Am I Being Realistic?
juliemouse83
Posts: 6,663 Member
Ok, ladies & Doozer...
Here is something that has been on my mind for a couple of days, now, and I am wondering what your opinions are:
I have been looking at pictures of women who are lifting heavy, and am amazed and inspired by the definition in their arms, their amazing abs, etc.
When I was i my 20's and 30's, I weighed anywhere between 120 and 135. I am 5'7" tall. I look back at some of the earlier pictures and think, ewww...skinny-fat and skeletal. In my thirties I looked okay at 135-ish. That said, I am now wobbling between 173 & 174. Not that I am complaining, mind you. It's a chunk lighter than the 192 I started with at Christmas.
ETA: I see Doozer's before and now pictures and know that it obviously works, but then, Doozer is a guy and they seem to lose faster than we do...
That said, I was maintaining that 135 number for a long while, until...well, you know...I got heavy. I am not trying to hit the 130's again, but am shooting for 145. Is it realistic to think, at my age (almost 48) that a) I can get down to that weight; and b) will heavy lifting give me the arms, abs, and *kitten* that I so admire on the women in the pictures?
Still being fairly new at this whole lifting weights concept, I'm not sure if my expectations are realistic or err on the side of fantasy.
Here is something that has been on my mind for a couple of days, now, and I am wondering what your opinions are:
I have been looking at pictures of women who are lifting heavy, and am amazed and inspired by the definition in their arms, their amazing abs, etc.
When I was i my 20's and 30's, I weighed anywhere between 120 and 135. I am 5'7" tall. I look back at some of the earlier pictures and think, ewww...skinny-fat and skeletal. In my thirties I looked okay at 135-ish. That said, I am now wobbling between 173 & 174. Not that I am complaining, mind you. It's a chunk lighter than the 192 I started with at Christmas.
ETA: I see Doozer's before and now pictures and know that it obviously works, but then, Doozer is a guy and they seem to lose faster than we do...
That said, I was maintaining that 135 number for a long while, until...well, you know...I got heavy. I am not trying to hit the 130's again, but am shooting for 145. Is it realistic to think, at my age (almost 48) that a) I can get down to that weight; and b) will heavy lifting give me the arms, abs, and *kitten* that I so admire on the women in the pictures?
Still being fairly new at this whole lifting weights concept, I'm not sure if my expectations are realistic or err on the side of fantasy.
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Replies
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I don't care about the weight part. I want the arms and abs and *kitten* to.
Have wondered the same myself0 -
Yeah...the weight isn't the big issue for me...it's the way that I look. If I could look like some of the girls who have been lifting heavy with those abs n' bums? I'd be happy...0
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While I don't think this Sara does stronglifts, she does lift heavy ****. She is 45, here is her profile link, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/Sarauk2sf.
If you ask me yes you are being realistic!0 -
Yeah...the weight isn't the big issue for me...it's the way that I look. If I could look like some of the girls who have been lifting heavy with those abs n' bums? I'd be happy...
My hubby and I discussed this the other night about possibly gaining/not losing pounds if I started lifting. You know from previous post the 211lbs I've been stuck at forever, okay only a year, is bugging me bat *kitten*, BUT if I can look buff and cut, I really think I could over look the poundage. I can live with my size if i had to,(5'10", 211lbs, size 18) but what I can't live with is the flabby thighs and my triceps waving when my hand does. Also the jello that covers my abs. Demons be gone!
Honestly, I think it's doable. I know you seen the post on the nana with the guns! I want her arms!0 -
I don't care how much I weigh. I care how much fat I have. And I'm curious too---is heaving lifting and stronglifts really making a big difference for anyone? I'm 8 weeks in and based on pictures, there is NO difference in my body. I'm inclined to say, OP, that you are not being realistic, and neither am I.
Sorry--very crabby today.0 -
I am soooo busy today but i do have thoughts to share and I will be back to share them as soon as I get a free moment, but the short version is yes/no/maybe/it depends/fat loss requires caloric restriction0
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I don't think youre being unrealistic at all. You will be putting on muscle lifting so some of that weight needs to be accounted for and it seems you have. What I will say is that pictures and measurements are a much better judge of how you're doing than the scale or the mirror. Mirrors can lie just as much when you dont have something to compare them to like another picture. Maybe setting a body fat goal may be more appropriate or in addition to? I personally have a weight goal but I am way more concerned about getting to 15% body fat right now... Probably lower eventually but not aiming for the fences already.
