Should I Stop Lifting until I Lose Fat????
JessaLee0324
Posts: 118 Member
I need some expert advice on how to lose 15lbs --- preferably while weighlifting. I've tried and I end up eating waaay over my calorie goals almost daily 
I don't care if I have to alternate plans until I have the body I want. I just don't know what to start with -- everything I've done since I started MFP in October 2014 has failed.
I was doing light cardio and trying to eat at a deficit at first. That was back and forth. Scale not really doing much. I was seeing all these women with hot bods talking about how they only lift weights and it's changed them in a way cardio never could. So I started weightlifting for the first time ever in December 2104 following Stronglifts 5x5. I loved it right off the bat and started seeing a change in the scale into the second week. THEN into my third week, my energy levels tanked and I started eating everything in sight --- just trying to keep energy to stay awake and function. It got so bad that I went to 3x5 hoping to be able to be normal.
Turns out lifting heavy requires extra calories. And extra calories do not equal weightloss. So I don't know what to do.
I'm 5'3" and 148lbs. I want to weightlift very much, but I also want to lose 15 lbs of body fat. Should I keep weightlifting or stop and focus on eating at a deficit? I don't want to lose the muscle I have gained so far with SL5x5. But I also cannot keep gaining weight. I am now 2lbs HEAVIER then I was in October when I started and it's not just muscle --- my clothes are tighter everywhere
Is there a better workout plan I could follow that allows me to weightlift and eat at a deficit OR eat at maintenance and still lose weight while retaining what little LBM I have? Or should I just hold off on weightlifting for now and try and get rid of the 15lbs first??
I'm so confused about what I should be doing. I feel like I'm doing my body a disservice not lifting weight. But maybe I'm doing more harm then good. Any and all advice is very welcome.!
I don't care if I have to alternate plans until I have the body I want. I just don't know what to start with -- everything I've done since I started MFP in October 2014 has failed.
I was doing light cardio and trying to eat at a deficit at first. That was back and forth. Scale not really doing much. I was seeing all these women with hot bods talking about how they only lift weights and it's changed them in a way cardio never could. So I started weightlifting for the first time ever in December 2104 following Stronglifts 5x5. I loved it right off the bat and started seeing a change in the scale into the second week. THEN into my third week, my energy levels tanked and I started eating everything in sight --- just trying to keep energy to stay awake and function. It got so bad that I went to 3x5 hoping to be able to be normal.
Turns out lifting heavy requires extra calories. And extra calories do not equal weightloss. So I don't know what to do.
I'm 5'3" and 148lbs. I want to weightlift very much, but I also want to lose 15 lbs of body fat. Should I keep weightlifting or stop and focus on eating at a deficit? I don't want to lose the muscle I have gained so far with SL5x5. But I also cannot keep gaining weight. I am now 2lbs HEAVIER then I was in October when I started and it's not just muscle --- my clothes are tighter everywhere
Is there a better workout plan I could follow that allows me to weightlift and eat at a deficit OR eat at maintenance and still lose weight while retaining what little LBM I have? Or should I just hold off on weightlifting for now and try and get rid of the 15lbs first??
I'm so confused about what I should be doing. I feel like I'm doing my body a disservice not lifting weight. But maybe I'm doing more harm then good. Any and all advice is very welcome.!
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I have very similar problems and concerns so I am going to wait for answers. ( I actually have a thread in this group talking about my journey and concerns. "47 yo female. . . "
It is frustrating.0 -
I did read that thread and I know what you are going through. It's frustrating to put so much time into something and end up with nothing. It takes weeks for me to see a loss and about one day to reverse the whole thing.0
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Gotta pick a priority goal, at least for a little while. Performance gains or fat loss.
If you do NOT eat the extra food, you will feel hungry, eventually your lifting will stop increasing in performance, you'll just maintain.
But you'll drop fat.
Keep a reasonable deficit, you won't lose any muscle mass or gains. Just maintain, or so slow on gains it'll be painful compared to eating at maintenance.
And wait until you see what happens eating in surplus. Oh wait, you actually are if gaining weight. It'll feel especially tough going in to a deficit then.
