Confused by my results? Trainers please weigh in?
I am starting week four of a 12 weekdiet/fitness bootcamp. I am a 56yo female and joined the camp to attempt to move from an average, lackluster fitness routine (that was pretty much all cardio) to something that really tones, improves flexibility, and would slim down my post-M thick belly. I started the camp at 5.5″, 134 pounds. I have pushed myself hard. I am using dumbells and resistance bands and lifting/pushing stronger weight that I ever have – increasing every week. Sometimes the weight is so heavy I can’t do all the reps and I am shaking, so I know I am pushing. My cardio is very stepped-up interval type training and a combination of things. I am doing a ton of stretching before, during, and after, and can see my flexibility improving. On one hand, I am super proud of my accomplishments in three weeks. I could not do one push up in the beginning, and can do eight in a row now. I have given birth to a baby bicep and lost four inches off my waist, an inch off my hips and bust. All this has been done while “clean eating”, holding my caloric intake but eliminating gluten and sugar. Sooooo, considering this super hard work, I am very puzzled. I have lost one pound of body weight. Seriously? How does someone work so hard and not see a bigger overall impact? Yep, I hear that I am 56 and not seriously overweight to begin with – but I am puzzled. As I am continuing to increase my weights every time I lift ( 3x week going to 4x week starting next week) I need some dang encouragement!! Thanks for your help.
First of all great job! Sticking to your training while not seeing the results your looking for right away can be hard. Typically in my experience women seam to loose inches before they see the scale move. If your trainer did not measure your body fat% at the beginning but did take measurements that’s just as important because that gives you your starting point to work from. if you have those measurements you can Google a free body fat estimator on line and plug those numbers in and see where you started and where you are now. If you are loosing inches you are losing body fat, muscle is about 1/3 the size of fat. Keep up the great work!