Newbie.. am I making the right choice?

porffor

Hi all,
I have worked down my weight over 7 years.. yes a long long time but it's a lifetime journey and I have also had a baby and breast fed for 17 months (when I didn't 'diet' or lose any weight). So the amount of time isn't as it seems.

But.. now I've been struggling the last 12 months with a mood disorder and basically gained a little back (14lbs max but I'm down to 9lb up at the moment). I really want to scrap the scales, but also to know I am reducing my BF % and ultimately look better. I am still 7lb into the obese category which I hate.

I'm 40, 5'3" and 183lb allowing for fluctuations between 184 and 182 this week. My BF going by a handheld machine thing I have (measure on waking) is 44.7 % not good.

I LOVE strength training and now my mind is recovering due to medication I am back to it.. I also ride my horse when weather and time permits. I joined a gym this week (free trial for a week) so have been trying some of the classes and did my gym induction. The trainer showed me the machines but did take on board my not wanting to use cardio much so left me to it for the moment - no plan. Now there is a class I did today called muscleworks which again confirmed my love for lifting weights properly. But it's low weight high reps kind of class..

I have been reading NROLFW and looking at 5x5 for a couple of weeks and have decided 5x5 seems better - easier to manage and remember when I'm in the gym. lol

Now.. my worries - sorry this is long - I don't have anyone to train with. So worry about not having a spotter for bench presses. Also will I actually manage to burn fat? I do realise I won't gain much muscle till I add more calories but I'm on around 1450 at maintenance so was thinking my lifting days would be safe at that and maybe 1200 - 1300 on sedentary days (they do occur due to my mood disorder and family life unfortunately).

I'm at the stage where I distrust my count of calories enough to up my intake at the moment. I have a pretty firm base of muscles (can feel them in my legs and arms so I really just want to get my left arm to match to my right and lose fat while training)... for now!

Also, my hubby doesn't support lifting heavy, he thinks I'm mad for considering it, but honestly he is a lovely man but a couch potato - I hate to say that as I do love him and we have a great marriage but he is not one for exercising. I think he thinks I'll end up as Arnie but I have told him genetically that isn't going to happen.

So, is using machines for chest presses wise? till I get over the weight allowance on it (eek at that thought) or should I find a way to work around it?

And Will I lose fat at this sort of range? or am I fooling myself?

Thanks.

tameko2

Go ahead and bench press- you will just end up having to be a bit more careful and really, at lower weights, you can just do the roll of shame to get out from under it (you just roll the bar down your torso and into your lap so you can sit up). But mostly - when it starts to get heavy just ask yourself if you think you are going to be able to make it through the next press. If you think you can't, normally I'd tell you to try and push through (because a lot of hte time you can!) but without a spotter, just play it safe and put the bar back up.

You can also use a power rack to act as a built in 'spotter' for you, but it requires you to drag a bench into the rack so depending on what your gym setup is like this may not be possible. (also, at my gym the power racks do not have enough holes drilled in them, I wouldn't be able to use them for that).

At some point you might pick up a training buddy. My husband is a total couch potato but he liked the simplicity of SL 5x5 and he did feel a bit threatened by my extreme sexy-getting, plus since it starts very light it doesn't hurt at all or take too long in the beginning and that helped him gain the confidence to keep going. Yesterday he texted me at work to tell me that it was weird (but awesome) that he could feel muscle in his arm even without a post-workout pump or flexing. Also he noticed that the guys at the gym that have hte look he wants (slim, strong, not huge muscles) are also the only ones who squat properly or deadlift at all.

And yes, you will burn fat - more importantly than that though (I know, how could anything be more important than that...) the minor muscle gains you will make as a beginner will make your fat look better. And the post gym pump helps that too - getting a nice firm layer under the fat makes a huge improvement in how your body looks.

So lastly - Calories... Are you sure you're maintaining on 1400? I am childless (so no chasing kids around) and have a desk job and desk hobbies, and I have no problem maintaining on 2200ish calories a day. And I weigh 165 so I'm a bit smaller than you as well. Have you ever taken a week or two to strictly weigh your food (and measure your fats) and see if you're really eating the amount you think? Anyway... if you haven't done that yet, I recommend you either do that or at least do it for the foods that are particularly high cal like nuts/pb/oil/etc. If that works out to still be right - I'd add 150 calories to rest days and 300 calories to lifting days. Do it for 6 weeks, see what happens. At *worst* you'd be gaining half a pound over that time - at best you'll continue to maintain at those amounts, and then I'd recommend you add another 100 to your rest days and try to push it up.

