Progress!! At last!

My goal has been to put on muscle, as my stats show that I'm actually underweight. I've had to deal with a lot of posts on here of people, only by concern and support, saying I need to increase my calories, put on weight, and stop worrying about fat. Whilst I do appreciate the concern, I feel like I've constantly been fighting fire as I know my own body and know that I'm healthy and just need to increase muscle.

I've been told putting on muscle is harder than losing fat. And my diet for it hasn't been the most fun. Consciously incorporating a high source of protein into every meal I have. Eggs for breakfast, yoghurt for a snack, and chicken or fish for lunch and dinner. It was starting to take its toll!

I also completely fell of the bandwagon for the past two days. Wednesday night was a dinner out with work, and whilst I had steak, I also had bread, cheese and all manner of unhealthy things. I felt rotten yesterday because of all the rich, fatty foods and wine so didn't exercise and ate lots of sugary biscuits and didn't have much protein at all.

But last night when I was laying on my back and then leaned up on my shoulders I noticed a huge difference in my midsection! I could actually see some real definition, with a line starting from the very top of my mid-section just below my breasts, all the way down to my belly button, and with the top section of my 6 pac actually showing! It also felt rock solid! My boyfriend commented as well and said he could see some real definition and said it felt solid.

I was so pleased!!! It felt that for ages I was weight lifting, eating protein after protein-laden meal and for nothing. I was staying skinny, not putting on any muscle, and still getting judged on CC for being too skinny despite that I was trying.

I know it doesn't sound like much but being able to see that muscle on my upper-mid section has given me SO much motivation!! I don't want any sweet chocolate biscuits or cake, and instead have bought a bean salad for my mid-afternoon snack when normally I would have been tempted by a chocolate bar.

It's every little step that makes a big difference!

Congratulation - Great for you!!.  I have been trying forever to build muscle, but have yet to see a difference; so thanks for your story - I'm going to keep trying till I get some muscle even if its a little one.  

I remember your previous posts and how you have had difficulty with your view of fat.

It's great you've experienced some success. Perhaps your success is attributable to both your very hard work and your inadvertent cheat day. I know lots of other folk on this site swear by cheat days as a way to keep everything going in the right direction.

There's some evidence that it ensures the body doesn't go into starvation mode and end up actually packing on more fat around the vital organs as a result. Meh, something to consider as well.

Thanks gg! Just stay focussed! I did find it so frustrating as I couldn't see any difference after 2 weeks of eating lots of protein, weight-lifting, and for-going my favourite chocolate snacks. But I've always been told that putting on muscle is harder than losing weight, and the results aren't as immediate, so just stick in there!

And thank you hedgren, I do appreciate your post. I do get a bit defensive when people assume I am in bad health due to my stats, and know that I eat ok. But since joining CC I have definitely started eating even better and have noticed the benefits for it. I've put on 2lbs, now weighing 101lbs which has stayed for over a week so I'm assuming it's no longer water retention but my clothes aren't any tighter and my ass and legs are so much firmer and dare I say my ass is bigger (a goal of mine) that is very inspiring!

I also have 2 cheat days a week...the weekend! I don't log food, I don't worry too much about calories although I do still have three good meals. So, for example, last night I went to the cinema and had a honey bran muffin and chai latte. And for dinner had chicken nachos (I know, they have bad written all over them!) but know it's a one-off and it's not going to do any harm in the long run.