Why You Don’t Look Lean Yet

Why you don’t look lean is something I see people struggle with time and time again (myself included when I first started).

“I’ve been dieting and losing fat for the past 6 months, but I still have this last layer that will not come off to reveal my shredded six pack!”

“I’ve doing the same body weight circuit workout for months on end and I still don’t look lean and toned!”

Alright, I hear ya. I’m just going to take a stab and say you’re here because at least one of these apply to you:

• You’ve been in a calorie deficit (dieting) for quite some time now
• You still have that last layer of “stubborn fat” still hanging on for dear life
• You’ve always been relatively thin but also “soft” – you appear to be fit and athletic but you’re still not as quite defined and lean as you want to be
• You feel like you’re so close, yet still so far away from your goals
• You SWEAR you’re in a calorie deficit and know it deep down in your heart you’re in a calorie deficit and you’re willing to bet your life on it!

Now, you’re probably thinking…

“Does this mean all hope is lost and I should give up entirely on your physique goals??”

Nope, and I’ll tell you why.

But before that happens, we need to establish a few things.

Why Your Calorie Deficit Isn’t Working

By now, you must be thinking, “This means a calorie deficit doesn’t work and everything I’ve heard is a lie!!”

Okay, hold the f*ck up. The laws of energy balance still apply. A calorie deficit still does work, you were probably seeing great results until recently, right? Right.

So hold on a minute, take a deep breath, and keep reading.

It’s not that ‘your calorie deficit is not working‘, it’s more likely rather that ‘your calorie deficit is not working.’

Did I confuse you there? Good.

The truth is you’ve likely been in a calorie deficit for quite some time now so your metabolism and maintenance calories have adapted to a new lower number. So in order to lose more fat, you’d have to…you guessed it, be in an even steeper calorie deficit!

Which most likely does not sound fun for you in the slightest right now. If I had to guess, you’re probably in the ballpark of eating less than 2,000 calories? (If I guessed right, you need to go apply for my online coaching! Jk lol, sorta)

If that is the case, then sustaining an even lower calorie deficit would put your calorie intake in the low 1000s.

Now, I don’t know about you, but that just sounds absolutely sucky to me. But lucky for you, there’s a better path for you to follow so that you can reach your physique goals and not have to eat like a bird!

The Answer To Why You Don’t Look Lean? NOT To Keep Losing Fat But Rather…

Look, I get it. You would give up your firstborn child if it meant you could finally see the outline of your top four abs or some muscle line separation between your arms and legs. But let’s be real, could you suffer for another several months of dieting at 1200 calories?

Personally, that doesn’t sound fun or healthy… “But Austin, I can and I will do whatever it takes! You don’t know me or my immense levels of willpower!”

And to that, I say, okay…you do you but first, hear me out, and then you can do whatever you want because, at the end of the day, it’s still your life! The least that I can do for you is to provide you with what I think.

“Okay fine, tell me.”

The Forgotten Link To Why You Don’t Look Lean

Often, I think as a society, we’re too obsessed with losing fat because…well, the idea of weight loss is constantly shoved in our faces (especially women).

When you look at online information, products, and services related to health and beauty, the vast majority of them cater to weight loss.

We get so attached to the idea of weight loss, that we feel we’ll do anything it takes to get to our “goal weight” with no regard to our overall health and habits.

And even when we do get to that goal weight, we’re still not satisfied with how we look. So you must be wondering, “what the f*ck gives??”

The truth is…

You don’t have enough muscle on your body.

That’s it. *mic drop*

You see, you can keep dieting down to lower your body fat percentage, but if you don’t have a muscle base, it will just lead you to look skinny fat. (Btw I have a whole article here that dives into the science of building muscle and losing fat at the same time and how to fix being skinny fat!)

Also, when you have more muscle mass, your BMR will go up as a result. (If you have no idea what BMR is, then read my article on ‘The Best Exercises To Lose Weight‘)

This means that your maintenance calories will go up so you’ll be able to eat more!

And this also means that if you do decide to go into another dieting phase in the future, you’ll be able to eat more (and not like a bird!) while staying in a calorie deficit.

Why You Don’t Look Lean…The Fix

Stop Chasing A Number

Look, it’s all fine and dandy to chase a goal weight, but what happens when you get there and still don’t like the way you look? This is a mistake I see with so many people. Especially when they haven’t been at that weight and body composition in the past. They’ll just throw a random number they want to be at but have no idea if they’ll actually be satisfied when they get there.

