When Did You Start Lifting?

mrsKOrtiz

Hi everyone:

Here is a little bit of background:

5'4 Female
Current Weight 224 Ibs.
First Goal: 199.9 Ibs
Ultimate Goal: 140 Ibs.
My Daily Caloric Intake is 1450
I don't eat anything special (no low carb, low sugar and/or etc.) Just smaller portions.

Anyway, my goal is apparent. Weight loss. However, I looked at mybodygallery.com and saw women at my height and goal weight. Its crazy how people look different at the same weight and height. In my opinion, it looks like I'll need to add weight lifting at some point in order to have the body that I dream of. But when?

I'm fat. I don't want to get any bigger and I am SO afraid that my weight loss will stall if I add some kind of strength training in now. I know that it didn't come on overnight but I don't want it to take 3-4 years to lose 90 pounds either.

Also, in my situation. I can not really afford a gym membership. All I have at home is a treadmill. Should I start off with calisthenics?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

mrsKOrtiz

Anyone?

DopeItUp

I started after the first year when I realized (like you) that cardio wasn't going to get me where I wanted to be. You should start immediately. You will not get bigger, that's impossible in a calorie deficit. If you have no equipment or gym, look up bodyweight stuff like Convict Conditioning or You Are Your Own Gym.

rick_po

Strength training will help you maintain the muscle you already have while you lose weight through your diet and treadmill.

If you don't have access to weights, there are bodyweight programs you can do at home. You Are Your Own Gym is one, and it has an app that goes with it that people seem to like. Body By You is written by the same people, aimed more at women. Convict Conditioning is another bodyweight strength book.

Bodyweight programs work, but they can be a little complicated. If you're the type of person who likes variety, that might be a good thing. But it's hard to design a good bodyweight program, so buy a book and follow one that a professional has already designed. Good luck!

amandarawr06

^^ yep.

Start right away. You won't get bigger. And you will love the way you look faster.

mrsKOrtiz

Thanks EVERYONE. Very helpful.

jemhh

I started losing weight in January, started bodyweight training in March, and switched to weightlifting at the end of July.

aylajane

When people say they want to lose "weight", they really mean fat. Unfortunately, if you dont use those muscles, losing "weight" means fat and muscle. Muscle is what gives your body shape - without it you will end up "skinny fat" - i.e. flat butt, skeletal arms and shoulders, but still flabby around your hips and core. Plus muscle in general burns more calories at rest than fat, so if you have two people who weigh the same and are the same height, but one is 40% body fat and the other is 20% body fat, the person who is 20% can eat more calories (by a few hundred probably) to maintain their weight.

Muscle is very hard to *gain* but not to hard to *keep*. As long as you are using it, your body will take the deficit calories from fat instead most of the time (simplified). You do NOT want to lose all the weight you want and THEN start trying to build muscle. By then you lost a lot and it is much harder to gain it back.

At 145 pounds and 40% body fat, I gained weight (0.5-1 pound a week) on 1700-1800 calories a day. I am now 130 pounds and 17% body fat and I *maintain* my weight on 2100-2300 calories a day (I am also much more active because food=calories=energy!).

Keep what you have! The scale may appear to go slower because you are focusing on losing ONLY fat instead of fat and muscle, but your shape will stay and you will be MUCH happier with your appearance and maintenance calories when you get to your goal! And your goal weight will actually be higher than you think - I have weighed 145 many times in my life, and have been anywhere from a size 10 to size 16 depending on my body fat percent. Lower body fat/higher muscle ratio = smaller size but higher weight. Take measurements, and make your goal either a size or a body fat % rather than an actual weight number. Reassess often - you may decide you like where you are at some point and not bother going any lower.

mrsKOrtiz

This is how I want to get. But of course I have stretch marks.. but I still have hope.

randomtai

mrsKOrtiz wrote: »

This is how I want to get. But of course I have stretch marks.. but I still have hope.

You are not gonna get that from home workouts. Also your diet needs to be on point with proper macros.

Sabine_Stroehm

I started long before I ever lost weight. And I whole heartedly agree with the others: start sooner rather than later.

mrsKOrtiz

randomtai wrote: »

mrsKOrtiz wrote: »

This is how I want to get. But of course I have stretch marks.. but I still have hope.

You are not gonna get that from home workouts. Also your diet needs to be on point with proper macros.

Thanks Love. I know I won't get these results at home. And I am no where near this. So first things first.. right?!

You should be a little more positive.

mrsKOrtiz

aylajane wrote: »

When people say they want to lose "weight", they really mean fat. Unfortunately, if you dont use those muscles, losing "weight" means fat and muscle. Muscle is what gives your body shape - without it you will end up "skinny fat" - i.e. flat butt, skeletal arms and shoulders, but still flabby around your hips and core. Plus muscle in general burns more calories at rest than fat, so if you have two people who weigh the same and are the same height, but one is 40% body fat and the other is 20% body fat, the person who is 20% can eat more calories (by a few hundred probably) to maintain their weight.

Muscle is very hard to *gain* but not to hard to *keep*. As long as you are using it, your body will take the deficit calories from fat instead most of the time (simplified). You do NOT want to lose all the weight you want and THEN start trying to build muscle. By then you lost a lot and it is much harder to gain it back.

