I don’t want to give up, but I feel like I’m doing it all wrong

[jennifaith]

Hey y’all!

This is maybe the first obstacle that I’ve really been stuck at since I’ve started out and haven’t been able to get past.

I’ve only been lifting since around late June 2020. I know substantial progress isn’t going to come to me within the span of a single summer, but that’s not what my problem is.

For background, I started working out with a slightly higher than average BMI (27-28%?), and I don’t know what it is now since I haven’t had a Styku scan for a few months or been to the doctor’s since March. I’m 5’7, averaging between 165-170 lbs. I’m 16.

My goal is to look like Chun-Li 2.0, though it’s exaggerated, I do look at those general proportions as what I want my body to be in maybe 5 years of work.

Here’s the question: did I start off with the wrong plan?

Workout wise, I think I’m solid. I lift 3x a week full body (this works best for my schedule), just switched from strength and now into hypertrophy (which is mainly why I’m having such a hard time keeping up my morale; I feel I’m not making the best of it). It’s worth noting that I don’t do any form of cardio besides a brisk walk or a 5 min stairmaster sesh w/ stretches to warm up. I’m making progress pretty fast in terms of strength.

My weight’s stayed stagnant, but there have been changes in bodily measurements. In the past month, I’ve lost an inch on my waist and gained an inch on my hips. I assume that something’s happening to my body then, or maybe I measured differently each time (or that’s just me doubting myself).

Here’s where I’m having the least confidence: my nutrition.

Originally, I thought that it would be best that I go into a cut until December at the latest (for a total of 4 months max) to shed some body fat, especially on my stomach. I’ve already seen more definition on my legs and noticed my arms are slimmer, but I don’t think my stomach is budging quite yet. I do track my macros; I mainly aim to get sufficient protein as opposed to focusing on carbs and fats but I make sure I don’t eat an excess of them. For a month-ish, I’ve been eating around 1900 calories, TDEE should be around 2400. The progress of losing weight is invisible on the scale (and difficult to gauge since I’m also supposedly gaining lean muscle), so I’ve brought my deficit down a bit more to about 1700.

I’m scared to bring my caloric deficit lower even though I’m not seeing progress as quickly as I’d like. Apparently I could be losing up to 2 lbs a week, but I hear from others that dropping 0.5 lbs a month with what I’m doing is a healthy goal. I have no clue what I should be seeing or doing anymore. I don’t want to sacrifice muscle mass or miss out on making the fastest newbie gains that I’ll ever make; yet, I’m not satisfied with my body fat and don’t want to lose gains in the future trying to get it off.

So am I doing this wrong? Should I completely disregard trying to lose fat, and switch to a caloric surplus to put muscle on first while I still have the most potential? Will fat loss come naturally as time passes by? Am I just way too impatient and need to keep doing what I’m doing to get that snatched waist? I’ll be happy to hear any tips and stories!

TLDR; I, a beginner, don’t know whether I should try to cut down fat first or if I should be taking advantage of newbie gains.

EDIT: I just realized I forgot to add this, but I’m not interested in recomposition. I know this is an option but I feel like the progress is too slow for me to feel satisfied and motivated.

 

[sonshine415]

@jennifaith A lot of advice here is for adults. I'd caution you to disregard most of it. I wouldn't suggest you do a cut at all. Just eat at maintenance and train. You need the nutrition and that comes with calories. We already know grown adults will cut calories enough to lose weight and end up unable to get the required nutrients to live. Their hormones get jacked up, their bones get jacked up, they lose hair. If you get into this region you could permanently damage your body.

Just keep following your program and eat whole foods as much as you can. As you build muscle your metabolism increases. As your metabolism increases you'll naturally lose body fat. Whatever you do, don't cut your calories and miss out on nutrition.

 

[rbak923]

@jennifaith Hi!
Congrats on deciding to start a fitness journey!

I just wanted to say. You are 16. As much as it doesn't seem like it, you're body is still going to change A LOT over that 5 years.
Do what every exercises make you HAPPY.
Don't worry about cutting or bulking or nutrition. Eat healthy but ENJOY whatever foods you want with your friends and family.
Regardless of what you do, as long as you keep up with regular exercise, you will still look as amazing as you do now in a 5 year span.
Also, you're "ideal" body shape will also change in that 5 years. What you want at 16 is going to be different than what you want at 21.
Don't look up to influencers as your goal.. they don't even look like that.

Sorry for the long reply, I am 25 and my goals at 16 are not even close to what my goals are now, my body is not the same as it was at 16. Continue your journey, but do it in a way that makes you happy.
Best of luck!

 

[hbyej60]

@jennifaith Let me propose two scenarios:

In Scenario A, you make the gym and nutrition your #1 focus in life. You are extremely precise with weighing and measuring your food and hitting your macros. You religiously show up to the gym and progress your lifts. Your life is consumed by seeing a lower number on the scale and more aesthetic changes. You start to become anxious when friends invite you out because it's too tempting to see them eating/drinking and asking you why you aren't... but you feel awkward explaining that its impossible to count the macros in what you order. You start dreading family holidays because the food is too much temptation. The level of pressure builds until it bursts and you devour everything in your pantry. Multiple protein bars, an entire frozen pizza, pints of ice cream. You feel insatiable even though your stomach is in pain and you feel disgusting. You vow never to lose control again and work extra hard in the gym to burn it off... but then it happens several days later... again... and again... until you feel so tortured by food and see no end in sight.

