HELP! Your opinion about WEIGHTS..Yes ...No or Maybe?

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Hello mfp pals.
I will try an make this brief. Started at 210 lbs. and my goal is 150 lbs. My weight loss has slowed tremendously. I have done lots of cardio. I just started Supreme 90 Day a week ago. Finally incorporated a strength training (dumbells only)..

My question is do I start lifting heavier now or closer to my goal? Should I ignore the scale and go for it or get to my goal weight first?
''I DUH KNOW ? ( scratching my head about this )

Weights and lifting...
I welcome your pictures, experience and OPINIONS or perhaps anything else concerning lifting that may be helpful.
I would like to thank everyone in advance for your help.

P.S. Where do I start?
Signed Clueless.
«13

Replies

  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
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    I have a video by Jackie Warner called power circuit training. You use dumbells at the highest weight you can and keep good form. It is high reps with no rest. Definitely gets my heart rate up at the same time I am strength training. I know that I am wearing a smaller size than the last time I weighed this much. I like knowing that when I build muscle I am increasing my calorie burn even while at rest. I also love how strong I feel. You definitely can't go by the scale as much because you can gain weight at first by adding muscle and by your muscle holding water to help repair it. But you will definitely notice it in how you feel and how your clothes fit. I started at 3 lb weights then 5 lbs and now I am at 8 lbs. I know it is not a lot but I still get motivated by having tangible improvements. I also started extremely overweight and out of shape. I am still extremely overweight but I feel 100x better and I am trying. Someday I will be rocking the heavy weights and they won't be on backside, lol.
  • Febgirl
    Febgirl Posts: 68 Member
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    Start lifting heavy now. I started New Rules of Lifting for Women earlier this year weighing around 180ish and it has reshaped my body, and I'm only halfway through the programme and still have weight to lose. There's only around 15 pounds difference between these two photos but as you can see lots of inches!

    FebJuly.jpg
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
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    Start lifting heavy now. I started New Rules of Lifting for Women earlier this year weighing around 180ish and it has reshaped my body, and I'm only halfway through the programme and still have weight to lose. There's only around 15 pounds difference between these two photos but as you can see lots of inches!

    FebJuly.jpg



    Wow! You look great. I keep hearing about NRLW. That may need to be my next fitness investment.
  • 2BeHealthy4Life
    Options
    I have a video by Jackie Warner called power circuit training. You use dumbells at the highest weight you can and keep good form. It is high reps with no rest. Definitely gets my heart rate up at the same time I am strength training. I know that I am wearing a smaller size than the last time I weighed this much. I like knowing that when I build muscle I am increasing my calorie burn even while at rest. I also love how strong I feel. You definitely can't go by the scale as much because you can gain weight at first by adding muscle and by your muscle holding water to help repair it. But you will definitely notice it in how you feel and how your clothes fit. I started at 3 lb weights then 5 lbs and now I am at 8 lbs. I know it is not a lot but I still get motivated by having tangible improvements. I also started extremely overweight and out of shape. I am still extremely overweight but I feel 100x better and I am trying. Someday I will be rocking the heavy weights and they won't be on backside, lol.
    Thanks....I will look for the Jackie Warner video...I just got to the 10 lb dumbells...
  • kitinboots
    kitinboots Posts: 589 Member
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    The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even at rest. It'll definitely help you in your journey.
  • 2BeHealthy4Life
    Options
    Start lifting heavy now. I started New Rules of Lifting for Women earlier this year weighing around 180ish and it has reshaped my body, and I'm only halfway through the programme and still have weight to lose. There's only around 15 pounds difference between these two photos but as you can see lots of inches!

    FebJuly.jpg
    Oh my goodness !! That's an amazing difference. Thanks ...
  • 2BeHealthy4Life
    Options
    The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even at rest. It'll definitely help you in your journey.
    So its basically a win win situation ....Thanks...
  • wildvintagechic
    wildvintagechic Posts: 15 Member
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    I love the power I feel when I lift weights, and also just the ease of doing everyday activities. Lifting any weights gives you great muscle definition and definitely shapes you.
  • terrabit
    terrabit Posts: 33 Member
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    Sorry this is a bit wordy, but this topic interests me because I faced this same question.

    I know most people are going to say to start lifting as much as you can now, which is probably the correct approach.

    In my case however, this didnt seem to work as planned. I had quite a lot of weight to lose (110lbs), and right now I am at -80lbs, so my goal is in sight. When I first started I was doing about 3 days per week free weights with the rest of the days treadmilling (and a rest day). I was finding that my weightlifting was getting tougher and tougher as time went on. I wasnt getting stronger, I was getting weaker! I had started at 5 sets and eventually was down to only 3 with no increase in weight.

    I had been running at a 1000 calorie deficit, and I attribute my difficultly to that... I simply wasnt getting enough energy in to handle the weight lifting. I decided to focus on cardio and endurance, and since then, my body seems to be much happier and weight loss is continuing while my cardio capability has increased tremendously. I now alternate running and cycling and am very happy with my progress in both.

    The plan is to get rid of bodyfat... I know at the end I will look very skinny (not fit), then at that point I will increase my calorie/protien intake by quite a lot, and hit the weights. I feel I will have the energy to handle it at that point....