At 145 pounds and 40% body fat, I gained weight (0.5-1 pound a week) on 1700-1800 calories a day. I am now 130 pounds and 17% body fat and I *maintain* my weight on 2100-2300 calories a day (I am also much more active because food=calories=energy!).

Keep what you have! The scale may appear to go slower because you are focusing on losing ONLY fat instead of fat and muscle, but your shape will stay and you will be MUCH happier with your appearance and maintenance calories when you get to your goal! And your goal weight will actually be higher than you think - I have weighed 145 many times in my life, and have been anywhere from a size 10 to size 16 depending on my body fat percent. Lower body fat/higher muscle ratio = smaller size but higher weight. Take measurements, and make your goal either a size or a body fat % rather than an actual weight number. Reassess often - you may decide you like where you are at some point and not bother going any lower.

Thank you so much!!!

Willbenchforcupcakes

I started with circuit training DVDs at the same time I started losing from 245lbs in 2008. Finally got myself back in the gym after a decade in November 2011 once I got medical clearance after my youngest was born, and found mfp and started losing weight in feb 2012. Start now

fat2strongbeth

Start now!! I wish I had started at the beginning.

randomtai

mrsKOrtiz wrote: »

randomtai wrote: »

mrsKOrtiz wrote: »

This is how I want to get. But of course I have stretch marks.. but I still have hope.

You are not gonna get that from home workouts. Also your diet needs to be on point with proper macros.

Thanks Love. I know I won't get these results at home. And I am no where near this. So first things first.. right?!

You should be a little more positive.

No one was being negative. Perhaps you should be less sensitive. :noway:

Myhaloslipped

randomtai wrote: »

mrsKOrtiz wrote: »

This is how I want to get. But of course I have stretch marks.. but I still have hope.

You are not gonna get that from home workouts. Also your diet needs to be on point with proper macros.

She's right. Start lifting as soon as you can, and get a food scale for portion size precision. Good luck!

rybo

mrsKOrtiz wrote: »

randomtai wrote: »

mrsKOrtiz wrote: »

This is how I want to get. But of course I have stretch marks.. but I still have hope.

You are not gonna get that from home workouts. Also your diet needs to be on point with proper macros.

Thanks Love. I know I won't get these results at home. And I am no where near this. So first things first.. right?!

You should be a little more positive.

You could absolutely get those results from home workouts. Working your way up to advanced calisthenics along with proper nutrition will do it.

aylajane

When starting a lifting program, expect your weight to INCREASE the first 2-3 weeks by a few pounds. IGNORE IT. It is just water to repair muscles. Close your eyes and keep lifting, watch your intake like always and over time (give it a few months, take some pics to reassure yourself there is change happening), amazing things will happen. That body in the pic above is absolutely possible for anyone (with a little variations of course ).

aylajane

mrsKOrtiz wrote: »

This is how I want to get. But of course I have stretch marks.. but I still have hope.

Look at her arms and shoulders! How shapely they are. That is ALL Muscle. Take a look at pics of people who are anorexic - specifically their arms and shoulders. They have typically lost all muscle and have a very skeletal appearance especially in arms and shoulders. That is closer to what you will look like if you lose weight without using your muscles. Those arms in this pic - I have those now - not skeletal, not plain sausage looking either - definitely a curvy shape to them. That is my absolute favorite part of this new body from lifting. People comment on my arms all the time.

MB_Positif

Start now, you won't regret it.

jenglish712

Lifting weights is like planting trees. The best time to start is 20 years ago and the next best is today.

Look into "you are your own gym." Body weight exercise will get you farther than you might think. Once you build some confidence and strength it makes going to a gym easier. The gym I go to has all the freeweights I need and their regular price is $19/month. I went in and said I worked out somewhere else... they made it $8/month. So you may find that it is more affordable than you think.

FitPhillygirl

I've been lifting weights on and off since I first joined a gym. Eight months ago I starting lifting weekly 3 days/week. However, I plan on stopping again for the next 60 days until I finish doing Insanity Max 30. I don't think I can give Max 30 my full energy level if I'm doing weightlifting and Max 30 on the same day.

JGonzo82

Lifting will definitely gonna help you reach your goals. Calisthenics is a great place to start.

nlmillervt

JGonzo82 wrote: »

Lifting will definitely gonna help you reach your goals. Calisthenics is a great place to start.

Ditto to this, and to the idea that the best time to start is now. Calisthenics is a nice way to ease into the concept of lifting and can be done cheaply and almost anywhere. There's all sorts of programs available for free on the web and various iOS apps (Android, too, I assume, but I have an iPhone).

I also agree with the people who recommend against using a scale as the main measurement of success - it's only part of the puzzle, and pictures and measurements give a much clearer picture.

Another way of measuring progress is body fat percentage. There's a free online tool at http://www.gymgoal.com/dtool_fat.html that shows the results from several different methods of estimating body fat percentage. Since I have a 20 lb. range where I can be healthy, it's how I'm setting my goals now that I'm close to maintenance.