Our metabolisms change to meet our needs - eating low for long periods of time will cause your body to slow your metabolism down in order to preserve itself. I assume you don't want to eat 1400 for the rest of your life - now is the time to start pushing it back higher and see what your body can support.

porffor

Thanks so much for the advice and being so informative too. The calorie advice is great, I do need to go back to weighing foods, as am guilty of guessing now and then. I am working on adding more protein and making choices around that, I'm veggie so it's not a case of meat / fish etc.

Will be brave tomorrow I think and hit the free weights for day 1! Really great to read about your hubby - I can't see mine following suit but I'd be happy to be his lifting buddy. Either way he is supporting me feeling and looking better so that is all I can ask... oh and baby sitting duties! lol

I'll keep watching the inches and body fat rather than scales, ultimately that is what matters to me.

tameko2

I don't weigh my food every day, or anymore (and anyway I eat out ALL the time so its not practical for me) but I'd say if you think you are maintaining on such a low amount, either something is a bit wonky or you are VERY sedentary (unlikely with children and horses!) or else you are underestimating -- high fat stuff is the danger zone really, like nuts and things.

(also re: veggie protein, have you had seitan? Also try swapping out your grain/carb option at meals for Quinoa, adds a bit more protein than most grains)

Ange_

i agree it sounds like you are eating far too little.
You may find your moods actually are much much worse from eating at this kind of amount than if you eat at a small deficit based on what you burn.

Since you are obviously comfortable loosing at a slow healthy rate you are probably going to love the 'Eat More to Weight less' guidelines. They work incredibly well if you are doing heavy lifting too.

Check it out:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

And now they have been so sucessful and popular they have their own website now too which is probably easier to navigate than the MFP group;

http://www.eatmore2weighless.com

shesquats

I agree with both responses; you especially need to eat when you're lifting. I found this out the hard way and also joined the EM2WL group. Tameko is awesome and very informative about SL. It's a great program. I've been doing it for about 3 mos now and lifting weight that I thought I'd never do. I thought I was mad for even attempting it, but my husband was the one who pushed it. Give it a chance. You can do it!!! Good luck hitting the gym.

porffor

Thanks all Will check this out.. got out my scales this morning for my breakfast and battery has died! oops. lol So will add that to the shopping list.

I have quinoa I used for a while so will get back to eating that too - as I do like rice and replaced rice with quinoa.

I can be quite sedentary at times regrettably but as you say with kids and a horse and the fact I'm at Uni (on hol's at the moment) I am quite active. My horse does live out though so no mucking out in my day.

Will have a good look into upping my calories, it has had me wondering if my metabolic rate is out of sync from so long dieting, but if I up my calories I seem to go up in weight so it's hard to keep down the lbs I lose. I'm hoping lifting will help this.

Right.. off to get ready for the gym it is!

Thanks all for your lovely support, I wondered if you'd get sick of newbie.

porffor

ok.. had a shift of my calories, and have tried to eat more - have a bit of an upset tummy today (sorry tmi). So played it safe on what I ate.

Bought new trainers - running shoes for ventilation and better support than my old trainers.

And.. I joined up fully at the gym so got a 'programme' key set up for the machines. Now.. the downside was that the trainer was a bit shocked at my wanting to lift heavy and even asked if I was training for a competition.. I laughed but reassured him no I wasn't. He did as I wished within limits - I caved and it's set up for machines so I can 'see' my progress and he can help me move onto the free weights in a few weeks once he can see me sustain the weights. He also set up the 5x5 even though he was surprised. lol

I've forgotten all the names of the resistance machines but what I can remember is:

Leg Press 5x5 132lbs
Bench (Chest) Press, Machine 5x5 50lbs
Triceps Pull-down 5x5 33lbs
Abdominal Crunches 3x30 33lbs
Seated, Low Lat Pull-In, Two-Arm 5x5 55lbs
Shoulder Press 5x5 44lbs

Did some leg raises and then general stuff off the machines (planks and stretches before cool down on a bike (did warm up on a x-trainer).

Do you think this is viable for a start off for a month before moving on? Or am I wimping out? lol I like the idea of tracking my progress on the machines and seeing burn of calories on their system so I know what I'm doing and can play around with my calories consumed too.