In Scenario B, you view the gym as a lifelong journey of improvement. You have goals, but no strict timelines. You make conscious choices about which foods make you perform your best, but you also don't sacrifice time with friends or family. Your progress is slower, but that also means it is more sustainable and you're less likely to get overuse injuries. It becomes part of your lifestyle and your way of eating feels like you could continue doing it for decades (can you really commit to weighing and macro counting for decades?) You value that fitness is a marathon, not a sprint. Because there is no finish line. Even if you reach your ideal body.... then what? Do you stop? No, you likely find another body part to scrutinize.

Scenario A sounds extreme, but it is exactly what happened to me - and I regret making that choice every day.

I finally found peace when I realized that the joy is in the journey, not the destination. And progressing slower means I get to enjoy the journey for longer. If someone could give you every PR you ever wanted in 365 days of hard work.... what would you do on Day 366 when you have nothing to work toward?

Also, I hope you realize that Chun Li is a fictional character and absolutely no one on earth has that body. It is 100% unobtainable because it is an animation. Even if you find an IG influencer you admire aesthetically, that is HER body and your body is YOURs. They will never look the same.

My biggest advice is to take it slow, reduce the pressure you're putting on yourself, and compare your progress only against the previous version of you. No one else matters.

 

[jennifaith]

@hbyej60 Oh jeez, I’m sorry you had to go through that! I hope you’re better now.

I had never seen scenario A as a possibility for me, since I rarely ever go out (at least for now). I’ve always just relied on intuitive eating if I ever eat out and if the place I eat at doesn’t list calories. I allow myself cheat days if I feel my morale has dropped. I feel that I won’t need refeed weeks because I don’t constrict my carbs, and I just want to make sure my fat intake isn’t dramatically high.

I’m probably just going to be using a calorie tracker if I’m in a cut. The main purpose of the cut(s) that I’m currently in or will be in is to drop some fat, but I know I won’t be cutting and bulking forever. Eventually I’ll likely switch to intuitive eating completely, and I can do mini cuts if I feel like it (so that I’m not restricting for months at a time).

Yes, I realize Chun-Li is fictional haha! I’m not going to be upset if I don’t look like her clone. I’ve just seen women with big legs that seem somewhat similar to her proportion-wise who dub themselves Chun-Li, so I felt that she was an appropriate example. I didn’t want to say that I want to look up to any particular non fictional girl since they’re not exactly like me, so things will be different journey wise.

I definitely won’t be trying to rush things anymore. Since I’m seeing non scale results and just feeling better about my body in general, that should be good enough progress for such a short amount of time. Thank you!

 

[jaericho]

@jennifaith Your body is doing all kinds of things at 16. Just be patient, and remember that there are many factors involved in what your body is going through at your age. Everything you're doing sounds right for where you are at now, and you definitely sound like you're being smart about your research. If you want to feel some improvement, try going a little heavier on your weights. It burns way more calories per workout if you just add that 5-10lbs every week or two. Especially if you're going for Chun Li legs! She is also totally a goal of mine. I always thought my thighs were too thick, and then I saw what a badass she is, and started TRYING for chun li thighs, and now I'm like why am I only a little bit thicker!! And of course the answer is, lift more and eat more.

Maybe learn about body building, not because you should be doing it to achieve your goal, but mainly to learn about and gain respect for what it takes to have the "snatched" waist and tight look. It is not really sustainable even for body builders. They spend 12-20 weeks doing a very specific diet plan in order to finally achieve that tight look AT THE VERY END of the program, just for competition, and then they eat and drink after and go back to looking relatively normal a lot quicker than you'd expect.

Body builders just look like very fit people most of the time, when they aren't close to a competition. Set attainable expectations for yourself. Grow your body and muscles under the fat, and know that then if for some reason you really want to get lean, you can go on a strict diet plan for 12 weeks and look cut, like if you wanted to cosplay as chun li. Then you go back to eating more sustainably and feeling like a goddam human being again (because you might not like who you are on a diet that gives you the temporary aesthetic that you like! And its possible no one else will like you while you're in a carb deficit either!)

 

[robertmichel73]

@jennifaith NUTRITION: Switch to maintenance or a surplus for a 12-15 weeks. To show muscles you first have to have muscles. You build muscles by being at maintenance calories or a surplus. Make sure you are hitting your protein goals. Don't be afraid of carbs because that's what helps fuel your workouts and recovery. I know it feels weird to hit more than 2,000 calories because of our stupid diet culture, but trust the process.

WEIGHTS: Once you have done a progressive overload weight training program for 12-15 weeks, you should notice yourself getting stronger (tracking weights on certain lifts). Then you can go into a deficit for a few weeks to cut down on fat while still lifting heavy. The fat loss will come over time. Fat loss is super slow process.

Focus on non-scale victories like strength gains or body measurements. I suggest checking out Paragon training methods & Laurie Christine King on instagram. top-shelf information.