But you can keep lifting while doing it. Doing damage lifting still requires repair and extra calories, you just aren't going to provide them if you want to lose the fat.0 -
I am confused with your goal... Being thin, or muscular and lifting heavy?? I am 48, I deadlift 250lbs 18 times in a row, squat 190 12 times in a row, and walk 255lbs (trap) 100 m. But I weigh 145lbs. And I will not go under that because then I cant lift. And I am told that I have the best body at the gym, and compete. I have a lot of muscle definition. Hardly any fat. Being 120 is not for me and never will be. I chose my goals. That said , I refuel wisely; carbs, but healthy carbs. Because I eat a lot. Dates, figs, nuts, etc.. It is notmal to be hungry when you lift.0
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JessaLee0324 wrote: »I need some expert advice on how to lose 15lbs --- preferably while weighlifting. I've tried and I end up eating waaay over my calorie goals almost daily
I don't care if I have to alternate plans until I have the body I want. I just don't know what to start with -- everything I've done since I started MFP in October 2014 has failed.
I was doing light cardio and trying to eat at a deficit at first. That was back and forth. Scale not really doing much. I was seeing all these women with hot bods talking about how they only lift weights and it's changed them in a way cardio never could. So I started weightlifting for the first time ever in December 2104 following Stronglifts 5x5. I loved it right off the bat and started seeing a change in the scale into the second week. THEN into my third week, my energy levels tanked and I started eating everything in sight --- just trying to keep energy to stay awake and function. It got so bad that I went to 3x5 hoping to be able to be normal.
Turns out lifting heavy requires extra calories. And extra calories do not equal weightloss. So I don't know what to do.
I'm 5'3" and 148lbs. I want to weightlift very much, but I also want to lose 15 lbs of body fat. Should I keep weightlifting or stop and focus on eating at a deficit? I don't want to lose the muscle I have gained so far with SL5x5. But I also cannot keep gaining weight. I am now 2lbs HEAVIER then I was in October when I started and it's not just muscle --- my clothes are tighter everywhere
Is there a better workout plan I could follow that allows me to weightlift and eat at a deficit OR eat at maintenance and still lose weight while retaining what little LBM I have? Or should I just hold off on weightlifting for now and try and get rid of the 15lbs first??
I'm so confused about what I should be doing. I feel like I'm doing my body a disservice not lifting weight. But maybe I'm doing more harm then good. Any and all advice is very welcome.!
I have some thoughts on this, I'll see if I can explain in a little while today.0 -
Uploading a video reply now. I may not necessarily answer all of your questions directly but I hope this clarifies some things. If it does not, please reply here or send me a PM.0
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spartan546 wrote: »I am confused with your goal... Being thin, or muscular and lifting heavy?? I am 48, I deadlift 250lbs 18 times in a row, squat 190 12 times in a row, and walk 255lbs (trap) 100 m. But I weigh 145lbs. And I will not go under that because then I cant lift. And I am told that I have the best body at the gym, and compete. I have a lot of muscle definition. Hardly any fat. Being 120 is not for me and never will be. I chose my goals. That said , I refuel wisely; carbs, but healthy carbs. Because I eat a lot. Dates, figs, nuts, etc.. It is notmal to be hungry when you lift.
I'm sorry, I was all over the place with my post. I want to lose some body fat. I'm not huge, but not small enough to notice muscle gains other than looking fatter.
So if I continue to lift and eat at maintenance, I will not make gains in lifting but slowly lean out? Is that what I'm hearing? When we say lift...does that mean heavy or lighter weights and more reps?
I suppose I should watch sidesteels video first before asking more.....brb!!!0 -
I'm pretty worried about the same thing happening to me if I start lifting. I'm already pretty hungry, although my current deficit is just doable. I'm afraid if I start lifting I won't be able to keep my eating at its current level, and I have no idea if I should increase my calorie intake, and if so by how much and when?0
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Uploading a video reply now. I may not necessarily answer all of your questions directly but I hope this clarifies some things. If it does not, please reply here or send me a PM.
Thank you for the video response!
I am for sure, not giving up on this then. I will lift weights while in a deficit and continue to tweek my macros and calories until I find a happy balance.
I am going to try a different lifting program for now though. One of my girlfriends uses the Bodyspace app for her lifting workouts and I am going to try my hand at that. Today I am starting Jamie Eason's Livefit Trainer. It's a 12-week program and I am excited. My goal is to complete the entire 12-weeks at a small deficit.
