Strength Training for Very Overweight People

avygyaru
avygyaru Posts: 51 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, bear with me please. I'll proof-read for clarity and probably still ramble a bit...

I'm 6ft tall and very overweight so I'm trying to lose weight. But I'm not trying to be skinny. That's not a goal of mine at all. I'd rather look like a comic book character than a model, if that helps. With my body type, I looked too thin at 185 so I'm actually shooting for 190-200lbs.

I've always been muscular thanks to genetics, but with great depression comes great weight gain. Now there's all this fat. Cardio bores me, but I'm doing the Zombies Run5k thing again. But my understanding is that lifting weights will help but I'm terrified of gaining weight at first. I seriously do not need to gain any more weight. That's not just vanity, that's physics. I have a bad knee and I don't want to make it worse.

SO, are there any people out there who started out big, not just skinny-fat, and used weight lifting to lose weight? Most of my friends are dudes and they lift to bulk up. The boyfriend is the same way so none of them are any help. Or should I just not even be thinking about weights?

Replies

  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    Lifting will not cause you to be bulky or to put on weight if you are eating at a caloric deficit. People who "bulk" are eating a surplus of calories with the intention of getting bigger.

    Some people do experience some mild water retention in the beginning as their muscles adapt and repair themselves, but this is not fat or bulk. It will resolve itself.

    Happy lifting!

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I have always been the big/bulky friend. Weight lifting helped me look smaller despite being at a higher weight than many other women. I'm 5'9" with wide shoulders, wide ribs, and naturally thicker butt/legs. Lifting has helped add great curves and balance it all out. It made a huge difference as I was losing weight and it helped my knee problems.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Yes, you can lose weight with lifting and calorie deficit. Do have your bad knee checked to make sure squats and deadlifts are ok. Start light, learn proper form, follow a progressive full body program (like stronglifts 5x5). Of course there are many others, that's just the one I'm most familiar with.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    as far as that 'reaction' thing where you retain a little water until your system gets used to what you're doing and ditches it again: i lift 'heavy' (for me) and at 5'3" and 135-145 pounds, i don't think that's ever been more than three or maximum four pounds when i surprise my body. and it goes away again after a week at the most. so if you think your knee can manage an equivalent amount for a week or two, you should be okay.

    as far as actual muscle growth: that comes slowly for women. should come slowly for you too, even with your (lucky) genetic predisposition towards strength. don't quote me on this, but i think if you google you'll find that reputable consensus puts the number pretty low - as in, for a woman to gain even a pound of muscle a month might be unusual. so if you think your knee can adapt in time to handle that kind of gain - or if you think you're going to lose that much anyway in fat - then you should be okay.

    understand i'm not a trainer or a pro at any of this, btw.
  • avygyaru
    avygyaru Posts: 51 Member
    Thank you! I'm probably overthinking everything. I have an open invitation to lift weights with someone instead of going it alone with pilates, but like I said -- was scared of getting bigger. I kept hearing about gaining before losing and I'm like, "No! Please Nooooo!"

    @usmcmp You sound like you're built like my family so that's comforting.

    @DancingMoosie I'm safer with plie squats than the regular ones so you're definitely right. I don't wanna do them with weights and make matters worse. Deadlifts feel fine though--probably because it's not a super deep squat.

    Anyway, thanks again!
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    @avygyaru i'd like to introduce you to my favorite ever thread on mfp https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky
    <3
  • avygyaru
    avygyaru Posts: 51 Member
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    @avygyaru i'd like to introduce you to my favorite ever thread on mfp https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky
    <3

    LOL I know lifting works for people who are skinny-fat but I've been worried as an obese person. There's different things to worry about when picking up 100 pounds when you're already 100 pounds overweight. That thread is awesome though.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Lifting is great

    However if you are seriously overweight I would recommend starting with a decent bodyweight programme to avoid putting excess strain on your joints and moving to weights as you get stronger and perhaps lighter

    The key is progressive resistance

    You are your own gym, convict conditioning or http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/ all pretty decent programmes
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    avygyaru wrote: »
    LOL I know lifting works for people who are skinny-fat but I've been worried as an obese person. There's different things to worry about when picking up 100 pounds when you're already 100 pounds overweight. That thread is awesome though.

    there'd be worry for ANYONE picking up 100 pounds if they hadn't given their body enough time to get used to it :D

    fwiw, every lifting thing i've ever seen says you should start with the bar anyway. you might add weight quickly until you find a comfortable range for your own current capacity, but you still start with the bar. the people i like as lifting 'sources' insist that the warmup sets start with the bar too, even if you're going to end up adding 300 pounds to it by the time you're warmed up and ready to do your work sets.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    avygyaru wrote: »
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    @avygyaru i'd like to introduce you to my favorite ever thread on mfp https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky
    <3

    LOL I know lifting works for people who are skinny-fat but I've been worried as an obese person. There's different things to worry about when picking up 100 pounds when you're already 100 pounds overweight. That thread is awesome though.

    i've got about 50 to lose and started lifting anyway. the scale losses slowed down. but in 3 months i've lost 5 inches from my waist and 3 from my hips, assorted other inches from arms and thighs and neck and chest. plus i feel super tough.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    avygyaru wrote: »
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    @avygyaru i'd like to introduce you to my favorite ever thread on mfp https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky
    <3

    LOL I know lifting works for people who are skinny-fat but I've been worried as an obese person. There's different things to worry about when picking up 100 pounds when you're already 100 pounds overweight. That thread is awesome though.

    i've got about 50 to lose and started lifting anyway. the scale losses slowed down. but in 3 months i've lost 5 inches from my waist and 3 from my hips, assorted other inches from arms and thighs and neck and chest. plus i feel super tough.

