Chubby lifting weights

chubby_checkers

I'm currently 255 lbs with a goal of 165. My goal weight is not set in stone, just a number to shoot for. I'm about 5'6". I love lifting but I'm wondering if increasing strength is something I should be focusing on right now. I need to lose quite a bit of fat and I guess I just need reassurance that I'm going about this the right way. Most of the ladies that lift (that I've seen posting) are not at my fatness level.

eilar

I don't know how fast you'll lose weight, but I think increasing muscle fitness is certainly never going to hurt anybody! I am not a fitness expert though...

ishtar13

I started at ~196 in March.

Started lifting in mid-April.

I'm now at 177 as of this morning, and the last two weeks it feels like the fat is just melting off.

I'm only 5'3" and I had a goal weight of 145, I'm starting to think maybe lower, though. I haven't been below 160 in 14 years, and haven't been below 145 in more than 20.

As long as you eat at a deficit, you'll lose.

Rae6503

Lifting while losing preserves muscle which is a good thing. Plus it's fun, and gaining strength is always beneficial.

infamousmk

The weight is not the end-all-be-all... I bet you will start to lose inches (and weight too!) with strength training. I started lifting at about 205 pounds and dropped a dress size in about two months.

chubby_checkers

Thanks for the imput! Even when you think you know what you're doing, you need reassurance.

Qarol

I wish I'd started sooner. But the weight for me is coming off very slowly. I started at 194, (but I was already stuck in a plateau) then shot up to around 200 and stayed there. The scale was stressing me out so much that I decided to take a break from the scale. I didn't want anything deterring me from lifting.

According to MFP, a healthy weight for me is 164, so I've still got quite a ways to go to reach that. But I'm trying to focus more on what I see in the mirror vs what's on the scale. It's not always so easy to let go of the scale number.

tameko2

Starting now is way better than starting later, BUT I assume you have a biggish deficit right now to lose some pounds so you should be aware that you might not be able to make as much progress in weights as you theoretically could if you were eating closer to maintenance -- which I mean, is totally fine, just something to think about. I have a friend on here who started doing strength training even heavier than you and she does not regret it at all. She hasn't dropped scale weight as quickly as some people do but she looks fantastic for her weight - if I didn't know how much she weighed I'd guess she was 20 or 30 lbs lighter than she actually is.

chubby_checkers

I'm currently eating 1800 calories. I just dropped them from 2000. I've been making some strength progress and losing weight slowly doesn't bother me. I'd rather lose it slowly than not at all. I attach a number because it's easier to wrap my head around than just saying "I want to be less fat".

gemiwing

I'm currently 255 lbs with a goal of 165. My goal weight is not set in stone, just a number to shoot for. I'm about 5'6". I love lifting but I'm wondering if increasing strength is something I should be focusing on right now. I need to lose quite a bit of fat and I guess I just need reassurance that I'm going about this the right way. Most of the ladies that lift (that I've seen posting) are not at my fatness level.

Hi there,

We're about the same weight (I'm about 260) and I've struggled to lose weight or inches on Stronglifts. The swelling from seriously pushing myself, the weight of the food I have to eat and then the huge recovery window I need really does slow down the losses. So I'm going to do cycles.

Think of it as a cut/bulk without the bulk.

I'm going for three months- strength. Not expecting any real losses here and not really looking for them. More like a pre-made plateau for weight loss while I focus more on strength (actually completing a squat is a big goal of mine). Eat at TDEE during this phase. Give weight loss a break for a bit.

Three months- cut/lighter weights (like 50%). Keep doing light strength but no where near the goals I have for the strength cycle. Eat 15% below TDEE here. Some cardio (PATOOEY!) added here for health reasons- not that it really 'melts the pounds' or something. More that I can recover from cardio easier at a larger deficit.

Take a week or two off between each one to relax, let my CNS chill and just enjoy the scenery.

This is just my plan. I have no idea if it will work but I'm willing to try it Not recommending it to anyone else either- so no flames or BS please. Just letting you know what I'm up to. Stronglifts is a great strength program- it really is- I just have serious issues with making gains in weight loss while working that hard and trying to up weights and increase strength on a 15% cut- It just wasn't happening for me. Not saying it won't for you- blah blah standard anti-flame internet disclaimer- but it wasn't working for me as a 'weight loss/inches loss tool'.

Am I stronger now for having done a three month cycle of Stronglifts? HELL YEAH And I love that so I still feel a winner. I guess my point is- you might and you might not. Just in case you fall into the 'might not' group- there's still the use of cycles at your disposal so try not to get discouraged. There are a million paths available

infamousmk

gemiwing - your plan is basically the plan I would like to follow as well. I really do burn out on whatever it is I'm doing after three or so months, so in theory I could easily stick to one focus for a few months, take a little time off, and the jump back in to another focus. I managed to lose 20 pounds and two sizes last year without hardly batting an eye by doing this in essence.


Now if I could just get my focus back!

r1ghtpath

I started at ~196 in March.

Started lifting in mid-April.

I'm now at 177 as of this morning, and the last two weeks it feels like the fat is just melting off.

I'm only 5'3" and I had a goal weight of 145, I'm starting to think maybe lower, though. I haven't been below 160 in 14 years, and haven't been below 145 in more than 20.

As long as you eat at a deficit, you'll lose.

do you do ANY cardio? or do you just lift? how fast are you increasing your weight?

i was doing a modified stronglifts (found online) using dumbbells, but i'm up to 50 lbs on some moves and i don't really want to get MORE dumbbells. so, i picked up a 100lb barbell/plate set. i don't have room for the 300lbs olympic set........ so, i don't really want to move up in weight TOO fast ( due to space constraints) and i'm not yet ready to move my work outs to the gym. i save that space for my cardio work outs.....