What I love most about lifting is not so much the weight loss even tho I look a lot better. Its that i can feel my arms getting tighter as well as other muscles. It lets me know that what I am doing is working. I probably feel them a little too much lol. I may be getting more vain than I already am. uh oh.
I feel a hell of a lot better than just doing cardio I'll tell you that much.
As to what tameko already hinted at is weightloss is mainly related to diet. Women either have to be super vigilant about what theyre eating or work out a ton more than men. I can eat like crap and still be in a deficit and a lot of the women here cant. My diet is horrible and I'm working on it I know it will affect me later. Completely unfair I know. So make sure your diet is on point and you will be losing weight even if you don't pick up a weight. But if you do start picking up weights then you will be preserving some of your LBM and the weight will come off slower. But youll look better in the end.
From what it sounds like you don't just want to lose weight you want to also look better and the only way to do that is with weights.
If you notice in my pictures that i posted that the bulk of my progress isnt really till the third month until the weights got really heavy for me. Just sick with it and you'll notice the difference.
You can do it.0 -
I re-evaluated my original goal this last year....and I think you'll end up doing that too as you get closer. I think that is fine too by the way.
I started at about 174lbs
goal weight was 125lbs....but when I got to 127lbs in the summer, I could still see so much fat...and I had started lifting and seeing some definition..and I decided I wanted to see more muscles and get rid of the fat. So reset my goal weight to 110lbs. Remember I'm small frame and 5'1"...now after starting SL I think that that number will be too low...I still want to get rid of the fat..so I'm going for more of a look than a scale weight now. I think it will settle around 120lb though...
my point here is that I think you will re-evaluate a lot during the process....0 -
That said, I was maintaining that 135 number for a long while, until...well, you know...I got heavy. I am not trying to hit the 130's again, but am shooting for 145. Is it realistic to think, at my age (almost 48) that a) I can get down to that weight; and b) will heavy lifting give me the arms, abs, and *kitten* that I so admire on the women in the pictures?
I believe it's realistic to think you'll have the best arms, abs and *kitten* you've ever had before in your life after about a year or so of picking up heavy stuff and putting it back down again.
That's what I fully expect to happen anyway. :drinker:0 -
Ok I *might* have a few free minutes now..... *crosses fingers*
I think you are all in different situations so if you like, we can address them all separately but there are a few key pointers. Lifting is very important for building and retaining Lean Body Mass which will make you look fitter at a higher weight, because muscle is much denser than fat, AND because 5 lbs of fat stretched over muscle looks a HELL of a lot better than 5 lbs of fat hanging off your bones.
There are other health benefits to lifting, its been shown to reduce inflammation issues overall (like people with arthritis get benefit from it), increased bone density, improved metabolic function and insulin response.
The metabolic function is an important one in the context of this conversation - improved metabolic function = better weight loss and weight management, ESPECIALLY for people with carb sensitivity issues like PCOS.
Also I want to call out something doozer mentioned - that he didn't start seeing a lot of improvement until it really started getting heavy, in PARTICULAR I think some women might struggle to get to the point where they're actually lifting heavy because women more than men tend to be stressed, under-rested, and under fueled, and that means they don't give themselves enough rest time between sets which means they start failing before they're really reaching their limits due to exhaustion rather than weight, or they start failing because their bodies are exhausted trying to run on too few calories and don't have anything to give to the weight lifting, or they're exhausted from the lack of sleep, or the tons of other exercise they do, or whatever.
Also - both age and how long you have been overweight/out of shape can be limiting factors, NOT in your ability to reach some final objective but in your ability to get their quickly -- and depending on how long and how far out of shape you got, you might have loose skin issues that take years to resolve, or never fully do.
(Sara is doing 5/3/1 which is an intermediate program that many SL people graduate to, and she is 45, got lean very quickly - only a year - and looks fantastic, BUT she was in great physical shape before she had her aneurysm and only gained due to the hospitalization and recovery. Its much easier to get into great shape when you've been in great shape before - provided before doesn't mean like, 25 years ago when you were in college/HS.)
Ugh, this is getting long and probably hard to follow. So, wrap up time -
if you were a fit but not particularly strong 25 year old at 125, its very reasonable to expect that with time and lifting you will get to a more muscular looking version of that body at 135. But its not very realistic to expect that at 155. In which case, you'll need to lose some weight, via caloric deficit.
