Strength Training to lose weight? No help yet

DanceForever904
DanceForever904 Posts: 611 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
ive been strength training 3x (monday wednesday friday) a week for almost 2 weeks and ive gained 2 pounds...im not complaining since my muscles are holding water but my question is when will i start to see my weight go down? i cant wait to check my inches too! oh! and im doing cardio 5x (monday through friday) a week with weekend off...i tried posting this else where but ive waited over 40 mins with no response

Replies

  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    When I started, I dropped beer and soda cold turkey, and I lost 10 lbs in 2 weeks, but I was about 250lbs, and 5 11 tall (I'm also a man). I didn't see many more pounds lost after that (even though I was exercising semi-regularly) until i started logging what I ate. i was shocked to see how many calories I was actually eating, so that motivated me to eat better and exercise regularly.
    Bottom line, I think you should begin to see weight loss within two weeks- even if you keep your diet the same.

    I think lifting weights to help with fat loss is over-rated. The cardio is what is going to burn off the fat. Unless you are a big bodybuilder, i don't think the extra muscle burns enough extra calories to help much.
  • LordBear
    LordBear Posts: 239 Member
    to lose weight..u can do strength training how ever u were going to gain weight with it so u need to do cardio otherwise your going to bulk up and yes the muscle u have the more cals burn..but if u are more in to weightloss u need to take some martial arts, running , walking, swimming etc.

    edit..
    went back a few days on ur logs..and i see no strength training... and i see tons of cardio.. if that is the case u should do a bit of actual strength training such as weights.. to burn a bit more..and as far as cardio..not sure when u started..but after i got a shot finally and started walking again about a month ago i put on a few lbs..due to my body not being use to it..so ur body is going to suck in fluids and such to do what it needs to do.. other than that if ur not loseing then u arnt logging everything correctly or not at all.
  • _JR_
    _JR_ Posts: 830 Member
    How's your diet?
    You gain weight with a calorie surplus (the only way you'll "bulk up").
    You lose weight with a calorie deficit.

    Check your diet and don't be afraid to add a little cardio.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    Oh... my... god.

    Please don't listen to the other posters in this thread (excluding JR who just got his post in before mine :laugh: ). What a load of bullhonkey!

    Firstly, you are NOT going to bulk up by lifting weights, firstly (and fundamentally) you must be eating at a caloric surplus to build new muscle, secondly as a woman you would have to train extremely hard to 'bulk up', your body simply does not produce enough testosterone to build up like a male body would.

    There is nothing wrong with cardio, but lifting weights or doing some form of resistance exercise is vital in maintaining what muscle (also referred to as lean mass) you do have. When you eat less than you burn, your body will use muscle for energy as well as fat, so the best way to preserve the muscle is to show the body it is vital to keep it (ie by using it).

    Doing a combination of cardio and weight training is a great idea, for all-round health and fitness as well as fat loss.

    OK, now that crap has been addressed, on to your actual question :wink: . The change in weight should happen after 1-2 weeks. You will likely see a change on Monday morning too (if you haven't worked out since Friday and didnt load up on salt over the weekend).

    You are well and truly on the right track here, and don't let the ill-informed masses convince you otherwise!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    to lose weight..u can do strength training how ever u were going to gain weight with it so u need to do cardio otherwise your going to bulk up and yes the muscle u have the more cals burn..but if u are more in to weightloss u need to take some martial arts, running , walking, swimming etc.

    ummm no.

    i'm actually one of those women who can easily "bulk up" but even when i did it on purpose i had to work HARD for that bulk. hard meaning eating like a sumo wrestler 4 times a day.lifting heavy weights and running with my fat *kitten* rugby coach on my back for 100 yards 3 times a weeks and all of that took me about 12 months to "bulk up" from a too thin 125 pounds to a solid 145 pounds . so trust me, the OP is not going to bulk up just because she lifts and skips the elliptical :drinker:

    anyway, OP what you will notice with weight lifting and weight loss (assuming you're eating below your maintenance calories) is that you will see your results mainly in your measurements more so than on the scale. this means that you're losing fat . eventually the scale will catch up but it's hard to see on a week by week basis since your muscles are going to retain water and glucose


    and umm.. c'mon now you can't wait 40 minutes for a response! people got jobs, lives, dinner to fix and eat, yo :laugh:
  • Marc713
    Marc713 Posts: 328 Member
    I'll elaborate on what Rayman79 said.

