate all the time. And also remember that a B is pretty darn good. A diet plan that has you losing a pound a week that you do 80% right will still have you lose 12 pounds in 3 months. If you add some muscle during that time you will look better. Do it for a year and you lose almost 35. That is not the end but it is a pretty darn good start!