Losing weight by weight training
jjhall1990
Posts: 29 Member
Hi all,
My goal is to lose weight through weight training so not to lose any muscle weight, I have lost weight fairly easy before (definitely in the first few weeks) but this time it is different.
A bit about me first might be helpful...Im 6"4 and weigh dead on 200 pounds.
I have been doing a weight training programme (all be it only 3/4 weeks in but have been sticking to the programme well). Eating protein shake, banana and peanut butter smoothie for breakfast, normally some sort of wrap or salad for lunch and then for dinner meat/fish egg and beans/veg. Have been strict with this diet and the weight programme since I started and the scales have not dropped at all why could this be ? Sometimes the scales have gone up but then next time it goes straight back to where it was when I started ? Am eating less calories than I was and than is my GDA can anyone help please ?
Many thanks
My goal is to lose weight through weight training so not to lose any muscle weight, I have lost weight fairly easy before (definitely in the first few weeks) but this time it is different.
A bit about me first might be helpful...Im 6"4 and weigh dead on 200 pounds.
I have been doing a weight training programme (all be it only 3/4 weeks in but have been sticking to the programme well). Eating protein shake, banana and peanut butter smoothie for breakfast, normally some sort of wrap or salad for lunch and then for dinner meat/fish egg and beans/veg. Have been strict with this diet and the weight programme since I started and the scales have not dropped at all why could this be ? Sometimes the scales have gone up but then next time it goes straight back to where it was when I started ? Am eating less calories than I was and than is my GDA can anyone help please ?
Many thanks
0
Replies
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Are you measuring your food?0
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How many calories are you eating?
What does your workout schedule look like?0 -
Yeah im measuring foods breakfast and lunch to the tea and dinner as best I can and if anything would go more the other way if unsure.
For eating calories can range I suppose from about 1200-1800 on most week days is nearer the low end there, work out schedule is the norm really doing back/biceps, legs, chest/triceps with a day of rest between each also doing football training usually once to twice a week.
Any thoughts?
Thanks0 -
There is "fat weight" and "muscle weight". To lose fat, you simply restrict calories and use a "segregated diet" instead of a "balanced diet". With such a diet, you don't have to train, although you can if you wish. A "segregated diet" means, you eat carbs with fats at one meal, and protein and fats at the next and fruits by themselves. Which implies eating five to seven meals per day, every day. Drink water according to your thirst. This should reduce any stomach bloating you may have.
Muscle weight, or what bodybuilders would call muscle mass, is built by protein, relatively low fats, and some carbohydrates, mostly "fibrous carbs", ie. non-starchy vegetables and legumes, and few fruits, especially right before and right after training with weights. Again, five to seven meals a day are best. Water should be consume very generously, to the rate of at least one cup every waking hour.
In your post, the problem you expose is that you don't eat enough overall calories and grams of protein, and the protein shake you describe is too high in fat because of the peanut butter. You therefore short-circuit your weight training gains.
Better to use 1/4 cup of very good vanilla ice cream, an excellent whey protein, with banana and skim milk, and voila! Before training, you can have oatmeal, small berries and a scrambled egg omelet (maybe one or two whole eggs with 1/2 a cup to a cup of egg whites)...Wait 45 min and train, then, upon returning, have the protein drink I mentioned, then 2 1/2 to 3 hours later, have chicken, or fish, or beef, with fibrous carbs (green vegetables) and some starch (brown rice, sweet potato). Over the course of a day, you should consume at least one gram of protein per pound of the desired bodyweight (0.5 g per kg of bwt) you're aiming for. You should eat as much if not slightly more carb grams per day as you would protein grams. Your fats (in calories), should hover between 20 to 33% of total daily calories eaten each day.
Weight training should be performed, depending upon your level of experience, three to four days a week, 45 to 55 min in duration, and cover the whole body, without "stressing out" over the waist, especially if you are over 40. Remember that as you gain muscle weight, you lose fat! Therefore, your weight might not go down on said scale, but the mirror and the tape measure should quickly show you results!
After you see dramatic change in the mirror from a high-protein, low fat diet, combined to proper weight training, your bodyweight might even go up! Great! As long as the waistline keeps going down! After three to four months of such a regimen, you might want to increase "fun and interesting aerobics", probably outdoors, for at least 45 min a day, three to four days a week, and then, whatever fat and water retention your body might hold on to will melt away, leaving behind nothing but muscle! Time to shop for new clothes and enjoy!
