Women is their 40's who use weights

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A little back story first.Sorry this is long but I need advice

I joined in January of this year having lost 45 about three years ago.I was both ill and lazy this past winter and had put on a couple pounds ( Literally,2-3 pounds). I joined because I wanted to refocus and make sure it stopped at a couple pounds.

So my usual routine,the one that helped me lose the weight,is walking/running intervals five miles a day five days a week.I've been diagnosed with a condition that discourages my outdoor workout in low temp ( I live in New England).

I started 30 days shred inJanuary and have done it twice and loved the way my arms looked so I started lifting heavier weights ( nothing too big,15-20 pounds).

Now I know weight gain is normal when you start lifting weights but,how much and when does it stop? I've gained five pounds in addition to the two I joined the site to lose.

Now that it's warming up I'm back outdoors but I don't want to give up the weights either.Do I have to stop and stick to cardio to lose that?

Now here's where the over 40 part comes in.How do I know if this weight gain is connected to my age? I've shown no signs of "changing" anytime soon but even a year ago I could have had that weight off again in a month.

Whats the a plan to get the best of both worlds?

Replies

  • stephcalcott
    stephcalcott Posts: 84 Member
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    One thing you may want to do now is take some measurements. Because if you start gaining muscle, you may go up in weight even if you're losing fat. It's hard not to focus on the scale number when you don't know what's happening but if you have measurements that are going down then you know any weight gain is related to muscle gain - not just getting older :)

    Don't freak out too much on the scale - if your clothes still fit well then most likely you're gaining muscle. Don't give up on the weights, as we get older our metabolism slows down a lot because we lose muscle mass (among other reasons). You can help keep that from happening by sticking to the weight training.
  • avababy05
    avababy05 Posts: 930 Member
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    My scale and I have this love/hate thing going.

    For the most part my clothes still fit but I've had changes I wasn't expecting.

    I have a bottom for the first time ( trust me,not a complaint) and my thighs and calves are bigger.I'm assuming from the squats.

    Though I could live without the man calves, I can definatley see definition.