Heavy Lifting...really?? Me?? Hmmm....

I ended up at this site when I first started lifting: http://www.stumptuous.com/ It's an awesome site that was originally designed for women's lifting but has expanded to include men. It's funny, irreverent and has a ton of great tips on form etc.

Regarding hrm I use one from time to time out of curiosity. While lifting isn't cardio, it can be fascinating to me to see how my heart rate can go from 60 to 160 squatting a few reps.

I am working with a trainer at my local YMCA and we aren't doing heavy lifting. We are using a combination of resistance bands, kettle bells medicine balls. We also do a closer that is like tabata. In 4 weeks I lost 4 pounds and I am totaling reshaping People are starting to comment on how good I look. I lost 50 pounds last year and I did mostly cardio. Now I am doing the program above cross training, and some cardio. I work out 6 days each week. I want to build muscle to help with my weight maintenance.
I do monitor my protein intake but I am not using supplements Anytime I've tried them I have gained weight.

Information on the accuracy of HRM's with anything other than steady state cardio:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1044313-this-is-why-hrms-have-limited-use-for-tracking-calories

Start reading some thing that resembles one of these

Strong lifts
Starting strength
New Rules of Lifting for women (or just NROL- doesn't matter)
Strong Curves

Learning full compound moves- barbell training will be the way to go to progress with heavy lifting.

So this should be the process:
1.) Do research- there are tons of articles/videos and exert advice out there.
2.) Get a broom stick (or PVC pipe)
3.) Practice these lifts ad nauseum
4.) Get your book
5.) Write yoru work out down
6.) Get thee to the gym
7.) Lift all the things.

Lather- rinse repeat.

This process never stops- I've been lfiting for years- these are the exact steps I do.

now- go forth- and be fabulous.

This

As a beginner you will want to read the book Starting Strength. It teaches you everything you need to know about the mechanics behind lifting. After you've read it, and developed a good understanding of what it's telling you, you should either follow the program outlined in the book, or Stronglifts 5x5 or New Rules of Lifting for Women (which are derivatives of it).

Start reading some thing that resembles one of these

Strong lifts
Starting strength
New Rules of Lifting for women (or just NROL- doesn't matter)
Strong Curves

Learning full compound moves- barbell training will be the way to go to progress with heavy lifting.

So this should be the process:
1.) Do research- there are tons of articles/videos and exert advice out there.
2.) Get a broom stick (or PVC pipe)
3.) Practice these lifts ad nauseum
4.) Get your book
5.) Write yoru work out down
6.) Get thee to the gym
7.) Lift all the things.

Lather- rinse repeat.

This process never stops- I've been lfiting for years- these are the exact steps I do.

now- go forth- and be fabulous.

All great advice for sure.

One other point -- make sure you calculate your new TDEE to include your strength training days. Use a calculator like Scoobycalc. Set your deficit to be pretty small -- 15%-20%. If you've been dieting for a long time very low cal (which 1400-1500 is at your weight -- your BMR should be slightly over 1500 making your TDEE much higher) then you may need to do a refeed in order to boost your metabolism. You can't gain muscle in a deficit unless you are brand new at lifting, and even then, gains will be small and will peter out, but it is still a good idea to lift to prevent muscle LOSS whilst eating in a deficit. But you still have to make sure you're eating enough, definitely more than what you are now.

Trainers can sometimes steer you wrong. So, be careful. Many trainers are complete idiots. So, just be warned. You may not get the training you want.

^^This. I had a trainer who refused to show me Oly lifts, which is what I requested her for, and I told them as much!!! I met a trainer yesterday, at the same gym, who was doing squats and deadlifts for her routine, and is more than happy to train me on the 2 this weekend! Ask the right questions, and don't get them involved in your future goals (get in shape, get strong, whatever). Just say, "I need to know how to do squats and deadlifts. Will you teach me those lifts?"

On the eating bit. You should check into this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

If you're wanting to cut (lose fat), then the commonly recommended target is TDEE minus 20%.

But, if you're wanting to bulk (gain muscle), the calorie requirements will obviously be different. (I'm not sure what they are, because I haven't researched that, yet.)

Hope this helps some.

Good luck!

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