Lifting Question and My Boring Story with Fasting

meowmeowmeow84

I started my weight loss journey at 12 years old. I am now almost 30 (shudder) and still haven't reached my goal. I've literally tried everything (except anything sustainable obviously).

I watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and did the juice fast for 39 days. I lost close to 50 pounds. And guess what? I bet you will never believe this (heavy sarcasm) BUT I gained it all back, look fatter than ever, and EVEN gained an additional 10 pounds. Starvation will make you lose a lot of weight though. At the time, I was 100% behind what I was doing. I wasn't seeing the results but I could feel them. Everything was big on me. I threw away all of my "fat" clothes and swore to myself I would keep the weight off.

I got a breast reduction in March and planned to continue fasting through the healing process... And then I woke up from the anesthetic and went into what I can only call shock. I don't know for sure if that's what it was, but I was shaking, teeth chattering, couldn't breathe, and the nurses ended up giving me morphine to help me. I was so weak that I could barely stand and knew in that moment that I had to break my fast and that my body needed fuel. Real fuel.

And break my fast I did. I went back to my old habits a couple of weeks after the fast and quickly regained the weight. I'm not saying that fasting is awful and everyone gains the weight back right away, but it was awful for ME. I didn't learn how to eat properly and I severely damaged my metabolism by doing that. I lost muscle and when I regained the weight it wasn't muscle that came back. It was fat. And now it's like my body is holding onto it for dear life because I might starve it again.

My depression and anxiety came back with a vengeance and I am worse than I've ever been. I can't stand to look at myself in the mirror and I am literally disgusted. So there's that. I know that I have to heal inside to really make any exterior changes but right now this feeling is fueling my determination to succeed and be proud of myself.

Anyhoo, I've been reading The New Rules of Lifting for Women and it sounds fantastic. I will work out 3 times a week, not kill myself on the elliptical every day, and get to eat 5 or 6 times a day. SIGN ME UP. The way the book is written makes complete sense to me. I am trying to think in terms of human beings as animals when I think about food (fuel) and energy expenditure. I haven't finished reading the book yet but so far it makes a lot of sense to me. When I fasted, I was just a smaller version of what I am now. Not tighter, just a smaller version of an unhealthy looking person.

Does anyone here lift often? How do you find it has helped you to achieve your goals? Has it impacted your weight loss in any way (positive and negative please)?

msalamun

First of all, Welcome! And I must say that I truly admire your perseverance. You are a great inspiration for this community, to continually go after your goals no matter what! You'll fit right in, and we'll give you all the support and motivation you need. And pass it along by finding friends (you can go ahead and add me!) and keep motivating them as well.

And while I'm not a woman, I do know that lifting is great for achieving your weight loss goals. The common misconception that lifting weights makes women bulky like men is just not true! I recommend going for lighter weights and more reps. This will help create strong, lean muscles while exercising will help burn off the extra calories stored as fat. Also, make sure you are eating right. To see the best results, you need to fuel your body with the proper foods.

But you also have to eat in the right amounts. eating 5-6 times a day is great as it doesn't cause your blood sugar to spike after large meals and helps get that metabolism going. But you need to be eating the right amount. You should determine your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure - the total number of calories your body burns throughout the day). hen you eat healthy foods at a deficit of your TDEE, your body uses stored calories (FAT!) to fuel itself, which helps further with weight loss. MFP helps you determine your TDEE when you input your weight loss goals. Another method is to use the Harris-Benefict Equation to find you Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This can be found by the formula:

BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

Once you have your BMR, you mutliply it by your average daily activity level:

- Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2
- Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375
- Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55
- Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.725
- Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): BMR x 1.9

This will give you you the estimated number of calories that you burn each day. Log your food in the right portions and be under that number and you will start seeing results!

Fee free to add me as a friend and don't be afraid to ask if you have anymore questions. Best of luck on your fitness journey!