Motivated but Frustrated!! To lift or not to lift?

MissObstinatiox

Hi i,m after a little bit of advice regarding the problem i have got.

I have lost 69lbs currently and most of this weight has been lost through cardio and cardio alone.
The last 2 months i have started lifting.I have been following a program on bodybuilding.com and it follows the pattern of 20 minutes running on the treadmill and 40 minutes of lifting for 2 days and then 2 days off..

I have increased my calories from 1200 to 1400 and have noticed the scales go down a few lbs from where i am now and then back up again.Also my measurements stay the same.
I know muscle weighs more then fat or does it? Seems there is mixed answers to this so i wont start a debate on this as i,m sure there is a million threads on this subject on here haha...

So my question is should i stick with it or go back to cardio or something else?
I,m so motivated to hit my goal this year and soooo frustrated.

In advance thank you for any advice or feedback

Vikki x

michael1976_ca

bump

laurie62ann

Stick with it!! You may want to review your calorie intake. I wasn't eating enough when I started lifting. I increased my calories and started to see a difference in my body. I gained 8 pounds but my clothes fit better. I didn't do measurements, but I can see and feel the difference. Try not to focus on the scales to much.

meshashesha2012

what are your goals?

and by the way you arent gaining muscle eating at a deficit it is more than likely water retention . are you noticing changes in your measurements? if so then you're on the right path

MissObstinatiox

My goals are to get down to 136 lbs.I,m currently at 159lbs.

I want to tone up as well as lose weight.I don,t want to be skinny fat.

My measurements are the exact same.

Francl27

Keep lifting to preserve muscle mass. You won't gain muscle at a calorie deficit. So the fact that muscle weighs more than fat makes no difference for you right now anyway.

You might want to look at your diet to see why you haven't lost weight though. Are you weighing all your food properly? How much cardio were you doing? If you were doing a lot of cardio and only eating 1200 calories a day, your body might just be getting used to eating a more reasonable amount of food, and it might take a while before you lose weight again.

cwolfman13

If you are in a calorie deficit then weight training isn't going to impact your weight loss save for temporary water retention stalls and the like when you increase weight and intensity. Those are temporary and if you're just going weeks and weeks and weeks without losing, it's your diet, not the weight lifting.

iPlatano

Lift and eat more, muscle burn 3 times the amount of calories fat burns, which helps you lose weight a lot quicker. Its possible to build muscle at a deficit but its a slow process. Most people hit a plateau because they start eating 1200 which dosent apply to everyone. This is gonna sounds stupid but increase your calories and try to gain 1-2 in a month so your metabolism gets back to normal. After that, decrease calories little by little but never eat below 1400-1600.

89nunu

easy: lift!

Also what is more important to you; to hit the number on the scales or to look good?
You say you don't want to be skinnyfat, so stop caring about the number on the scales, squat the hell out of things and witness how your body will change into pure awesome!

shellbatronic

How did you choose your goal weight? I'd say get a set of calipers and start going by body fat %, that will be more of a guide as you gain muscle imo. When asked "lift or no lift" I will always always say "lift".

cmeiron

Liiiiiiift. Lift lift lift.