Lifting weights... losing weight?

ToniChansNewLook

Hey there everybody. Got a question... it may make me sound like a dummy, but I really want to know because I want to lose weight here so I have to know...

So I'm trying to go to the gym at least 4 times a week, 45 minutes each. Every visit it's either the treadmill, the elliptical, and the cycle machine. I haven't touched weights in a few years...

Is strength training part of weight loss? The reason I havent gone near them is because muscle apparently weighs more than fat, and I'm looking to see a drop in the scale. I've measured my hips and waist every week one year, but the number never seemed to go down.

Is it all about "looking" firmer? I focus areas would usually be my back, my abs (especially!), and my legs, sometimes my arms (they're real small :P)

I dunno... it's a bit confusing. Someone straighten it out for me please?

MattArcade

Lift weights as well as some cardio. Use the 5x5 stronglifts or lifts for girls I think it's called. You use lots of muscles at the same time toning your body and helping to drop the fat, it builds muscle so more muscle eats the fat.

I recommend lifting

ThriftyChica12

i am strength training for the first time in my life (body weight program, using the book "body by you"), and it has helped my loss INCREDIBLY. my body is literally changing shape before my very eyes, AND the scale is going down

jzammetti

If you begin a heavy lifting program, you may still lose weight while you improve muscle fitness - it depends on lots of factors, not the least of which is how overweight you are.

When I began lifting heavy I was already really close to my goal weight. I eat at a 12% deficit because I have some fat to be rid of still. I did not gain or lose at first...then after about 6 weeks of heavy lifting I dropped 4 pounds. The big deal though, is my measurements have changed a lot (4" off stomach in 2.5 months of 3x week lifting), which makes me look smaller and fitter.

EDIT: remember that weight loss is achieved in the kitchen, not the gym. it is the deficit that caused weight loss and while weight training may increase water retention while your muscles repair themselves, it is not true weight gain.

ninerbuff

If you're doing nothing but cardio, then it's a certainty that a good portion of the weight you're losing is lean muscle. And that's not a good thing because that will lower your metabolic rate. Also means that you'll be getting weaker because the less weight you carry, the less the muscle has to work.
Resistance train. It's good for you and your bones.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

meganfoster12

Yes muscle does weight more than fat; BUT muscle helps burn fat! I weight lifted right from the start and it has helped me to lose 38 pounds so far!

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Lifting weights preserves muscle while losing fat. Without it you can lose a lot of muscle mass along with fat, and chances are you won't be happy with the end result. A lot of people who do only cardio end up with strange fat pockets even when they hit their goal weight. What is more important the number on the scale or the image in the mirror?

I've been lifting regularly for 1.5 years. I weigh 160lbs. I look better now at 160 than I did 4 years ago at 145.

a_claire

MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT.

A pound of muscle is equal to a pound of fat. They're both a pound. However, muscle is denser than fat. This means that a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. If you look at someone who is 140 pounds and has 30% body fat compared to someone who is 140 pounds and 20%, you will see a huge difference.

There are many benefits to weight lifting. Other than the most obvious reason (you'll look better), you will burn more calories when you are resting. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. This means that not only will you burn more calories when you're working out, but your caloric burn will be higher when you're not working out as well.

I suggest you look into lifting heavy in order to gain muscle. Do NOT be worried about bulking up. Women do not possess the hormones that men do, and WILL NOT turn into female body builders over night. What will happen is you will see the results you are looking for.

Lastly, do not being completely reliant on the scale. While many times it gives a very helpful information, it should not be the only records you are taking. Take measurements of yourself and track those as well. Many times with weight lifting you will see the scale stay the same, but you will drop many inches. THAT is what is important. It doesn't matter what the scale says, it matters how your clothes fit. No one is going to look at you and think "Wow, she looks amazing, but I wonder what the scale says?!"

Best of luck!

jmzz1

i have been facing the similar problem.... i lift heavy for 6 days a week , each day a different muscles and have been doing this past 2 months but still no loss in weight or inches.. really require advice as to what is happening?

Note- my muscles get sore the next day . which indicates i have done a good amount of lifting but no result as such , not even an inch reduction

have been following a good diet too

HeidiMightyRawr

When you're in a deficit (which you will be, to lose weight) the muscle gain, if any, will be so minimal/next to nothing that it's not really going to make a difference to your weight loss.

The main reason for lifting while losing weight is to preserve muscle mass. You will also get stronger. Muscle gain only really happens when you're eating a minimum of maintenance, aside from very small newbie gains.

Lift weights to preserve muscle / gain strength, do your cardio for CV health, eat in a calorie deficit to shed fat.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

i have been facing the similar problem.... i lift heavy for 6 days a week , each day a different muscles and have been doing this past 2 months but still no loss in weight or inches.. really require advice as to what is happening?

