Will it happen again??

PeachesNcreamgal

So I was a a cardio queen at 18 who used to walk for 2 hours on the treadmill and do very little weights. So after 2 years I got bored of looking skinny and quit gymming cold turkey. By the time I turned 21, I had blown upto 78 kgs in 2009. I haver never been overweight in my life so it was quite scary. So I am thinking of joining a gym again ONLY for weight training. So will I get fat(again) if I stop lifting after some time??

nordlead2005

Will you eat in a caloric suplus?

Had you ate less after skipping the gym last time you would have stayed skinny, but slowly gotten in worse shape since you would have been moving less. You may have looked the same, but you probably would be less fit for a long walk.

cindytw

If you lift and get the body you want to have why would you stop again? It could happen, if you get lean and then get lazy. But why is that a concern before you even start??

PeachesNcreamgal

cindytw wrote: »

If you lift and get the body you want to have why would you stop again? It could happen, if you get lean and then get lazy. But why is that a concern before you even start??

Yes I could quit for very personal reasons

PeachesNcreamgal

nordlead2005 wrote: »

Will you eat in a caloric suplus?

Had you ate less after skipping the gym last time you would have stayed skinny, but slowly gotten in worse shape since you would have been moving less. You may have looked the same, but you probably would be less fit for a long walk.

True my eating got worse after quitting and I was starving all the time and because my body had gotten used to punishing workouts, it went into a shock after quitting plus because of lethargy and heaviness after eating,I could barely even walk for 45 mins. I solely blame my weight gain to excessive cardio but on the days i did less cardio and weights I didn't feel like passing out due to hunger.

cindytw

PeachesNcreamgal wrote: »

cindytw wrote: »

If you lift and get the body you want to have why would you stop again? It could happen, if you get lean and then get lazy. But why is that a concern before you even start??

Yes I could quit for very personal reasons

So Lets look at the reasons WHY...AND fix it! It is not about a diet and exercise program that works for all, but things that work for certain tpes of people. And YOU!

cafeaulait7

Weight lifting burns far fewer calories than cardio, so you won't notice the TDEE difference that you notice if you quit long cardio sessions. I'm not saying you wouldn't gain any, but it would be much more subtle. Unfortunately, your muscle gains also go away if you quit, though.

Basically, big changes in exercise without accounting for them in calories definitely leads to weight gain! It changes the equation, so you'd have to look up your new TDEE that doesn't include the same exercise rate.

I gained my weight back the first time I lost it by doing that, btw I still ate like I was going to the gym 6 days a week. Oops.

PeachesNcreamgal

@cafeaulait7 I didn't know about lifting burning fewer cals but i have read and seen shrinkage of people's body. Basically, it just attacks the fat and lowers bf% right? I am getting enough cardio by walking for 90 minutes in the park so I just want my frame to shrink and i believe lifting will do it. I have developed a bit of a phobia of the gym and want someone to assure me that lifting wont make me blow up. Yea I have cleaned up my diet too and 80% of my diet is home cooked meals + raw veggies and fruits, which was not the case when I used to gym.

cafeaulait7

No to your fear about blowing up; it usually makes everything tighter and smaller on a woman If you did run into more size from it than you liked (rare) it's as easy as lowering the weights at that point. Muscle size goes away fast if not under the same or higher loads. And if you plan on still having a deficit, it's really hard to put on muscle that might make you worry anyway.

If you are bothered by visible muscle for yourself, keep a small fat layer. That way, you can look softer and still be more compact from the compact muscle. I don't like trying to get really defined muscle, myself (except in some spots like my arms, where I don't carry much weight anyway, so it works out ).

PeachesNcreamgal

Blowing up as in not bulking. Sorry, If I wasn't clear. I know as a woman I can't bulk with weights only get tiny I don't plan to take steroids or whatever lol yeah my arms are my ugliest feature I am actually a lollipop and hate my broad shoulders. My lower body is in good shape thanks to all the walking and some jogging. This is exactly what I WANT the way you described it--> muscles with some fat!! I want to look soft and womanly and not get ripped. So I guess I am signing up for weight training from 1st jan 2016!!

kshama2001

PeachesNcreamgal wrote: »

@cafeaulait7 I didn't know about lifting burning fewer cals but i have read and seen shrinkage of people's body. Basically, it just attacks the fat and lowers bf% right? I am getting enough cardio by walking for 90 minutes in the park so I just want my frame to shrink and i believe lifting will do it. I have developed a bit of a phobia of the gym and want someone to assure me that lifting wont make me blow up. Yea I have cleaned up my diet too and 80% of my diet is home cooked meals + raw veggies and fruits, which was not the case when I used to gym.