AND - as you age, your body naturally retains less lean body mass unless you push it - children are incredibly muscular, as are young adults, but if you're not using it your body starts to lose it because its a waste of energy as far as your body is concerned. And that's one of the reasons that lifting gets pushed so heavily. When you were 22, you could diet, lose weight, and look great. When you're 42, you can diet the same way, lose weight, and look flabby. It IS harder to look great as you age, but its realistic to believe that you CAN, its just going to take you longer and you're going to have to *work* for it, not just switch to diet soda.
Chunkmunk - 8 weeks would be some kind of miracle for most people. If you look at Lorina's pics Thanks to the mega billion dollar fitness industry, we've all been told that we can look like fitness models in 90 days! But MOST of those before and after pictures are fake - its VERY easy for a fit person to look incredibly fat - you slouch, inflate your belly with air, wear your pants in a way that gives you a muffin top, etc. And then 2 minutes later they change clothes, stand up straight, smile, suck in, tilt their hips to make the belly look flatter, FLEX your muscles, oil up and boom. 90 day miracle. If you want it to be even better you do it a few days apart, get a good sodium bloat going, don't work out for a few days before and eat super low carb so you have no pump, and then you flush the salt, do a big pump session with carb loading and you look COMPLETELY different.
There are two kinds of people who show fast results - people who are already very lean and eat maintenance or a bulk and so any pump they get shows up immediately, and they make fast progress on their lifts because they are well fueled. And people who are absolute rank beginners and haven't exercised in years/their whole lives. Also like I mentioned elsewhere - age does matter. Much easier for a 25 year old to get fit than a 40 year old.
Also last note on dieting - I don't want to beat that horse too hard because I think you all know the basics, but pure body re composition (where you replace your fat with muscle) is a) slow slow SLOW SLOW SLOOOOOOW and b) may be most feasible for a woman in the 19-25% bf range, at higher amounts it makes sense to diet some of it down, and at lower amounts it may be that you just need to do a slow bulk.0 -
Thank you Tameko. Especially the part about it's going to take longer than 90 days. I think I needed that slap in the face.0
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Thank you Tameko. Especially the part about it's going to take longer than 90 days. I think I needed that slap in the face.
Crap I just noticed I started mentioning Lorina and then lost track - what I was going to say is that Lorina made awesome progress for 12 weeks, because she was starting from having some base strength from using machines, and even after 12 weeks although there IS progress its VERY very slight. I also find that some times we can't see our own progress in our photos - I See mine and I just think "OH GOD IS THAT WHAT MY STOMACH LOOKS LIKE" and I cant' focus on anything else.0 -
I've been waiting for my *kitten* and abs to catch up with my arms and legs! :sad:0
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I think the time component in this whole recomp process is really key. When some of us started to diet down and we saw quick losses with diet and cardio, we got accustomed to that. Results with a program like SL are a lot more drawn out. It will take longer but the longer will be way more worth it.
In my opinion anything is possible....but you have to work for it. You have to train hard and commit. DON'T GIVE UP!!!!
Oh and naturally everything Tameko said :happy:0 -
TONS of common sense and wisdom here -- and yes, I think you have reasonable expectations. I am a living example of Tameko's age-related information for sure. I saw the down hill slide in my strength as I turned 49, 50, my joints (especially my shoulders & hips) hurt. Then I realized I was even becoming unsure on my feet! All from a sedentary lifestyle! Since starting lifting I have regained all that ground PLUS more, have reduced body fat, reaped so many other benefits -- I don't have to list them. Point is you KNOW it works and is worth doing, AND you're 48 now, don't stop. But it could take a long time, a year or more, so commit for the long haul and just enjoy what you're doing and how it makes you feel. I think it's absolutely boss that I can (still) push my sons around, and skip and it doesn't hurt anymore.0
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Random thoughts:
I actually posted a question in "eat train progress" about an approximate goal weight based on ideal and current body fat. I learned Sara weighs 148!
I saw an awesome video of a guy doing the before/after pics 5 hours apart for lulz. I'll see if I can dig it up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU Found it!
I've posted this elsewhere, but my personal experience echos Doozers. When I first started I gained 3 or 4 lbs of water weight, I didn't start to see any real progress until the weights got heavy for me. Around week 4/5. I know this by looking at the progress page of heybales spreadsheet. (Sly product placement) My waist stayed the same from 12/30 (started sl on 12/18, but didn't start using heybales until 12.30) until 1/28 when it suddenly dropped .75" It's been dropping pretty steadily since then. \o/
ETA: I do have a decent amount of fat to lose, this is probably a big factor in rates of change.0 -
Thank you very much for such in-depth informative answers.