Now my question to you is....(hypothetically -- if you were me).....what sort of deficit would you have while doing this 12-week program? My TDEE is roughly 1850 calories. I'm asking because of my MAJOR blowout with stronglifts. It was really bad to the point where my body felt like I had the flu. I read up on it, and everything pointed to my CNS being overloaded. But my workouts were awesome. Apparently my CNS didn't think so???
Anyhow....thank you again for your thoughts on this. I know there are so many people asking the same questions all the time.0 -
Hard to say because we're dealing with estimations as is. But generally speaking I'd aim to lose about .5 to 1lbs/week and probably stay on the low end of that to start out to see how you feel. You may just need to keep your deficit on the smaller end and go with slower fat loss so that you can keep gym performance high.0
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posts all seem a bit technical....
but back to reality ...
you re new to weights, finding them heavy and you openly admit you are eating waay over your cals on a daily basis...
having mentioned heavy weights, yes they might feel that way at the beginning, but in reality there s nothing you are lifting that merits one extra calorie !!!
Surely you couldn't possibly have expected a toned (whatever that is) body or any change given the effort you ve put in thus far knowing you cant realistically say you ve started managing your food intake yet ....
Truth is this is a forum and you know exactly why you re failing thus far and know no one here can prevent you eating as you do..
only you can !
I would suggest you write out you meals for the week having calculated calories and macros and make sure that is all you eat and if you cant lift heavy weights on that, lift even lighter ones as you ll benefit far more from diet than exercise ... Its all very basic this weight loss - really.
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How many calories are you eating now?
You listed your TDEE, but not your calorie goal.0 -
I log everything I eat. I have since October 2014. Recently I've started wearing a fitbit. I'm not sure how accurate (I know nothing is 100% accurate with calories) but according to my fitbit, over the course of the last 20 days I've averaged 2030 calories burned a day.
According to the average of the last 20 days logging here at MFP, I consume 1835 daily. I am sure there figure is off since I'm not weighing all my food.
I drink a lot of alcohol -- and that is one thing I have to give up but its hard!! Last week I finally measured what an ounce of vodka is and realized I had been under estimating what an ounce is..... for a long time. I'm sure I do that with everything
So I've probably consumed more then I've burned as I'm sure fitbit is waaaay over estimating on calories burned. Ugh.....
I know I have to get this calorie thing in check. That's why I was asking about lifting while doing so. Lifting makes me so hungry. And I've read that you can't get results while you lift on a deficit. I just want to lose fat....basically recomp.0 -
I see you have two wl goals listed on your profile page for 12/31 and 1/31. Did you reach them? Also noticed your food diary is not open to the public. I would think that it would be good - especially in a group like this - to see what your daily food choices are.0
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Alcohol is tricky. The calories quickly add up and it doesn't help with hunger at all. In my case, it tends to make me eat more. Do you know what your average consumption is minus alcohol? You don't need to post it if you don't want to, but there are approx 230 calories in 2 oz of vodka, plus whatever you are mixing with it. It is very easy to drink 500 or more calories in an evening. Say your average consumption was 1835, but 500 was a couple vodka cranberries, that is only 1335 in food. That would obviously not be as satisfying as 1835 in solid food. I have had to really cut back on my wine in order to get my protein up to my goal while still meeting my calorie goal.0
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JessaLee0324 wrote: »... And I've read that you can't get results while you lift on a deficit. I just want to lose fat....basically recomp.
@OP - I am enclosing 2 pictures for your reference. Whoever said you can't get results being on a deficit and lifting heavy is wrong. These 2 pictures are approx. 6 months apart (bikini last summer, the other one a couple weeks ago). I weight about 2 pounds less in the second one. That is it. However...my body composition is totally improved. It can be done - you have to be patient and be accurate.
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madrose0715 wrote: »JessaLee0324 wrote: »... And I've read that you can't get results while you lift on a deficit. I just want to lose fat....basically recomp.
@OP - I am enclosing 2 pictures for your reference. Whoever said you can't get results being on a deficit and lifting heavy is wrong. These 2 pictures are approx. 6 months apart (bikini last summer, the other one a couple weeks ago). I weight about 2 pounds less in the second one. That is it. However...my body composition is totally improved. It can be done - you have to be patient and be accurate.
