Be deflated about working out with no desired result

[Macbeth8]

I started upping my whole "workout regime" from lets say beginning of July. Where I started lifting weights and doing at least 2 Pilates classes per week.
Definitely working out alot more as my Fitbit has recorded.
So lets say on average I was working our twice a week whereas now Ive doubled that, almost tripled on some weeks.
But this week just feels deflated. My muscles are mad sore especially legs. My tummy just feels fat and big?! Feel like Im working out for no reason other than to feel sore then spiral into struggling with next workout session. What am I doing wrong?
I dont think iv lost any weight either. Its more just maintaining figure. I dont know what more I can do.

A month is no time at all in the gym to be expecting lots of noticeable change. From my experience, diet is more important for weight loss than exercise too.

How long would you say?

3 months is where you suddenly see a lot of difference

90% of abs and other body parts are made in the kitchen…

and it’ll take a bit longer than a month to get fit and lean.

the fact that you seem low in energy and feeling deflated suggests your diet may need tweaking. You ought to be eating a fair amount of protein and lots of vegetables.

have a look at Caroline Girvan on YouTube. Lots of great and very effective workouts! Some of us have a thread about her programmed in the Exercise section of Mumsnet. Why not join us?

Diet is a funny one as when I first joined the leisure centre had a free session with PT who said I wasnt eating enough calories?! And that if weight lifting you need to up your calories so iv actually been eating more . I do get ravenously hungry after a workout as well.

You haven't been doing it long. Keep it up!

I think this is where you have gone a bit wrong.

Pilates and lifting weights twice a week are going to do barely anything for fat loss if you aren’t in a calorie deficit. If weight loss is the goal, you really don’t need to ‘eat more’ if lifting weights unless you are a bodybuilder who is bulking.

if you aren’t, try HIIT. Most effective. Women also burn more fat working out in the morning.

I’d suggest you get a tape measure and measure tummy and thighs, and see if you gym can do a body fat calculation.

if you are going weights and eating more your weight will likely go up, but figure and tone will improve you need to measure that

@Suprima sorry but that's not true.
For long term weight loss and for changing our physique the majority of people - not bodybuilders- need to add muscle. To do that people need to eat more when lifting. Initially you won't see much weight loss but you will be adding muscle, which means that over time our metabolism increases, which means we start losing weight on a sustainable amount of calories (rather than only losing weight by dieting, which isn't sustainable long term)

Op a month isn't long enough to see much change in the mirror, but please do join the lifting support thread over in health/the weights room - lots of support in there from people who have been in the same place as you!

If you are overweight you don't need to eat more / your body fat can be converted to muscle

With tummy - are you pulling it in properly ? If you strain and push the tummy out rather than pull in it all goes wrong

It takes about 6 weeks of workign out consistently to see results. And it requires diet changes along with it.

80% of weight loss is what we eat. If you have upped your calories to compensate you won’t see any change at all in terms of muscle definition as any weight would cover it. If it’s muscle definition you want, you’d need to do weights daily. When I started working out daily it took a full four months to notice change and that went alongside a change in my diet.

Diet is the main requirement to lose weight. Fitness is for building strength and muscle, which is great and should be done hand in hand.
Have a look at either the blast programme with Annie Deadman and the glucose goddess on Instagram and you will see why what we eat and how we eat it is is so important for weight loss and general health.

@midgetastic - that’s nonsense!! Fat cells and muscle cells are completely different structures biologically - it’s like saying you can turn a poodle into a Labrador just because they’re both dogs. Protein and resistance training are the best ways to build muscle and increasing muscle boosts metabolism and more fat cells are utilised for energy.

OP - depending on your age, you need to get your heart rate up by x% to enter fat burning zone - for example, I need my heart rate increased by approx 60% for more than 45 mins to burn fat. Most non-athletes can’t sustain the required effort to burn a lot of fat hence diet is more effective to lose weight. I follow a low carb diet which works incredibly well with my mild exercise and Pilates several times a week.

If you aren’t seeing results = keep going.

If you are seeing results = keep going.

Its only been a month.
If you do it for another month or 2 you’ll be surprised by how much you’ve changed.

Did you take photos/measurements before you started?

Don't be disheartened, it's too early for you to see results yet.
Don't listen to the professional dieters on the internet. There's a lot of nutritional bollocks bandied around online. Look for someone who's a registered nutritionist (online or IRL) if you're looking for ideas of what you should be eating and how much. Focus on eating plenty of the right food to fuel you rather than cutting calories or different food out of your diet.

If you're feeling knackered this week then take it down a notch and have an extra rest day or swap your normal workout for a walk. If you go too hard too soon you're more likely to get tired and give up (physically and mentally). It needs to be sustainable if you're making it a lifestyle.

Also don't focus too much on your weight or how you look. Focus more on improving what you can do and achieve. And congratulate yourself on your hard work!

I'm almost at the 3 month mark doing 3 hrs per week with a PT (she works me harder than I would myself). It's only in the last couple of weeks I'm starting to see a visible difference. I haven't lost much weight but I've lost cms everywhere and I can see my shape starting to change.

Keep at it would be my advice because it can seem like nothing is happening for ages then it starts to show all at once. The biggest thing for me is feeling so much fitter and stronger even if I do still have wobbly bits.

It hasn’t been that long. Have you given yourself rest days?

Do you use myfitnesspal app? It's very helpful

A month is a great achievement, but I think it takes longer to SEE results in the mirror

Get a blood pressure monitor and you may discover that your BP has fallen, even though changes are not visible

Well done for keeping it up for a month! You’re just at the beginning of your journey and you’ve got a while to go before you really see the change that you’ve already started to feel. Then a bit longer and others will see it too!

follow tactic nutrition on insta for great advice.

You don't actually need to work out at all to loose weight, it's pretty much all to do with what and how much you eat. But a month isn't a long time to see any results with toning up its more like 3 months sadly lol.

your body fat can be converted to muscle
🤣🤣🤣

Sorry, you upped your workout from what to what?

I enjoy working out but if I do as much as I want, it's more than my body can cope with.

You won’t see a difference working out a couple of times a week. You might feel healthier but you need to be patient to see any physical changes.

Definitely look at your diet.