I very much appreciate it 0 -
Thanks, all, for your responses! I love lifting, and the weights are starting to get really heavy, which I also love. I am not concerned so much with scale numbers as appearance. If by some miracle I could make it back to the 140's or low 150's? I'd be ecstatic, but I am more concerned with strength and appearance.
The chunk only REALLY came on over the last five or so years, since my husband started having a series of surgeries that ultimately left him disabled. It was at that time that I stopped giving a *kitten* about myself and started taking care of everything/everyone else...the hubs, 3 kids at the house, the dogs, the house itself, the bills, the chores, the yard work, the portrait business (which was in addition to the 40 hour a week desk job during the day), the girls I supervise at work, tutoring and mentoring new photographers...you name it, I was taking care of it, and neglecting myself.
Add to it the lack of any knowledge of BMR/TDEE, and living a 1200 calorie per day lifestyle for weeks/,months on end, stalling, plateauing, getting frustrated and quitting TWICE before this third go around...It could only be a recipe for physical disaster.
So I don't freak out after days like today when I actually threw down on some southern cooking at the awards banquet tonite. I kept my portions reasonable and ate dang near every one of those 1811 calories.
I'm not asking to look like a knock out tomorrow...I'd settle for six to twelve months, LOL...my short term goal is to simply get over the damned obstacles at the mud run in April. Don't care if I look big doing it...I just wanna do it.
I just want, long term, to look good at some point, I guess. Getting older kind of bites, but it beats the alternative.
Sorry for the ramble. I'm not giving up, I'm not frustrated (and hope that my initial post didn't sound like that), as I'm two weeks in, feeling amazing, and still smaller than I was a month ago. :bigsmile:0 -
Sorry for the ramble. I'm not giving up, I'm not frustrated (and hope that my initial post didn't sound like that), as I'm two weeks in, feeling amazing, and still smaller than I was a month ago. :bigsmile:
Sometimes we just need to ramble. I find that I ramble quite a bit lol.0 -
Random thoughts:
I actually posted a question in "eat train progress" about an approximate goal weight based on ideal and current body fat. I learned Sara weighs 148!
I saw an awesome video of a guy doing the before/after pics 5 hours apart for lulz. I'll see if I can dig it up.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU Found it!
Do you still have the link to the 'eat train progress' thread about goal weight that you asked? Would be interested in finding out more information! I never know if my goals are legit...0 -
julie... I was 129 pounds when I went for my post-partum checkup eons ago... I was in my 20's... I will be 44 in a matter of days.... my goal is 140... and I do think it is realistic and doable.... my "dream" is to hit 129 if only for ONE day.... now with that I think I am pressing my luck... I do know my body comp has changed considerably....
I mentioned to some earlier, I am solidly in a size 12..but today ( consider it is likely vanity sizing) I purchased a skirt in size 10 and it fit... I damn near passed out... I also remember that I was a size 6/8 at 130 pounds (I am reminded by my BFF's mom every visit to her house... I was Maid of honor at BFFs wedding and we left our dresses there and I never went back for mine so its STILL there 20+ years later) ... only 1- 1/2 size difference yet 60 pound difference??
Where am I going with this?? yes we may make our weight goal..but our goals may have to be reevaluated... I, for one, know a size 8 isnt too far off.... if I hit size 6 before I hit 140, Im stopping the deficit mode no matter what weight it is and going into maintenance mode0 -
Random thoughts:
I actually posted a question in "eat train progress" about an approximate goal weight based on ideal and current body fat. I learned Sara weighs 148!
I saw an awesome video of a guy doing the before/after pics 5 hours apart for lulz. I'll see if I can dig it up.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU Found it!
Do you still have the link to the 'eat train progress' thread about goal weight that you asked? Would be interested in finding out more information! I never know if my goals are legit...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/903838-help-me-choose-a-goal-weight0 -
Oh, hey, the age thing is interesting. I've tried twice to lose weight in the last three years (aged 27 &30), expecting it to drop off like it did when I was 23. It's really, really not happening (and y'all may have seen me *****ing about it recently) despite doing it "right" this time, instead of doing no exercise & eating 1000-1200 cal/day like I did then
Maybe my metabolism has aged, as well as being screwed from years of anti-depressants, stress & VLCD...0 -
julie... I was 129 pounds when I went for my post-partum checkup eons ago... I was in my 20's... I will be 44 in a matter of days.... my goal is 140... and I do think it is realistic and doable.... my "dream" is to hit 129 if only for ONE day.... now with that I think I am pressing my luck... I do know my body comp has changed considerably...
i just want to point out
you do get heavier when you are older.
