Does Strength Training prevent losing weight

Orient_Charm

All of the above.

However, why does it matter if you lose weight as long as you lose inches? As muscle is denser than fat, 1lb of muscle takes up less space than 1lb of fat. So someone who is say, 150lb that has a high body fat % will be bigger than someone who weighs 150lb with a higher muscle mass (all other things being equal).

ETA: well done on reaching your initial goal

Thanks for your replay......good point.....

Orient_Charm

All of the above.

However, why does it matter if you lose weight as long as you lose inches? As muscle is denser than fat, 1lb of muscle takes up less space than 1lb of fat. So someone who is say, 150lb that has a high body fat % will be bigger than someone who weighs 150lb with a higher muscle mass (all other things being equal).

ETA: well done on reaching your initial goal

^ this. Also, fat can not "convert" into muscle. Muscle and fat are two very different things.

Thanks for your replay,
I want to stop to tell something about this point, since I had a lot of comment about ( Fat convert to muscle ) ......


The issue here is really about my bad english.......( english is not my first lang ).....
What I meant and he mean by that......when I do a strength training I will lost fat because I need energy for that trining and it come from fat ......in aonther hand the muscle wighet will increaes by training.....so the scale will not move...... it is ( self-evident ) to know that fat material will not became muscle material.......

So all was about my english....

Orient_Charm

So happy to see you doing this for yourself. Weight isn't important anymore once you start changing your body composition. Muscle will make you be in the best shape that you have ever been. Keep doing it and you will be so happy with the results and so will your wife and your doctor. Hugs!!

Thanks for your replay Lara, thanks for your support, and own you a lot....

Have you seen what my bad english done here .....

secretlobster

If you're going to be doing strength training, you might have to pay less attention to the scale because it's not going to be an accurate measure of your body composition.

Bear in mind that you don't necessarily want to lose WEIGHT, what you want to lose is FAT.

The results will be more visual than anything!

wbgolden

My weight loss didn't really kick into high gear (despite tons of cardio) until I started hitting the weights 2-3 times a week.

WifeNMama

I finally broke a 3 month plateau by eating at maintenance and alternating days between weight lifting and cardio. Starting to see some muscle and a smaller waist.

AZKristi

some friend told me that if I do Strength Training I will not lose anymore lbs, because it convert fat to muscles and no change in the weight……

There is absolutely no biochemical basis for this statement. If you continue to eat at a deficit you can lose FAT while strength training. if you are really training, you should be building muscle tissue and increasing your lean body mass. This could eventually result in a "gain" on the scale. So, you have to ask yourself what matters... some arbitrary number on the scale or how you look and feel.

If you are close to your target weight, maybe start focusing on your % body fat instead of body weight. If you are strength training and doing cardio and you end up reducing your % body fat you will look better and probably be healthier than maintaining some arbitrary weight.

wifeycrisp

The more you lift, the more muscle you gain, the more calories you burn while sitting on your butt!! Yes, you will lose fat and you will lose weight! I have lost weight lifting weights, but it's fat.

EpiGaiaRepens

I got to my goal weight the same way you did, watching what I ate and doing cardio.

I just started lifting as of January of this year. My scale has become significantly less important to how I value my body as a result (of course, it still is there, but it's not the whole story). I think it's safe to say that I have gained muscle, and lost fat, and gained strength.

Also, fat doesn't turn into muscle, nor does muscle turn into fat. You build muscle and burn fat by lifting weights. I also think cardio is key to any fitness program (I speak from experience, not from a degree). The hardest part is figuring out how to eat. At least, for me it was.

Temple_Fit

It doesn't prevent you from losing just slows the process, however, you will lose inches. I've been doing a fat loss program that requires a lot of strength training and I have only lost about 8lbs in the past 9wks however, I have lost inches and went from wearing a size 10 to a size 6.

Mercenary1914

If someone has 5 lbs to lose....they need to stop looking at the scale and look at the tape...

Losing lb's at somepoint can become overrated

myak623

If someone has 5 lbs to lose....they need to stop looking at the scale and look at the tape...

Losing lb's at somepoint can become overrated

^^^+1

wookiemouse

^^^^ ITA.

Take your measurements and focus on those instead. The scale will become useless at this point.

In the first year I started lifting heavy, I lost 8 lbs over the entire course of the year! But - I dropped 3 clothing sizes. A pound of fat and a pound of muscle weigh the same. But muscle takes up a LOT less room on your body than fat. Think about it - would you rather be covered in a pound of lead or a pound of feathers? Which will help you fit into smaller jeans?

ShannonMpls

I started strength training day 1. With very little exception, I've done three hours of strength training every week. As you can see from my ticker, which shows what I've lost since June 2011, it hasn't prevented me from losing weight at all. And the bonus is that my body fat percentage is better than expected given my height/weight. I'm quite glad I've been lifting all along.

Jugie12

1st: muscle does not turn to fat and fat cannot turn into muscle. Strength training with weights will add lean muscle to your frame which will result in some sort of "weight gain." Lifting weights skyrockets your metabolism and actually burns body fat longer afterwards than cardio does.

You will lose body fat and probably gain a small amount of weight. You'll actually be leaner and more sculpted though, so no worries and lift on!!

holleysings

I have strength trained twice a week for 10 weeks and lost 21 lbs (obviously ate well too.) So, you can definitely strength train and lose weight! Note, I also put on about 10lbs worth of muscle which I know from my starting and current BF%.

LabRat529

You've gotten a lot of great responses, but I thought I'd add mine.

I haven't really lost weight since October. A few pounds up, a few pounds down, up down, up down.

I started lifting seriously in January. I still have not lost weight. I really can't say whether strength training is preventing me from losing weight or if I just kinda suck at this calorie deficit thing.

BUT I CAN SAY:

I love love love love what weight lifting has done for my physically, mentally, and emotionally. If I were given a choice: Stop lifting and lose weight, or keep lifting and stay the same weight forever, I would not stop lifting. I'd rather stay fat than give up lifting.

taso42

some friend told me that if I do Strength Training I will not lose anymore lbs, because it convert fat to muscles and no change in the weight……

I wonder if it's the same person who posted something similar on the forum earlier. Patently untrue.

mmapags

One of the reasons strength training can, and I say can because it doesn't always, slow weight loss is because without it, you are losing both fat and lean body mass in the form of muscle tissue while in a deficit. Strength training along with adequate protein intake helps you retain the lean body mass. Also, if you are new to strength training, you may experience some "newbies gains" in muscle but at the very least develop the muscles you already has that were underdeveloped or in some cases atrophied. This will cause some "mass" gain along with water and glycogen that can make the scale go up.

There is nothing that will help you burn fat like strength training. Start measuring yourself and your body fat and use that to determine you progress. The scale is only one way of measuring and not always the best way. In fact, not often the best way.There's nothing wrong with mixing in some cardio also. I mix in HIIT, steady state and low intensity steady state. Use every tool available!

albinogorilla

I only do strength training, and have lost plenty.