DO NOT LIFT IF YOUR OVERWEIGHT EVER!!!!

Huffdogg

I have a buddy on Fitocracy who is in the process of trying to lose over 100 lbs. He lifts via Rippetoe methods (began with SS) and has seen steady, measurable weight loss for over a year, with very little cardio and incredible strength gains.

CactusF1ower

I'm new to lifting and I didn't have that 100lbs to lose, but I posted your thread in my feed to see if my more experienced/knowledgeable lifiting friends could help you out.

I will not claim to know everything, but here's what I think I've learned in the past week. Lifting while eating up to 300cal under TDEE will allow for weight loss. Lifting while losing is a good idea so that you don't lose your lean body mass along with your body fat. Lifting is great for burning fat because it burns for awhile after working out. Make sure that your protein intake is good if you are eating at a deficit because your muscles need that in order to repair well. If you have that far to go still, I'd throw in a bit of cardio between lifting days. It's a good idea to eat more on lifting days than on the rest days, but if you're also doing cardio then you probably want to take that into account too. A post workout shake is enough to handle those extra calories. Here's a link that has my current workout routine of cardio circuit training 3 times a week, lifting 3 times a week, and 1 rest day: http://lifeofrose.wordpress.com/category/downloadables/health-and-fitness/.

Thanks for the site!

SkimFlatWhite68

Marg - wow, great results.

OP - in my experience, lifting while still having a lot of fat to lose has resulted in me losing 15kg and a good percentage of fat, while retaining my muscle mass. I've gone from being classed as obese, to now overweight, but am really starting to see significant changes. If it was a matter of doing weights over cardio, I would always chose my weights programme - that, plus walking is all I need to get to my goal.

Don't be scared to lift, yes you will lose on the scale, but it might be a bit more slowly than you would like. However, when the fat is gone, you will have an awesome body revealed underneath! Just do it

Weighinginwithmy02

this is an awesome question and one I have been wondering about too but wasn't sure how to ask it. Thanks for finding the words!

Vailara

I started lifting when I had 80 - 90lb to lose. I didn't feel it stalled my weight loss, but I didn't feel it helped either. To be honest, I feel it's a separate THING to weight loss. I wanted to do strength training for a number of reasons, none of which were weight-related, for instance, I wanted to preserve muscle, to protect against osteoporosis, to make daily activities easier through being stronger, etc. I was keenly aware that as you get older (maybe something you don't have to worry about yet!) your muscle starts to waste away and that dieting also makes you lose some muscle and I felt that strength training would help me fight against that process.

Another benefit of lifting is that you CAN do it quite successfully when you're fat. Just have a look at weight lifters in the top weight categories, or even some strongman/strongwomen competitors, and you'll see that bulk, in itself, is not an obstacle. So while I felt I was crap at anything cardio, I could see myself making progress with lifting and that was very satisfying.

I now do limited heavy lifting (I'm not going to the gym) mixed with some bodyweight training. I know some people would say it's best to lose the weight quickly, then do the strength training once you're closer to your ideal, but that didn't seem the best thing for me. By starting early I have (according to my body fat scales) preserved all my LBM and only lost fat. But also, I just love the feeling of being stronger, and it DOES make life easier.