Whats the Point? Heavy Lifting & Calorie Deficit

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  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
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    I had to be very careful what I did ab wise after pregnancies for a very long time...I had some muscles that wanted to pop through the then thinner abdominal wall...so do be careful. I had a very large first baby for my body size though. There was a LOT of stretching going on. Muscles really are much more lax for a while after pregnancies. Be patient with yourself and enjoy the benefits of strength and cardio conditioning...you'll enjoy that toddler much more without arm cramps! :)

    I will say that I have seen similar results doing body weight circuit training with no weights except body weight. My arms look tons better after four weeks (no wagging now!) I stuck with cardio for the first month, moved to some cross training the second month (DVDs), and the third month did treadmill, DVD X 4, my NoNonsense group on MFP. Of all of them, I saw the biggest changes from that MFP group.

    It looked easy enough (jumping jacks, squats, burpees, pushups, mountain climbers), but with all the planking and core work...everything gets a good workout, even cardio. I couldn't even do a full set of push ups on my toes the first week, now I can do 80 in one day!

    If you get bored with what you are doing, or aren't seeing results, I'd just switch it up for a while, cals, approach. And...keep logging, weighing, and measuring...you really need to. If nothing else, if nothing is working, it helps to have those records to really back up your consistency if you need to see a doctor or anyone about it.

    The thing is...muscle burns more calories during the day than other tissues...so if you can run or put any stress on your body during the day to build major muscle groups (bum/quads), those two muscles alone are going to really work for you. The rest just keep them evened out, and are things people see (calves, arms). Have fun! You are going to look great again!
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
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    Calorie deficit makes you lose weight, lifting makes you look sexy doing it.

    What I would say.

    I've barely lost any weight but I have my husband drooling.
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
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    I just started lifting 5 weeks ago; during that time I ate about a 500 cal/day deficit (2000+ gross cals/day; my TDEE is around 2500-2600). I dropped my cardio from 300+ min/week to about 120 min/week.

    I took progress pics this morning. Here's what happened (before and after):

    2lxef6a.png

    I also lost inches and about 6 lbs in this time frame. I am stronger.

    Yes, I do believe I will keep doing this :bigsmile:

    dat back :love: :drinker:

    You're stronger?...Weird..I would've never guessed by your freaking awesome muscles. :flowerforyou: :drinker:
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
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    I love the change in shoulders. I can't believe it was only five weeks:)
    dat back :love: :drinker:
    You're stronger?...Weird..I would've never guessed by your freaking awesome muscles. :flowerforyou: :drinker:

    Thank you, guys :flowerforyou: :bigsmile:
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    Great answers guys and girls!!!! Continuing on with Strong Lifts and about a 400cal a day deficit! Couple intense cardio a week and an easy walk or two. Strong Lifts doesn't seem to include tris/bis or ab exercises or pushups - so i will incorporate them as well. Sexy here I come!

    This is one of the reasons I prefer SS to SL, but for starters, you're dead wrong about abs. Any standing barbell compound is an awesome ab workout. It's just isometric so you don't feel the pain you're used to with eccentric/concentric ab work. You're getting tricep work with press and bench press; if you want more, take a narrower training grip. You're getting bicep work with rows and a wee bit with deads, but you could always throw chin-ups into the mix, too. That's all you'd need
  • rjorekit
    rjorekit Posts: 1 Member
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    Just weighing in here (no pun intended, I promise!)

    I've been lifting heavy for about 3 months and have been using a pretty steady 500 calorie daily deficit. I weigh myself every morning. My weight loss before I started lifting was a very steady 1 lb per week (the 3500 cal math was dead on.) Ever since I started lifting, that weight loss has leveled off a little, but it's more like half a pound lost per week. I take that to mean I'm losing a pound of fat and gaining a half pound of muscle, and it's very obvious when looking in the mirror that that's what's happening.

    A couple notes.... I use the recommended 0.7 grams of daily protein per pound of body weight (approx 120 grams of protein for me) and eat all the fat I want. I just keep carbs and sugar under control. Heavy weights, few reps/sets, 2 days off to rest. It's working great for me and would recommend anyone else try it who is looking to get leaner and and add muscle. :smile:

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