Am I ok to stay in the group or is it strictly the free weights routine only?

Thanks so much for your advice and welcome either way. x

ishtar13

We have a lot in common. You don't mention what your mood disorder is, but I'm bipolar 2. I'm 42, 5'3", started at 196 lbs and now at 174ish.

I've been fairly stable on meds for a long time, but in the last few months, I've been swinging a bit. Not sure if it's life issues or if the hormone production from the weight lifting or birth control is having an effect. I'm just monitoring it closely.

And everyone else is saying great things; I have nothing to add, just, you know, in the same boat.

porffor

Hi thanks for your post, and openess. I never know how to say this to be honest. Seldom has anyone heard of it, but the disorder is PMDD (premenstrual disphoric disorder) and is often mis-diagnosed as bi-polar. It is really fast cycling over a month of hormones.. I hadn't considered the hormones would increase with lifting.. eeek.. hope this doesn't unbalance me a bit more.

The symptoms are all as a bi-polar low I guess you could call it, I was at crisis stage when i went to see my GP in April. I was coming to the end of my first year at Uni (I turned 40 in Feb) and found myself musing about jumping in front of trains as I'd give up driving as it was scaring me.. I hadn't realised why I was scared till then. Thankfully my GP has been wonderful, I'm on B6 and I had a month of head in the sand trying not to take an SSRI but came to realise I'd have to, I guess my brain needed that month to accept I was ill or something. Ironically I'm studying applied psychology! lol Hindsight has lead to me thinking I've been building to this for some time. Riding my horse had started to scare be back in the August of 2011 and I gave up riding 'for the winter' was my excuse in October. I wasn't doing anything fitness wise (unlike me) as had lost motivation and gained back 14lbs. So am thankful to be feeling somewhat better. I have two good weeks on average and 2 not so good (to varying degree's. I'm up tonight with a poorly tummy (it's 2.40am now) and have these quite regularly 10 days or so before my cycle. It's an early warning sign that reminds me these days I haven't suddenly become cured! lol yes, my head still wants to believe my meds are magic pills at the moment. But things are better.

Thanks so much for asking - hope this isn't too frank / long. it's not easy to explain really but I'm sure you will understand.

ishtar13

Yeah, I do understand.

I've gotten myself into a bind right now because when I get depressed or stressed out, I get behind on paper work. I was in grad school and didn't finish my last paper for my last class. I literally did NOTHING for more than 3 months. And even for a few months after that, I didn't do what I needed to.

Weight lifting can increase testosterone, which increases energy, but I have a couple of other things going on, too which could be triggering my current instability.

Vailara

I started off using dumbbells for the bench press, and I used them when I was on my own without a spotter. You can't lift as much weight with dumbbells but it's still a good exercise if you don't want to use the bar.

porffor

Feeling great after another work out today (had a rest day yesterday which worked well as had an upset tummy), added calf raises in to the mix too as felt leg presses weren't enough. Did 70kg on leg raises, and 50kg on calf raises, all good.

Now.. the downside, the gym was quiet today (bonus) so I went into the bench area.. couldn't figure out what was missing at first.. yep no free weights!
loads of massive dumbells but the rest are the cable machines set up.. I will need to study how I can use these - or IF I can use these to replace the 5x5 plan.

Also there is a squat rack but it's away from the weights unfortunately. but I will make it there one day!

The trainer today was lovely - same guy as Friday so he tweaked my plan for me.. lowered the shoulder press slightly and up'd the legs and chest. Think he must've googled 5x5 you know he was much more accepting today. lol

Thanks for the support both.

porffor

Yeah, I do understand.

I've gotten myself into a bind right now because when I get depressed or stressed out, I get behind on paper work. I was in grad school and didn't finish my last paper for my last class. I literally did NOTHING for more than 3 months. And even for a few months after that, I didn't do what I needed to.

Weight lifting can increase testosterone, which increases energy, but I have a couple of other things going on, too which could be triggering my current instability.

really hope it stabilises for you soon, if not get back to your Dr ((Hugs)) nothing worse than feeling it all descending again. I didn't spot anything till it was on me this time but had depression in my teens and early 20's. Exercise always helped me feel achievements in other ways and to stay away from some of the issues in life. :$

Am really hoping my meds can keep on top of things as I head back into Uni at the beginning of October. They've been great at Uni and knowing what is going on will help me, I will take myself off for some quiet time a bit more in between lectures I think.