insights please :-)
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dr_tina
Posts: 225 Member
Hola, have lost 25 pds slowly over the last 4 months and have the last 10 to go. I swim laps (e.g. 100m IM sets) at least 2x a week for an hour (w/ gloves and fins at times for added resistance), also get on the elliptical couple times a week for about a half an hour (HRM>150), as well as do some running intervals (HIIT) many times a week in addition to hiking and going to by a bike too.
I have always lost all my muscle when losing weight before and focused on "thin". Well I don't care about that anymore and want to be healthy and strong, but not necessarily the female version of "ripped" (for lack of a better term), just somewhat defined. I am quite aware that females don't get big, and how hard that is to do. However, genetically I think I do have a bit more testosterone than many females, and my legs tended to get big when I swam competitively when young. I have been doing weight training only about 2x a week for many months, and mainly involved squats, lunges, stairs, etc. w/ weights and I have steadily made it up to 15lb dumbells. Started deadlifing two weeks ago (only about 75lbs including the bar), and I can do 3 sets of 10 now without problem. I feel like I am seeing my muscles more and more, but I know this is from losing weight on top of them so they are more visible. The good thing is that I think I have been able to retain a lot more muscle than in the past.
I have read the first half of NRLW, and a bit overwhelmed by that process (husband does the male version), but willing to give it a try if it will be helpful to my goals. However, psychologically I really really really want to lose these last 10 lbs and I really like the way cardio makes me feel, which is important to consider as well. I am eating on a defict, and don't want to change that until I get the last 10lbs off, which is a really healthy (not thin) weight for my height.
Trying to figure out the best course of action at this point to get the 10lbs off, keep my muscle and maybe even gain just a little. What has been stopping me from starting NR is that 1) I will admitt I am a bit intimidated 2) many people who started it talk about how they stopped losing weight. I know the scale is not the ultimate thing, and I get that composition of your body is more important, but I still want the last 10 lbs off as quickly if possible. Any ideas of a good course of action to attain my goals (sometime this decade, LOL).
....oh, by the way, I have seem some recent OP's responses to suggestions and I am no way into drama. I am pretty serious about my health these days and can use some input. And it may help to know that I am short, almost 40 and my BMR totally and completely BLOWS!!!! LOL...
I have always lost all my muscle when losing weight before and focused on "thin". Well I don't care about that anymore and want to be healthy and strong, but not necessarily the female version of "ripped" (for lack of a better term), just somewhat defined. I am quite aware that females don't get big, and how hard that is to do. However, genetically I think I do have a bit more testosterone than many females, and my legs tended to get big when I swam competitively when young. I have been doing weight training only about 2x a week for many months, and mainly involved squats, lunges, stairs, etc. w/ weights and I have steadily made it up to 15lb dumbells. Started deadlifing two weeks ago (only about 75lbs including the bar), and I can do 3 sets of 10 now without problem. I feel like I am seeing my muscles more and more, but I know this is from losing weight on top of them so they are more visible. The good thing is that I think I have been able to retain a lot more muscle than in the past.
I have read the first half of NRLW, and a bit overwhelmed by that process (husband does the male version), but willing to give it a try if it will be helpful to my goals. However, psychologically I really really really want to lose these last 10 lbs and I really like the way cardio makes me feel, which is important to consider as well. I am eating on a defict, and don't want to change that until I get the last 10lbs off, which is a really healthy (not thin) weight for my height.
Trying to figure out the best course of action at this point to get the 10lbs off, keep my muscle and maybe even gain just a little. What has been stopping me from starting NR is that 1) I will admitt I am a bit intimidated 2) many people who started it talk about how they stopped losing weight. I know the scale is not the ultimate thing, and I get that composition of your body is more important, but I still want the last 10 lbs off as quickly if possible. Any ideas of a good course of action to attain my goals (sometime this decade, LOL).
....oh, by the way, I have seem some recent OP's responses to suggestions and I am no way into drama. I am pretty serious about my health these days and can use some input. And it may help to know that I am short, almost 40 and my BMR totally and completely BLOWS!!!! LOL...
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Replies
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First, congrats on losing 25 pounds! I appreciate your post. You have a tough decision to make and honestly, it is going to come down to your own preferences in the end.
I was in your same space, lifting a few days a week while training, running and losing weight, eating at a deficit. I then decided I needed to get my body fat under control (it wasn't really dropping, even though the weight was). I knew the best way to do this was to start lifting heavy. I had already lost 25 pounds but I still had 25 more pounds to lose.
I choose to start the program, but kept eating at the same deficit. I kept doing my cardio on my days off. I still managed to lose 4 pounds by the end of my first month with NROFLW, and many, many inches. However, that simply may have been because I was still way overweight. I did add a pound of muscle and made PROTEIN my main macro in my diet. I have read that new lifters and overweight people can still build new muscle, it is not the most common scenario.
IMHO- you are doing several of the NROLFW lifts (deadlifts, lunges, stairs, etc), you seem to be on a good track. You just have a choice to make.. Focus on the lifting and strength and KNOW you will likely lose inches, but not pounds, and gain some serious muscles. OR finish what you have started for the last 10 pounds.. In my mind, it's a coin toss and really, what will matter is what you really want...
As for me, I was just medically 'forced' to go a bit lighter on my weights, so I am back at my cardio, etc. I'm fine with that because I still have loads of weight to lose... but I cannot wait to get back to my NROLFW!0 -
Congrats on losing the 25 pounds! It seems like you are already doing a lot of the things in NROLFW. If you want to loose body fat, I think the cal. deficit and heavy weights is the way to go. You may not loose weight, but if your body is changing -loosing inches and you are getting stronger, dropping body fat, that that will be good for me.In the long run, I do believe you can do NROLFW and loose the 10 pounds, it just may be much slower that what you are used to. But you will loose inches and body fat and change your body comp. It's your choice. You always can start and see how things go.Good luck to you!0
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I want to lose about 8/10 more pounds and I started NR this week, I get how the scale number is a huge deal but you've gotta kinda ignore it for a while, I took lots of measurements and photos before hand and will focus on those. I've gotten to a size I am pretty happy at, so now it is about shaping and getting stronger for me.
Maybe start the prog and not weight in for a few weeks (first week in eating more and lifting I've put on 0.4 of a pound, which is nothing!), look at your photos and measurements. But if the scale is your goal, maybe wait till you are a couple of pounds within goal? You don't want to get pissed off with the whole thing!0 -
As the other posters have said, you have to decide what's the most important to YOU. I've lost about twenty pounds since I started my weight loss journey, but it's really been a marathon, not a sprint! I still want to lose about another forty, but I decided that for the place I'm in at the moment, I want to start lifting heavy. So I weigh in once a week, and I'm losing about half a pound a week so far (three weeks in) eating at a small deficit (I try to net about anywhere from 1700-2200). If the scale is important to you, I would advise losing the last ten pounds and THEN starting this program. If you think you can take a slowing or stopping or weight loss, take some pictures and measurements and START THIS! I love it so far, I feel so strong and I can't wait to overtake my boyfriend in what I can lift (although that may take a while, stupid man muscles!).
Good luck with whatever you decide!0
