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hi! i (19f) started going to the gym regularly for around 2 months at 5'6 140 lbs. i'm now at 5'6 157 lbs. i understand muscle is heavier but i also see stretch marks on my thighs. i'm so scared i'm just getting fatter?
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Anonymous 8w

this is my routine, mostly strength training and ~15 mins of cardio after plus ~13k steps every day

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Anonymous 8w

Gaining that weight is natural. You gain muscle very quickly your first couple months of lifting. Stretch marks are also very normal for putting on a lot of muscle mass very quickly

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Anonymous 8w

You also don’t need goblet squats since you’re doing a leg press and leg extensions. I would play around with decreasing the amount of sets you do for your exercises for 1, so that you’re able to progress/recover better

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Anonymous 8w

Stretch marks are normal when you gain muscle, it most likely isn’t fat.

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Anonymous 8w
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Anonymous 8w

Sadly the body can put on about .5lbs a week at most naturally as a male, likely less as a female. Most of it realistically is fat due to 17lbs in 2 weeks. Women also do have large weight fluctuations due to periods and hormonal stuff plus if you started eating more carbs and taking creatine you’ll hold more water in your muscles (good thing) and will be heavier. But you likely gained more fat than you intended to. Now you’re still at a very healthy weight and can lose it all if you want

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Anonymous 8w

you are probably gaining fat but that's not necessarily a bad thing. it means you're eating well enough to get muscle growth

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Anonymous replying to -> #1 8w

Actually, how many calories do you eat per day?

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Anonymous replying to -> OP 8w

I think a lot of this can be more concise by having either a wide grip pulldown or assisted pull up, a row with your elbows tucked into your side, and a row that has your elbows flared while also retracting your scapula, ie a tbar or seated cable with wide grip. You could also add a reverse fly variation.

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Anonymous replying to -> OP 8w

Your ab day could fit into your leg day as one exercise done with heavy enough load, such as a cable/decline/machine crunch or done on a ghd.

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Anonymous replying to -> #1 8w

i tried doing a 1,200 calorie diet which is mainly just carbs and protein

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Anonymous replying to -> OP 8w

Your maintenance is around 2000. Do you track your food?

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Anonymous replying to -> #1 8w

yes, i use fitness tracker to see my macros and stuff like that

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Anonymous replying to -> OP 8w

I would prioritize eating enough fat, around 0.3-0.5g per lb of bw so your horomones are properly regulated and you’ll feel fuller after meals. 0.8-1g of protein and 1-2g of carb per lb of bw are good ranges too.

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Anonymous replying to -> #1 8w

okay, thank you!

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