Few questions regarding fitness training and nutrition

prisky780
prisky780 Posts: 30 Member
edited November 9 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, so I have heard this a lot and curious to know why or what they do?

1. Fiber - why and how does it matter when losing body fat? (considering I don't feel hungry often)
2. Weight lifting burns more fat - is this actually true? or is it that lifting burns more calorie and having a deficit with food intake as well will help shedding more fat?
3. Question for someone who had to lose 5-10lbs only - how long did it take for you notice physical results? (considering you DIDN'T do those 30-day challenge programs)

The reasons I'm asking is I'm fairly petite and was always obsessed over my waist/hip. I have wide hips bones (it's in the family). Over the years I have gained fat around my hips giving it more wider look. I'm currently training with a trainer 3 times a week for an hour session. We do weight lifting and resistance training. I see amazing result on my arms and loving it. But no results on my hips. I started gym in August this year. Missed a month of November for family emergency. I also started dieting or shall I say counting calories to have calorie deficit.

I'm wondering how long should I wait to see the results since gaining lean muscle will only increase my weight (scale is useless in this case) and don't have a caliper to measure fat loss.

Replies

  • Fujiberry
    Fujiberry Posts: 400 Member
    1) Fiber is important in having a balance diet and a well-functioning digestive system.
    2) Cardio burns fat, but only burns calories while you're doing it. Weight training requires muscle recovery and uses energy from calories to repair muscles.
    3) The smaller you are, the harder it is to lose fat. An very obese person will be able to lose 5+ lbs healthily within the first 2 weeks at a deficit. A person who's 110 may see the same loss within a month and a half.

    You cannot spot reduce. Bodyfat is lost throughout the body and you can't choose where your body loses it first. For women, fat on the legs and waist are the last to go.
  • Fujiberry
    Fujiberry Posts: 400 Member
    Gaining muscle mass takes time. It takes MUCH more time than losing fat. Take progress pictures every month and if you're doing everything right, you should see 'noticeable/obvious' difference after a 4-5 months.

    If you only have 5-10 lbs to lose, I suggest eating at maintenance or a slight surplus. Any flabs will always be flabby/jiggly if you don't have enough muscle. Gaining muscle when you're already at a low weight requires a caloric surplus, or at least eating at maintenance to start.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    You mentioned you're eating at a calorie deficit, you're not really going to pack-on major muscle mass. You might lose body-fat and have more muscle definition but I would say it's unlikely you'll experience significant hypertrophy.

    Exercise (cardio or resistance training) burn calories, period. One is not better than the other for losing body-fat. Ultimately your nutrition will create the best calorie deficit, so that must be first-and-foremost.
  • prisky780
    prisky780 Posts: 30 Member
    All these comments are very helpful. Thank you. Having a timeline even if its just estimated, gives me more patient and I can keep doing what I am doing.

    Right now, I'm eating at deficit because I don't want to gain a huge chunk of muscle on bottom of my fat. It has been at least 4 months since I started working out and I do see changes on my upper body. But just like you said fats on waist and legs are last to go away, I didn't notice much difference.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Don't rely on what you see, because we're all really bad about accurately gauging what we look like. Have you been taking measurements? If not, you should start now.
  • PeterSedesse
    PeterSedesse Posts: 124
    1. The biggest advantage of fiber is it makes you feel full longer. There is another side benefit of insoluble fiber, it traps sugar and spreads out the absorption of that sugar over a longer period of time. Think of it as a time-release capsule. Instead of getting a sugar burst after a meal, the calories will be spread out, which can give you more energy to work out later on

    2. Building muscle does not help you burn more fat other than the calories you burn to build the muscle. But this is important, in places like your abs, hips and upper legs, building muscle can make you APPEAR like you are losing fat. Building up your gluts can help remove the appearance of cellulite. For some people, building up abdominal muscles can cause them to squeeze their intestines, which makes them look thinner. Both the butt and abdomen will also give you better posture, which makes you look leaner.

    3 With only a 5-10lb loss, you will probably see an improved appearance more because of the muscle toning rather than losing 5lbs of fat. You talked about your hips a lot. My suggestion is to really concentrate on doing squats. Women with wide hips can make themselves look incredible by putting on some muscle and curves in the upper legs and butt.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Hi, I am 5'1 small frame, it took me 79 days to go from 106.4 to 99.8 = 6.6lb loss.
    I ate at maintenance, which is 1200 cal for me, and burned about 1200-1400 cals per week on exercise. I ate back probably 200-250 per week.

    Ha! Working all this out tells me I am going to have to up my maintenance by 2100 cals a week or I may just fade away hahahaha.
    Hope my numbers help,
    Cheers, h.
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