Note- my muscles get sore the next day . which indicates i have done a good amount of lifting but no result as such , not even an inch reduction

have been following a good diet too

Unless you are a pretty advanced body builder, you don't need to be working out 6 days a week, and hitting muscle groups individually. I'd look into a 3-day a week full body compound program like StrongLifts 5x5 or New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. You could add in some cardio on your days off or just use them to recover.

Also, soreness isn't a good indication of anything. Don't use it to judge you workout quality.

I checked your diary quick. 1800 appears to be a good goal. Make sure you are weighing and measuring everything accurately.

ninerbuff

MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT.

Yes it does. When comparing weight of muscle and fat, you use the same VOLUME. By volume muscle weight more than fat.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

i have been facing the similar problem.... i lift heavy for 6 days a week , each day a different muscles and have been doing this past 2 months but still no loss in weight or inches.. really require advice as to what is happening?

Note- my muscles get sore the next day . which indicates i have done a good amount of lifting but no result as such , not even an inch reduction

have been following a good diet too

Then you're probably consuming more than you need. Cut back 100 calories a day and see what happens.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ValMartin79

MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT.

A pound of muscle is equal to a pound of fat. They're both a pound. However, muscle is denser than fat. This means that a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. If you look at someone who is 140 pounds and has 30% body fat compared to someone who is 140 pounds and 20%, you will see a huge difference.

There are many benefits to weight lifting. Other than the most obvious reason (you'll look better), you will burn more calories when you are resting. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. This means that not only will you burn more calories when you're working out, but your caloric burn will be higher when you're not working out as well.

I suggest you look into lifting heavy in order to gain muscle. Do NOT be worried about bulking up. Women do not possess the hormones that men do, and WILL NOT turn into female body builders over night. What will happen is you will see the results you are looking for.

Lastly, do not being completely reliant on the scale. While many times it gives a very helpful information, it should not be the only records you are taking. Take measurements of yourself and track those as well. Many times with weight lifting you will see the scale stay the same, but you will drop many inches. THAT is what is important. It doesn't matter what the scale says, it matters how your clothes fit. No one is going to look at you and think "Wow, she looks amazing, but I wonder what the scale says?!"

Best of luck!

This^ ^

corrinnebrown

I honestly enjoy strength more than cardio. I do 4 days a week strength and 2 cardio.

JennC831

I eat at a deficit, lift heavy and BARELY do any cardio... If I do any cardio it's maybe 10-20 mins every other day... I'll do HIIT, the stair climber or the elliptical... I used to kill myself with cardio and got burnt out! Never again!!! Once I hit my goal I will no longer eat at deficit, I'll transition into my maintenance calorie intake but continue to lift heavy b/c that's what I love!

a_claire

Like I said, the density is different. If you are taking the same volume of fat and muscle, obviously the mass of the muscle will be higher. However, that does not change the fact that a pound of fat does not weight less than a pound of muscle. They are both a pound.

ryry_

When you're in a deficit (which you will be, to lose weight) the muscle gain, if any, will be so minimal/next to nothing that it's not really going to make a difference to your weight loss.

The main reason for lifting while losing weight is to preserve muscle mass. You will also get stronger. Muscle gain only really happens when you're eating a minimum of maintenance, aside from very small newbie gains.

Lift weights to preserve muscle / gain strength, do your cardio for CV health, eat in a calorie deficit to shed fat.

This

NJL13500

i have been facing the similar problem.... i lift heavy for 6 days a week , each day a different muscles and have been doing this past 2 months but still no loss in weight or inches.. really require advice as to what is happening?

Note- my muscles get sore the next day . which indicates i have done a good amount of lifting but no result as such , not even an inch reduction

have been following a good diet too

This was happening to me. I followed a fairly clean diet and ate around 1800 calories per day. I gained about 6 pounds after 2 months of lifting and got very nervous. I kept at it and the weight has finally come back off, but I have gotten stronger. I can lift more now. I am back to my orignal weight.

My current goal is to lose body fat, but keep lean muscle. It may not show up on the scale for me though. I also had to add a bit of cardio back in ( 30 minutes on lifting days) to get the scale to move down again for me. I lift 3 days per week, but do 2 body parts per day. It just works better for my schedule that way.

billsica

Once you start lifting you won't care about the scale so much anymore. This is the best reason to lift heavy. Instead you can simply look at the bar and the weights and total up the only weight your going to care about.

mamasmaltz3

i have been facing the similar problem.... i lift heavy for 6 days a week , each day a different muscles and have been doing this past 2 months but still no loss in weight or inches.. really require advice as to what is happening?

Note- my muscles get sore the next day . which indicates i have done a good amount of lifting but no result as such , not even an inch reduction

have been following a good diet too

Then you're probably consuming more than you need. Cut back 100 calories a day and see what happens.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

If her diary is logged accurately she is not eating too much. I would lean towards upping cals for the amount of weight training she is doing. Maybe staying at maintenance for a while and then slowly cutting?