Oh wow Madrose you look amazing! THAT is the body I want! And to be totally honest, I currently look very similar to your before picture. How big of a deficit did you lift heavy with and what was your program? How did you stick with the deficit??0 -
Caged_Heat wrote: »I see you have two wl goals listed on your profile page for 12/31 and 1/31. Did you reach them? Also noticed your food diary is not open to the public. I would think that it would be good - especially in a group like this - to see what your daily food choices are.
I did meet the first goal for December, in November. It was short lived after I started lifting.
I've opened my diary up to the public.0 -
I would keep things simple. Reduce intake to about 20% below TDEE and start lifting and see what happens. Modify based on how you feel, how you perform, and rate of weight loss. Do not overcomplicate things and do not look for the perfect intake right out of the gates. It's more important that you track accurately, lift hard, and adjust variables as you go. Being observant will lead you to the right answer.0
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Fitbit is WAYYYYY underestimating calories burned lifting.
Lets see, 10-15 squats gets no steps. Did you burn more than the BMR credit you were given.
Bench and overhead press, no steps. More than BMR being burned?
Need to manually log it on Fitbit as Weights. It's the right entry and lowish calorie burn for heavy lifting. But it's of course more calories than a few steps is going to give you.
Also, for your other 23 hrs of the day - underestimated too.
All non-moving time is given BMR, sleeping, level calorie burn.
But awake you burn more - RMR.
Standing not moving is even more.
Digesting/processing food is burning more (about 10% of calories eaten).
All that is not increased as it should be.
No, all underestimated.0 -
JessaLee0324 wrote: »madrose0715 wrote: »JessaLee0324 wrote: »... And I've read that you can't get results while you lift on a deficit. I just want to lose fat....basically recomp.
@OP - I am enclosing 2 pictures for your reference. Whoever said you can't get results being on a deficit and lifting heavy is wrong. These 2 pictures are approx. 6 months apart (bikini last summer, the other one a couple weeks ago). I weight about 2 pounds less in the second one. That is it. However...my body composition is totally improved. It can be done - you have to be patient and be accurate.
Oh wow Madrose you look amazing! THAT is the body I want! And to be totally honest, I currently look very similar to your before picture. How big of a deficit did you lift heavy with and what was your program? How did you stick with the deficit??
Hi Op - During that period of time, my deficit was flucuating between TDEE -10/15 and some periods of maintenance (for no more than 2 week periods). For lifting, I follow the StrongLifts program, with progressive loading however, I was not increasing the load with every workout but rather once to twice/month. Additionally I was doing distance running 2-3x/week.
I want to point out that I was not intentionally re-comping. lol. I was actually just trying to follow of the advice here to help maintain LBM while in a deficit, to include resistance training. Additionally, I have been on a 3 year weight loss journey and at that point last summer, had lost 90 pounds already and was getting tired of dieting. I suppose my mentality switched from purely weight loss focus to a more ...holistic/whole-some lifestyle change and it reduced the mental pressure I had been putting myself under.
Now, with 10 pounds more to go and the surprise I experienced when seeing my results in the photo of two weeks ago, I have realized this re-comp approach works the best for my mind frame.0 -
JessaLee0324 wrote: »Caged_Heat wrote: »I see you have two wl goals listed on your profile page for 12/31 and 1/31. Did you reach them? Also noticed your food diary is not open to the public. I would think that it would be good - especially in a group like this - to see what your daily food choices are.
I did meet the first goal for December, in November. It was short lived after I started lifting.
I've opened my diary up to the public.
Thanks for opening your diary. And good for you for tracking accurately.
Concentrate on being consistent... Try to eat as many whole foods as possible thus reducing processed foods (which should also help reduce your Fat #'s). Try to meet the protein goal. It will help tremendously. It's hard I know (I feel like I'm always "on the hunt" for protein) but doable. Perhaps, if you like chicken, buy boneless breasts and slow cook them on the weekend so you can use them all week. I do chicken/sweet potato/brocolli 3 x a week.
