i want to know if this is right for me
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kimberly728
Posts: 124
ok, this question has probably been asked millions of times by members but after searching the topics, i didnt really find my answer.
I'm currently 215.4lb, 5' 4", and 29 years old. I have read a lot that weight lifting burns more fat than cardio and since my goal is to burn this stubborn fat, while keeping my LBM where it is or better, I joined this group to start stronglifts.
however, I guess I just want to make sure this is a good program to start while I still weight so much. I carry the majority of my fat in my midsection and thighs and it would be ideal to end up thin and flabby. the ultimate goal isn't so much based on how much I weigh (although it would be really nice to be under 200lbs), but looking and being fit and toned.
since i'm just learning about stronglifts, i just want to make sure that i'm not starting this type of workout too soon.
i guess I should also include that i used the scooby calculator and found my TDEE to be 2101 and subtracted 20% for a total of 1680.8 and thats what i have my goals set at. as well as my macros at 50p/30c/20f
thanks in advance for the advice.... im a total newbie so i apologize if this has been explained somewhere that i didnt find it.
I'm currently 215.4lb, 5' 4", and 29 years old. I have read a lot that weight lifting burns more fat than cardio and since my goal is to burn this stubborn fat, while keeping my LBM where it is or better, I joined this group to start stronglifts.
however, I guess I just want to make sure this is a good program to start while I still weight so much. I carry the majority of my fat in my midsection and thighs and it would be ideal to end up thin and flabby. the ultimate goal isn't so much based on how much I weigh (although it would be really nice to be under 200lbs), but looking and being fit and toned.
since i'm just learning about stronglifts, i just want to make sure that i'm not starting this type of workout too soon.
i guess I should also include that i used the scooby calculator and found my TDEE to be 2101 and subtracted 20% for a total of 1680.8 and thats what i have my goals set at. as well as my macros at 50p/30c/20f
thanks in advance for the advice.... im a total newbie so i apologize if this has been explained somewhere that i didnt find it.
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Replies
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ok, this question has probably been asked millions of times by members but after searching the topics, i didnt really find my answer.
I'm currently 215.4lb, 5' 4", and 29 years old. I have read a lot that weight lifting burns more fat than cardio and since my goal is to burn this stubborn fat, while keeping my LBM where it is or better, I joined this group to start stronglifts.
however, I guess I just want to make sure this is a good program to start while I still weight so much. I carry the majority of my fat in my midsection and thighs and it would be ideal to end up thin and flabby. the ultimate goal isn't so much based on how much I weigh (although it would be really nice to be under 200lbs), but looking and being fit and toned.
since i'm just learning about stronglifts, i just want to make sure that i'm not starting this type of workout too soon.
i guess I should also include that i used the scooby calculator and found my TDEE to be 2101 and subtracted 20% for a total of 1680.8 and thats what i have my goals set at. as well as my macros at 50p/30c/20f
thanks in advance for the advice.... im a total newbie so i apologize if this has been explained somewhere that i didnt find it.
This is a good program to start at any weight, because you MUST get a basic foundation of strength training to move on to any more advanced program and really be successful at it. A more advanced program will potentially have higher calorie burns than this because it may be longer, include more met work (metabolic work), etc, but starting on an advanced program without having a foundation is a waste of time because you won't have the strength or knowledge of basic lifts to be able to do anything properly and at best you just won't make progress or you'll be lifting too light, at worst you'll injure yourself.
I highlighted the bold because that is not precisely true, per se -- but it IS true that you must must must do resistance training to retain lean body mass so at a minimum, you should do strength training for your best looking body and if you only have time to do one type of training, then that's what you should do. If you've got time to do both, you can add 30-45 minutes of cardio in any flavor you enjoy to burn more total calories.
But, since you're already planning to eat at a deficit, there's no need for you to burn calories with exercise.
So, the Scooby numbers seem REALLY low to me - is that because you told it you are sedentary and then you plan to eat back your exercise calories? If not, you should re-run them to include your workouts -- and I'd also include the amount of walking you do every day (like if you walk to the store or work, or the subway rather than driving in a car, you should take that into consideration).