    Hopefully this method will work better than just hitting the weights right off the bat. I stress that this is what *I* found... not necessarily what will work for you. As I said at the beginning, if you can balance strength training/cardio and your calorie goals, go for it! I just had a hard time doing that.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,610 Member
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    Fact not opinion. Resistance training of any type enhances your overall body.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    Start now and you will retain more muscle mass as you lose, which will help you burn more at rest, and look firmer once you're at your goal weight. As you said, it's a win-win :D

    The difference in how I look and feel since I've been lifting is huge, and I do really enjoy it as well!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    You can still lose weight while lifting weights. In fact you'll lose more fat (this is what we want, right) and less muscle.

    Do you have access to a gym? I'd suggest a good heavy lifting program like Stronglifts5x5, Starting Strength, or New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women.

    The last 2 panels were achieved with heavy weight lifting:

    FrontProgress-1.jpg
  • amybg1
    amybg1 Posts: 631 Member
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    Start ow - start 'light' (whatever you can lift comfortably with some effort for sets of 8-12 reps) and go heaver from there gradually, as your gains allow but obviously try to go up to something which has some difficulty to it so that you will get gains in terms of muscle mass anyway and ignore the scale!

    Once you start gaining muscle you'll be heavier, but you'll see some physical changes in terms of fat loss and the numbers will go down gradually as more fat loss occurs. And no, you won't get bulky muscles if you lift heavy.

    Not only will you look good with muscle on you, it will speed up your metabolism so you'll burn more even when at rest
  • Afterblue
    Afterblue Posts: 78 Member
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    If you are female, then there is no "no or maybe" in my book. Weights are absolutely critical, IMO.

    Others have already pointed out that it elevates your resting metabolism, but there are a few other benefits.

    It improves your ability to do higher impact cardio. With a carefully planned weight training routine, I went from doing low impact to high impact cardio without any pain/injury.

    It will also help bone density and as someone with a high propensity for osteoporosis, this was critical for me.

    It creates definition that cardio does not for me. A few ladies above posted their amazing before and after pictures and I consider that proof.

    But, important caveat is do it right.

    The Big Book of Exercise (woman's health) if you are working out at home or Lift like a Man, Look like a Goddess (if interested in gym) are good starting books and you can get them pretty cheap used if you shop around.
  • 2BeHealthy4Life
    Options
    I love the power I feel when I lift weights, and also just the ease of doing everyday activities. Lifting any weights gives you great muscle definition and definitely shapes you.
    [/quote
    Thanks ... Its amazing how it reshapes your body!
  • 2BeHealthy4Life
    Options
    Sorry this is a bit wordy, but this topic interests me because I faced this same question.

    I know most people are going to say to start lifting as much as you can now, which is probably the correct approach.

    In my case however, this didnt seem to work as planned. I had quite a lot of weight to lose (110lbs), and right now I am at -80lbs, so my goal is in sight. When I first started I was doing about 3 days per week free weights with the rest of the days treadmilling (and a rest day). I was finding that my weightlifting was getting tougher and tougher as time went on. I wasnt getting stronger, I was getting weaker! I had started at 5 sets and eventually was down to only 3 with no increase in weight.

    I had been running at a 1000 calorie deficit, and I attribute my difficultly to that... I simply wasnt getting enough energy in to handle the weight lifting. I decided to focus on cardio and endurance, and since then, my body seems to be much happier and weight loss is continuing while my cardio capability has increased tremendously. I now alternate running and cycling and am very happy with my progress in both.

    The plan is to get rid of bodyfat... I know at the end I will look very skinny (not fit), then at that point I will increase my calorie/protien intake by quite a lot, and hit the weights. I feel I will have the energy to handle it at that point....

    Hopefully this method will work better than just hitting the weights right off the bat. I stress that this is what *I* found... not necessarily what will work for you. As I said at the beginning, if you can balance strength training/cardio and your calorie goals, go for it! I just had a hard time doing that.
    I appreciate you sharing your experience. That's what this is all about. Yes properly fueling your body is very important. I eat 2000 calories per day and burn 300 to 500 netting 1700 to 1500 which works great for me. I have lots of energy so far. Im very excited to see where lifting heavier will take me. I have 19 more lbs to lose but the number isn't as big of a deal as I use to think now that I have seen photos of toner leaner and more defined pals that lift heavy. Thanks Cathy,
  • shell1205
    shell1205 Posts: 138
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    I started ChaLEAN Extreme a few weeks ago, and it's a combination of strength training, cardio, and endurance. Chalene tells you to lift as heavy as you can with good form, and her idea is to fail at 10-12 reps, meaning that you could not lift the weight with good form one more time. So I'd say lift as heavy as you can while still maintaining good form. Good luck!!
  • 2BeHealthy4Life
    Options
    Fact not opinion. Resistance training of any type enhances your overall body.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    Thanks for stating the facts.....
  • Cmonnowguys
    Cmonnowguys Posts: 361 Member
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    Love lifting! Only thing that really changes my body composition rather than just my size. I got these results lifting heavy (Stronglifts 5x5) three times a week.

    2lsw38l.jpg
  • 2BeHealthy4Life
    Options
    Start now and you will retain more muscle mass as you lose, which will help you burn more at rest, and look firmer once you're at your goal weight. As you said, it's a win-win :D

    The difference in how I look and feel since I've been lifting is huge, and I do really enjoy it as well!
    I will start now !! Thanks for the encouraging words.