    A combination is probably the most efficient use of your time. I've been working out with a heart rate monitor now and back when I used to have some personal trainers as friends, I now really understand why they always wanted me to do a cardio warm up before lifting and to NOT take really long breaks between sets. First, if money is not an issue, I recommend getting a decent heart rate monitor that can estimate calories burned. From my experience, when I do a good warm up, 5-10 minutes depending on intensity, to get my heart rate up into my target range, I burn way more calories according to my monitor while lifting. When I lift, I generally only take 30-60 seconds between sets. If I feel I need longer, I will do some jumping jacks or squat thrusts or something to keep my heart rate up. I maintain this the entire duration of my resistance training session and usually end by doing 30 minutes of intervals on the treadmill; running 1/8 mile & walking 1/8 mile.

    I'm not a trainer, but I'm pretty confident what I'm saying is pretty accurate, others feel free to correct me if I'm not.
  • LordBear
    LordBear Posts: 239 Member
    lol...lets all be doctors now..
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    lol...lets all be doctors now..

    Don't start that crap mate, you're the one spreading misinformation.
  • kdward83
    kdward83 Posts: 32
    Are you following a weight lifting program or just lifting on your own?

    I'm no expert, but I started new rules of lifting about a month and a half ago (it's a 6 or so month program) and I am very happy with my results so far. It gives you a detailed lifting plan and explains a lot of stuff (accurately I hope lol). I'm pushing myself a lot harder with this book than if I were lifting on my own.

    I only lift 30-45minutes per day 2-3 times per week, I've cut down on my cardio some (lifting exhausts me and it's cooler out) and have been netting higher calories, but I've lost 2 pounds and an inch off my waist.

    These results are great to me because I hadn't lost any pounds or inches in the 2 months prior to starting this.

    I guess my real advice is lift as heavy as you can and give it time!! Good luck!!
    Edited to say-by give it time, I mean several months
  • LordBear
    LordBear Posts: 239 Member
    mate? really.. sorry i said no misinformation... maybe worded wrong but no misinformation and yes i think it is funny how everyone knows everything and downs anything some one else has to say if it is not how they would do it or whatever else..
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    Yes I said mate, I'm Australian so we tend to call everyone mate :laugh: .

    Worded wrongly, and worded poorly. I'm not going to be the grammar nazi here, but that was atrocious. You are definitely entitled to your own opinion, and I am very glad you found something that has worked for you so far, but your n=1 experience does not equal fact.

    There are numerous examples of people losing weight with little to no cardio training as part of their regular exercise regime, including many people on this very site. There is also a substantial body of work on whether cardiovascular exercise is necessary for fat loss. Would you like to hazard a guess as to the overwhelming consensus of these studies?

    It remains to this day that the only one single agreed and proven method of weight loss is an energy deficit. That is not up for debate. How you choose to create this deficit is of minor consequence, cardio training has obvious health benefits, and strength training helps to preserve lean mass which means the focus shifts more from WEIGHT loss to FAT loss.

    Any of that you care to argue with?
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    I think lifting weights to help with fat loss is over-rated. The cardio is what is going to burn off the fat. Unless you are a big bodybuilder, i don't think the extra muscle burns enough extra calories to help much.
    Please site your sources to back up your claims. You're obviously a newbie who know nothing about strength training & muscles. Sorry but based on my experience, while I lost weight doing cardio but I only become lean when I started lifting heavy. One more good thing is I can eat more now without gaining inches. Why? The muscles itself need additional calories just to maintain itself so there goes your ignorant statement. And that is already backed by numerous studies & experiences by actual people. Oh & by the way I'm a regular female & not some kind of big bodybuilder you're talking about. In case you're wondering, I didn't get bulky at all from weight lifting.

    I know we all have a right to express our opinions but there is also a fine line between expressing your opinions & keeping it to yourself especially if it sounds too misleading as that one. SOOOO FALSE
  • NanoBear
    NanoBear Posts: 67
    Thank you Rayman. Great to read some common sense for a change mate

    I'm a good example of little or no cardio. I'm 187cm / 6'2". I started at 145kg (319lbs), and dropped to 120kg (264lbs) on free weights training only.

