Lifting. Good or bad for weight loss?!

Options
vaswuezas22
vaswuezas22 Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
2 years ago i started hitting the gym. I didnt see myself as fat tbh even though i was at my peak 199 lbs. Now i am at 167. I was a size 15 in jeans, now im a size 9. Ive always had a thich lower body and no matter how much weight i lose, that never shrinks much just my waist lol. The 1st year ALL i did was cardio, i lost 40 pounds. The next year i started lifting as well, lost 10 lbs and inches and sizes but gained the 10 back in muscle. Now i hear lifting aids in weight loss as well, then i hear it doesnt. I PR my squats at 235 and usually works with 20, 25 and 45 weights in my workouts. Should i lower the weight, stop altogether, only cardio?? When i lift im major hungry!!!! And when i just cardio i could live happily off 1200 calories without starving myself. Cant do both obviously, HELPPPP!!!!!!
«1

Replies

  • harrybananas
    harrybananas Posts: 292 Member
    Options
    Calorie deficit is good for weight loss.

    Lifting is bad for weight loss. Matter fact, lifting can result in weight gain.

    You're welcome.
  • drachfit
    drachfit Posts: 217 Member
    edited February 2016
    Options
    your goal is not weight loss but fat loss. who cares if you gained 10lbs of muscle (thats actually awesome). 10lbs of muscle is a lot smaller on your body than 10lbs of fat, and it looks a lot better.

    lifting ensures that the weight you DO lose is ALL FAT. if you just do cardio you will lose a mix of both fat and muscle, which is not as good for your health long term and doesn't look as good either.


    total weight loss always comes down to your diet. lifting will make sure what KIND of weight is lost (muscle or fat).

    also, 235 squat is legit. keep at it!
  • drachfit
    drachfit Posts: 217 Member
    Options
    harrybananas wrote: »
    Calorie deficit is good for weight loss.

    Lifting is bad for weight loss. Matter fact, lifting can result in weight gain.

    You're welcome.

    lifting does not result in weight gain unless you eat more than your TDEE. weight control is diet. 100%.
  • harrybananas
    harrybananas Posts: 292 Member
    Options
    drachfit wrote: »
    harrybananas wrote: »
    Calorie deficit is good for weight loss.

    Lifting is bad for weight loss. Matter fact, lifting can result in weight gain.

    You're welcome.

    lifting does not result in weight gain unless you eat more than your TDEE. weight control is diet. 100%.

    Forgot about the surplus part. I stand corrected.
  • organic_homestead
    organic_homestead Posts: 31 Member
    Options
    Lifting weights builds muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Most weight loss is loss in fat and body mass (muscle). You don't want to lose body mass. Concentrate more on using a tape measure than what the scale says.

    The more muscle you have on your body, the less fat there is. Also, you'll create a higher metabolism as muscle needs more energy. You will need to eat more, but you'll want to be sure you are eating properly - quality calories.

    Now that you are at 167, I say concentrate on fine tuning your nutrition and focus on lifting (with cardio on your off days) to reduce your body fat. For me I think body fat percentage is way more important than what the scale says. You reduce your body fat and you'll see an amazing difference and you won't care what the scale says!
  • harrybananas
    harrybananas Posts: 292 Member
    Options
    organic_homestead wrote: »
    Lifting weights builds muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat.

    Lol, nope.

    Muscle does not weight more than fat. However, it is more dense than fat.

    A pound of gold still weighs the same as a pound of feathers.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    Options
    Why does the scale number matter? If you gained weight, whether it's muscle or fat (it's both, anyway) you ate a surplus of calories. Water comes with lifting weights weights, too. It's good to increase your LBM-healthy weight gain.
    I do very little cardio and lift heavy 4x week and I've lost weight/inches because of eating at a deficit. My strength gains are slower, though. I've lost fat. If you are hungry look at your macros. Eating enough protein? Fiber? Fat? Drinking enough water? Ask yourself what your goals are. Is it just weight loss or fat loss? Strength gains? Then eat and train for those goals and use body measurements and clothing fit, photos as a progress guide-not the scale.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Options
    I see that the pedantic police are on duty today.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    Options
    Also, you should not be trying to eat only 1200 calories. You can just take 250 off your TDEE, keep lifting and not be as hungry and still lose. I'm 46 & 5'2", 117 lbs and I eat more than that.
  • lionrace
    lionrace Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    harrybananas wrote: »
    organic_homestead wrote: »
    Lifting weights builds muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat.

    Lol, nope.

    Muscle does not weight more than fat. However, it is more dense than fat.

    A pound of gold still weighs the same as a pound of feathers.

