Three Months, No Progress! Help

Training Beginners
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I’m confused! I’m new to this and been trying to get in better shape now for 4 months. I know this takes years but I feel like I’m not making good progress and don’t want to get lost. For the first three months I ate clean foods and lot’s of them. Didn’t count calories. Went from 177-190lbs but don’t look much different.

This month I watched calories strictly at 3000 per day and cut down on carbs to 100 a day. I got weaker and feel fatter. Weight went up 2 pounds, but I’m not any more muscular or stronger. Now I don’t know what to do. If I keep bulking, i’ll be that fat guy with nice forearms. If I go all out and cut i’ll be skinny with no muscle.

My goal is to be a lean 200-210.(not ultra “ripped”, but healthy) I have attached some pics. I apologize for the attire, I felt it would show what’s needed without too much “bulge”. How should I continue towards my goal? Thanks to all in advance.

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now

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What’s your workout like?

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Can you also post your new and old diet. I’m a newb too and trying to see how to best gauge progress. It might be helpful to show your lift improvements too.

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AND, what’s your diet like? post a detailed menu. Or maybe a three day sample (two week days, one weekend).

Also, learning to push yourself to the absolute limit in the gym each and every time is essential. Learn to put in 300% every time. This takes time to do.

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That’s actually not 0 progress. In the first pic you looked like a pear, now you look like a pear with shoulders. Just keep it going man. You’ll fill out if you keep working, just set some SPECIFIC goals for SPECIFIC lifts and move towards them in any way that works for you.

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You haven’t made any progress?! If you’re adding weight to the bar each week or every two weeks, then you’re making progress. As a beginner, you could/should be adding weight or reps or sets every workout. Ok, maybe not more sets, but there should be some sort of measurable progress going on.

The other frustrating thing is seeing results when you’re overweight. You play games with the scale and the mirror. I know because I do the same. It may help, no it will help to take pictures every two weeks of multiple angles - front, side, back, and each of these flexed. Tape measure is good as well. There’s nothing wrong with weight gain as long as its the right kind in the right spots :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Thanks all,

Like I said previously, I didn’t Count calories before so I dont have a detailed log.(Wish I Had) I ate lots of chicken, yams, rice, pasta, turkey, beef and veggies. I cheated more with pizza and homecooked burritos (lean ground turkey, cheese, whole wheat pitas). Here is a sample day of what I’m following currently.

6:30am: 1 cup egg beaters, 1 whole egg, 3 strips turkey bacon, handful of cashews, fish oil cap. 515 cal, 42P, 14C, 34F

9:30am: Peanut butter shake (JB recipe) + fish cap. 412 cal, 35P, 17C, 24F.

12:30pm: Homemade turkey burger (1/2 lb) with olives and cheese (No Bun) fish-oil cap, Serving of Baby Carrots. 645 cal 78P, 15C 33F

3:30pm: Peanut butter shake (JB recipe) + fish cap. 412 cal, 35P, 17C, 24F.

6:30pm: Baked Salmon w/ pecan crust, Large Salad with olive oil & Vinegar. Serving of carrots. 715 cal, 58P, 18C, 48F.

During + after workout, 8:00PM Surge: 340cal,35P,46C,2F

Totals: 3039 cal 283pro, 126carb, 162fat

This is a workout day, non workout would be similar but instead of Surge, Metabolic Drive with cottage cheese.

As for a program, I was following Big Boy Basics. I want to try WSFSB and continue with this meal plan but add in some cardio. I have to admit that during those weeks where I started watching my calories strictly, I got the Flu for 3 days and didn’t eat much at all, and had 2 Cheat for my gf’s birthday.

Please offer your thoughts on my plan, and any advice that could make it better.

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What about your lifts? Have they gone up significantly?