The macro breakdown looks fine - percentages happen to work out about right for you, but in general you want to target at least 1.4g/kg of your bodyweight. However if you do the 'eat your exercise cals' back method, and you blast away 1000 calories one day for some weird reason, you do NOT need to eat it back in equal proportions. If you want you can get 1000 calories worth of ice cream. Just hit that basic protein target (there's also a fat minimum but I think most people naturally reach it by eating food, unless they deliberately eat only 'low fat' foods)
Oh god that was long - TL;DR -- use your caloric deficit for fatloss, use strength training to retain muscle mass, minimum of 1.4g/kg of bodyweight in protein. the rest can be however you want unless you for some reason only eat low fat foods, in which case we'll talk about fat minimums.0 -
Hello,
We have several members over 200 lbs, including me. It's never too soon to start strength training.
It's so good for your body, in addition to making you look good. A lot of women have also found it really empowering, including me, again.
My powerlifting idol Staci is linked constantly on mfp. So another time won't hurt: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/ She says that if she could do it over she would have started lifting at her highest weight.
Auddii has some really impressive progress photos in her profile. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/photos/view/3535168 I'd love to see someone make that progress in a month with just cardio (and not hate their life.) :laugh:
If you have any other questions just holler.0 -
ok, this question has probably been asked millions of times by members but after searching the topics, i didnt really find my answer.
I'm currently 215.4lb, 5' 4", and 29 years old. I have read a lot that weight lifting burns more fat than cardio and since my goal is to burn this stubborn fat, while keeping my LBM where it is or better, I joined this group to start stronglifts.
however, I guess I just want to make sure this is a good program to start while I still weight so much. I carry the majority of my fat in my midsection and thighs and it would be ideal to end up thin and flabby. the ultimate goal isn't so much based on how much I weigh (although it would be really nice to be under 200lbs), but looking and being fit and toned.
since i'm just learning about stronglifts, i just want to make sure that i'm not starting this type of workout too soon.
i guess I should also include that i used the scooby calculator and found my TDEE to be 2101 and subtracted 20% for a total of 1680.8 and thats what i have my goals set at. as well as my macros at 50p/30c/20f
thanks in advance for the advice.... im a total newbie so i apologize if this has been explained somewhere that i didnt find it.
I'm over 200 and I just started. While I like some cardio, it's getting me no where as far as decreasing my weight or size. And there is nothing like the feeling I had when doing deadlifts last night and thinking I just picked up 95lbs 5 times in a row. I thought it would be impossible. I say go for it.0 -
I'm over 200 and carry most of my weight in my midsection. This program is the only thing that is getting me to the gym on a regular basis. I've had to make some adjustments to accommodate my belly, like a wider stance with my squats, but other than that, no major issues. Give it a shot!0
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ok, this question has probably been asked millions of times by members but after searching the topics, i didnt really find my answer.
I'm currently 215.4lb, 5' 4", and 29 years old. I have read a lot that weight lifting burns more fat than cardio and since my goal is to burn this stubborn fat, while keeping my LBM where it is or better, I joined this group to start stronglifts.
however, I guess I just want to make sure this is a good program to start while I still weight so much. I carry the majority of my fat in my midsection and thighs and it would be ideal to end up thin and flabby. the ultimate goal isn't so much based on how much I weigh (although it would be really nice to be under 200lbs), but looking and being fit and toned.
since i'm just learning about stronglifts, i just want to make sure that i'm not starting this type of workout too soon.
i guess I should also include that i used the scooby calculator and found my TDEE to be 2101 and subtracted 20% for a total of 1680.8 and thats what i have my goals set at. as well as my macros at 50p/30c/20f
thanks in advance for the advice.... im a total newbie so i apologize if this has been explained somewhere that i didnt find it.
This is a good program to start at any weight, because you MUST get a basic foundation of strength training to move on to any more advanced program and really be successful at it. A more advanced program will potentially have higher calorie burns than this because it may be longer, include more met work (metabolic work), etc, but starting on an advanced program without having a foundation is a waste of time because you won't have the strength or knowledge of basic lifts to be able to do anything properly and at best you just won't make progress or you'll be lifting too light, at worst you'll injure yourself.