So, to sum up, if weight loss and slimming down is the main focus, use a segregated diet to "un-bloat", where training is not paramount; otherwise, if looking fit and muscular is the goal, combine the use of a high-protein, low-fat bodybuilding diet, to weight training, where how you look in the mirror predominates over how much you weigh on the scale!
I wish you great results!0 -
Thanks that was a really great post, so what I got from that is that cut out the peanut butter and try to reduce the amount of fats taken in ?
And increase the amount of calories I am taking in overall during the day ? What around should I be aiming at myfitnesspal calculated me to have about 1800 a day ?0 -
Try using a TDEE calculator such as this to calculate your calorie and macro requirements: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
Regarding the previous post, there is nothing wrong with eating peanut butter as long as you are hitting your calorie and macro goals.0 -
There is "fat weight" and "muscle weight". To lose fat, you simply restrict calories and use a "segregated diet" instead of a "balanced diet". With such a diet, you don't have to train, although you can if you wish. A "segregated diet" means, you eat carbs with fats at one meal, and protein and fats at the next and fruits by themselves. Which implies eating five to seven meals per day, every day. Drink water according to your thirst. This should reduce any stomach bloating you may have.
Muscle weight, or what bodybuilders would call muscle mass, is built by protein, relatively low fats, and some carbohydrates, mostly "fibrous carbs", ie. non-starchy vegetables and legumes, and few fruits, especially right before and right after training with weights. Again, five to seven meals a day are best. Water should be consume very generously, to the rate of at least one cup every waking hour.
In your post, the problem you expose is that you don't eat enough overall calories and grams of protein, and the protein shake you describe is too high in fat because of the peanut butter. You therefore short-circuit your weight training gains.
Better to use 1/4 cup of very good vanilla ice cream, an excellent whey protein, with banana and skim milk, and voila! Before training, you can have oatmeal, small berries and a scrambled egg omelet (maybe one or two whole eggs with 1/2 a cup to a cup of egg whites)...Wait 45 min and train, then, upon returning, have the protein drink I mentioned, then 2 1/2 to 3 hours later, have chicken, or fish, or beef, with fibrous carbs (green vegetables) and some starch (brown rice, sweet potato). Over the course of a day, you should consume at least one gram of protein per pound of the desired bodyweight (0.5 g per kg of bwt) you're aiming for. You should eat as much if not slightly more carb grams per day as you would protein grams. Your fats (in calories), should hover between 20 to 33% of total daily calories eaten each day.
Weight training should be performed, depending upon your level of experience, three to four days a week, 45 to 55 min in duration, and cover the whole body, without "stressing out" over the waist, especially if you are over 40. Remember that as you gain muscle weight, you lose fat! Therefore, your weight might not go down on said scale, but the mirror and the tape measure should quickly show you results!
After you see dramatic change in the mirror from a high-protein, low fat diet, combined to proper weight training, your bodyweight might even go up! Great! As long as the waistline keeps going down! After three to four months of such a regimen, you might want to increase "fun and interesting aerobics", probably outdoors, for at least 45 min a day, three to four days a week, and then, whatever fat and water retention your body might hold on to will melt away, leaving behind nothing but muscle! Time to shop for new clothes and enjoy!
So, to sum up, if weight loss and slimming down is the main focus, use a segregated diet to "un-bloat", where training is not paramount; otherwise, if looking fit and muscular is the goal, combine the use of a high-protein, low-fat bodybuilding diet, to weight training, where how you look in the mirror predominates over how much you weigh on the scale!
I wish you great results!
:huh: Segregated diet? Eating 7 times a day? Cutting out peanut butter?
No. Just no. OP, don't listen to this.0 -
weight training does not help you lose weight...it helps you retain muscle while losing fat...
Weight loss comes from your food intake...if you are in a deficit you lose weight...if you are lifting and not in a deficit you will gain...
No need to cut out peanut butter or reduce fats unless there is a medical reason for it.
If MFP gave you 1800 eat that and your exercise calories...
Depending on your weekly weight loss goal, since you want to lose 25lbs, you could probably be eating a bit more...I lose 1lb a week on 1800...so I suspect you have your weekly goal set to 2lbs? If so change it to 1 or 1/2lb you will get more food.0 -
There is "fat weight" and "muscle weight". To lose fat, you simply restrict calories and use a "segregated diet" instead of a "balanced diet". With such a diet, you don't have to train, although you can if you wish. A "segregated diet" means, you eat carbs with fats at one meal, and protein and fats at the next and fruits by themselves. Which implies eating five to seven meals per day, every day. Drink water according to your thirst. This should reduce any stomach bloating you may have.
