Lifting while still trying to lose?

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happycauseIride
happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have read so many posts on this subject lately that now I myself am confused. I guess I'm questioning how if you need to eat more to build muscle and eat at a deficit to lose weight how does the in-between work? Why lift while still trying to lose weight? If I am eating at a deficit I won't build muscle, right? But I am getting stronger, I can feel that. I am getting smaller, I can see that. The scale is not moving much, I can see that too. I also do cardio almost every day. I do have a terrible habit of thinking too much and over analyzing things, this is probably one of them.

I am 38 yo female, 5'5", SW was 284, CW 217, GW 150. I'm on TDEE - 20% and I average about 1800 cals a day and have for the last several months. I'm only halfway to goal. I do most of my workouts at home, and haven't really gotten into heavy lifting..yet. I want too. I have gone to our local fitness center a couple of times. I can squat 135 lbs and I can DL 85 lbs. I don't think that is too bad. Mostly I do squats with 10 lbs dumbbells and lunges and biceps and stuff at home using my dumb bells and work out videos.

I would great appreciate it if someone could clear this up for me. I know I should keep lifting but how will that actually help me lose pounds. I'm not scale obsessed but I am also not at a healthy weight or close to goal so it is a concern.

Replies

  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    Lifting will help you maintain muscle, helps you burn fat, burn calories. Nothing bad can come from lifting. In fact the after burn effect from lifting is greater then from cardio. Meaning you burn more calories at rest for a period of time afterwards!

    When you first start lifting you will gain strength and build muscles, it's called newb gains. Even at a deficit most people will see a hardening of the fibers and toning of the muscles and will see strength gains when they first start lifting even eating a deficit.

    Another big thing to remember with lifting, the scale doesn't move down as fast, you are tearing muscle fibers so your body takes on water to repair. The good part, the inches will FLY off! Weight is just a number, muscle is more compact and dense then fat. Meaning you can jam more of it in a smaller space, so while your weight may stay around the same, you will shrink. You'll start to notice more toned curves and usually once the water flushes out you'll see a big scale drop every so often.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
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    Lifting will help you maintain muscle, helps you burn fat, burn calories. Nothing bad can come from lifting. In fact the after burn effect from lifting is greater then from cardio. Meaning you burn more calories at rest for a period of time afterwards!

    When you first start lifting you will gain strength and build muscles, it's called newb gains. Even at a deficit most people will see a hardening of the fibers and toning of the muscles and will see strength gains when they first start lifting even eating a deficit.

    Another big thing to remember with lifting, the scale doesn't move down as fast, you are tearing muscle fibers so your body takes on water to repair. The good part, the inches will FLY off! Weight is just a number, muscle is more compact and dense then fat. Meaning you can jam more of it in a smaller space, so while your weight may stay around the same, you will shrink. You'll start to notice more toned curves and usually once the water flushes out you'll see a big scale drop every so often.
    All good advice, but I would also suggest that you don't do lifting to the exclusion of cardio. While lifting has a slightly higher after burn (Google EPOC), cardio burns more fat than lifting while the exercise is being performed. So simply put - lift to maintain your muscle mass (or build a little if you're new to it), and cardio to burn fat.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
    Options
    Lifting will help you maintain muscle, helps you burn fat, burn calories. Nothing bad can come from lifting. In fact the after burn effect from lifting is greater then from cardio. Meaning you burn more calories at rest for a period of time afterwards!

    When you first start lifting you will gain strength and build muscles, it's called newb gains. Even at a deficit most people will see a hardening of the fibers and toning of the muscles and will see strength gains when they first start lifting even eating a deficit.

    Another big thing to remember with lifting, the scale doesn't move down as fast, you are tearing muscle fibers so your body takes on water to repair. The good part, the inches will FLY off! Weight is just a number, muscle is more compact and dense then fat. Meaning you can jam more of it in a smaller space, so while your weight may stay around the same, you will shrink. You'll start to notice more toned curves and usually once the water flushes out you'll see a big scale drop every so often.
    All good advice, but I would also suggest that you don't do lifting to the exclusion of cardio. While lifting has a slightly higher after burn (Google EPOC), cardio burns more fat than lifting while the exercise is being performed. So simply put - lift to maintain your muscle mass (or build a little if you're new to it), and cardio to burn fat.

    ^^ I agree with this. I usually do Cardio in between lift days and shorter periods after I've lifted.
  • hananah89
    hananah89 Posts: 692 Member
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    All great advice. I started the Stronglifts 5x5 at the beginning of this month and know I have gained strength. Just remember the scale would move very slowly, I've only lost about 1 pound this month but took measurements last week and lose and inch or 2 total from various body parts. Just don't get frustrated with the scale moving slowly (that's why I hide my scale for the month) and just focus on improving your health.
  • AbstractAsterism
    AbstractAsterism Posts: 153 Member
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    Bump for later!
  • AidaLott
    AidaLott Posts: 13 Member
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    dfootballJRC - - -YOU are my hero! You explained so perfectly how and why fat loss occurs in correlation to what I expect on the scale. You have given me hope that my eating and exercise plan is not in vain -no matter what that horrid contraption on my bathroom floor dictates. You rule, dude!

    -AidaLott ( 63 year old overweight male with hypotyhroidism and a s****load of patience.)
  • EreborsPrincess
    EreborsPrincess Posts: 139
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    Bump for later. Thanks for the info!

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