Weightlifting??

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

RoxieDawn wrote: »

wilsoncl6 wrote: »

RoxieDawn wrote: »

You have many issues that need addressing. First of all 1200 - 1500 is broad, and does that mean you eat 1200 plus 300 in exercise calories to make 1500??? If so that is the right thing to do if MFP gave you 1200 to eat.

Do you weigh your food using a food scale and are you sure your exercise calories are 300 and not overestimated if you are eating them back.???

Next, you can add weightlifting. You will NOT get bulky while eating in a deficit. Not going to happen. You will be able to conduct current muscle toning of the muscles you already have but no new muscle fibers can be built unless you eat a surplus.

Weightlifting will help you KEEP your current muscle while eating a deficit thus loosing less muscle while loosing weight. By the way, muscle does not burn fat..

Get the food scale if you do not have one, eat at your deficit calories and do lift weights and continue doing your walks. Be careful to not eat back too many exercise calories that may derail you from keeping you in a daily/weekly deficit.

If you are overdoing the weekends then you need to stop that.. OR figure out your weekly calories to allow over indulgences and lots of alcohol and partying.. in my honest opinion doing these things you do Friday Sat and Sun is a recipe for weight loss disaster.

Some clarification on this post and my own two cents. You may see a little weight gain (initially with fluctuations) starting a weight lifting program as your body will pump your muscles full of fluid to facilitate repair. To what extent this happens is dependent upon the intensity of your routine, how your body reacts to muscle damage and how much fluids and sodium you take in. It's not something you need to worry about because it won't last. You actually can build muscle while eating at a deficit. It's called newbie gains and will occur more often if you already have a good surplus of body fat on your frame. Your body will pull the energy it needs from whatever source it can find to do the work it feels is necessary. Eating at a surplus to gain muscle mass is more important for those that have already been lifting for a while or are already getting close to, what the body considers, maintenance weight. However, I wouldn't worry about muscle gain. If you are eating at a deficit, you will lose body fat while gaining muscle so there will be some offset in how your body is shaped although you may not see massive changes in the scale. This is what you want, to look fit and healthy. A lot of people worry too much about the number on the scale and too little about their overall physcial appearance. Also, you will not get bulky. You aren't a man and don't have the necessary testosterone to build the kind of muscle to make that happen.

Also, the statement that muscle does not burn fat is not completely accurate. Muscle facilitates fat burn, although muscle does not directly burn fat. The more muscle you have, the higher your bodies energy requirements, which means the body must consume more energy to support it's needs. Gaining muscle is good for this reason alone, not to mention being and feeling stronger and having more physical endurance. As you gain more muscle, your at rest energy requirements will go up. That's why men typically have an easier time losing weight and keeping it off, we just have more muscle to support.

I do agree that your problem is likely that you're eating more calories than you think you are or are overestimating the amount of calories you're burning from exercise. The only way you are not losing weight is because you're either not burning enough calories over time or taking too many calories in. Cardio is good for short term caloric burns but a progressive (moderate intensity) strength training program is what you need for continous burn throughout the day.

I do get the more muscle you have ... etc...

now what I am trying to convey to OP is getting lost in translation and now this thread is not on point and turned into a debate.

I will now leave this post area of the forums and let you guys talk to OP how to get her to her goal!

Keep doing what you're doing. Some of us are just correcting and clarifying. The more I learn I swear the less I feel like I know.

Spliner1969 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

I mean a home gym. Bench, squat rack etc. I lift heavy using free weights.

Gotchya.

SezxyStef wrote: »

Yes you can build muscle on a deficit if one of the following is true:

New to lifting but this only lasts a while and the gains are small
Obese
full of testosterone...aka young men.

The only other time you build muscle and not bulk is during a recomp where you are at maintenance and doing a progressive load lifting program.

I was obese, and new to lifting, so I'm sure I was able to add what I did because of those two things. All that extra fat was extra calories.

SezxyStef wrote: »

I have lifted heavy exclusively for 3 years in September and the first year I was at a deficit. I built up my weights over a course of a couple weeks from a 90lb dead lift to maxing out at 245 PR in under 2 years...and regardless of deficit or not if you are just starting lifting you never start out full on extra heavy...just asking for trouble.

if you injured yourself that wasn't the deficit it was your form.

if you weren't gaining strength you were doing a progressive load program

I did my best to keep my form correct (I'm sure it suffered somewhat as I was new to lifting, but I paid attention to it anyway) but I was attempting things like dead lifts which put pressure on part of my spine which had a previous injury/surgery. I should never have attempted putting weight on that part of my spine, especially without building up muscle around my spine beforehand. I moved up too fast in weight (I assume that's what you meant about progressive load), and pushed myself too far. In the end I managed to re-injure that area of my spine and herniate two more discs in the process. I wasn't lifting super heavy mind you (less than 125 on a bar, and 50-75 on free weights, and I started much lighter), just doing it too often and performing lifts my doctor now tells me I should never attempt. He's likely right based on what's left of the cartilage in my L1-L5 area of my back. I did gain strength at first, likely when I was obese and able to sustain the build up of muscle with the extra fat, but once I got closer to my goal (normal BMI) the strength gains in my deficit (which was maxed by MFP standards) stopped. I kept attempting to go heavier and failing. I'd give it another week and try again, fail.

I was doing many things wrong, you're right. I found though, that for me anyway, body weight training was better. I still have my bench, and I can still lift the same weight I could back then, but not much more. Any lifting I can do while laying down at level or lower angles I can do without putting strain on my spine. I can even do some incline stuff if I drop the weight and keep my core engaged adequately. I'll get back to it one day. For now, I'm content with body weight training and I seem to be able to not injure myself with it. I may look into an experienced lifter or trainer/coach if I go back to lifting to make sure I don't re-injure myself. It's also why resistance training appeals to me. For instance, when you lift, even if you are laying down on a bench like I do, you still have to pick up the weight you're going to lift. Unless you can pick it up from the floor while laying down (which I have done with free weights light enough) you run the risk of putting weight where you don't want it just by sitting up and picking up the weights then laying down. It sucks to have such a weak back, it's why I do a ton of core work each week. When I asked about a home gym I meant a resistance based unit, was wondering if you had one. I have a bench and squat rack, bar, and free weights, I just don't use them much presently.

I'm now in recomp, and the body weight training is gaining momentum (and strength gains are good too) so there's that. Once I'm happy with my goals at the end of the year I'll consider either a resistance based home gym or possibly free weights again, not sure which. Or I may just pass on it and keep on with what I'm doing.

ConstantStruggle wrote: »

Ok....well.....after reading all of that..... I guess I DO just have yo cut EVEN MORE calories.