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burnsinglbs16

Ok, so this topic has probably been brought up a zillion times, however who doesn't love to beat a dead horse! Disclaimer: this is the only time I've beaten a dead horse.<---don't hate me! So, since changing over to mainly strength and weight training I've noticed my weight loss has slowed completely down. Now, granted..my diet hasnt been the absolute best but definitely based on my CICO should have lost more. I've heard this is normal since I could be gaining muscle faster than losing fat. Can someone please explain it a little more elaborately for me... Do you eventually start to lose weight as fast as with cardio? Or, does weight training take longer to lose? I know in the end this will transform my body and make it look way better doing it this way, but I may need to do more cardio if I continue to lose this SLOW! Just want some input from all the people who've had success and have lots of knowledge on losing weight this way. TIA

Fujiberry

Gaining muscle is so much harder than losing fat. At most, women will gain 1 lb of muscle a month, and that's if their training/rest/diet are ideal.

Rely on your diet/deficit of you want to lose weight, and just be patient. The scale won't reflect your progress. You may lose only a few pounds in the course of a couple months, but your measurements may improve significantly.

dlm7507

Scale weight is what you eat. Body composition is from exercise. If you loose 10 lbs with diet alone your body fat will be a higher percentage than someone who lifts and looses 10 lbs. Height to waist ratio tells you more than BMI. I've found that calipers for measuring fat work to tell you how much of the weight you've lost is fat.

DopeItUp

Weight lifting doesn't slow down weight loss other than a little initial water retention (however, any exercise can cause this). You already said your diet isn't on point, that should be priority #1 to fix. And hell, if you like cardio you can do it on top of your lifting. Whatever floats your boat. But fixing your diet will be 80-100% of your problem - start there.

AsISmile

DopeItUp wrote: »

Weight lifting doesn't slow down weight loss other than a little initial water retention (however, any exercise can cause this). You already said your diet isn't on point, that should be priority #1 to fix. And hell, if you like cardio you can do it on top of your lifting. Whatever floats your boat. But fixing your diet will be 80-100% of your problem - start there.

Totally this, and yes water retention. If you just started lifting, it is really hard on your muscles. It will take time for them to repair, and they will hold on to water while doing so.

Fujiberry wrote: »

Gaining muscle is so much harder than losing fat. At most, women will gain 1 lb of muscle a month, and that's if their training/rest/diet are ideal.

Rely on your diet/deficit of you want to lose weight, and just be patient. The scale won't reflect your progress. You may lose only a few pounds in the course of a couple months, but your measurements may improve significantly.

This is also very true.

TavistockToad

you will be burning less calories doing strength training than you did when you were doing cardio, so your deficit is less, hence not losing as much weight.

burnsinglbs16

Thanks for all the replys. Yes, I'm tightening up my diet but I usually just make sure I follow CICO. Im still going to do cardio also.. I'll see how I progress over the next month. I did lose 3% body fat so that's a good start. Also, I've gotten stronger based off of my monthly progress tests. I'm an impatient person and that's the one huge thing I gotta change about myself.

meshashesha2012

could be a mix of a few things
1) you have to be sure you are picking the correct entry from the database. i've seen things be listed as as much as half the calories add what's listed on the package

2) are you weighing/measuring your food or just eyeballing portion

3) you could be retaining water

4) i know for me it takes a few weeks for my body to get into weight loss mode. ive never been one of those ppl who see immediate results on the scale and it can take up to 4- 5 weeks to see a weight reduction. in the meantime i see changes in my body (looser shoes, smaller belly etc) so i know im on the right path.

burnsinglbs16

Thanks, mesha.. yes, i'm sure its a mixture of water retention and eye-balling my food. I probably will never be the type to weigh my food because I personally can't live that way. However, I will use measuring cups. I know I've been retaining water since my fingers have been swelling a lot lately. I think I need to drink more water too. I was doing good for awhile with the recommended 8 glasses but then I fell off. I am now starting to drink the required amount again. Thanks for your feedback.