Do you like wine? I found that I broke a long plateau when I stopped drinking my 2-3 microbrew beers every night and switched to red wine. Now I mix Walmart Clear Flavored water (Pineapple/Coconut, Black Cherry or Red Cherry) with a couple of ounces of Gallo Sweet Red wine and some ice. It satisfies my needs and reduces the amount of alcohol considerably.0 -
Just had a flick through your diary - you'd probably be more satiated if you hit your protein goal.
With lifting goals, you don't have to follow the program to a tee. You can make your increases as and when you feel capable, instead of adding weight to the bar every session. It can be a bit disheartening, but you just have to remind yourself that your priority for now is fatloss, not gainz.0 -
@SideSteel - I'm goingto keep it simple as you suggested. This week I am going to work on keeping my calories around 20% below TDEE (which I have been majorly under estimating ... says scoobysworkshop calc). I started a new lifting program this week also, so I'm going to keep aware of my body and adjsut accordingly. Thanks for the help.
@heybales - Never in a million years would I have thought I burn 2450 calories on days that I hit 10,000 steps. Fitbit tells me I do....and unless I am REALLY mucking up on my logging....I eat nowhere near that. Why am I gaining then???????
@Caged_Heat - I LOVE wine. I love it so much that I can NEVER have just one glass. I have to have at a minimum, half the bottle. I switched to Pino Grigio because it's lighter.....but still. I'm trying to increase the days I go without alcohol at all right now. Daily is just not working for my waistline
@n3ver3nder - I am working on increasing my protein this week. So far I have been feeling fine and less hungry then normal. So yay for that!
I am having one problem. CHEESE and sausage. How on earth do you measure cheese???? I'm sure I'm going waaaaay over the calories I think with the cheese and sausage I've been eating. But they are helping keep hunger/fatigue at bay.
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Hopefully this photo will format correctly.
This is from a year ago, but it shows how after a 4 pound gain I actually looked much slimmer. I recomped from doing a fairly high volume (high # of reps) heavy lifting program while attempted to eat at a slight deficit. (I went down from a size L top to a medium, and a 10 to an 8 pants size)
I honestly struggle endlessly with weight gain because I gain muscle fairly easily--my best results come from finding the balance point of eating JUST enough so that my weight stays the same or even goes up slightly, while my performance in the gym goes up and I feel great. It means that I am hungry some days. If I want to lose scale weight and train the way I love (lifting), I am hungry every day. I have accepted this because I compete in weight class sports. I don't recommend it for people who just want to look better and get smaller!
As for logging things like cheese--do you have a food scale? I always weigh out cheese because it is easy to overeat. Really right now I weigh everything except my spinach, but I'm losing scale weight for a competition so I can live with it.0 -
I've heard eating a lot of FAT and protein helps! But I've also heard you can be ravenous while lifting at a deficit I think I was kind of feeling the same so I took a diet and lifting break (1 week). I'm getting back to it tomorrow. I'm going to be keeping tabs on these responses. 0
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Yep, I always weigh cheese. I like as a snack after dinner for some extra protein, and I find it filling. Even though I am ok at eyeballing, I always weigh to double check.0
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I think you know what you need to do. Cut the wine and the cheese. Maybe a little, maybe a lot, maybe to zero depending on how much practice you need with moderation.
I always weigh the cheese too. I'm a big logging cheater. I only weigh stuff that is really calorie dense but if I wasn't making progress I would weigh everything.
Its hard. I get hungry like crazy the day after I lift. Hungry to the point that I would go over maintenance easily. I eat high volume (like 4 cups minimum of fibrous veggies which equals 2-3 poos a day TMI sorry/not sorry), with a 30/30/40 (P/F/C) split. And I'm still hungry at maintenance or deficit with heavy lifting. I've been in a deficit for mostly 9 months now and the most I can handle is TDEE-20%. I am at the point where I accept that I am going to have to be hungry to reach my goals. To keep from getting too miserable I drink a lot of water and herbal tea and eat maintenance on the weekends (I meal prep in advance for work), when I'm doing night shifts and those few days at my TOTM. I also take a diet break every couple of months for a week or two where I log but eat at maintenance.
In the end you might be doing everything right and still have to accept that you will be hungry.0 -
sorry meant TDEE -15%0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEGwrurrzEw&feature=youtu.be
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