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I’ve added 80 pounds to my deadlift. (I could do more but my hands aren’t strong enough yet to hold more for enough reps.) I’ve added 50lbs to my squat, and bench has improved by about 25lbs. (I have difficult adding to my bench for some reason) Keep in mind that it took me a couple workouts to get used to the movements and figure out what was “heavy”.

Thanks again

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Great! You are progressing.

Keep going!

I would stop trying to gain weight and try to maintain it. You’re new enough to lifting that you can lose some fat & gain some muscle. I would really focus more on increasing the weight on the bar workout to workout.

Pick a good solid well tested beginners program, and follow it (this is really starting to sound cliche): starting strength 3x5 or strong lifts 5x5. A change of program would help with motivation. :slight_smile:

As far as your pictures, I can’t really see that much of a difference in them. Maybe your love handles are a little bigger, but it also looks like maybe your shoulders/chest are perhaps more muscular. It could be that you’re not even fatter, but your obliques hypertrophied making you look it. :wink: It could be lighting. :slight_smile:

Changing your physique and/or getting strong is a long term thing. 3 months ain’t shit. :slight_smile:

I say give it 3 more months on one of programs I’ve mentioned. Focus really on adding weight to the bar.

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I have given the “Starting Strength” a lot of thought for my next program, but im still deciding. One question I have is when you find your weight for the 3X5, do you still start your warm-up with just the bar and add 10 lbs at a time until your at your weight? Im stuck between this program and WS4SB. Thanks to everyone who has given your input so far!! Does my diet look ok to use?

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[quote]BROOTAL wrote:
I have given the “Starting Strength” a lot of thought for my next program, but im still deciding. One question I have is when you find your weight for the 3X5, do you still start your warm-up with just the bar and add 10 lbs at a time until your at your weight? Im stuck between this program and WS4SB. Thanks to everyone who has given your input so far!! Does my diet look ok to use?

[/quote]

Try starting strength first for a few months then switch to WSFSB. Since you don’t play sports (assumption) Do 2x lower body days in wsfsb.

Just start out with what’s heavy to you.

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You don’t have to start that low. I don’t know how much you lift but whatever weight you can do pretty easily 6 or 7 reps should be your starting. If its a big gap between that and what you’re work sets are then its really up to you what # interval you want to use. Unless you’re lifting pretty damn heavy though you don’t need an excessive amount of warm up.

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Have you set any short term/ long term goals. Lets face it without goals your just gonna keep chasing your tail. Diet, Diet, Diet…

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I guess when I said “no progress” it was because I thought I would look differently. I got stronger and gained weight but look no different. As for goals I have never set any, and now that I think about it I need help. I need help mainly because I don’t know what’s possible and what’s ridiculous. I want to gain muscle and shift my body comp to a point where I’m healthy and look like I work out. Can anyone help me set some realistic goals of point me in a direction where I can learn to do it myself? Diet was mentioned again. Does the diet I posted look good to stick with, or is the Calories and macro breakdown too much for my current fat level?

Thank you!!

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When you flex hard is there a difference? For me, there is. My arms are bigger and I can see chest muscles. However, cold it’s less noticeable.

Anyway, I’m in the same boat and I plan to tweak my diet a bit. If anything, I’ll learn more about how diet effects things.

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A fat guy with nice forearms usually looks like a muscular guy (with good forearms) when he cuts down IF he cuts down properly with adequate lifting and PWO supplementation. I;m assuming of course you don;t work only forearms :slight_smile:
Even if you lose any LBM duting the cut you will gain it back quickly during refeeds etc after you finish your cut and focus on gaining. IF you’ve held on to the muscle for a while and keep lifting hard, you will hold on to nearly all of it unless youre trying to look shredded. So get that out of your head.

[quote]BROOTAL wrote:
If I keep bulking, i’ll be that fat guy with nice forearms. If I go all out and cut i’ll be skinny with no muscle.
[/quote]

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Can anyone comment on my diet? It is obviously not working the great, but im not sure why. I think my food choices are alright Are the calories just too high??

Thanks

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How tall are you???