When will I start to lose weight after starting Stronglifts 5x5?
mora982
Posts: 169 Member
Hello pals, I'm new to weight lifting. I lift on a deficit, I aim to 1300-1500 calories.
I started Stronglifts 5x5 10 days ago. During first week I lost 0.5 kg and 0.7 % BF (which is 1kg fat loss ) while gained 0.3 kg muscles. My body is retaining water also!! I'm afraid that when I go higher on weights I won't lose much weight on the scale. I know that Bf % and Muscles are more important than the numbers on the scale. Still I want to see progress both ways as I've 39 kgs (85 lbs) to lose!!!
I started Stronglifts 5x5 10 days ago. During first week I lost 0.5 kg and 0.7 % BF (which is 1kg fat loss ) while gained 0.3 kg muscles. My body is retaining water also!! I'm afraid that when I go higher on weights I won't lose much weight on the scale. I know that Bf % and Muscles are more important than the numbers on the scale. Still I want to see progress both ways as I've 39 kgs (85 lbs) to lose!!!
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Replies
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ummm how are you measuring this muscle gain?
Do you use a food scale to weight all solids?
how long has it been?
You will lose weight when you are in a calorie deficit, not because of strong lifts...0 -
The muscle gain, fat loss and all other numbers I get from my doctor using InBody 170 (it measures body fat, muscles, water).0
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The muscle gain, fat loss and all other numbers I get from my doctor using InBody 170 (it measures body fat, muscles, water).
that is a scale?
if yes, I would be a little wary of the numbers. As the the only reliable methods I know of are a good ole tape measure, bod pod, or dexa scan…..0 -
It is a device approved by FDA. If you google it you can see it is said to be Biospace Body Composition Analyzer!! I don't know what this means actually.0
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Bump. I also started stronglifts 5x5 last week, interested in following0
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sorry to break it to you - but no way you put on almost a pound of muscle in one week!!0
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The reality is any new exercise program will cause you to hold water weight (for up to 4-6 weeks even). Take measurements and don't use the scale as your only indication of progress. You've got competing goals right now, pick which is more important to you: scale loss or strength training.0
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Weight lifting won't cause weight loss alone. You need to eat at a deficit to lose weight. You stated that you eat 1300/1500 , are you using a food scale to weigh everything you consume?0
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personally i wouldnt trust its accuracy any more than i would a regular scale that does body fat....you will probably find the variability in its accuracy is huge - and more than what it said you lost0
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I am using a food scale to weight everything!!0
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I think I retained water for the first 2 weeks, but I'll have to check. I also retained water again when I switched to Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 (similar to Stronglifts with some additional muscle work).
I have lost weight though.0 -
Muscleflex79 wrote: »sorry to break it to you - but no way you put on almost a pound of muscle in one week!!
Even for a beginner?? I'd like to know the normal rate of gaining muscles and losing fat!!0 -
You're doing weightlifting on only 1300-1500 calories a day? I'd be less worried about weight loss and more worried about fatigue and injury.0
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365andstillalive wrote: »The reality is any new exercise program will cause you to hold water weight (for up to 4-6 weeks even). Take measurements and don't use the scale as your only indication of progress. You've got competing goals right now, pick which is more important to you: scale loss or strength training.
I'll take measurements next week and see if there is any progress!! I started to get some comments from people around that I'm getting smaller!! Oh and I did Jillian Michaels 30DS before but only level 1 before starting lifting.
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shadow2soul wrote: »I think I retained water for the first 2 weeks, but I'll have to check. I also retained water again when I switched to Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 (similar to Stronglifts with some additional muscle work).
I have lost weight though.
Sounds great!!0 -
Hello pals, I'm new to weight lifting. I lift on a deficit, I aim to 1300-1500 calories.
I started Stronglifts 5x5 10 days ago. During first week I lost 0.5 kg and 0.7 % BF (which is 1kg fat loss ) while gained 0.3 kg muscles. My body is retaining water also!! I'm afraid that when I go higher on weights I won't lose much weight on the scale. I know that Bf % and Muscles are more important than the numbers on the scale. Still I want to see progress both ways as I've 39 kgs (85 lbs) to lose!!!