Exercise is great. I love exercise. I also eat predominantly home cooked meals, with lots of fruit and veggies. However, I also weigh everything I eat so I can get an accurate count of the calories I consume. Are you using a digital food scale?

PeachesNcreamgal

No I don't use a food scale. I haven't reached that level of discipline yet!

vespiquenn

I feel that there are some other problems that need to addressed here before you think of starting. You are already quitting before you start by saying you could due to personal reasons. You need to first confront why this is even an option or you will end up making excuses for yourself. I think I can safely say that most of us have been in that position once or twice which is why you see so many "restarting" threads on here. But to tone like you seem to desire will take months to years to achieve by lifting heavy.

Which then leads me to the second issue to address. I'm making the assumption that your profile picture is you (I apologize if it isn't), but based on that, there is a lot to lose. Now, I am not saying that weightlifting will not be benefitial for toning at the moment (because lifting should be incorporated in any weight loss routine to preserve lean muscle), but you will not see physical results until that layer of fat is gone. So recomposition (TDEE - 10%) or bulking is not even an option at the moment because they require eating at such a small deficit or even a calorie surplus.

With that being said, weight loss comes from the kitchen. Lifting and cardio are great for your health, but at the end of the day, you need to ensure that you're eating in a deficit, so I really recommend getting a food scale and find a good balance between exercise and intake, otherwise you will burn yourself out.

PeachesNcreamgal

Yes your assumption is right. Its me in the picture. i find it extremely hard to diet thats why I end up over exercising(thats always been a problem) I rejoined mfp in feb this year (2nd account,this one) and its taken me a long time to understand that I won't see changes in my body till I clean up my diet. I am improving but I still overeat.

vespiquenn

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

vespiquenn wrote: »

I feel that there are some other problems that need to addressed here before you think of starting. You are already quitting before you start by saying you could due to personal reasons. You need to first confront why this is even an option or you will end up making excuses for yourself. I think I can safely say that most of us have been in that position once or twice which is why you see so many "restarting" threads on here. But to tone like you seem to desire will take months to years to achieve by lifting heavy.

Which then leads me to the second issue to address. I'm making the assumption that your profile picture is you (I apologize if it isn't), but based on that, there is a lot to lose. Now, I am not saying that weightlifting will not be benefitial for toning at the moment (because lifting should be incorporated in any weight loss routine to preserve lean muscle), but you will not see physical results until that layer of fat is gone. So recomposition (TDEE - 10%) or bulking is not even an option at the moment because they require eating at such a small deficit or even a calorie surplus.

With that being said, weight loss comes from the kitchen. Lifting and cardio are great for your health, but at the end of the day, you need to ensure that you're eating in a deficit, so I really recommend getting a food scale and find a good balance between exercise and intake, otherwise you will burn yourself out.

Not disagreeing with you, but I started weight lifting without counting calories at all. I was 215 pounds and second category obese. I lost five inches off my hips before I even lost 15 pounds. So while I couldn't actually see any muscle, my shape most definitely did change even with all the excess fat on top of the muscle. Saying that she won't see any physical results seems a bit misleading to me.

I do agree about the weight loss coming from the kitchen though. Just weight lifting with a bit of cardio and not counting calories, it took me 7 months to lose those first 15 pounds. Once I started using MFP, I lost 45 more pounds in the first six months. That made the biggest difference.

Never said that you wouldn't lose inches because you will. I'm currently recomposition so that's essentially all the beginning of recomp. But OP is talking about toning. This will not be evident until her body fat % is lowered.

vespiquenn

PeachesNcreamgal wrote: »

Yes your assumption is right. Its me in the picture. i find it extremely hard to diet thats why I end up over exercising(thats always been a problem) I rejoined mfp in feb this year (2nd account,this one) and its taken me a long time to understand that I won't see changes in my body till I clean up my diet. I am improving but I still overeat.

Just continue to make small steps. They will eventually add up. But you just cannot go into it knowing that you will quit. This is a lifestyle change, not a diet. Thinking so will result in the same problem because most people find maintenance to be more difficult than losing weight. Once you start, this is a whole life commitment.