Help with weight training over 45

ObaChanMaja

Hi
I'm about to turn 46 in a couple of weeks. I haven't been into fitness or weight training since my late teens early 20's. Last year I did the HCG diet and lost around 23lbs (I am sure some muscle along with it). Since then I would go up or down a pound or two but recently have gained as much as 5. Mid January I began a weight training journey and I am at the gym no less than 1 hour each visit for a minimum of 4 days a week. I eat healthy and well basically eating the same as losing all the weight last year similar to a maintenance. I limit and sometimes omit bad carbs (I do on occasion have some bread, but never twice in the same day). I have also become addicted to acai so that is my lunch almost daily. I do fast for breakfast although will have an occasional protein smoothie if the tummy is rumbling. My dinners are usually a lean meat with a veggie and sometimes brown rice. So I am quite surprised to see the scale going up. I even gained a 1/2" in my thighs. My wast is about the same, although I thought I lost an inch in my hips but believe the measuring tape wasn't in same location as prior measurement. My arms appear more defined but I feel its the only area of change.
I am curious.....Can a woman after 45 begin weight training and build definition? Will it take me several years to change my body? Is it normal to go through a stage of not losing weight or inches? Dr's say woman my age needs to eat less calories however, all weight training info says I need to eat more. Its too confusing.
Although I am feeling stronger and more fit it is frustrating to not visually see results.

Does anyone have suggestions?

mabelgrex

of course you can work out , and get definition, as you get older metabolism changes and it gets harder, but can be done.
why are you fasting for breakfast? eat a real breakfast ,

use Mfp to figure out how many calories you need for the day

perhaps you can find a trainer to get started.

I work with a trainer once a week then by myself.

sijomial

I am curious.....Can a woman after 45 begin weight training and build definition?
Yes

Will it take me several years to change my body?
Change starts immediately - but slowly.

Is it normal to go through a stage of not losing weight or inches?
Yes - often there's water retention and inflammation from unaccustomed exercise.

Dr's say woman my age needs to eat less calories
Mainly because women "your age" tend to be less active. You don't have to be typical or average. At 58 years of age I'm eating a load more than when I was in my 30's or 40's.

however, all weight training info says I need to eat more.
Really? Why? More than what? (Weight training itself is a low calorie burner.)

Its too confusing.
Please expand! If you lift heavy thing you will get stronger - that's quite simple.

Although I am feeling stronger and more fit it is frustrating to not visually see results.
If your lifts are going up you are getting results. Seeing results if often more to do with losing fat than gaining muscle. There's a 300lb power-lifter in my gym with no muscle definition. He sure is strong though.

Does anyone have suggestions?
Pick a good and well designed program appropriate for your goals and experience. Train hard. Be patient.

PowerliftingMom

I started my weight journey in 2014 doing mostly cardio, started some strength training in 2015 and became a competitive powerlifter in June 2016 at the age of 57 and have competed in 8 meets so far. I eat much more now (2200 calories) than I did in my 20's/30's/40's. I can gain muscle easily, probably more than most women, mostly due to genetics. The key to lifting AND gaining muscle is you need to EAT. I eat lots of lean protein, some fats and lots of carbs as I lift heavy 2x/week and lighter 2x/week plus do accessory work. When I started losing weight, I had no interest in lifting so I got down to 113 lbs. and body fat was approx. 16%. You could literally see every muscle in my legs and arms. But I didn't have nearly enough strength like I do now so I started bulking in October 2016 and continue to do so. I went from being sedentary for 30 years to doing cardio, to some strength training to powerlifting in just 2 short years so anything is really possible if you really work hard and put in the effort

AnnPT77

ObaChanMaja wrote: »

Hi
I'm about to turn 46 in a couple of weeks. I haven't been into fitness or weight training since my late teens early 20's. Last year I did the HCG diet and lost around 23lbs (I am sure some muscle along with it). Since then I would go up or down a pound or two but recently have gained as much as 5. Mid January I began a weight training journey and I am at the gym no less than 1 hour each visit for a minimum of 4 days a week. I eat healthy and well basically eating the same as losing all the weight last year similar to a maintenance. I limit and sometimes omit bad carbs (I do on occasion have some bread, but never twice in the same day). I have also become addicted to acai so that is my lunch almost daily. I do fast for breakfast although will have an occasional protein smoothie if the tummy is rumbling. My dinners are usually a lean meat with a veggie and sometimes brown rice. So I am quite surprised to see the scale going up. I even gained a 1/2" in my thighs. My wast is about the same, although I thought I lost an inch in my hips but believe the measuring tape wasn't in same location as prior measurement. My arms appear more defined but I feel its the only area of change.
I am curious.....Can a woman after 45 begin weight training and build definition?

Yes. I've built muscle after age 45 (I'm 62 now.)

Will it take me several years to change my body?