Muscle weight, or what bodybuilders would call muscle mass, is built by protein, relatively low fats, and some carbohydrates, mostly "fibrous carbs", ie. non-starchy vegetables and legumes, and few fruits, especially right before and right after training with weights. Again, five to seven meals a day are best. Water should be consume very generously, to the rate of at least one cup every waking hour.
In your post, the problem you expose is that you don't eat enough overall calories and grams of protein, and the protein shake you describe is too high in fat because of the peanut butter. You therefore short-circuit your weight training gains.
Better to use 1/4 cup of very good vanilla ice cream, an excellent whey protein, with banana and skim milk, and voila! Before training, you can have oatmeal, small berries and a scrambled egg omelet (maybe one or two whole eggs with 1/2 a cup to a cup of egg whites)...Wait 45 min and train, then, upon returning, have the protein drink I mentioned, then 2 1/2 to 3 hours later, have chicken, or fish, or beef, with fibrous carbs (green vegetables) and some starch (brown rice, sweet potato). Over the course of a day, you should consume at least one gram of protein per pound of the desired bodyweight (0.5 g per kg of bwt) you're aiming for. You should eat as much if not slightly more carb grams per day as you would protein grams. Your fats (in calories), should hover between 20 to 33% of total daily calories eaten each day.
Weight training should be performed, depending upon your level of experience, three to four days a week, 45 to 55 min in duration, and cover the whole body, without "stressing out" over the waist, especially if you are over 40. Remember that as you gain muscle weight, you lose fat! Therefore, your weight might not go down on said scale, but the mirror and the tape measure should quickly show you results!
After you see dramatic change in the mirror from a high-protein, low fat diet, combined to proper weight training, your bodyweight might even go up! Great! As long as the waistline keeps going down! After three to four months of such a regimen, you might want to increase "fun and interesting aerobics", probably outdoors, for at least 45 min a day, three to four days a week, and then, whatever fat and water retention your body might hold on to will melt away, leaving behind nothing but muscle! Time to shop for new clothes and enjoy!
So, to sum up, if weight loss and slimming down is the main focus, use a segregated diet to "un-bloat", where training is not paramount; otherwise, if looking fit and muscular is the goal, combine the use of a high-protein, low-fat bodybuilding diet, to weight training, where how you look in the mirror predominates over how much you weigh on the scale!
I wish you great results!
:huh: Segregated diet? Eating 7 times a day? Cutting out peanut butter?
No. Just no. OP, don't listen to this.
Yah it's pretty much a NO...esp since it's the same advice given in another post.0 -
1800 doesn't sound like enough for a 24 yo male who works out. I second finding your TDEE and subtracting cals for a slow, safe loss. I'm weight training and losing, and I eat peanut butter EVERY DAY. I measure it and fit it into my cals/macros.0
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I don't know. I lost about 15 pounds doing weight training, and minimal cardio. I have one MAYBE two cardio days of week which are spin class and something fun like zumba. Otherwise it's only 10-30 minutes on the stair master after weight training.
You can look at my diary. I eat quite a bit less calories than you though. You said you were weighing your food right?
You are eating 2 things I stay away from, peanut butter and wraps.0 -
If your going for body changes with weight training the best bet is to throw your scale in the garbage and buy a measuring tape.
Or better yet get a trainer or doctor to measure your body fat over the next few months.
I started weight lifting 2 yrs ago, I'm only about 10lbs lighter. I am however back to college freshman size (ie I've lost 4+ inches from waist )0 -
I'm a 6'2", 24 y/o female that weighs a few lbs more than you, lifts heavy (SL 5x5), and I eat a lot more than that to lose weight. As a 24 y/o male at 6'4", I would aim to lose .25-.5 lbs a week to keep a modest deficit, get adequate protein (.8g/lb bodyweight or 1g/lb of lean body mass) and lift heavy. You'll be able to eat more food, fuel your lifts better, and ensure that the smaller amount of weight you're losing should be mostly all fat, not a combination of fat and muscle.0
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Hi All,
Thanks for the replies, im glad the majority of you have discredited one of the earlier posts about not eating peanut butter (which if needed I could do) and the eating 7 times a day, which I don't due to work and commuting I pretty much always eat 3 times a day without snacking and I don't see why this as a pose to eating smaller more times in a day would make me not lose weight ?
