Lifting heavy - will I lose weight?

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beth0277
beth0277 Posts: 217 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all! Question: I have about 50-60 pounds to lose (I'm female). I'm pretty doughy right now. My trainer wants to focus on heavy weights 3 days a week and I plan to run 3 other days a week because I enjoy it. Will lifting "heavy" allow me to lose the weight that I want to or will it stall it? I will also be cutting calories and working towards a deficit/day.

Any advice would be appreciated. I know weight lifting is great, just not sure if I should try to lose some weight before I start a real weight program.

Replies

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    Lifting helps you lose body fat and retain lean body mass.
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    Lifting weights will help you lose fat. It may stall your "weight" loss because you'll be retaining muscle that you otherwise would be losing; however, this is a good thing! Lifting 3 days and running 3 days is a great split for someone with your goals.
  • amcook4
    amcook4 Posts: 561 Member
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    Lifting heavy definitely helps with weight loss. It will also help you maintain the muscle that you have, so when you do lose, it is more fat loss, instead of fat & muscle.

    When I started a few months ago I did notice my weight loss stalled temporarily, my body was confused and held onto a lot of water, but after a couple of weeks it all whooshed off and I was back where I needed to be. I've lost 65 pounds since May, starting lifting sometime in August.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    randomtai wrote: »
    Lifting helps you lose body fat and retain lean body mass.

    This, and you will lose weight/improve body composition if you are in a caloric deficit.
  • WandaMM1
    WandaMM1 Posts: 132 Member
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    I agree with everyone! Also, lifting heavy will help cut inches since muscle is more dense (think smaller) than fat. I think your trainer is giving good advice!
  • Kriptikk
    Kriptikk Posts: 15 Member
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    You will only lose weight if you're in some form of calorie deficit. Lifting weights can help you enter a calorie deficit but make sure your diet and nutrition is on point first. :)
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    Yes!!
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    This is how it is done!! Good for you!!
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Calorie deficit will make you lose weight. Lifting weights will help you retain your muscle while you do it. I do not recommend losing weight first and then lifting-- that's what I did. It's a lot harder to build muscle from scratch after you've lost it than it is to just keep what you have in the first place.

    You may see your weight stall for 4-6 weeks in the beginning. That doesn't mean you aren't losing fat, it just means that your muscles will retain water at first and that can hide your scale losses.
  • 4DML
    4DML Posts: 3
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    I lose weight at a faster rate doing only cardio. Lifting weights slows (and sometimes stalls) my weight loss. However, during those times, my body is making muscle. I know that this is happening because I get a DEXA scan every month. So long as you are seeing positive changes in the mirror (you're shrinking in size since fat is bulkier than muscle), don't fret about the number that shows up on the scale.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    Absolutely. 100%, it will definitely assist in giving you the deficit needed to lose weight, while shaping your body and making you strong in the meantime - benefits you will not get from diet alone.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
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    I lost a pound or two after I started a heavy weighting program. However, I lost a lot more when I started doing HIIT workouts such as Insanity and TurboFire.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
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    Yes you can. Will be especially noticeable in the bodyfat difference
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Lifting weights and maintaining a calorie deficit will help you lose weight.

    Doing HIIT and maintaining a calorie deficit will help you lose weight.

    Doing endurance cardio and maintaining a calorie deficit will help you lose weight.

    Working on a farm and maintaining a calorie deficit will help you lose weight.

    Walking your dog and maintaining a calorie deficit will help you lose weight.

    There's a pattern here.......
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
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    Fat loss and lean body mass gains = WIN. 71 lbs down with heavy lifting. Course .. gotta have your food in alignment. I'm a HUGE advocate of strength training. So to answer your question: YES! Get After It !
  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
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    Doing anything and eating at a calorie deficit will cause you to lose weight. We all use that expression, but we really don't mean losing weight as much as losing fat and toning up. You'll still lose lean tissue too, since you don't need as much with a leaner frame, but muscle and bone mass are what you want to try and maintain and heavy lifting targets them both quite well.

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