Yeah...the weight isn't the big issue for me...it's the way that I look. If I could look like some of the girls who have been lifting heavy with those abs n' bums? I'd be happy...

My hubby and I discussed this the other night about possibly gaining/not losing pounds if I started lifting. You know from previous post the 211lbs I've been stuck at forever, okay only a year, is bugging me bat *kitten*, BUT if I can look buff and cut, I really think I could over look the poundage. I can live with my size if i had to,(5'10", 211lbs, size 18) but what I can't live with is the flabby thighs and my triceps waving when my hand does. Also the jello that covers my abs. Demons be gone!

Honestly, I think it's doable. I know you seen the post on the nana with the guns! I want her arms!

I am soooo busy today but i do have thoughts to share and I will be back to share them as soon as I get a free moment, but the short version is yes/no/maybe/it depends/fat loss requires caloric restriction

I re-evaluated my original goal this last year....and I think you'll end up doing that too as you get closer. I think that is fine too by the way.

I started at about 174lbs
goal weight was 125lbs....but when I got to 127lbs in the summer, I could still see so much fat...and I had started lifting and seeing some definition..and I decided I wanted to see more muscles and get rid of the fat. So reset my goal weight to 110lbs. Remember I'm small frame and 5'1"...now after starting SL I think that that number will be too low...I still want to get rid of the fat..so I'm going for more of a look than a scale weight now. I think it will settle around 120lb though...

my point here is that I think you will re-evaluate a lot during the process....

Ok I *might* have a few free minutes now..... *crosses fingers*

I think you are all in different situations so if you like, we can address them all separately but there are a few key pointers. Lifting is very important for building and retaining Lean Body Mass which will make you look fitter at a higher weight, because muscle is much denser than fat, AND because 5 lbs of fat stretched over muscle looks a HELL of a lot better than 5 lbs of fat hanging off your bones.

There are other health benefits to lifting, its been shown to reduce inflammation issues overall (like people with arthritis get benefit from it), increased bone density, improved metabolic function and insulin response.

The metabolic function is an important one in the context of this conversation - improved metabolic function = better weight loss and weight management, ESPECIALLY for people with carb sensitivity issues like PCOS.

Also I want to call out something doozer mentioned - that he didn't start seeing a lot of improvement until it really started getting heavy, in PARTICULAR I think some women might struggle to get to the point where they're actually lifting heavy because women more than men tend to be stressed, under-rested, and under fueled, and that means they don't give themselves enough rest time between sets which means they start failing before they're really reaching their limits due to exhaustion rather than weight, or they start failing because their bodies are exhausted trying to run on too few calories and don't have anything to give to the weight lifting, or they're exhausted from the lack of sleep, or the tons of other exercise they do, or whatever.

Also - both age and how long you have been overweight/out of shape can be limiting factors, NOT in your ability to reach some final objective but in your ability to get their quickly -- and depending on how long and how far out of shape you got, you might have loose skin issues that take years to resolve, or never fully do.

(Sara is doing 5/3/1 which is an intermediate program that many SL people graduate to, and she is 45, got lean very quickly - only a year - and looks fantastic, BUT she was in great physical shape before she had her aneurysm and only gained due to the hospitalization and recovery. Its much easier to get into great shape when you've been in great shape before - provided before doesn't mean like, 25 years ago when you were in college/HS.)

Ugh, this is getting long and probably hard to follow. So, wrap up time -
if you were a fit but not particularly strong 25 year old at 125, its very reasonable to expect that with time and lifting you will get to a more muscular looking version of that body at 135. But its not very realistic to expect that at 155. In which case, you'll need to lose some weight, via caloric deficit.

AND - as you age, your body naturally retains less lean body mass unless you push it - children are incredibly muscular, as are young adults, but if you're not using it your body starts to lose it because its a waste of energy as far as your body is concerned. And that's one of the reasons that lifting gets pushed so heavily. When you were 22, you could diet, lose weight, and look great. When you're 42, you can diet the same way, lose weight, and look flabby. It IS harder to look great as you age, but its realistic to believe that you CAN, its just going to take you longer and you're going to have to *work* for it, not just switch to diet soda.

Chunkmunk - 8 weeks would be some kind of miracle for most people. If you look at Lorina's pics Thanks to the mega billion dollar fitness industry, we've all been told that we can look like fitness models in 90 days! But MOST of those before and after pictures are fake - its VERY easy for a fit person to look incredibly fat - you slouch, inflate your belly with air, wear your pants in a way that gives you a muffin top, etc. And then 2 minutes later they change clothes, stand up straight, smile, suck in, tilt their hips to make the belly look flatter, FLEX your muscles, oil up and boom. 90 day miracle. If you want it to be even better you do it a few days apart, get a good sodium bloat going, don't work out for a few days before and eat super low carb so you have no pump, and then you flush the salt, do a big pump session with carb loading and you look COMPLETELY different.

There are two kinds of people who show fast results - people who are already very lean and eat maintenance or a bulk and so any pump they get shows up immediately, and they make fast progress on their lifts because they are well fueled. And people who are absolute rank beginners and haven't exercised in years/their whole lives. Also like I mentioned elsewhere - age does matter. Much easier for a 25 year old to get fit than a 40 year old.


Also last note on dieting - I don't want to beat that horse too hard because I think you all know the basics, but pure body re composition (where you replace your fat with muscle) is a) slow slow SLOW SLOW SLOOOOOOW and b) may be most feasible for a woman in the 19-25% bf range, at higher amounts it makes sense to diet some of it down, and at lower amounts it may be that you just need to do a slow bulk.

Thank you Tameko. Especially the part about it's going to take longer than 90 days. I think I needed that slap in the face.

Crap I just noticed I started mentioning Lorina and then lost track - what I was going to say is that Lorina made awesome progress for 12 weeks, because she was starting from having some base strength from using machines, and even after 12 weeks although there IS progress its VERY very slight. I also find that some times we can't see our own progress in our photos - I See mine and I just think "OH GOD IS THAT WHAT MY STOMACH LOOKS LIKE" and I cant' focus on anything else.

I think the time component in this whole recomp process is really key. When some of us started to diet down and we saw quick losses with diet and cardio, we got accustomed to that. Results with a program like SL are a lot more drawn out. It will take longer but the longer will be way more worth it.

In my opinion anything is possible....but you have to work for it. You have to train hard and commit. DON'T GIVE UP!!!!

Oh and naturally everything Tameko said :happy:

Random thoughts:

I actually posted a question in "eat train progress" about an approximate goal weight based on ideal and current body fat. I learned Sara weighs 148!

I saw an awesome video of a guy doing the before/after pics 5 hours apart for lulz. I'll see if I can dig it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU Found it!

I've posted this elsewhere, but my personal experience echos Doozers. When I first started I gained 3 or 4 lbs of water weight, I didn't start to see any real progress until the weights got heavy for me. Around week 4/5. I know this by looking at the progress page of heybales spreadsheet. (Sly product placement) My waist stayed the same from 12/30 (started sl on 12/18, but didn't start using heybales until 12.30) until 1/28 when it suddenly dropped .75" It's been dropping pretty steadily since then. \o/

ETA: I do have a decent amount of fat to lose, this is probably a big factor in rates of change.

Random thoughts:

I actually posted a question in "eat train progress" about an approximate goal weight based on ideal and current body fat. I learned Sara weighs 148!

I saw an awesome video of a guy doing the before/after pics 5 hours apart for lulz. I'll see if I can dig it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU Found it!

Do you still have the link to the 'eat train progress' thread about goal weight that you asked? Would be interested in finding out more information! I never know if my goals are legit...