To answer the title question: Never. You will lose weight by eating less than you burn. What type of exercise you do, it is irrelevent to weight loss. So, if the goal is to lose weight by doing 5x5, you are doing ti wrong. It is a strenght training program, not a magic weight loss formula.
As for the muscle gain, no it did not happen. You did not gain 300 grams of muscle in 10 days. In total you lost 200 grams and that's it. I do not know what the machine you are referring to is, but I bet if you find the specs it will not promise accuracy as high as you think it does.0 -
A deficit is all you need to lose. What you do for exercise will help with your body composition.
Doing SL 5x5 will help you retain your muscle mass so that you end up smaller over the long run. Doing SL 5x5 won't necessarily help you lose if your diet is out of control.
Keep weighing and logging all of your food. If you stay in a deficit, you will lose. Your losses may be masked for the first 4-6 weeks as your body retains water to help repair your muscles.
Anything that uses electrodes to measure your BF% is highly inaccurate. These scales/handheld devices can be impacted by: your hydration level, any food left in your digestive tract, if you worked out before using it, etc. Dexa scan, calipers (when used by a trained professional, BodPod, and hydrostatic weighing are the best methods. All of these still have margins of error, but they aren't as large as electrode methods.
As for your rate of muscle gain and fat loss: it's based on genetics. However, it is highly unlikely that you are gaining any significant amount of muscle on a deficit. As a newbie, you may see some gains, but probably not almost a pound. As your newbie gains wear off, you won't gain muscle mass on a deficit.0 -
Those kind of scales are not accurate, so don't waste your money getting more done. Measure your progress in inches and photos.
Change takes time - work hard, eat at a deficit and you will transform yourself.0 -
hollydubs85 wrote: »You're doing weightlifting on only 1300-1500 calories a day? I'd be less worried about weight loss and more worried about fatigue and injury.
I'm still lifting somehow light weights as I'm a beginner!!
My progress so far is
SQ 17.5 kg 5x5
OHP 15 kg 5x5
Row 12.5 kg 5x5
Bench 12.5 kg 5x5
DLF 25 kg 1x5
Any recommendations for calories on lifting days!!0 -
Hello pals, I'm new to weight lifting. I lift on a deficit, I aim to 1300-1500 calories.
I started Stronglifts 5x5 10 days ago. During first week I lost 0.5 kg and 0.7 % BF (which is 1kg fat loss ) while gained 0.3 kg muscles. My body is retaining water also!! I'm afraid that when I go higher on weights I won't lose much weight on the scale. I know that Bf % and Muscles are more important than the numbers on the scale. Still I want to see progress both ways as I've 39 kgs (85 lbs) to lose!!!
To answer the title question: Never. You will lose weight by eating less than you burn. What type of exercise you do, it is irrelevent to weight loss. So, if the goal is to lose weight by doing 5x5, you are doing ti wrong. It is a strenght training program, not a magic weight loss formula.
As for the muscle gain, no it did not happen. You did not gain 300 grams of muscle in 10 days. In total you lost 200 grams and that's it. I do not know what the machine you are referring to is, but I bet if you find the specs it will not promise accuracy as high as you think it does.A deficit is all you need to lose. What you do for exercise will help with your body composition.
Doing SL 5x5 will help you retain your muscle mass so that you end up smaller over the long run. Doing SL 5x5 won't necessarily help you lose if your diet is out of control.
Keep weighing and logging all of your food. If you stay in a deficit, you will lose. Your losses may be masked for the first 4-6 weeks as your body retains water to help repair your muscles.
Anything that uses electrodes to measure your BF% is highly inaccurate. These scales/handheld devices can be impacted by: your hydration level, any food left in your digestive tract, if you worked out before using it, etc. Dexa scan, calipers (when used by a trained professional, BodPod, and hydrostatic weighing are the best methods. All of these still have margins of error, but they aren't as large as electrode methods.