    I now have taekwondo training twice a week, although I don't consider it to be cardio as it doesn't get me sweating or puffing very often. I've just taken my weights training up a notch at the gym and the weight has started pouring off again. I'm currently at 110kg (242lbs). All due to diet changes and weights training.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    mate? really.. sorry i said no misinformation... maybe worded wrong but no misinformation and yes i think it is funny how everyone knows everything and downs anything some one else has to say if it is not how they would do it or whatever else..

    I'm not sure if saying "bulk up" was worded wrong, but considering she's most likely trying to lose weight and therefore most likely eating at deficit, she's not going to "bulk up". There's a big difference between maintaining and strengthening the muscle you already have and bulking up. Women do not bulk up without a lot of hard work.

    Weight is lost in the kitchen, not in the gym. Not with cardio, not with weightlifting...it's all with what you eat, and creating a caloric deficit. The cardio and weightlifting help with that deficit, but you can drop weight by diet alone, it's been done time and time again.

    The advantage to weight lifting over cardio is the way the body is redefined, at least in my opinion. Lifting heavy will make you look a lot more healthy than just cardio and diet alone. For me, as a man, I can drop the weight just fine without lifting, but I want to build and sculpt my body to look fit and not just be "skinny" or weigh less.
  • baptiste565
    baptiste565 Posts: 590 Member
    Yes I said mate, I'm Australian so we tend to call everyone mate :laugh: .

    Worded wrongly, and worded poorly. I'm not going to be the grammar nazi here, but that was atrocious. You are definitely entitled to your own opinion, and I am very glad you found something that has worked for you so far, but your n=1 experience does not equal fact.

    There are numerous examples of people losing weight with little to no cardio training as part of their regular exercise regime, including many people on this very site. There is also a substantial body of work on whether cardiovascular exercise is necessary for fat loss. Would you like to hazard a guess as to the overwhelming consensus of these studies?

    It remains to this day that the only one single agreed and proven method of weight loss is an energy deficit. That is not up for debate. How you choose to create this deficit is of minor consequence, cardio training has obvious health benefits, and strength training helps to preserve lean mass which means the focus shifts more from WEIGHT loss to FAT loss.

    Any of that you care to argue with?
    MFP friends, he may not win mr congeniality awards but he is dead on.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    mate? really.. sorry i said no misinformation... maybe worded wrong but no misinformation and yes i think it is funny how everyone knows everything and downs anything some one else has to say if it is not how they would do it or whatever else..

    Say what you want but your information is flawed. You gave the OP bad advice based on the limited knowledge you appear to have on women's weight loss.

    To the OP: It's great that you are lifting. What I would say is follow a good tried and tested programme (New Rules, Strong Lifts just for examples) and drop the 5 day a week cardio habit. If you are working hard enough during your lifting days and eating at a deficit you will not need the extra cardio, if anything it will probably stop you from loosing scale weight. I know it sounds weird to cut back on cardio to loose weight but it worked in my case when I started my lifting programme, and I believe it's been the same for other ladies. I do a 10 min warm up on cross trainer, lift, followed by a 12 min session of HIIT on any machine 3 times a week. No other cardio except dog walking every day. I've lost about 5 lbs since starting my programme just over a month ago. My diet is clean mostly. If you keep within a deficit, eat clean, lift regularly you should start to see some improvements. Good luck with it x
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    MFP friends, he may not win mr congeniality awards but he is dead on.

    haha thanks for that baptiste. I'm normally much more sensitive in my posts. :laugh:

    I also notice there has been no rebuttal as yet...
  • lynz4589
    lynz4589 Posts: 389 Member
    I have a PT who I see once a week and sets up programmes for me weekly as my health and fitness progresses. All sessions (PT and programme based) involve strength and cardio. I have really built a love for strength training now. I do about 30 mins cardio and 30 mins weightlifting 3-4 days a week. Ive only been doing this 4 weeks so dont claim to know anything but based on my results it has worked for me. At 3.5 weeks I had measurements taken and although I only lost 4lb (well a loss is still a loss) and lost 4.1 inches around the waist and couldnt be happier which is why Ive continued down the same sort of programme :)

    Also to answer your question, I didnt see any results on the scales until the 3.5 week weigh in, and even then was disappointed with only 4lb off, which is little over 1lb a week but when I did measurements and showed a 4.1 inch loss that where it made a big difference, so allow yourself the first 4 weeks before you get disheartend, trust me Ive been there!

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