2 reasons: bone density and the fact that in order to look firm you need more muscle mass when you are older
(when you are 20 you will look firm if you are pretty much bones and a bit of fat only, but if you are 40 and especially if you were at higher weight before -fat or pregnant, you will need a lot of muscle to look firm)
so you might not want to hit that 129 lbs actually
I am 139 lbs right now, 29 years, my highest weight was 172 lbs for 3-4 months max,
when I was 19 I was 130 lbs, but I wouldn't go down to 130 right now.
I'm 20% bf and my chest bones are very prominent at 139 lbs if I went down to 130 i would have 14% bf and all you could see would be my chest... (not boobs, I was not blessed with boobs)
I want to stay around 20% bf, just make my butt more perky and get ride of the fat bump I have under my butt so I do lean bulks and cuts right now. My goal weight is about 145 lbs, 15 lbs more then 10 years ago.
Oh and right now at 139 lbs I can fit the very same outfit i was wearing at my prom when I was 130. My waist is same and my butt smaller then it was back then...0 -
Oh, hey, the age thing is interesting. I've tried twice to lose weight in the last three years (aged 27 &30), expecting it to drop off like it did when I was 23. It's really, really not happening (and y'all may have seen me *****ing about it recently) despite doing it "right" this time, instead of doing no exercise & eating 1000-1200 cal/day like I did then
Maybe my metabolism has aged, as well as being screwed from years of anti-depressants, stress & VLCD...
could be metabolism, could be your NEAT. We often don't relise how much we move as kids. Kids never stand still, even at school you are sitting on your bum, but every 45 minutes or so you need to change a class, so you walk and walk and walk0 -
julie... I was 129 pounds when I went for my post-partum checkup eons ago... I was in my 20's... I will be 44 in a matter of days.... my goal is 140... and I do think it is realistic and doable.... my "dream" is to hit 129 if only for ONE day.... now with that I think I am pressing my luck... I do know my body comp has changed considerably...
i just want to point out
you do get heavier when you are older.
2 reasons: bone density and the fact that in order to look firm you need more muscle mass when you are older
(when you are 20 you will look firm if you are pretty much bones and a bit of fat only, but if you are 40 and especially if you were at higher weight before -fat or pregnant, you will need a lot of muscle to look firm)
so you might not want to hit that 129 lbs actually
129 pounds for me would be 19% BF.....hopefully SL will help with that muscle mass thing0 -
Ladies, I
you so much!
Oh! I forgot to mention that I'm also on meds for hypothyroid, but that is supposed to be keeping it under control, so I can't REALLY blame that.
I do know that I chowed down last night at the banquet, and the little Wii guy gave me a high five and props this morning for being down .7 pound, LOL...
I'm ridiculously excited about the whole program. It doesn't matter if it takes 12 weeks or 52+...I'm on this for life (I freak out over the whole bone density thing, cuz of Mom) for both the health benefits and how freaking awesome I feel after a lift, and how much energy I have day to day, now. (Let's not even talk about how well I sleep at night...)
Y'all, this is such an amazing program, and this group is so motivating!
You don't know just how much I appreciate you folks!
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129 pounds for me would be 19% BF.....hopefully SL will help with that muscle mass thing
going down to 19% bf is more then doable.
I have some girls on my FL who got down to 19 or even 17%
and they are over 40.
But you might want to bulk and cut after to gain lean mass and become heavier
Bulking is fun. Eating 2500 on daily basis and having tons of energy to lift 0 -
Bulking is fun. Eating 2500 on daily basis and having tons of energy to lift
Eating like that has to be fun!!!!
So let me ask another total noob question...
Is it better to run on a calorie deficit until I get closer to non-overweight (Mr. Wii says I'm at 27.17% BMI "and that's overweight"), then bulk and cut?0 -
129 pounds for me would be 19% BF.....hopefully SL will help with that muscle mass thing
going down to 19% bf is more then doable.
I have some girls on my FL who got down to 19 or even 17%
and they are over 40.
But you might want to bulk and cut after to gain lean mass and become heavier
Bulking is fun. Eating 2500 on daily basis and having tons of energy to lift
Did I mention I am vain?? and I have short term superficial goals....so the plan will remain, at least for now, to eat a deficit to lose fat....lift heavy to preserve the muscle mass I currently have.... then eat at or above maintenance levels to build more lean muscle mass when Im closer to weight goal....
Is it better to run on a calorie deficit until I get closer to non-overweight (Mr. Wii says I'm at 27.17% BMI "and that's overweight"), then bulk and cut?
thats my plan and Im sticking to it 0
