Lift Heavy without Diet Change?

joscelynlongo
joscelynlongo Posts: 1
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
Hello everyone! I'm new to MFP, and just wanted some feedback from other women.
I've decided I want to start to work out - I have signed up for a new year-long membership at a gym that offers classes, as well as free weights and machines, etc. I'm thinking of doing two hours a night - 15 minutes of stretching and light cardio, a 45 minute class (yoga, socacize, zumba, pilates), followed by an hour of weights.

I'm curious what kind of success (if any) you've had with heavy-lifting. I've trimmed down the fatty foods, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to go completely clean/gluten free, etc.

Have any of you taken up lifting-heavy, without completely changing your diet? Have you still seen results?

Thanks!

Replies

  • mallen404
    mallen404 Posts: 266 Member
    I have seen a bigger change with my diet change.. I did this before I was able to start working out ( was in a car accident last year).

    I have noticed that I look more toned from weights though.

    Also- I don't eat 100% clean at all.. but I eat a lot healthier than I used to. feel free to add me to see my food diary
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
    2 hours/day sounds pretty ambitious to start with. I do strength (SL5x5) 3 times a week followed by 12 minutes of cardio and I am seeing wonderful results. I'm losing inches and lbs and I'm in and out of the gym in 90 minutes. Other days I do my best to just walk and get my 10K steps in as per my FitBit.
  • DaveneGfit
    DaveneGfit Posts: 338 Member
    I think that diet is still key, but the main difference with lifting heavy is you will probably need to eat more. I eat really clean myself and try to watch my macros. I will say that lifting heavy though is wonderful!! I have seen my body change most by just lifting heavy and I notice that If I do cheat I am not really affected.
  • KristinNicole82
    KristinNicole82 Posts: 164 Member
    I cant talk to the diet because i eat pretty clean but if you are going to lift heavy do it before you do cardio/class to get maximum benefit. I love lifting heavy and have noticed big changes with definition.
  • Kennesaw24
    Kennesaw24 Posts: 50 Member
    Many others more expert than I, but weights will change everything -- for the better. You have a really aggressive plan -- you might want to scale it back so that if you don't do everything you've said, you won't feel like you failed. Personally, I do weights four days a week, yoga and hiking two times/week, and the "rest" day I take my dog on a 3 mile walk. With the weights, make sure you learn proper form, and don't be afraid to use heavy weight. There is so much to learn here about it all. Have fun, and congrats on the new gym membership!
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    Well, I have found since lifting heavy that my diet seems to be based on getting the protein in.

    I eat pretty clean but do have junk when I want to.
  • Hello and welcome!

    I lift ever morning for 40-75 minutes with little to no cardio. But I am starting to work on cardio as I want to up my weightloss.

    What are your goals?

    From my experience I got my best results from my diet. In December I will have been watching my food for a year and lifting for 8 months.
    You don't have to eat clean completely nor go gluten free. A lot of that is a fad. But cutting out breads has been a help for me. Something you may want to look into is IIFYM. I follow it and I love it, for instance check out my diary today...all in all a good day, but I still allowed myself cheez-its and am well within my calorie and macro range.

    Feel free to add me.
  • Princess_Lee2013
    Princess_Lee2013 Posts: 48 Member
    October 08, 2013 11:32 amHello everyone! I'm new to MFP, and just wanted some feedback from other women.
    I've decided I want to start to work out - I have signed up for a new year-long membership at a gym that offers classes, as well as free weights and machines, etc. I'm thinking of doing two hours a night - 15 minutes of stretching and light cardio, a 45 minute class (yoga, socacize, zumba, pilates), followed by an hour of weights.

    I'm curious what kind of success (if any) you've had with heavy-lifting. I've trimmed down the fatty foods, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to go completely clean/gluten free, etc.

    Have any of you taken up lifting-heavy, without completely changing your diet? Have you still seen results?

    Thanks!

    Hey! From my experience, and in accordance with others on this thread - the majority of results I have seen have been from diet, but that's not to say that I have followed a 100% percent clean or gluten free diet! I think that if you are eating reasonably (my definition -tracking your calories - being aware - being under 100 carbs MOST days - lean proteins and lots of greens - LIMITED (not none) processed food) you will see results with the workout you describe. Plus, as you get more and more into the workouts you might find yourself wanting to get the max benefit from them by tightening up your diet even more. I know that's what happened to me when I got further along my journey. Also, I don't know if you like legit need to lose weight or if you're jsut trying to look mroe "toned" If that's the case and you don't want to actually drop pounds, I would imagine that yes, you will see results from the consistency and duration of your workouts described! Good luck!!! and feel free to add me I workout about 2 hours a day and eat "mostly clean" but not gluten free etc.
  • i just started a month ago with heavy weight training and i eat about the same as i normally would (i always ate pretty clean, not perfect, but an approximate healthy 2100 calories). and i can say i have noticed a pretty big difference in my body. no weight loss, but definitely more toned and i have definitely lost inches all around, especially in my legs.
    with that being said, i did p90x for a month (quit bc it was so damn boring to me), ate a VERY clean 1500 calories mostly veggies, did juicing, etc, and lost 15 lbs and was very toned.
    a month of eating CLEAN vs eating my typical healthy diet, i lost much faster eating clean.
    really, just make sure you are eating healthy and not over eating, and you will be fine. remember that when you lift heavy, you could still weigh the same, but look much smaller. so try and avoid the scale and refer to how many inches you are instead. :)
This discussion has been closed.