    What "muscle weighs more than fat" means is that if you compare the same amount of space taken up by fat and by muscle, the space taken up by muscle weighs more. Alternatively, if you compare 1 pound of fat with 1 pound of muscle, the muscle is much smaller. Because, like you said, muscle is more dense.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Options
    It worked for me, but I was eating in a caloric deficit.
  • mjwarbeck
    mjwarbeck Posts: 699 Member
    Options
    I've been working out a lot...strength increasing significantly....and losing weight
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    Options
    Lost 60 lbs from doing weights, cardio and eating about 1600 calories. 1200 at 167 sounds super low. Having lean body mass (muscle) increases your base metabolic rate, so yes lifting can help you lose weight as long as you aren't just eating more. If you track your calories, you should find a sweet spot where you feel satiated and still see results. This may also mean you need to adjust the foods (and macro split) you are eating so you feel full. Cardio and strength training will help, but food plays the largest role in weight loss.
  • tottie_07
    tottie_07 Posts: 105 Member
    Options
    Sumiblue wrote: »
    Why does the scale number matter? If you gained weight, whether it's muscle or fat (it's both, anyway) you ate a surplus of calories. Water comes with lifting weights weights, too. It's good to increase your LBM-healthy weight gain.
    I do very little cardio and lift heavy 4x week and I've lost weight/inches because of eating at a deficit. My strength gains are slower, though. I've lost fat. If you are hungry look at your macros. Eating enough protein? Fiber? Fat? Drinking enough water? Ask yourself what your goals are. Is it just weight loss or fat loss? Strength gains? Then eat and train for those goals and use body measurements and clothing fit, photos as a progress guide-not the scale.

    Agree 100%.
  • Refrigerator1
    Refrigerator1 Posts: 25 Member
    Options
    Personal trainer here.
    1). Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound is a pound. Muscle is more dense so it takes up much less space.
    2). Lifting weights increases your BMR which increases the amount of calories you burn in a day. You want this as you are losing muscle while you age.
    3). You are majorly hungry when you lift, because you are burning calories not only during the lifting but after as well. There are tons of documented research that shows people burn calories at a much higher rate after lifting than after cardio alone. This is a good thing. I do think if you are that hungry, you need to re-evaluate your calorie intake.
    4). How you lift is partly based on genetics and partly what you want to achieve. Lift heavy, get big. Lift lighter, get toned. Again, there are tons of lifting programs on the Internet. Keep in mind that genetics thing though. You may have to adjust your program to suit certain muscles. For example, your "thick lower body" that you never seem to lose. You may want to lower the weight some and do more reps. It sounds as if genetically, you seem to hold muscle there. Try going lighter with more reps to lose some of the bulk.
    5). Are you at a happy, healthy weight? Do you like what you see in the mirror? Can you maintain the workouts/calorie allotment with ease? If so, just keep on keeping on. Do not worry about the scale. If any of the above three questions are a no, you need to adjust your plan to achieve your goals. Remember, it takes time. Be patient, keep up the good fight, and you will get there.

    Hope, this answers your questions and was of some help...
  • robs_ready
    robs_ready Posts: 1,488 Member
    Options
    vaswuezas22 wrote: »
    2 years ago i started hitting the gym. I didnt see myself as fat tbh even though i was at my peak 199 lbs. Now i am at 167. I was a size 15 in jeans, now im a size 9. Ive always had a thich lower body and no matter how much weight i lose, that never shrinks much just my waist lol. The 1st year ALL i did was cardio, i lost 40 pounds. The next year i started lifting as well, lost 10 lbs and inches and sizes but gained the 10 back in muscle. Now i hear lifting aids in weight loss as well, then i hear it doesnt. I PR my squats at 235 and usually works with 20, 25 and 45 weights in my workouts. Should i lower the weight, stop altogether, only cardio?? When i lift im major hungry!!!! And when i just cardio i could live happily off 1200 calories without starving myself. Cant do both obviously, HELPPPP!!!!!!

    I lost 8 stone just weight lifting, so yeah. I'd say so.
  • DizzyMissIzzy
    DizzyMissIzzy Posts: 168 Member
    Options
    Refrigerator1 wrote: »
    Personal trainer here.
    1). Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound is a pound. Muscle is more dense so it takes up much less space.
    2). Lifting weights increases your BMR which increases the amount of calories you burn in a day. You want this as you are losing muscle while you age.
    3). You are majorly hungry when you lift, because you are burning calories not only during the lifting but after as well. There are tons of documented research that shows people burn calories at a much higher rate after lifting than after cardio alone. This is a good thing. I do think if you are that hungry, you need to re-evaluate your calorie intake.
    4). How you lift is partly based on genetics and partly what you want to achieve. Lift heavy, get big. Lift lighter, get toned. Again, there are tons of lifting programs on the Internet. Keep in mind that genetics thing though. You may have to adjust your program to suit certain muscles. For example, your "thick lower body" that you never seem to lose. You may want to lower the weight some and do more reps. It sounds as if genetically, you seem to hold muscle there. Try going lighter with more reps to lose some of the bulk.
    5). Are you at a happy, healthy weight? Do you like what you see in the mirror? Can you maintain the workouts/calorie allotment with ease? If so, just keep on keeping on. Do not worry about the scale. If any of the above three questions are a no, you need to adjust your plan to achieve your goals. Remember, it takes time. Be patient, keep up the good fight, and you will get there.

    Hope, this answers your questions and was of some help...

    THIS!!!!