I agree with what people are saying about not losing weight but losing fat and I apologise for my wording as this is of course what I meant, and also about throwing out the scales. Although I was disheartened that I didn't drop any weight I stayed focus as I thought I saw a slight improvement in the mirror however the other day I tried on a pair of trousers which were tight at the beginning and when I tried them on the other day they were exactly the same so I lost no inches around the waist. Is this possible or if im losing fat should they definitely be better fitting ?
I have had a bad weekend with food
...but from today am trying out a new diet if there are any improvement or something that anyone can suggest to see results please let me know. I think the main of it will be...
Breakfast
2 scoops of diet whey mixed with water/milk and maybe a banana or scoop of PB.
Lunch
1-2 Chicken breast/fillet of salmon and either couscous or mixed vegetables
Dinner
2 Chicken breasts, mixed veg and gravy
Or
2 Chicken breasts, beans and 2 eggs
These meals should get me in under what I am meant to so in terms of 'eat less than you burn' I should definitely lose youd like to think ?
As well as this will be lifting in gym 3 times a week and playing football 1-2 times a week, is there anyway that this could be too little I am eating and that's a reason why I am not losing ?
Many thanks for all your comments hope to hear from you soon
P.S just calculated TDEE which was 2800 and BMR which was just over 2000, both these seem fairly high for losing weight ? or is that me just thinking too much into it ?0 -
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Im not guessing but how many calories I consume depends on what I eat which varies from day to day, on the lowest days I eat 1200 and on the highest days I eat 1800 with certain days falling between the two.0
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Is that what this requires ? Do you eat the same amount of calories every single day ?
When I go to the gym I try and look for improvements if you lift the same amount of weight for the same amount of reps your body wont grow, you have to mix it up to get the best results. I thought that was the same for dieting ? If I eat a chicken breast one day and a salmon fillet the next is that frowned upon because one might be a couple hundred more calories ? If im under my goal surely im under my goal regardless0 -
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Not confuse muscle but if your not uping your game then what is the point your going to stay the same strength always without any increase to muscle surely?
Okay point taken about the food, however I think it will be very hard for me to do that as I like to mix up what I have for lunch most days so I don't get bored of the food however breakfast and dinner are pretty much always the same, surely this shouldn't be contributing to me not dropping the weight though ?0 -
Hi All,
Thanks for the replies, im glad the majority of you have discredited one of the earlier posts about not eating peanut butter (which if needed I could do) and the eating 7 times a day, which I don't due to work and commuting I pretty much always eat 3 times a day without snacking and I don't see why this as a pose to eating smaller more times in a day would make me not lose weight ?
I agree with what people are saying about not losing weight but losing fat and I apologise for my wording as this is of course what I meant, and also about throwing out the scales. Although I was disheartened that I didn't drop any weight I stayed focus as I thought I saw a slight improvement in the mirror however the other day I tried on a pair of trousers which were tight at the beginning and when I tried them on the other day they were exactly the same so I lost no inches around the waist. Is this possible or if im losing fat should they definitely be better fitting ?
I have had a bad weekend with food...but from today am trying out a new diet if there are any improvement or something that anyone can suggest to see results please let me know. I think the main of it will be...
Breakfast
2 scoops of diet whey mixed with water/milk and maybe a banana or scoop of PB.
Lunch
1-2 Chicken breast/fillet of salmon and either couscous or mixed vegetables
Dinner
2 Chicken breasts, mixed veg and gravy
Or
2 Chicken breasts, beans and 2 eggs
These meals should get me in under what I am meant to so in terms of 'eat less than you burn' I should definitely lose youd like to think ?
As well as this will be lifting in gym 3 times a week and playing football 1-2 times a week, is there anyway that this could be too little I am eating and that's a reason why I am not losing ?
Many thanks for all your comments hope to hear from you soon
P.S just calculated TDEE which was 2800 and BMR which was just over 2000, both these seem fairly high for losing weight ? or is that me just thinking too much into it ?
Those probably are not high. I am 31, 5'11, 180, desk job and I exercise 5-6 hours a week and I lose at 2500 calories. You are young, taller and heavier than me, so it's possible you can lose at a higher amount.
Can you open your food diary so we can take a look at it.
