5x5 Stronglifts for women?

cmeyers54

Has anybody done this before?? Is it normal to gain weight when first starting? Does anybody have a success story after doing it? I have a lot of weight to lose and I have read so many good things about lifting for women that I thought I would try it. I have been doing it for 2 weeks and I have gained weight. I cannot afford to gain weight!!

bokodasu

Relax! Lots of women here have done it, I'm sure they'll be along to tell you how awesome it is. (Because it is.) Anyway, everybody gains weight when they start lifting weights. Put your scale away for at least a month. It's water and muscle-repairing stuff, not fat. You'll probably get a woosh at some point - like one night you'll have a cheat meal with pizza and beer, and the next day you'll suddenly be five pounds lighter. It seems weird, but it's totally normal.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women


It's normal to gain a few pounds when starting a new program due to water and glycogen retention. Your weight loss over the course of the program will be determined by your calorie intake and over expenditure. I did it for 12 weeks while eating around maintenance. There was not much physical changes but I got stronger, which is of course what the program is for.

jacksonpt

How much have you gained?

pattyproulx

Not a woman, but totally normal when you start lifting.

One thing I've found important is to watch my food intake a little more closely if I'm lifting. I find that I get hungrier since my body is trying to build some muscle and if I'm not prepared by having healthy food handy, I will often eat crap which prevent improvements.

Also, weight is a little trickier when you're lifting.. I'd recommend taking some body measurements as well since you're likely to lose a lot in inches, even if the scale takes a little longer to drop.

Put the scale away for a bit, make sure you eat enough (but not too much), and make healthy food choices and you'll be well on your way.

DaniH826

We have a group for that! You're welcome to join us. There's quite a few of us who have dropped pounds doing SL5x5, and we all understand the struggle with the slow/unpredictable weight loss patterns that happen, but we wouldn't give up lifting for anything, cuz it's awesome!

You haven't gained fat. It's just glycogen and water. Don't quit! I know how frustrating it is, but you're doing amazing things for your body that will pay off; not just in weight loss, but in strength gains and confidence gains and fitness gains as you discover what you're really capable of.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

timbrom

I'm not a woman, but I'm finishing the fourth week of Stronglifts. I had been losing weight prior to starting Stronglifts, weight loss stalled for the first couple of weeks while I got used to it, and now I've dropped about 5 lbs in a week. It's water retention while your muscles re-build, absolutely nothing more.

Isakizza

Just started.

It's only my first week doing this. I don't expect much of a weight gain as I am still keeping to my TDEE -20% but at the same time I'm not really going to focus too much on the scale for a while. It tends to fool me in my progress.

I'm 198 lbs and still have a lot of fat to lose. Hoping with lifting, cardio and eating correctly will move me right along. Fingers crossed, lol.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

averytds

I was losing before starting out. Had 3ish weeks of maintaining or up to 8lbs more after starting. Lost several inches over the month though...7+. Now suddenly dropping again, though I did adjust my macros to 40/30/30 last week which upped my protein & I upped my calories as well.