I highlighted the bold because that is not precisely true, per se -- but it IS true that you must must must do resistance training to retain lean body mass so at a minimum, you should do strength training for your best looking body and if you only have time to do one type of training, then that's what you should do. If you've got time to do both, you can add 30-45 minutes of cardio in any flavor you enjoy to burn more total calories.
But, since you're already planning to eat at a deficit, there's no need for you to burn calories with exercise.
So, the Scooby numbers seem REALLY low to me - is that because you told it you are sedentary and then you plan to eat back your exercise calories? If not, you should re-run them to include your workouts -- and I'd also include the amount of walking you do every day (like if you walk to the store or work, or the subway rather than driving in a car, you should take that into consideration).
The macro breakdown looks fine - percentages happen to work out about right for you, but in general you want to target at least 1.4g/kg of your bodyweight. However if you do the 'eat your exercise cals' back method, and you blast away 1000 calories one day for some weird reason, you do NOT need to eat it back in equal proportions. If you want you can get 1000 calories worth of ice cream. Just hit that basic protein target (there's also a fat minimum but I think most people naturally reach it by eating food, unless they deliberately eat only 'low fat' foods)
Oh god that was long - TL;DR -- use your caloric deficit for fatloss, use strength training to retain muscle mass, minimum of 1.4g/kg of bodyweight in protein. the rest can be however you want unless you for some reason only eat low fat foods, in which case we'll talk about fat minimums.
yeah, i have my numbers set at sedentary, mainly because for at minimum of 9 hours, im sitting on my butt at desk typing my life away. i try to work in workouts 3x a week but usually never more than 30 minutes. that didnt seem like enough to me to make it lightly active.
so im going to give this a shot and start lifting monday morning. once i start doing this, if i feel like i need to raise my numbers i will do that. i dont think i have hit my numbers one time since i started with my new goals so that has been its own challenge. actually i dont really have a problem meeting my carbs and fat goals, just my calories and proteins.0 -
Hello,
We have several members over 200 lbs, including me. It's never too soon to start strength training. It's so good for your body, in addition to making you look good. A lot of women have also found it really empowering, including me, again.
My powerlifting idol Staci is linked constantly on mfp. So another time won't hurt: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/ She says that if she could do it over she would have started lifting at her highest weight.
Auddii has some really impressive progress photos in her profile. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/photos/view/3535168 I'd love to see someone make that progress in a month with just cardio (and not hate their life.) :laugh:
If you have any other questions just holler.
Auddii definitely has amazing results in such a short time frame...
I guess I was just worried about looking stocky since i weigh so much and im a little shortie. im going to give it a try and see how it works out for me. hopefully i can succeed, if i dont like my results, i can always quit right? lol... but cardio definitely isnt working so something has too.0 -
thanks everyone for your responses... monday morning i start with workout A!!0
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Yay!!!!!!
P.S. There really aren't very many people for whom lifting weights isn't right. It's actually especially right for very overweight people because the muscles have to carry a lot of fat around and need all the help they can get (sorry if that sounds crass; but it's true).
Can't wait for you to join us in our Check-N-Chat and report your experiences and progress!!0 -
yeah, i have my numbers set at sedentary, mainly because for at minimum of 9 hours, im sitting on my butt at desk typing my life away. i try to work in workouts 3x a week but usually never more than 30 minutes. that didnt seem like enough to me to make it lightly active.
so im going to give this a shot and start lifting monday morning. once i start doing this, if i feel like i need to raise my numbers i will do that. i dont think i have hit my numbers one time since i started with my new goals so that has been its own challenge. actually i dont really have a problem meeting my carbs and fat goals, just my calories and proteins.
Sedentary means you don't. move. at. all. Lightly active is appropriate for 30 minutes 3 times a week, UNLESS maybe you literally do not do anything else on a daily basis, no cooking or grocery shopping or walking more than a few hundred feet. I used to wear a BMF and the only time my burn for the day compared to the sedentary numbers is when I played like, 11hours straight of world of warcraft, with just bathroom and eating breaks, and a trip to get drive-through food and snacks from the kitchen. Came out 50 cals lower than what a "sedentary" calculator spits out.