It will happen fairly gradually. Weight loss can be somewhat fast, but it's not clear to me from your post how much more fat (if any) you'd still like to lose.

You will add muscle mass very slowly if at all while losing weight, in the sense of growing new muscle cells/fibers.. You can possibly gain a bit if new to weight training, even while losing weight, especially if substantially overweight, but it's limited.

However, you can increase strength quite substantially while losing weight, basically by more effectively recruiting and efficiently using current muscle fibers. You can also improve your appearance (look more fit).

You say your arms already look better: That's progress, isn't it?

BTW, your muscles won't be very visible if there's still a fat layer hiding them.

Is it normal to go through a stage of not losing weight or inches?

It's normal to hold onto a few pounds of water weight - needed for muscle repair - when you start a new lifting routine. Amount varies, but maybe 2-4ish pounds. If you're in a calorie deficit, your fat loss should soon outpace the water weight gain so that you start seeing the scale drop within a few weeks.

Dr's say woman my age needs to eat less calories however, all weight training info says I need to eat more. Its too confusing.

What is your main goal right now?

Broadly speaking, you can't (much) lose fat at a steady, noticeable rate and gain muscle at the same time.

If the main goal is still to lose substantial weight/fat, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn (calorie deficit), and your weight training will help you preserve existing muscle and get stronger.

If your primary goal is muscle gain, then you would eat approximately at least the calories you burn (maintenance or calorie surplus), and weight train progressively.

Eating at about maintenance and progressively weight training should result in very slowly losing fat while very slowly gaining muscle as you stay at a consistent weight. (Think months/years.) This is called "recomposition", and you can learn about it here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

If that's too slow, you can eat at a moderate surplus to gain muscle and fat for a while, then eat at a deficit for a while to lose all that new fat but keep most of the muscle, all while weight training progressively, then repeat, i.e., " bulk and cut cycles". You can find out more about that in these threads:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226536/bulking-for-beginners
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10320115/cutting-techniques-post-bulk

In any of those scenarios, you want to keep protein consumption adequate, around 1g per day per pound of lean body mass (approximately equivalent to 0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight).

Although I am feeling stronger and more fit it is frustrating to not visually see results.

Does anyone have suggestions?

It sounds like you may currently eating at about maintenance, so perhaps working on recomposition by default, assuming you're eating enough protein and using a good progressive weight training program.

Find out more about good weight training programs here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you

Best wishes!

suzettedees

ObaChanMaja wrote: »

Hi
I'm about to turn 46 in a couple of weeks. I haven't been into fitness or weight training since my late teens early 20's. Last year I did the HCG diet and lost around 23lbs (I am sure some muscle along with it). Since then I would go up or down a pound or two but recently have gained as much as 5. Mid January I began a weight training journey and I am at the gym no less than 1 hour each visit for a minimum of 4 days a week. I eat healthy and well basically eating the same as losing all the weight last year similar to a maintenance. I limit and sometimes omit bad carbs (I do on occasion have some bread, but never twice in the same day). I have also become addicted to acai so that is my lunch almost daily. I do fast for breakfast although will have an occasional protein smoothie if the tummy is rumbling. My dinners are usually a lean meat with a veggie and sometimes brown rice. So I am quite surprised to see the scale going up. I even gained a 1/2" in my thighs. My wast is about the same, although I thought I lost an inch in my hips but believe the measuring tape wasn't in same location as prior measurement. My arms appear more defined but I feel its the only area of change.
I am curious.....Can a woman after 45 begin weight training and build definition? Will it take me several years to change my body? Is it normal to go through a stage of not losing weight or inches? Dr's say woman my age needs to eat less calories however, all weight training info says I need to eat more. Its too confusing.
Although I am feeling stronger and more fit it is frustrating to not visually see results.

Does anyone have suggestions?

I started hitting the gym hard last year, im 48. Changing your body takes time but it does change. I’ve lost 42 pounds and have and continue to build definition.

I started working out on my own and started to feel stuck so I got a trainer to work with me towards my goals. I have between 15-20 pounds I still want to lose. I lose about .5-1 pound a week which at times feels slow but, my slow weight loss brings me some nice muscle gains. Lift heavy, vary your workouts, get a trainer if you can afford one and be patient. Your body will change if you out in the time and effort

ObaChanMaja

Thanks everyone for the great advice! And you are all inspiring @AnnPT77 I think you may be right, I am eating at maintenance due to my weight loss journey. I am going to slowly start adding calories to my diet (I have a fear of gaining fat) but I need to move past this and continue on my next phase. @suzettedees and @PowerliftingMom you are inspiring and I thank you for insightful messages. I wish I would have taken starting pics but hate taking pictures of myself. My kids keep telling me I need a visual log. Maybe I'll take pics now and start my progression log. Thanks all! Appreciate you