Started Gym a month ago, results! Do i need to eat more?

About a month ago i started gym, i go on average three times a week, and in a month i have gained two pounds in weight lol.. (not the gains i think i need) but i have noticed a change in my arms,pectorals and abs. Arms have become bigger, pectorals a little bigger, abs more defined. Do i need to eat more?

Also, my bodyfat has decreased from 10% to 7.8%, is this a good thing?

Im happy with the results so far, they're promising, but i feel i need to eat more. I've gone for a healthier diet though, hardly any soft drinks and no take aways, but take aways have a lot of calories :rolleyes:

so im not sure whether to include them?

Reply 1

Jetblast

Not sure about the eating, but the fact that your arms and such are bigger and you dont feel the weight isnt increasing the way you think you need, means that its the start I would say. give it another month and you'll probably get a increase in growth as long as you keep up with the gym.

Reply 2

Jonesy12

You seriously expect results in a month? You could theoretically as a young teenager during a growth spurt, whilst lifting weights gain 20+ pounds. You've lost bodyfat? How did you measure this? Calipers? Have you increased in Strength?

Reply 3

Jampolo

Original post by Jonesy12

Yeah well, my dad said it would only take weeks to notice results. He knows a lot more than most, but didnt have a diet or use supps so i use TSR, and some machine at the gym. btw, its very likely to be wrong, so i've assumed an errror. I've started to increase the dumbells i used, from 10kg up to 12.5-20kg. And i can bench more than 50kg now haha!

Reply 4

Adamski91

Original post by Jampolo

Lol, using a machine to calculate your bodyfat %age... haha.

Reply 5

Jonesy12

Original post by Jampolo

You'll notice small changes... take a picture now. Compare it in 6-12 months time. It's a long and arduous process unless you juice and even then its still damn hard.

Reply 6

lsaul95

When I started going to the gym I noticed a change in a couple of weeks like, so I see where you're coming from. Remember to keep it up regularly and you should be fine, otherwise you will just lose it.
You can spend 3 days hammering the gym and building up the muscle, but it will take a third of the time inactive to lose that muscle again. So keep it up! Don't worry about looking good aesthetically yet, you will notice that in time.

Reply 7

DancerPerson

Eat no more than 3000 calories a day. It's very natural to have a bigger appetite once you start exercising, because you're burning off so much energy. However, make sure that what you eat is healthy.

It's excellent that your fat percentage decreased, and your weight gain means that you've gained muscle. Keep exercising, eating right, and sticking to your workout regimen.

Reply 8

Jampolo

Original post by Adamski91

Lol, using a machine to calculate your bodyfat %age... haha.

Yeah, i assumed its wrong. As a said, but if the error is constant, my bf would have gone down regardless just not the exactly to the percentage stated.

Reply 9

cwd12

Original post by Jampolo

so im not sure whether to include them?

What are you trying to do? Get bigger I assume? If so, don't worry about your body fat, if your trying to get bigger (muscle wise, not fat) then you need a body fat percentage of 10% to 15% so that when you work out you burn fat not the muscle that your trying to build.

Don't use a machine, use calipers to measure body fat %. But like I said, your new to it, so I really wouldn't worry to much about getting an accurate reading so ignore using both. You do need to eat more. But that doesn't mean eating take aways because they have calories, or fizzy drinks because they have calories. Stick to meat, fruit veg, pasta, oats, brown rice, brown bread and if need be eat more of those things not unhealthy things. This will help you get going properly

Reply 10

Average_Aaron

Gaining muscle isnt an overnight thing

If you can tell a noticeable difference after a month, then dont change a thing

Reply 11

Powerlifter

Lost fat, gained weight and strength and noticed the physical change too - why exactly do you want to change anything?

Reply 12

Jampolo

Original post by Powerlifter

Lost fat, gained weight and strength and noticed the physical change too - why exactly do you want to change anything?

yeah well, im a newbie, so just checking im doing the right thing.

Reply 13

j2s0n

I don't believe your body fat dropped so dramatically in one month.

I also don't believe your massive improvement in weights. Do you mean a month ago you could curl 10kg and now you can curl 20kg? That's not realistic at all. Maybe you just wasn't pushing yourself a month ago?

These things take time, and I think in your eagerness, you've looked too closely and seen things that aren't there. (edit: I'm not saying you won't notice differences with your body, they're just usually not very drastic in such a short time)

Reply 14

Jampolo

Original post by j2s0n

Well im a weedy guy, and a month ago i could only curl 10, now 12.5, 15 if i push. The 20kg is for a dumbell bench press. Squats gone up, bench has gone up. Plus i think i have a good diet, not too sure though

Reply 15

j2s0n

Original post by Jampolo

A good diet for training is 6 smaller meals a day, high in protein and carbs, with a "reasonable" amount of fat.

There are calculations around to find out exactly how much of each you need per day, based on various body measurements.

Unfortunately it's not just "cutting out takeaways" :smile:

edit: being as you said you're weedy, you might want to look for a bulking diet instead of a cutting diet. Bulking is important if you want to see improvements. A bulking diet is typically around 500 more calories than you body needs per day. It takes a while.