A normal day for me now looks like - drive to train station, walk up and down train platform until it gets there, sit on train, walk to bus, sit on bus, walk into office from bus, sit at office, walk to coffee, sit some more, walk to lunch, sit more (and a bunch of tea and bathroom breaks in there) and then walk to bus, 6 flights of stairs to the other train platform, then sit on train, then drive home. Then I exercise about 40-60 minutes 4-5x a week, and I call that moderate plus (meaning I can maintain at that level of activity eating somewhere between moderate and active, and that's with a DESK job). So, its not a stretch that you'd call yourself "lightly" unless by god you really do not ever spend any time on your feet, at all.0 -
I'm definitely sedentary outside of my workouts unless I go for a lunchtime walk or walk into town in the evening. I've tried to walk around the office enough, tracking with FitBit, and i can't get to lightly active calories without taking wAyyy too much time away from my desk. I do drive to & from work, with a max 400ft to walk between my front foor & my desk though0
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thanks everyone for your responses... monday morning i start with workout A!!
I know, I know…I am usually late to the game, but I just wanted to say hi, welcome, and I think you are really going to enjoy this!
I just started week 3 last night, and after just two weeks of regular lifting I have noticed the following positive changes:
- Sleep. I was an intermittent waker for a very long time. AND it was always late before I fell asleep. Now I’m crashing hard by ten at night and sleeping through, getting up at 5:30 with a boat load of energy.
- Weight loss/decrease in measurements. While not dumping a ton of weight every week, I am averaging .5-1.0 pound losses now, even with the increased calorie consumption (who KNEW getting healthy and more lean wouldn’t make me feel hungry and deprived?), and am losing numbers on the measuring tape in a nice way. While I remain in the low 170’s, I am currently sitting here comfortably in a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in about three years.
- Confidence. This is a biggie for me because I am the kind of girl that doesn’t like ANY confrontation and am askeered of pissing people off. For whatever reason, lifting has given me confidence I have NEVER had before. I’m not as afraid of making people mad, and I found that this week? I actually took up for myself, rather than being steamrolled. And nobody beat me up, or got in my face, or any of the other imagined bad things that I would have been worried about previously. Go figure. This alone makes the workout worth it.
Can’t wait to see your progression as you start your adventure!!!! :flowerforyou:0 -
thanks everyone for your responses... monday morning i start with workout A!!
I know, I know…I am usually late to the game, but I just wanted to say hi, welcome, and I think you are really going to enjoy this!
I just started week 3 last night, and after just two weeks of regular lifting I have noticed the following positive changes:
- Sleep. I was an intermittent waker for a very long time. AND it was always late before I fell asleep. Now I’m crashing hard by ten at night and sleeping through, getting up at 5:30 with a boat load of energy.
- Weight loss/decrease in measurements. While not dumping a ton of weight every week, I am averaging .5-1.0 pound losses now, even with the increased calorie consumption (who KNEW getting healthy and more lean wouldn’t make me feel hungry and deprived?), and am losing numbers on the measuring tape in a nice way. While I remain in the low 170’s, I am currently sitting here comfortably in a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in about three years.
- Confidence. This is a biggie for me because I am the kind of girl that doesn’t like ANY confrontation and am askeered of pissing people off. For whatever reason, lifting has given me confidence I have NEVER had before. I’m not as afraid of making people mad, and I found that this week? I actually took up for myself, rather than being steamrolled. And nobody beat me up, or got in my face, or any of the other imagined bad things that I would have been worried about previously. Go figure. This alone makes the workout worth it.