As for your rate of muscle gain and fat loss: it's based on genetics. However, it is highly unlikely that you are gaining any significant amount of muscle on a deficit. As a newbie, you may see some gains, but probably not almost a pound. As your newbie gains wear off, you won't gain muscle mass on a deficit.Those kind of scales are not accurate, so don't waste your money getting more done. Measure your progress in inches and photos.
Change takes time - work hard, eat at a deficit and you will transform yourself.
Thanks for helping me understand how it works!!0 -
hollydubs85 wrote: »You're doing weightlifting on only 1300-1500 calories a day? I'd be less worried about weight loss and more worried about fatigue and injury.
I'm still lifting somehow light weights as I'm a beginner!!
My progress so far is
SQ 17.5 kg 5x5
OHP 15 kg 5x5
Row 12.5 kg 5x5
Bench 12.5 kg 5x5
DLF 25 kg 1x5
Any recommendations for calories on lifting days!!
It's impossible to recommend a calorie intake without knowing how much weight you want to lose, how tall you are, and what the rest of your daily activity looks like. I could be completely off base, but that calorie intake just sounds really low to me. I would definitely be struggling.0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »I think I retained water for the first 2 weeks, but I'll have to check. I also retained water again when I switched to Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 (similar to Stronglifts with some additional muscle work).
I have lost weight though.
Scratch that, I lost like 2 lbs at first, but then retained water for about 3 weeks once I got to heavy weights (heavy for me, I started with just the bar) which was about 2 weeks in. I retained water almost immediately when I switched to Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 and that lasted about 2 weeks.
However I've lost 15.5lbs in the 15 weeks since I started. I've gone from a size 12 women's/13 juniors to a size 8/9.0 -
Definitely don't rely on the scales and I know that's hard to do, I battle with myself about it too. But the best measure is photos and the tape measure.
I have quite a bit to lose and started Insanity nearly 6 weeks ago, I haven't shown a loss on the scales yet but I have lost many inches, a dress size and I look completely different in before and afters. I know I am prone to retaining water and given how long I was sedentary for before starting the programme I know my muscles are probably taking quite the pasting and this is adding to water retention for repair.
So don't get disheartened at not seeing a loss on the scales, they're not the only measure you should be losing to stay motivated!0 -
I don't use Stronglifts, per se, but I do weights and bodyweight lifting more than any other routine (and I do like the straightforward manner Mehdi takes - therefore, I do check out his site for useful information).
Also, (just so it's said up front) I haven't been using a deficit because I need to keep calories (nutrients) up more than anything else. With that said, I've been doing my routine for about three weeks and am still losing weight, albeit slowly but also fairly steadily. Sometimes it's just a fraction of a pound, sometimes more or even less when checked weekly. You may not see the weight change on the scale quickly, but (as you understand already) the mirror, a tape measure, and changes in the way your clothes fit will become apparent quicker.
I don't think there's any way for someone to say exactly when you'll see more results on the scale because we're all so different and it just takes time and effort for your metabolism to get a kick start (for lack of better words). And while you're strengthening your muscles, you're likely 'adding' weight there, as well as decreasing fat content. But 0.5 kg in the first week is a great start!
Listing a few links to articles that may (or not) give you some more information on metabolism and fluid retention that you can just check out to maybe hone your routine to your own liking. Wish there were more I could say that directly answers your questions. Keep it going; you're off to a great start!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/water.htm
http://www.muscleforlife.com/water-retention-and-weight-loss/
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/9-tips-to-increase-metabolism.htm
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/get-more-burn-from-your-workout
http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/study-the-lifting-method-that-sky-rockets-your-metabolism
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080205121740.htm
http://www.forbes.com/sites/juliewilcox/2012/05/31/health-benefits-weightlifting/0 -
hollydubs85 wrote: »hollydubs85 wrote: »You're doing weightlifting on only 1300-1500 calories a day? I'd be less worried about weight loss and more worried about fatigue and injury.
I'm still lifting somehow light weights as I'm a beginner!!