Mia_RagazzaTosta

I quit cardio (running), started full-body lifting 2-3 days a week, all while eating at a deficit and the weight is coming off more now than it ever has.

mamasmaltz3

For me, I incorporated weight training from the beginning in order to maintain as much lean muscle as possible. I didn't want to lose a bunch of weight, including a lot of muscle, and have to be constantly lowering my calories because of losing muscle which uses energy while at rest. I have actually raised my cals over the last year and have continued to lose. Granted, I am losing at a much slower rate than a lot of people on here, but I don't feel deprived, I don't have crazy cravings leading to binges. I also don't feel guilty about eating the food. I look at food as fuel for my body. I'm asking my body to do bigger and better things and I have to feed it.


Edited to add: I am 5'6" and I started at 255lbs, 46.5 inch waist. I currently weigh 186 lbs and have a 33 inch waist, which is 3 inches smaller than when I weighed 179lbs, and did all cardio. Those results make me not care what the scale has to say, lol.

Thorbjornn

I'm a hypocrite for saying this, because I get frustrated at the scale, but a tape measure, your clothes and the mirror are a far better gauge than the scale. We all want to see the scale move downwards, but if we're weight training and losing fat, the net loss is going to be less than if just losing weight (fat and muscle).

edge_dragoncaller

MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT.

Yes it does. When comparing weight of muscle and fat, you use the same VOLUME. By volume muscle weight more than fat.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

*sigh* it really annoys me when people do...exactly...what you just did. You quote the very first sentence and nothing else because that's probably all that you read of that post. For example, if you quoted that sentence, plus the paragraph after it, you would have seen that you both said the same thing...in a different way.

MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT.

A pound of muscle is equal to a pound of fat. They're both a pound. However, muscle is denser than fat. This means that a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. If you look at someone who is 140 pounds and has 30% body fat compared to someone who is 140 pounds and 20%, you will see a huge difference.

That said....

To the Original poster :

A Calorie deficit is what you need in order to lose the weight. Whether you create that deficit with excercise or reducing calorie intake, or both, it doesn't matter. Deficit is where it is at. You can do cardio for 2 hours a day, but if you eat it all back, then all that excercise just gets you back where you started. Just look at NFL linemen...they work out constantly and have great stamina, but most of them have pronounced gut. (they do this on purpose so that they are harder to move, but you get the idea...)

I prefer to do a mix of Cardio and Strength Training each week, 3 days of each. This way, with cardio I can build and maintain my stamina, and with Strength training I can maintain my muscle strength and hopefuly tone up some. This is because I want to avoid being "skinny-fat" which is when you lose weight...but you have all the extra loose skin that can trick you into thinking you're still fat. The scale can be a handy tool, but as others have said, dont' rely on it as your only measurment of success.

krhn

Lifting weights like most have said will definitely make you stronger - strength wise... As far as pound for pound, yes I think muscle is heavier than fat but in a good way ... If you want to see some abs for instance, hitting them in the gym will help you see them quicker - everyone has abs even if they haven't weight lifted before but it will be much smaller than those that do train for abs, this means you could potentially see your abs faster because you have less weight to lose before you see them!

RECowgill

I've lost almost 30 lbs in 6 months doing 95% weight lifting. I train like how a bodybuilder trains, even though I'm definitely not one. I go 3x a week.

I sometimes do a very small amount of cardio but not much. There was a period of months where I did none at all.

Lifting is better and more effective than cardio by miles. You improve your figure, lose weight and get stronger simultaneously. I'd recommend you ease in some weightlifting gradually to get comfortable with it, find out what you like. And over time reduce that cardio to a minimum.

redheaddee

"...because muscle apparently weighs more than fat..."

NO IT DOES NOT.

Sorry, but this makes me freaking crazy. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat BOTH WEIGH A POUND.

However, the pound of muscle takes up less space than the pound of fat.

So yes, lift weights, because muscle burns more calories over the long term than fat.

ETA read New Rules of Lifting for Women.

jonnyman41

many years ago the BBC (uk) did an experiment following people for a number of weeks using a variety of weight loss methods to see what worked best including akins, calorie controlled and exercise including weights. I can remember being really impressed by the looks of one participant highlighted as , though she failed to mend her eating habits and lost very little weight, actually totally refined the look of her body by weights losings inches in the tens from just her waist (as well as rest of body) clearly body shape vastly improved without scale loss

mrdexter1

I often find my heartbeat up around 120 and above while weight lifting as i take minimum rest between sets and pyramid up and down to and from maximum weight - even breath rapidly....

I would argue in this state despite using weights i am in the same physical state as when doing cardio but with the benefit of building strength and mass rapidly or holding muscle whilst i diet and strip fat off.

Beeps2011

Lifting heavy weights has turned me from "skinny-fat" into "skinny-strong". BIG difference in my "shape"....I highly recommend making sure that resistance-training is part of your exercise regimen!