Lifting weights to lose weight?
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SCP0914
Posts: 74 Member
Okay, so I've lost about 25 pounds by just watching what I eat. I've got about 35 pounds more to go, but I hit a plateau. I've been hitting the gym the past few weeks and cracking down on my calorie deficit, so I've been surfing the web trying to figure out what's going to get me the best results. Needless to say, I'm so confused. One person recommends to skip cardio and lift weights. One person recommends both. Another recommends not even touching weights until I've lost the weight and want to start building muscle. Can someone break this down for me? That'd be awesome.
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The person that recommended not touching weights until you've lost all the weight is sadly misinformed. Almost everyone I've talked to says they wish they had started lifting when they started the journey.
Between cardio and lifting, it's a preference. I did just cardio for teh first 3 months and then switched to just lifting for the last year. The only reason I switched was between cardio killed my knee but now I wish I had started the lifting sooner.
Cardio for your heart and lungs
Weights for your muscles
I would recommend StrongLifts 5X5. I live by it.
Starting weight in Sept 2013: 231 lbs
XXL shirt, size 16 jeans, 46DD bra
Feb 2015-Today: 180 lbs (Been there for 6 months, became complacent, just started lifting again)
Large shirt (I have broad shoulders), size 10 jeans, 38DD bra0 -
madhatter2013 wrote: »The person that recommended not touching weights until you've lost all the weight is sadly misinformed. Almost everyone I've talked to says they wish they had started lifting when they started the journey.
Between cardio and lifting, it's a preference. I did just cardio for teh first 3 months and then switched to just lifting for the last year. The only reason I switched was between cardio killed my knee but now I wish I had started the lifting sooner.
Cardio for your heart and lungs
Weights for your muscles
I would recommend StrongLifts 5X5. I live by it.
Starting weight in Sept 2013: 231 lbs
XXL shirt, size 16 jeans, 46DD bra
Feb 2015-Today: 180 lbs (Been there for 6 months, became complacent, just started lifting again)
Large shirt (I have broad shoulders), size 10 jeans, 38DD bra
Thank you much! And congrats on your weight loss.0 -
madhatter2013 wrote: »The person that recommended not touching weights until you've lost all the weight is sadly misinformed. Almost everyone I've talked to says they wish they had started lifting when they started the journey.
Between cardio and lifting, it's a preference. I did just cardio for teh first 3 months and then switched to just lifting for the last year. The only reason I switched was between cardio killed my knee but now I wish I had started the lifting sooner.
Cardio for your heart and lungs
Weights for your muscles
I would recommend StrongLifts 5X5. I live by it.
Starting weight in Sept 2013: 231 lbs
XXL shirt, size 16 jeans, 46DD bra
Feb 2015-Today: 180 lbs (Been there for 6 months, became complacent, just started lifting again)
Large shirt (I have broad shoulders), size 10 jeans, 38DD bra
This. Find a balance between lifting and cardio that you enjoy.
Also keep in mind that if you've stalled in your weight loss, it's most likely due to you eating more than you think and you're not actually in a deficit. Make sure you're logging accurately and honestly (random bites while cooking, and inaccurate entries in the database are huge culprits), and add in weight lifting now.
This is my progress since I started lifting in January 2013 (backslide in weight is due to eating all the foods and not sticking to a deficit):
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Increasing your muscle mass is good for your health. It will also help you to burn fat because muscle tissue is metabolically ACTIVE tissue, so having more of it will increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR), increasing your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), making it easier to eat at a caloric deficit. I recommend New Rules of Lifting For Women. Grab the book and start reading. Do the workouts two or three times per week and you'll be seeing results in no time.
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I think a combination of both. Cardio burns a lot of calories and is good for your heart, lifting weights helps you hold on to some of your muscle while losing the weight. I prefer lifting over cardio, but I still do some of both. I lost over 100#s, gained a little back because I don't eat like I should, but back on track now.0
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@auddii - thank you so much for sharing those photos, your arms give me hope for mine! Is there any particular programme that you used? My rotator cuff is almost healed now, so I want to start lifting (well, resistance bands - I travel constantly, so can't carry weights with me!). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
(Sorry for the threadjack!)0 -
This is what I did with my trainer to lose weight (he knew I didn't want to "bulk up"):
2-3 days/week of circuit training for an hour. We would focus on upper body (biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc.) one day, and alternate days would be lower body (leg presses, squats, hip extensions etc.) with ab work here and there.
Before training, I did 5-10 mins warm-up walks on the treadmill. And we slowly upped the weights; they were always heavy enough that I could do about 3 reps of 15 uncomfortably.
When I wasn't training with him he asked me to get an hour of cardio 3 times a week.
Hope this helps!0 -
You could break it down as follows.