My progress so far is
SQ 17.5 kg 5x5
OHP 15 kg 5x5
Row 12.5 kg 5x5
Bench 12.5 kg 5x5
DLF 25 kg 1x5
Any recommendations for calories on lifting days!!
It's impossible to recommend a calorie intake without knowing how much weight you want to lose, how tall you are, and what the rest of your daily activity looks like. I could be completely off base, but that calorie intake just sounds really low to me. I would definitely be struggling.
I'm 5'2" and I need to lose 85 lb. I've a sedentary job and I do some walking on non lifting days!!0 -
@VintageFeline , @Labyrinth66 Thanks for sharing useful information!!0
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@Shadow2soul great loss after all!!0
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I ran the stats (although I did not have exact weight) I used 250 and 220 and her BMR is 1900+... I set it to sedentary/desk job as well. The 1300 calories way low and not sure how MFP set this goal up for a 5'2" age 32 with a weight range 220 - 250.. I only picked this range because with 85 to loose this puts her in the 140 - 170 pound range..
To loose weight it is possible to be around 1800 calories to eat and loose weight.. As far as muscle gains to fat loss... totally impossible to predict.
Newbie gains will occur and within the first several months and then it will taper off.. The amount of fat loss is totally unpredictable and the nutrition side of the equation has to almost be perfect in order for this to occur simultaneously..
IMO and my experience, recomping works best within in maintenance and even a slight deficit and if you are already lean (which in the case not) the definition will start show quicker. However with 30%+ body fat the numbers are totally unpredictable as I said a lot has to be right before this happens..
My advice, loose the body fat, eat a deficit and continue to loose weight and KEEP your muscle mass by continuing to lift and maybe even add some cardio days for additional calorie burns (totally optional).
There is no science or magic number to give to her.
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I want to know too.. I get confused on how many calories I am suppose to be eating too.. I checked my TDEE and did a 20% deficit which is 1500 calories for the day but then I hear that we should eat more on lifting days but my goal is to lose extra fat and tone up. Everyone keeps saying working out won't help, just eating at a deficit will help lose weight so if lifting doesn't help me lose weight, why would I I adjust my calories for lifting days? I guess what confuses me is I thought that Lifting would help build muscle, boost my metabolism which in turn would help me burn more calories, thus losing weight (As long as I kept in my TDEE zone)? ... But I keep reading responses that lifting does not burn calories and does not help with losing extra unwanted fat. When I go to the gym and I am doing 15 squats at 145lbs, how could I not be burning any calories? That was my first question when I tried to enter in my exercise in MFP and it would not calculate any calories burned. When I posted the question, responses were "because lifting does not burn calories so you can add the exercises in MFP but it won't say how many calories you burned"
Confused
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I ran the stats (although I did not have exact weight) I used 250 and 220 and her BMR is 1900+... I set it to sedentary/desk job as well. The 1300 calories way low and not sure how MFP set this goal up for a 5'2" age 32 with a weight range 220 - 250.. I only picked this range because with 85 to loose this puts her in the 140 - 170 pound range..
To loose weight it is possible to be around 1800 calories to eat and loose weight.. As far as muscle gains to fat loss... totally impossible to predict.
Newbie gains will occur and within the first several months and then it will taper off.. The amount of fat loss is totally unpredictable and the nutrition side of the equation has to almost be perfect in order for this to occur simultaneously..
IMO and my experience, recomping works best within in maintenance and even a slight deficit and if you are already lean (which in the case not) the definition will start show quicker. However with 30%+ body fat the numbers are totally unpredictable as I said a lot has to be right before this happens..
My advice, loose the body fat, eat a deficit and continue to loose and keep your muscle mass by continuing to lift.
There is no science or magic number to give to her.
^^^This, OP.
Eat whatever calories you choose, but you could very likely be eating more and still lose body fat. Notice I didn't say lose weight. Because you are lifting, your weight loss is more likely to be masked by water retention and muscle repair. Keep your calorie intake in check, and use multiple markers to track you progress (like pictures, tape measurements, fitness goals, etc).
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