Can’t wait to see your progression as you start your adventure!!!! :flowerforyou:
Thank you Julie!!! I'm definitely more interested in inch loss than weight loss... but i still dont want to be in the 200's forever LOL... I went to the gym at 5am this morning and there was already a group of 6 guys using the rack, so I'm going to need to figure out a schedule in order to do this. I was pretty surprised at home many people were there this morning because thats not usually the case when I go that early... hopefully they wont be there tomorrow.0 -
So, Kimberly, did you make it to workout #1? 0
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Aand how did it go??0
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I'm curious too!0
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Actually as far as I can gather from my Friends list, she's been sick. Get better!0
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Sorry everyone, I was sick and didn't realize anyone had been posting to me on here... there really should be an alert for these things LOL..
Luckily I'm finally over the yuckies- and I resumed gym workouts this morning. Of course, the squat rack was unavailable, which seems to be the trend at my gym (maybe its time to find a new one lol) so my sister and I made the attempt to improvise the best we could. Of course this meant using a bar from the womens area that was only a few pounds (the trainer at the desk said it was a 5lb bar) and adding weight to it to equal 45lbs.+ I'm sure that means that we were not really doing it correctly but we did the best we could with what was available :-(
Squats: 50lb
bench press: 50lb.
barbell row: 70lb.
Do these numbers count since we didn't exactly use the right equipment?0 -
Sorry everyone, I was sick and didn't realize anyone had been posting to me on here... there really should be an alert for these things LOL..
Luckily I'm finally over the yuckies- and I resumed gym workouts this morning. Of course, the squat rack was unavailable, which seems to be the trend at my gym (maybe its time to find a new one lol) so my sister and I made the attempt to improvise the best we could. Of course this meant using a bar from the womens area that was only a few pounds (the trainer at the desk said it was a 5lb bar) and adding weight to it to equal 45lbs.+ I'm sure that means that we were not really doing it correctly but we did the best we could with what was available :-(
Squats: 50lb
bench press: 50lb.
barbell row: 70lb.
Do these numbers count since we didn't exactly use the right equipment?
Seems pretty perfect to me. It doesn't really matter if you use a heavier bar and lighter plates, or a lighter bar and heavier plates. That only becomes crucial as you go up in weight after a certain point, because the lighter bars only have a certain weight tolerance (as does your upper back as with the squats it's going to be much more comfortable supporting a wider bar).
Great numbers by the way!
Sometimes ya just gotta improvise a little. I'm sure the Stronglifts police (if it exists, which I don't think it does) isn't going to come arrest you over deviating a little and making do with what you have available to you.
Maybe find out what type of bar it is and how much weight it can actually handle. Bars can and will break when overloaded, and that's not something you want to happen to you in the middle of a lift where it could drop on you and hurt you.0 -
Sorry everyone, I was sick and didn't realize anyone had been posting to me on here... there really should be an alert for these things LOL..
Luckily I'm finally over the yuckies- and I resumed gym workouts this morning. Of course, the squat rack was unavailable, which seems to be the trend at my gym (maybe its time to find a new one lol) so my sister and I made the attempt to improvise the best we could. Of course this meant using a bar from the womens area that was only a few pounds (the trainer at the desk said it was a 5lb bar) and adding weight to it to equal 45lbs.+ I'm sure that means that we were not really doing it correctly but we did the best we could with what was available :-(
Squats: 50lb
bench press: 50lb.
barbell row: 70lb.
Do these numbers count since we didn't exactly use the right equipment?
Seems pretty perfect to me. It doesn't really matter if you use a heavier bar and lighter plates, or a lighter bar and heavier plates. That only becomes crucial as you go up in weight after a certain point, because the lighter bars only have a certain weight tolerance (as does your upper back as with the squats it's going to be much more comfortable supporting a wider bar).
Great numbers by the way!
Sometimes ya just gotta improvise a little. I'm sure the Stronglifts police (if it exists, which I don't think it does) isn't going to come arrest you over deviating a little and making do with what you have available to you.
Maybe find out what type of bar it is and how much weight it can actually handle. Bars can and will break when overloaded, and that's not something you want to happen to you in the middle of a lift where it could drop on you and hurt you.
Thanks that's a great suggestion... I'm pretty sure we pushed that bar to the limit today. The bar we used was actually the bar they use for les mills body pump class, but it was the only thing available. Thursday I will definitely scope out a bigger bar, hopefully anyway.0