- Caloric deficit for weight loss
- Exercise for health (with corollary weight loss benefits)
- Cardio for heart / wellbeing / padding your caloric deficit
- Strength training for maintaining muscle mass / gaining strength / feeling awesome
At least that’s how I see it. I lost weight with a caloric deficit, did strength training to maintain lean body mass, and sometimes do cardio (running, skipping rope) when I feel like it because it’s refreshing and it clears my mind. So what I would focus on primarily, in your case, is your caloric deficit - use a food scale to weight all solids, log everything. If you’ve got the deficit, you’ll keep losing weight. Strength training is always a good idea though, to maintain LBM.
Edited to add: I’d love to “bulk up”, but that will take a whole lot of work and a whole lot of eating. You won’t accidentally bulk up eating in a deficit. Good strength training programs are Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5, or Strong Curves.0 -
Thanks, guys. This is great! And thanks for sharing your pics. Super inspiring.0
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Thanks for posting. I was looking for a thread about eating at a deficit and lifting weights. I do a little lifting to try to keep my muscles strong. I was advised to lift with my legs to help my cardio and I do notice a difference when I get on the elliptical machine.0
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@auddii - thank you so much for sharing those photos, your arms give me hope for mine! Is there any particular programme that you used? My rotator cuff is almost healed now, so I want to start lifting (well, resistance bands - I travel constantly, so can't carry weights with me!). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
(Sorry for the threadjack!)
I started with strong lifts 5x5 and stuck with that for about a year and a half. I mentally got tired of it, switched to strong curves, and then injured myself (slipped in the mud and hurt my tailbone forever). By that point, I really missed the big lifts, so I went back to strong lifts.
I finally stopped making linear increases with my weights, so I switched to Wendler's 5/3/1 (an intermediate program) a few months ago.
Here's a great write up about what strong lifts is: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/560459/stronglifts-5x5-summary
I've also heard great things about new rules of lifting and starting strength (in fact, even if you don't run the programs, I've heard both books are great sources of information on lifting in general).0 -
I was doing stronglifts for about 5-6 months, but got bored with it, so I switched to Ice Cream Fitness. Liking it so far as it has more types of lifting incorporated in it.
Do some cardio, as cardio has it's own benefits. But definitely lift as well.0 -
Do the exercise you enjoy - any exercise routine us easier to stick to if you want to do it, I mean really want to because it's enjoyable and not just to lose weight! Lifting is definitely good for you and the more muscle you can build the more fat you burn (as your metabolic rate increases to support that muscle). Cardio is good for fitness though so it is good to figure some of that in to. However I always think cardio is easier to just add to your daily routine - walk to work, run up the stairs, use your bicycle instead of the car etc. Lifting needs concentration as you can hurt yourself if you do it wrong so make sure you set out right by following a class or getting a trainer. I do les mills body pump 3-5 times per week and find it enjoyable. I do combat 2-3 times per week and circuits one per week to get some cardio in there. I also walk wherever I can and would like to fit in a spin class and some swimming if I could find more time. Go for it and do whatever you find fun.0
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I lost all my fat weight training in a deficit, with minimal cardio. Yeah, you can lose at a deficit with just cardio...but you'll also lose more muscle. Why not save it?0
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My thinking is this: Calories are currency, and resistance training is a better investment of that currency. Cardiovascular training has it's place, but lifting trumps it in terms of physiological benefits.0
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I do both. My concentration is on powerlifting, but at 59 I need to take two recovery days between heavy lift days. I do cardio on those days, concentrating on HITT over long, slow runs. I'm a heart attack survivor, and take my recommended hour a day of exercise seriously. I usually either run a 3 to 5 k on LS days, and a set of 8 intervals on HITT days. I started powerlifting a year ago when I decided to see some results for the gym time I'm obliged to put in.0
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You need both like everyone else is saying. Weightlifting now will created the "foundation" of what you want your body to look like while cardio will now be a tool for fat loss and to create a bigger caloric deficit. I think the ONLY reason why someone would say don't touch weights is because ideally you want to be as lean as possible before trying to build muscle. Only problem is you need weights to help create leanness. Since you are looking to lose 35 more pounds I would say 3-4 cardio days max and 2-5 weightlifting days (don't know your lifestyle or athleticism to be more specific but start small if you are new to lifting and gradually build more as you get more comfortable)0
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This is what I did with my trainer to lose weight (he knew I didn't want to "bulk up"):
2-3 days/week of circuit training for an hour. We would focus on upper body (biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc.) one day, and alternate days would be lower body (leg presses, squats, hip extensions etc.) with ab work here and there.
Before training, I did 5-10 mins warm-up walks on the treadmill. And we slowly upped the weights; they were always heavy enough that I could do about 3 reps of 15 uncomfortably.
When I wasn't training with him he asked me to get an hour of cardio 3 times a week.
Hope this helps!
if your trainer told you, you were going to "bulk up" he was dead wrong. Unless he was recommending roids?0 -
OP - do you use a food scale? Do you eat back 100% of exercise calories?
Calorie deficit is what you need to lose more weight.
However, I would suggest that you look into strong lifts, new rules of lifting for woman, or starting strength. Pick a program and run it for four to six months, and mix in some cardio on off days (if you want to)…
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