weight lifting to lose weight?

Dagreth
Dagreth Posts: 11 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I have been dieting for three years, I lost 150 lbs the first year I started. I have to admit I didn't go about it smartly, and have since tried to eat more healthy. The good news is I have maintained my loss, the bad news is I can not seem to get past 260 which shouldn't be hard. I have tried many things and have read many things, and have concluded I needed to add exercise and eat more. Anyway, when reading about weight loss, one thing I always read, is a dieter should increase their muscle mass, because, it speeds up their metabolism. Sounds great, but I also read that muscle gain and fat loss contradict each other, you need to increase calories to gain muscle, and have a calorie deficit to lose fat. So does strength training play a role in weight loss, or do you weight train to keep from losing muscle loss. It seems to me you would have to lose your fat first, then build muscle, but it would be nice to get the boost in metabolism muscles give you. Anyway what do they mean by building muscle to help with fat loss. Thanks. :smile:

Replies

  • rjkoch64
    rjkoch64 Posts: 12 Member
    Lean muscle is the key to burning fat. You should concentrate more on your fat loss than on your weight loss. As you build muscle the fat we melt off and the weight will take care of itself. Imagine if you weigh the same but reduced your waist size by 3 or 4 inches I am sure you would be thrilled. Go out and lift at least three times a week it will be hard in the beginning but like running it becomes a way of life.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    you'll lose a lot of fat but the scale will show losses in such a way where you dont see changes for a few weeks and then 5 weeks later you lose 10 pounds :laugh:

    weight training (crossfit and strong lifts) are my main workouts and i notice changes in my body almost weekly. so definitely don;t be afraid to start weight lifting and keep increasing the weights until you stall
  • christian_finn
    christian_finn Posts: 12
    Strength training does play a role in weight loss, although you don't get much of a metabolic boost from muscle tissue itself. To burn an extra 10,000 calories a month (enough to lose almost 3 pounds of fat) you’d need to gain more than 50 pounds of muscle. That’s much more than the average person is going to build over the course of their training lifetime.

    If you want to lose fat, you need a calorie deficit. Any form of exercise, strength training included, is going to make some kind of contribution to that deficit. Strength training is one of the best ways to change your body composition, and should be done from day one of a fat loss program.

    Taken from:
    http://muscleevo.net/lose-fat-or-build-muscle-first/

    Christian

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