Lifting weights or counting calories?

Revillee
Revillee Posts: 59 Member
in Getting Started
In your weight loss journey what helped you lose your weight counting calories or lifting ?

Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Counting calories. Lifting weights won't help you lose weight if you aren't eating in a deficit.
  • johan1585
    johan1585 Posts: 44 Member
    Both i think are equally important
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Weight - counting calories

    Body composition - lifting weights.
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
    Not a dichotomy :-) I've lost 30lb so far just counting calories but I am stating to look scrwany so I am now starting to reshape myself by resistance work..

    Also (my advice based on my body)
    1) don't just try and limit calories, try and match the macros that MFP give
    2) Work out how much protein your body needs and eat this (this may be different to MFPs value becase MFP just seems to scale all macros down whereas for me it seems to work best if I hold my protein requirements at what I need (guessing 0.8grms per lean lb of my body) and then drop more carb and a little more fat. If you don't want to do this though just sticking to the macros will do you more good than just watching your calories).
    3) Try and get your *kitten* moving :-) and then eat most of the calories back in good stuff. This allows your body to get more nutrients without putting on weight.
    4) Lift weights as soon as you can. I left it 3 months and have started to just get into it. I wish I had started at the beginning :-)
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Weight - counting calories

    Body composition - lifting weights.

    exactly.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Weight - counting calories

    Body composition - lifting weights.

    exactly.

    Yup!
  • Kotuliak
    Kotuliak Posts: 259 Member
    In your weight loss journey what helped you lose your weight counting calories or lifting ?
    Weight loss - counting calories.

    Except for many, if not most, the weight loss journey expands and includes health and fitness, at least to some degree.. For weight loss, calorie deficit remains the only thing that matters. For satiation, what you eat matters. For general health, what you eat matters. For creating a calorie deficit, aerobic exercise matters. For body composition, weight lifting matters.

    Based on many accounts related here on the MFP fora, the key for success is finding a sustainable lifestyle that maintains a calorie deficit (or balance, if you're maintaining) which is accomplished by refining the individual set of choices of what we eat and how much, and if we exercise and how much.

    Another observation - no matter how much useful information one will find in the fora (and books and articles), it takes time to find that balance. There may be false starts and failures. But if one stays focused, understands the underlying principles, and listens to one's own body, gradually one will find the balance that works for her.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    I don't count calories, and I think that exercise has helped me the most. I disagree with the people who say that exercise has little to nothing to do with weight loss. I understand that if someone is eating a huge amount of calories per day, they won't be able to exercise that off, but for myself, I would estimate that I eat about 2000 and burn about 600 for a net of about 1400. MFP says I should be eating 1430 to lose a pound a week, and I am losing at about that rate, so I must be more or less doing it right even though I don't count the calories I eat.
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  • progressnotperfection84
    progressnotperfection84 Posts: 122 Member
    Weight - counting calories

    Body composition - lifting weights.

    ^^^^^ this times a million.

    I agree. This is what I'm doing and it's working for me.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Weight - counting calories

    Body composition - lifting weights.

    Yup
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    both!

    Calories to lose weight, lifting weights to improve composition!
  • helpfit101
    helpfit101 Posts: 347 Member
    Counting calories.

    On the other hand lifting weights led me to wanting to be healthier, lose weight and therefor count calories.
  • igotabulletproofheart
    igotabulletproofheart Posts: 104 Member
    Badly worded question. Calorie counting reduces body weight whereas lifting increases muscle mass which in turn can reduce body fat, but it's not a substitute for a calorie deficit.
  • vinny76063
    vinny76063 Posts: 133 Member
    Both!!!! It took 1 1/2 yrs but i got there the right way by doing both. I think if not for the weights i would have had a lot of skin hanging like one of my cousins did and he was just as big as i was and only counted calories and did only cardio. a yr later he still cant tighten up
  • c8linmarie
    c8linmarie Posts: 358 Member
    Weight - counting calories

    Body composition - lifting weights.


    This just about sums it up!!
  • sunman00
    sunman00 Posts: 872 Member
    Weight - counting calories

    Body composition - lifting weights.

    this
  • presbyreformed
    presbyreformed Posts: 36 Member
    Ditto
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    Weight - counting calories

    Body composition - lifting weights.

    ^^^^^ this times a million.

    I agree. This is what I'm doing and it's working for me.

    Agreeing with everyone else.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Lifting weight and exercise in general doesn't guarantee a deficit of energy for weight loss...that's a huge mistake many people make...they're exercising their *kitten* off but not making any head way in RE to losing weight/fat. They're not at a deficit despite working out...which is normal considering you're usually really hungry when you're training.

    Diet for weight control; exercise for fitness.
  • MuseofSong
    MuseofSong Posts: 322 Member
    These are not mutually exclusive ideas OP.

    Honestly, for someone with a little bit to lose or who is in a healthy weight range, probably lifting weights and body sculpting, along with diet improvements to increase protein and general nutrition is all they would need to get fit versus eating at a calorie deficit.

    However, for someone with a lot to lose, both counting calories to maintain a deficit and exercising to help build lean body mass are valuable. When a person is very heavy, any exercise can help them build more lean body mass because moving their body IS weight lifting. I count calories and do cardio. I do not 'weight lift' on purpose unless you count my t'ai chi ball, which I don't because it's not very heavy.

    However, in the past three months, I've dropped 24 lbs, but gained (based on my weight & measurements and the fat2fit military body fat calculator) 5 lbs of lean body mass. So, I'd argue that for clinically obese people, who maintain a calorie deficit and increase their activity, lifting weights is not necessary.

    Although, I will not dispute that it may make the increase of lean body mass faster.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    Lifting weight and exercise in general doesn't guarantee a deficit of energy for weight loss...that's a huge mistake many people make...they're exercising their *kitten* off but not making any head way in RE to losing weight/fat. They're not at a deficit despite working out...which is normal considering you're usually really hungry when you're training.

    Diet for weight control; exercise for fitness.

    If this was directed at me, I *must* be at a deficit, because I am consistently losing weight. Sorry, no "huge mistake" here.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    I mean, seriously, do you people not realize that the, "Eat at a deficit and then eat back your exercise calories" thing you advise is another way of saying what I'm saying? The numbers are the same either way, it's just that your way of phrasing it allows you to claim that weight loss has "nothing to do with exercise". The MFP gospel is so bizarre to me sometimes.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Counting calories. Lifting weights won't help you lose weight if you aren't eating in a deficit.

    This
  • dawnwritesnow
    dawnwritesnow Posts: 16 Member
    In your weight loss journey what helped you lose your weight counting calories or lifting ?
    Weight loss - counting calories.

    Except for many, if not most, the weight loss journey expands and includes health and fitness, at least to some degree.. For weight loss, calorie deficit remains the only thing that matters. For satiation, what you eat matters. For general health, what you eat matters. For creating a calorie deficit, aerobic exercise matters. For body composition, weight lifting matters.

    Based on many accounts related here on the MFP fora, the key for success is finding a sustainable lifestyle that maintains a calorie deficit (or balance, if you're maintaining) which is accomplished by refining the individual set of choices of what we eat and how much, and if we exercise and how much.

    Another observation - no matter how much useful information one will find in the fora (and books and articles), it takes time to find that balance. There may be false starts and failures. But if one stays focused, understands the underlying principles, and listens to one's own body, gradually one will find the balance that works for her.

    Agreed!
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Weight loss is 80% calorie counting and what you eat and 20% exercise. Weight lifting is important because it builds muscle and muscle burns more calories than fat.

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