    Also, if you include dropsets and supersets into your lifting routine, it will increase the intensity and add a little cardio burn into your lifting--this has done wonders for me.

    I want to emphasize the point this poster made about muscle raising your BMR. It takes a lot of energy for the body to repair and maintain muscle, which means just by having muscle there, your body is burning calories to try to keep it there! So, if you build more muscle, you will be burning a lot more calories even at rest. Plus, when you lift, you are constantly breaking down the muscle, which will result in an extended calorie burn after the workout to repair and build.

    I've always had a thick lower body, I never ever thought that could change, and although I'm still "thick" because I have muscle, I've leaned out so much, and by following a pretty strict macro counting diet (DIET IS EVERYTHING) and lifting heavy and intensely, I've lost a lot of weight, and all of it has been fat (according to measuring body fat percentages, etc).
  • DizzyMissIzzy
    DizzyMissIzzy Posts: 168 Member
    Options
    vaswuezas22 wrote: »
    2 years ago i started hitting the gym. I didnt see myself as fat tbh even though i was at my peak 199 lbs. Now i am at 167. I was a size 15 in jeans, now im a size 9. Ive always had a thich lower body and no matter how much weight i lose, that never shrinks much just my waist lol. The 1st year ALL i did was cardio, i lost 40 pounds. The next year i started lifting as well, lost 10 lbs and inches and sizes but gained the 10 back in muscle. Now i hear lifting aids in weight loss as well, then i hear it doesnt. I PR my squats at 235 and usually works with 20, 25 and 45 weights in my workouts. Should i lower the weight, stop altogether, only cardio?? When i lift im major hungry!!!! And when i just cardio i could live happily off 1200 calories without starving myself. Cant do both obviously, HELPPPP!!!!!!

    Also, as far as the eating goes, 1200 calories is incredibly low if you're working out with any sort of intensity. You should be eating back your exercise calories, and you should definitely start off at least with a much higher total calorie intake so that if you hit a plateau you can lower it to rev your metabolism again (as your body constantly fights to achieve balance, and when that happens you gotta do something to "shock" it again).
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited February 2016
    Options
    Refrigerator1 wrote: »
    Personal trainer here.
    1). Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound is a pound. Muscle is more dense so it takes up much less space.
    2). Lifting weights increases your BMR which increases the amount of calories you burn in a day. You want this as you are losing muscle while you age.
    3). You are majorly hungry when you lift, because you are burning calories not only during the lifting but after as well. There are tons of documented research that shows people burn calories at a much higher rate after lifting than after cardio alone. This is a good thing. I do think if you are that hungry, you need to re-evaluate your calorie intake.
    4). How you lift is partly based on genetics and partly what you want to achieve. Lift heavy, get big. Lift lighter, get toned. Again, there are tons of lifting programs on the Internet. Keep in mind that genetics thing though. You may have to adjust your program to suit certain muscles. For example, your "thick lower body" that you never seem to lose. You may want to lower the weight some and do more reps. It sounds as if genetically, you seem to hold muscle there. Try going lighter with more reps to lose some of the bulk.
    5). Are you at a happy, healthy weight? Do you like what you see in the mirror? Can you maintain the workouts/calorie allotment with ease? If so, just keep on keeping on. Do not worry about the scale. If any of the above three questions are a no, you need to adjust your plan to achieve your goals. Remember, it takes time. Be patient, keep up the good fight, and you will get there.

    Hope, this answers your questions and was of some help...

    I'd think any personal trainer would know/understand that:

    1) "Lift heavy, get big" isn't true if you're in a caloric deficit. You need a caloric surplus, adequate protein intake and sufficient training stimulus targeted toward hypertrophy to "get big". Also, women produce very little testosterone, which is critical to muscle growth, so most women don't get appreciably "big" without exogenous testosterone supplementation (e.g., anabolic steroids).

    2) "Lift lighter, get toned" is a useless statement. There's no such thing as "getting toned". A muscle either gets bigger (hypertrophy) or smaller (atrophy) - it doesn't "tone". What most people consider "toning" is actually just losing subcutaneous fat so that the muscles beneath are more visible/defined. Lifting lighter has absolutely nothing to do with it and will not "tone" muscles.

    3) You can't spot reduce, and lifting lighter with higher reps will do absolutely nothing to reduce "bulk" in a specific area. If you're genetically inclined to have a larger lower body, then you have a larger lower body. You can lose the subcutaneous fat and appear slimmer, but you will absolutely not reduce the size of your muscles by doing low weight and high reps. This is hokum which sounds like it's straight out of the pages of some women's magazine.



    In response to the OP's question: Lifting is not bad for weight loss. It burns calories and helps retain lean muscle mass while losing fat, which helps result in more favorable/aesthetic body composition as you lose weight. Strength training may slightly mask weight loss because your body retains water/glycogen to assist with muscle repair/recovery, but it doesn't slow or stop fat loss.
  • paulandrachelk
    paulandrachelk Posts: 280 Member
    Options
    NROL has a good section on lifting and wt loss. Also has routines for fat loss.

Categories