Help: Any ex-slim/thin/skinny gal out there ???

M

Marinette

Member
Hi everyone,

I am getting really desperate as I have spent almost a week now searching this forum looking for other women who are (or were) on the skinny side to start with, and succeeded in building up nice muscles and toning their body...

I am 115 lbs and I can not afford to loose weight. I have good legs, not toned but not skinny, but my upper body is on the skinny side, especially my back and shoulders. I have not exercised at all in the past 3 years... My goal is to put on a few pounds of muscles on my upper body and tone my legs and butt .

So if any of you who has started where I am now, and if you have managed to do this successfully , without damaging your health or hurting your body...could you help me to get started ?

How did you do this !? How did you feed yourself, how much cardio (I feel too weak to do too much of that and I am afraid of loosing weight; but I know I need it at the same time), which dvds...?

Sometimes I feel like giving up before starting and I would really love to hear your success story to know that it is possible. I do have will power, but I just need to know that it can be done, and I need directions...

I am totally new to this so please be understanding...
Thank you to all of you who will take the time to give me some advices!

Marinette
 
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I don't have a personal story to share, but you could try googling diet and exercise for the ectomorph body type. You sound like a classic ectomorph body type, likely you'll find the suggestions lean towards increased calorie intake and a focus on strength training workouts while limiting your cardio.

Cathe has tons of great weight focused workouts, actually the best selection and variety out there in my opinion. Likely you would want to look at the dvds that focus on strength like Gym Styles and 4 Day Split, and of course STS.

Oh, I just remembered, I am pretty certain I have read some success stories from people who were not looking to lose weight, but instead were looking to build muscle and increase their fitness as you are. I'll see if I can find the link to the success stories and post if I do.
 
This is just my personal experience, but I think you'll find that exercise (both weights and cardio) will increase your appetite and help you to maintain and not lose weight.

I weigh the same as you. I am not sure how tall you are, but I am 5'7". I struggle sometimes to maintain my weight. Key for me is staying with a consistent exercise program. If I don't work out, I tend to eat less and start to lose weight.

I am by no means heavily muscled, as I have a long, lean body type, but I have strong and muscular (for me) shoulders, arms and legs. I do it all. I run. I lift weights. I do step aerobics. I do aerobic weight training. And I do body weight type workouts. There really is no right place to start. If you're here on Cathe's forum, then hopefully you have some of her DVDs. Get started with something like Slow & Heavy. This series really helped me develop some strength and definition, which isn't easy for me.

Good luck!
 
When I seriously began training with both weights and cardio back in 1999, I weighed about 117 (I'm 5'4"). I didn't set out to specifically put weight on, but now I weigh 130, and I still wear the same size I did back then even though I'm about 15 pounds heavier. That tells me a lot about how my body composition has changed over the years! I eat when I'm hungry, and I don't count calories obsessively. I do have a general idea throughout the day, and most of the time it's between 1400 and 1900. I do some kind of cardio everyday, and I lift three or four days a week.
 
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lrusso again I am so impressed ! thank you for your time and help. I am sure I will keep bug you with a few more questions...:)

JeanneMarie I am 5'7" too ! this is very encouraging for me to read than you have successfully done this . If you had to start all over again, for your first month, which dvds would you pick and how often would you work per week ? Thank you !

Dela thank you as well for taking the time to answer me. Out of the 3 dvds that you recommend, which one would you start with or would you use them all ? And in your opinion, how long should I work per day (remember I have never done that and I am not in shape either...) . If you find some success stories I would love to know who. It is so inspiring for me because I could not even believe it was possible ! So thank you again .
 
nkhansen1 inspiring too ! Could you recommend me some dvds to get started ? and roughly how many hours per day you would work if you had to do it all over again from the start ...? Thank you !
 
Marinette said:
nkhansen1 inspiring too ! Could you recommend me some dvds to get started ? and roughly how many hours per day you would work if you had to do it all over again from the start ...? Thank you !
Click to expand...

Ooh, where to start! So many great choices!! I would recommend a few of my favorites:

*Muscle Max for weight training, and STS if you have all the resources needed to do the program
*Low Impact Circuit for a great total body cardio/weight workout
*Drill Max for some really fun compound cardio with light weights
*HiiT for straight-up kick-your-butt cardio
*Any of the new Low Impact Series (Athletic Training and Afterburn especially!)

I have always trained about 60-90 minutes 5-6 days a week with a rest week about every 8 weeks or so, unless I'm doing STS, then I take a rest week every four weeks. That's a perfect amount of time for me. I've tried training for upwards of two hours a day, and it's way too much for me. I get too burned out and feel exhausted and hungry all the time. I think I mentioned before, but I do some type of cardio six days a week, and I lift three or four days a week. Sometimes the cardio and weights happen to be in the same workout, and sometimes I do them separately.
Have fun!! And welcome to the Cathe community!

Edited to add: If you are totally new to working out, I would suggest you start with training three or four days a week, and try for 45-60 minutes at a time. Take quick breathers if you need to, but don't be afraid to push yourself. :) On the days you don't train, go for a walk or do some yoga- something active but restful. Try that for a month, and then add more to your schedule if you feel you can. I have started from absolute zero before after being on bedrest with my pregnancies, so I know how hard it can be. :)
 
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You cannot add weight without extra calories. However, you want the extra weight to be muscle and not fat.

You need to track and write down every morsel you eat for about a week and average your calorie intake. Then add 150 cal to 300 cal daily (carbohydrates and protein) and the weight should be creeping up slowly and healthy.
 
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