Lifting weights while obese

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13

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  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    I love how I barely post but when I try to help someone and give my advice I get chased down like criminal.
    Thumbs down to you negative people. Obviously you have some issues you need to resolve. I am tired of posting and getting beaten up. I was simply saying everyone is different, i was fat and worked out for years what don't you understand about that.

    whatever.

    Dramatic much?
  • sarahisme18
    sarahisme18 Posts: 574 Member
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    I really wish I had started lifting when I weighed more. I waited until now, and I feel like jellyfish-arms. :sad:
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,375 Member
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    i hears this as well. just as recently as 2 months ago when one of the trainers i worked out with when i first joined my gym remarked how much weight i had lost and how good i was looking.

    he first saw me during my warm up on the treadmill. then later when he saw me in the weight room deadlifting close to my bodyweight. he told me to not lift like that unless i wanted to get bigger . i was like yeah this has been my main workout for almost a year and you're right i have become bigger. i had to increase my pants size from a 22 to a 12. it took him awhile to get it.

    i recently saw him last week with a client and he was showing her how to use the squat rack and when she was like noo i want to lose he pointed me out as an example of someone who has significantly slimmed down thanks to weights (and a calorie deficit)

    I totally LOL'd! That's awesome!
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Strength training is great exercise and can be an important part of a fitness routine. It will not make you large, actually it will have the opposit effect on a woman. Good luck!
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
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    Lift heavy and do your cardio. I've plowed through my weight so far.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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  • AnnaVee84
    AnnaVee84 Posts: 345 Member
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    i hears this as well. just as recently as 2 months ago when one of the trainers i worked out with when i first joined my gym remarked how much weight i had lost and how good i was looking.

    he first saw me during my warm up on the treadmill. then later when he saw me in the weight room deadlifting close to my bodyweight. he told me to not lift like that unless i wanted to get bigger . i was like yeah this has been my main workout for almost a year and you're right i have become bigger. i had to increase my pants size from a 22 to a 12. it took him awhile to get it.

    i recently saw him last week with a client and he was showing her how to use the squat rack and when she was like noo i want to lose he pointed me out as an example of someone who has significantly slimmed down thanks to weights (and a calorie deficit)

    ^^ This. I'm lifting heavy now, wish I would have started sooner but I got caught up in using those machines and doing high reps. HA! I know better now, thanks to these forums...The women who lift heavy, look :love: !!

    OP - why not do both? Cardio a few times a week to help you keep your deficit and for heart health, and then weights a few times a week? I haven't gotten any "bigger" and am still eating at a slight cal deficit to lose weight - good luck!
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
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    I have heard a lot of stories reagarding lifting weights. people have been saying one needs to lose 1st before trying to lift. Im losing and i want to build muscle as well. So i want to start lifting weights and i want to know. is it true i will remain this big? im around 190 lbs and a lady 5.4 tall

    I have read the opposite. If you are interested in lifting, there is no specific/best time to start.... that is, other than right now. :) You can build muscle and lose fat. Likely what will happen if you begin lifting is you will maintain muscle (or lose just a very small amount) and lose fat. Losing fat is a great goal, will make you look fantastic and really increase the quality of your health. :D
  • Feed_the_Bears
    Feed_the_Bears Posts: 275 Member
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    190? You're not morbidly obese or anything, so don't hold yourself back! Just make sure you educate yourself first and take baby steps. Pick up some magazines like Oxygen or Fitness Px for women to teach you about form and give you some workouts. Or go to Oxygen's website for free workouts. Take baby steps, but challenge yourself. Put down those 3 lbers they're not doing anybody any good. You're not going to "bulk" up as an amateur. I do 70 lb shoulder presses and do I look bulky? Best thing I ever did was pick up some weights.

    Good luck. This is within your reach!
  • xMonroeMisfit
    xMonroeMisfit Posts: 411 Member
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    "Myth 17 /// If you want to lose weight, do cardio until you drop the weight you want. Start lifting only after you've lost the weight.

