HALP! Heavy Lifting Made Me SUPAH Bulky!!!

I debated sharing these (I've posted before) because my after pics were at competition so I didn't want to get into the whole "bulky" thing. I've spent forever looking for another after picture to show that isn't how I look all the time. I wish I had taken pics to show at different body fat levels.



The best after pic I could find at a higher body fat.

Whichever mod brought this back, I could kiss you! Thank you! Made. My. Day!

Now this should work!!!

PHOTO BOMB ALERT! Not wanting to be a total attention *kitten* so please excuse all the pics but I think they tell a story pretty well. I posted in the first part with a before/during picture...but I had a little more time on my hands this morning. Again, I want to reiterate - I didn't follow a huge caloric deficit during this period, I started too (eating around 1500-1600) but quickly fell off track (lifting makes me hangry!). Since December I've pretty much averaged maintenance calories or maybe even higher (~2000-2200+) as I've been battling depression and funky meds. So my progress is slower than others but I want my point to be that heavy lifting has allowed me to maintain my weight while still working on body recomposition (and eating junk food, nomz!). I would have lost more fat had I ate less.
Also note - I do not do cardio unless walking my dog for .5 - one mile at a leisurely pace counts, haha!

Before starting a heavy lifting program I weighed 175 and was pretty flabby. I'd also like to mention I was 220 lbs when I first started losing weight and I lost that weight through deficit and walking. Once I got to 180# I started more intense cardio.I had been doing Jillian Michaels 30 DS and Chalean Extreme during these photos (I started with New Rules of Lifting for Women in March 2013):


These are two months into NROL4W:


These are three to four months into NROL4W:


Four to five months into lifting:


First dress I ever bought and wore since homecoming in HS..and first bathing suit since I was 17. These are 5-6 months into lifting. Notice I'm not bulky. Still soft and got lots of fat covering up my parts.


Finally got enough confidence to wear my favorite color - red - (and yes, I do wear clothes in my pics sometimes, lol) - 6-7 months into lifting...sz 6/8, small tops.


December progress pics - so 10 mos of lifting and eating all the foods:


Progression of back photos from the past four months or so ~ I'm proud of my back muscles but they certainly don't look like that when I'm at rest.


Still not bulky...


My legs are thicker than some women would like - heck, they are thicker than I would like - but they are what I have to work with (genetics and all, as to their shape). As the fat comes off (by eating in a deficit, if I ever get that nailed into my head) they will lean out more...but for now I'm enjoying all my womanly curves but with lots more strength, power, and confidence. (These pics are the most recent - so about a year's worth of lifting.)

Most likely, no one will read this or care about it, but I am going to say it anyway!!!

You ladies looks absolutely amazing. I wanted to say that you all are truly inspirational. This is not to say that women who DON'T pick things up and put them down are not inspirational, but I would prefer to look more muscular one day. I am 298 pounds (under 300 finally!!! :bigsmile:) and I have started to incorporate some form of resistance/strength (not sure which to call it) training because I would rather start now and work my way up so that by the time I am at goal weight, I can have a decent amount of muscle mass. Luckily, being so big my legs are pretty muscular under all those layers of fat, so my squats and lunges and kettlebelling (good Lord those things are trying to kill me!) are already making my calves, thighs and butt firmer. The KB also helps my arms a bit.

I am a bit apprehensive to actually go to the free weights and use them, because there are constantly people there and I think I would feel really lame comparatively. But I think after seeing all these amazing results I may start incorporating free weights along with my cardio/KB routines. Hopefully one day I will have awesome abs, arms, legs, and an *kitten* like all of you ladies do! Any tips, pieces of advice, favorite workouts to do that come my way will be much appreciated. Again, I really hope to look like you ladies one day!

TL;DR You guys looks sexy as hell, I want to look that way too.

I started when I was pretty close to your weight. What helped me get over my initial nerves was going over my lifting plan piece by piece, watching videos to get my form down. Preparing myself made me able to walk in confidently. Trust me, after the first session you will wonder why you were ever nervous to walk in there. And great job incorporating strength training early on! You will be so glad that you did.

Oh, and I second Amber's recommendation of StrongLifts. It's a great, simple program that gets the job done. :flowerforyou:

If i may, I'm going to shamelessly plug my own thread here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/824518-fat-girl-dead-lifting

I started at 125kg/270ish lbs.

You can do it!

Had to share some a new progress pic to illustrate that not one does weight lifting help maintain muscle mass, improve muscle tone, improve bone density, improve confidence, etc...

...it ALSO drastically improves stretch marks and loose skin (which, for someone like me who has had a child/lost a buttload of weight, that's a big effin deal).



The picture on the left was taken a month into lifting.

The picture on the right was taken today.


While there's not a huge amount of difference in muscle size and definition (bicep is slightly larger, shoulder has a better curve), I'd like to point out the loose skin hanging from my under arm in the first picture. It's virtually disappeared in the second picture. No nipping. No tucking. Just lifting. Both pictures were taken in the same bathroom, and I'm holding my arm at virtually the same angle. No magic tricks, folks.

I told weese to get her tiny toned butt in here and show the difference between cardio and lifting but she must be busy with children or whatever. Sure don't know why, it's not like toddlers are high maintenance or anything . . .

I have a dumb question about why the scale doesn't change much but you lose inches? If its not muscle growth what happens? I've lost inches everywhere in two months including my waist going from 40 to 35, but "only" around 7lb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozt-V0PPJaw

Had to share some a new progress pic to illustrate that not one does weight lifting help maintain muscle mass, improve muscle tone, improve bone density, improve confidence, etc...

...it ALSO drastically improves stretch marks and loose skin (which, for someone like me who has had a child/lost a buttload of weight, that's a big effin deal).



The picture on the left was taken a month into lifting.

The picture on the right was taken today.


While there's not a huge amount of difference in muscle size and definition (bicep is slightly larger, shoulder has a better curve), I'd like to point out the loose skin hanging from my under arm in the first picture. It's virtually disappeared in the second picture. No nipping. No tucking. Just lifting. Both pictures were taken in the same bathroom, and I'm holding my arm at virtually the same angle. No magic tricks, folks.

I told weese to get her tiny toned butt in here and show the difference between cardio and lifting but she must be busy with children or whatever. Sure don't know why, it's not like toddlers are high maintenance or anything . . .

Yeah, not like toddlers with fevers of 104 are clingy or anything.

Anyway, I don't have really good pictures of myself at the same weight as I am now, but soft. I have tried and tried to find some to no avail. This is about as good as I can do. Below is May 2012 - before heavy lifting with barbell, but after I started kettlebell and HIIT style training. Approximately 145 pounds-ish.



Here are some taken after lifting heavy.

December 2012 - probably around 142 pounds:





March 2013:


Approximately 142 pounds.

April 2013:





Both of these are at about 145 pounds. (I'm deliberately bulking right now - trying to build a butt!)

So, the difference is subtle. But after I started weightlifting, I dropped a good bit of body fat and just tightened everything up. When I flex, yeah, you can see visible muscle. But when I'm not flexed, I think I just look nice and toned.

Lucy