Take these two people for example:

As you can see, both sides of the picture are at the same weight, but their physiques look entirely different. This all has to do with body composition, not weight.

So stop chasing a weight loss goal and start chasing a performance goal.

I guarantee that when you start chasing your ability to be better, you will start packing on the muscle and your aesthetic goals will effortlessly fall into place.

“Alright Austin, I am thoroughly convinced that I should focus on building muscle, now where do I start?”

Here’s How To Start A Muscle Building Phase

Diet

If you’ve been dieting for a while, you and your body could definitely use a break (I’m sure you know by now, being in a calorie deficit isn’t fun and puts you under extra stress).

Firstly, I want you to stop starving yourself and add more calories into your diet. Muscle building is a difficult and high energy process for the body so it’s going to need the extra calories. However, this doesn’t mean piling on the burgers and fries in the name of building muscle…

Just like taking a slow and steady approach with dieting, you should do the same when trying to build muscle. Slowly and steadily increase your calorie intake to maintenance. You want to increase your daily calories by 200-300 and reassess your energy levels after 2-3 weeks.

Why?

This ensures that you can slowly ramp your metabolism back up and not slap on a bunch of excess fat (that you already worked so hard to get rid of) back on.

Some people say you should eat at maintenance for muscle gain. Others say you need to be in a surplus. I say it depends.

This really all depends on your “set point” (the optimal body composition and weight for your body to function best). Some people find that they can perform well, train hard, and make gains eating at maintenance. Others find that they feel low energy and need to put on a bit of weight first.

My personal recommendations are to increase your calories slowly to maintenance. And then from there, see how your energy levels and gym performance are, and then re-evaluate your calorie intake needs.

Training

Look, I could go on and on about all the nuances of training, but I want to keep it simple for you. A lot of people like to overcomplicate things. I’m not one of those people.

You just need to choose the right exercises, train hard, and making sure you’re pushing yourself and applying progressive overload. That’s it.

That being said, I still see so many people in the gym sitting at the abductor machine while scrolling through Instagram and expecting to reach their dream bod in 3 weeks.

For exercise selection, stick to compound movements. These are movements that typically move your body through a bigger range of motion and require multiple muscles working together to perform that movement.

For example, these are movements like rows, presses, squats, hip hinges, rather than movements that use less muscles like bicep curls, tricep extensions, leg extensions, etc.

As for training frequency and how to design a workout schedule and routine, check out this other article I wrote.

Other than that, it’s all about applying progressive overload. This is consistently increasing the demands of your workout so that your body progressively adapts to the new demands resulting in an increase in strength and muscle mass.

And this is one thing that pains me to see the most. Honestly, so many people I see at the gym underestimate their strength and potential to grow. Progressive overload is such an underrated concept among the beginner population of the commercial gym. If people strived to be better (even if it’s just 1%!) than they were before each workout, they would see an unbelievable amount of change after just 1 year of working out.

Okay, going to stop myself from ranting before it’s too late, but here’s the point:

If you want to build muscle, you have to apply progressive overload.

Final Thoughts On Why You Don’t Look Lean

Look, at the end of the day, you can read all the articles, consume all of the information and knowledge on training and nutrition you want. But ultimately, you still have to put in the time, effort, and consistency to make all this happen. That’s one of the things I love about the process of fitness. It’s that no one can do the work for you. Your results are ultimately dependent upon the intensity, dedication, and consistency you bring to your workouts.

FAQ: “How long will it take to get the results I want?”

A: The truth is you’re not going to get anywhere close to your dream body in just a matter of weeks or months. Building muscle takes years. This is not to discourage you from achieving your goals, but to set you up with realistic expectations on how long this process takes. Realistically? 5-10 years of consistent, intelligent, and progressive training.

That being said, you have to go out there and earn it. So, what are you waiting for? Go out there, lift some heavy sh*t, build some muscle, and finally build the best body you deserve.

Hope this helps you get at least one step closer to achieving your physique goals!

Coaching Opportunity

I am currently taking on new clients for online coaching.

A few benefits of this program include:

• Customized nutrition plan tailored to your individual needs and goals
• Customized training plan to help you build muscle, lose fat, and get fit
• Daily accountability and support to ensure that you never feel “alone” or “stuck” on your journey to bettering yourself.

The best part: you can do this from anywhere in the world.

You can apply here for more info.