    TRUTH: If you do that, you'll shed unnecessary muscle mass. More muscle helps your metabolism stay high. It's true that weight training doesn't burn a ton of calories, but the more lean mass you carry, the higher your all-day energy expenditure will be. Muscles require fuel all the time. If you kill yourself doing cardio, your body will get rid of muscle mass and it will be hard to lose fat at all. "
  • belladonna786
    belladonna786 Posts: 1,165 Member
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    I still have a very long way to go but heavy lifting is changing my body in great ways. It may be slow going but I love the results thus far.

    sofar2.jpg
  • nerchk
    nerchk Posts: 136 Member
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    I really wish I had started lifting when I weighed more. I waited until now, and I feel like jellyfish-arms. :sad:

    You just convinced me to
  • mandypooh2103
    mandypooh2103 Posts: 289 Member
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    Bump
  • Guamybear
    Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
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    I am the same height as you and weigh more and lift weights..I can see a major difference with my weight loss..
  • JuniperT
    JuniperT Posts: 394 Member
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    Before, 125kg/275lbs

    8147291188_94f2d61730.jpg

    A couple of weeks ago, 100kg/220lbs

    8247223566_27bebdb04a.jpg

    I lift heavy. Squats. Deadlifts. OHP. Bench. Row.



    You look great!
  • ishtar13
    ishtar13 Posts: 528 Member
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    I'm 5'3" and started at 196ish.

    Started lifting heavy almost from the beginning.

    I've lost about 25ish pounds depending on the day and water weight and such.

    the biggest thing though is that I lost more than two inches off of my waist.

    I stopped lifting for a few weeks, and have been sporadic for the last month. I've maintained my weight loss, but my waist has started growing again.

    got back into the gym consistently for the last week and a half, waist is shrinking again.

    I still have 25 - 30 lbs to go to be in a healthy range, but I'm not really concerned about the scale. I'm going for a healthy waist size.
  • azrysn
    azrysn Posts: 2
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    bump.
  • tonyamariepierce
    tonyamariepierce Posts: 42 Member
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    i am under 5 foot 4 and i started lifting at 240 pounds . i am now around 140 pounds and wear a size 4. i am solid as a rock and i have worked very hard at it. i started out by doing 4 minutes of cardio and then 4 minutes of lifting. i would do this for 40 minutes 6 days a week and it took me about 2 years to lose the weight but i have kept it off for 2 years now.
  • carrietehbear
    carrietehbear Posts: 384 Member
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    I love how I barely post but when I try to help someone and give my advice I get chased down like criminal.
    Thumbs down to you negative people. Obviously you have some issues you need to resolve. I am tired of posting and getting beaten up. I was simply saying everyone is different, i was fat and worked out for years what don't you understand about that.

    whatever.

    No, in this regard everyone isn't different. Weight loss boils down to calories in vs calories out. If you didn't lose weight while lifting it's because you weren't eating at a deficit.

    To the original poster, I recommend adding weight training now. I did only a little bit in the beginning, like dvds, and I wish I would have done more. I am now working with a trainer and he is slowly but surely getting me out of my cardio loving bubble. It's nice having some muscle definition and not just flab.
  • omnisis
    omnisis Posts: 85 Member
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    Weight training or resistance training is a MUST for people trying to lose weight IMO. You may have some limitations depending on how large you currently are: if you are obese or morbidly obese you may have to be careful about injury at first but there is no better way to shed pounds then by lifting with heavy compound movements (e.g. sqauts,deadlifts,bench press,military press and rows).

    Personally I think the absolute best workout protocol (once you have your nutrition square) is weights + cardio. You have to find the right mix for your bodytype, but the combo of weights and cardio will help you re-shape your body in ways that doing either of them alone will not. If your trainer is telling you otherwise I suggest finding another trainer.

    Many people have this idea that cardio alone is the way to achieve an ideal lean body type. Just ask yourself: how many "skinny fat" marathoner types do you see sucking down cheap carbs at your local starbucks? I'm not knocking marathoners -- I've personally done triathlons in my past -- l but what I'm telling you is that having skinny little stick arms and legs and a "pooch belly" (a common amateur marathoner build) is not what I personally consider the best physique. A combination of resistence training + reasonable cardio (and there's lots of ways to do cardio) will get you in the best shape of your life and leave you with an overall more toned, more chiseled physique then you would be able to achieve any other way. OTOH excessive cardio -- like that done by endurance athletes will generally have a catabolic effect on your body, lead to joint issues and mental exhaustion if you are overfat and cause your metabolism to become conditioned to expected lots of excessive calories to replenish those lost in training. Losing weight simply doesn't have to be that hard. Train smarter, not longer.

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