Also, there is no reason to live off a chicken breast and salmon. You can eat anything and still lose weight.0 -
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Not confuse muscle but if your not uping your game then what is the point your going to stay the same strength always without any increase to muscle surely?
Okay point taken about the food, however I think it will be very hard for me to do that as I like to mix up what I have for lunch most days so I don't get bored of the food however breakfast and dinner are pretty much always the same, surely this shouldn't be contributing to me not dropping the weight though ?
You are missing the point about the food. It's not the type of food you eat, it's about being consistent with your calories and macros. You should be eating at least 1800 based on the TDEE you provided above, probably closer to 2300 because you don't have much to lose and you want to retain muscle.
You also need a certain amount of protein in order to retain that muscle. You can't get that on 1200 calories per day. This is where consistency comes in. You need to hit your minimums, being all over the place with your intake doesn't allow you to do that.
Being consistent with your calorie and macro intake also allows you to monitor your progress more effectively and tweak as needed. It's much easier to eat 2300 calories a day, have a regular exercise routine, monitor your weight loss for a few weeks, and then add or drop 50 calories than it is to try to figure out the problem when one day 1200, then 1450, then 1900, then 1500, but you did 1 hour of weights on one day, 1.5 hours the next, 60 min cardio one day, 45 min but not very intensely…you see where this is going.
Find your calorie and macro intake. Pick a workout routine - 3 days lifting, 1-3 days cardio. Make sure you have rest days. Do that consistently for a few weeks, then evaluate your progress.0 -
A calorie deficit is the only thing absolutely required for fat loss to occur. If you are not losing you are not in a deficit.
Weight training while in a deficit, along with sufficient protein intake, will help maintain lean muscle while in a deficit but will not in and of itself "cause" fat loss.
So to answer your original question, if you are not losing weight you are either eating more than you think or burning less than you think or a combination of both.0 -
Not confuse muscle but if your not uping your game then what is the point your going to stay the same strength always without any increase to muscle surely?
Okay point taken about the food, however I think it will be very hard for me to do that as I like to mix up what I have for lunch most days so I don't get bored of the food however breakfast and dinner are pretty much always the same, surely this shouldn't be contributing to me not dropping the weight though ?
The point of lifting while in a deficit is to retain muscle tissue not to build new muscle. If you are a beginner to weight training you will maybe build a small amount of muscle while in a deficit but not for long. You should be using a well designed program and focus on maintaining strength while losing fat. If you can add weight to the bar you should absolutely do so but that is not the goal while losing, maintaining muscle is.0 -
Okay great thank you was really helpful, from today I am going to start on a new diet and up the food to 1800 and try to keep it as close to this as I can each day while eating good healthy food. With what everyone has said this should mean I will "definitely" lose fat as this is below what is burnt
.
Just finding it all a bit different as before when I dieted on similar food solely doing cardio the results were a a lot better and quicker but I suppose they would be as am burning off more calories and I guess losing some muscle along with fat.
Thanks for all the help
Also will open up my diary so people can see0 -
Okay great thank you was really helpful, from today I am going to start on a new diet and up the food to 1800 and try to keep it as close to this as I can each day while eating good healthy food. With what everyone has said this should mean I will "definitely" lose fat as this is below what is burnt.
Just finding it all a bit different as before when I dieted on similar food solely doing cardio the results were a a lot better and quicker but I suppose they would be as am burning off more calories and I guess losing some muscle along with fat.
Thanks for all the help
Also will open up my diary so people can see
honestly, even 1800 calories will probably be too little, especially since you play football on top of your weight training. If the calculations are correct, I would start at 2250 calories per day. And log every day, even the bad ones. After 4 weeks, you can readjust as necessary.0 -
Okay thanks I will try, have you got any good suggestions that could bulk my calorie intake up a couple hundred ? Whilst still being healthy and allowing me to lose the weight as at the moment all I am having is breakfast lunch and dinner, which are similar to todays0
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Okay thanks I will try, have you got any good suggestions that could bulk my calorie intake up a couple hundred ? Whilst still being healthy and allowing me to lose the weight as at the moment all I am having is breakfast lunch and dinner, which are similar to todays
Feel free to look at my diary. But no foods are really inherently unhealthy. But you could add, red meats, nuts, avocado, peanut butter, cheese, eggs, cook foods in olive oil, marinades, etc... Pretty much anything you enjoy eating. I just aim to hit my protein goals and let the rest fall out.0 -
Thanks I had a quick look, and what on that diet you are losing ?0
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