    Yeah. Mostly that^^ :D
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    Your calorie intake and maintaining a calorie deficit will be your main driver for weight loss. As long as that is in good order what excercise you choose is up to you.

    just keep in mind that exercise can change that equation up or down depending on your level of activity
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    Most everyone who started lifting wishes they would have started sooner, from what I've read. I'm taking this to heart because these people tend to have super awesome biceps and back muscles, something that I really, REALLY want.

    I am very overweight also (229, 5'6" F) and I'm not super flexible, but I do have a few beginner strength training DVDs I have been using 3x per week. I definitely feel the workout, but not so much that I can't do the exercises again after a rest day in between.

    For now, I feel like that's gearing me up for the "real lifting" that I hope to feel ready to do when I hit 200. Time is a challenge, so I'm sticking with what I KNOW I can commit to, which is me, my basement, and my DVD player. I figure any muscle I gain is more muscle than I have now and little by little I'll chip away at my goals.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    avygyaru wrote: »
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    @avygyaru i'd like to introduce you to my favorite ever thread on mfp https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky
    <3

    LOL I know lifting works for people who are skinny-fat but I've been worried as an obese person. There's different things to worry about when picking up 100 pounds when you're already 100 pounds overweight. That thread is awesome though.

    i've got about 50 to lose and started lifting anyway. the scale losses slowed down. but in 3 months i've lost 5 inches from my waist and 3 from my hips, assorted other inches from arms and thighs and neck and chest. plus i feel super tough.

    Yeah. Mostly that^^ :D

    My goal is just feel mostly super badass.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    OP- agree on everything above. But, I would continue with Pilates too if you enjoy it. Super great for stretching and flexibility, which are great tools to accompany strength training. If it wasn't so gosh darn expensive, I'd do it on all my off days.
  • avygyaru
    avygyaru Posts: 51 Member
    UPDATE: While I love lifting weights, I did in fact gain weight. I took my TDEE and subtracted 500. Well the calculator did. Anyway. That was a mistake. The dietician has me on the same calories MFP recommended to begin with. So 1700 vs 2635 -- which I was never able to hit anyway.

    My point in posting this is that she made it very clear to me that the TDEE - 500 method is NOT a good idea for obese people in my range (having 100 or more to lose).

    The biggest point is that I thought I was cutting but I was bulking because I went from eating 1700 cal/day to around 2100-2400. Even though that's less than what the TDEE rule prescribed, it did not help at all. Sure I'm strong as hell now and my stamina is better, but that's not my only goal.

    Please learn from my mistake. See a professional and get a personalized diet plan if you're more than a little overweight. TDEE calculators are not enough for everyone.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    avygyaru wrote: »
    UPDATE: While I love lifting weights, I did in fact gain weight. I took my TDEE and subtracted 500. Well the calculator did. Anyway. That was a mistake. The dietician has me on the same calories MFP recommended to begin with. So 1700 vs 2635 -- which I was never able to hit anyway.

    My point in posting this is that she made it very clear to me that the TDEE - 500 method is NOT a good idea for obese people in my range (having 100 or more to lose).

    The biggest point is that I thought I was cutting but I was bulking because I went from eating 1700 cal/day to around 2100-2400. Even though that's less than what the TDEE rule prescribed, it did not help at all. Sure I'm strong as hell now and my stamina is better, but that's not my only goal.

    Please learn from my mistake. See a professional and get a personalized diet plan if you're more than a little overweight. TDEE calculators are not enough for everyone.

    You gained weight because you ate more than your TDEE, there is no other explanation. You started gaining weight so why didn't you reduce your intake when you saw the scales move? I would say that 2100-2400 calories is about right for your stat's so maybe your tracking was not as tight as you hoped.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
    I'm not sure she's calculating her TDEE correctly. She doesn't say her age an weight, but for
    6ft woman, 40 and 250 (since she's shooting for 200ish), TDEE is 2200.

    So TDEE -500 is 1700 calories.

    I recalculated for 6ft, 50 and 300 lbs, and TDEE is 2500 calories.

    She says she was trying to hit 2600 calories, which was TDEE - 500.... Umm, I don't know how to get there.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    avygyaru wrote: »
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    @avygyaru i'd like to introduce you to my favorite ever thread on mfp https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky
    <3

    LOL I know lifting works for people who are skinny-fat but I've been worried as an obese person. There's different things to worry about when picking up 100 pounds when you're already 100 pounds overweight. That thread is awesome though.

    i've got about 50 to lose and started lifting anyway. the scale losses slowed down. but in 3 months i've lost 5 inches from my waist and 3 from my hips, assorted other inches from arms and thighs and neck and chest. plus i feel super tough.

    Yeah. Mostly that^^ :D

    My goal is just feel mostly super badass.

    Same, same.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    avygyaru wrote: »
    I took the advice of you wise ants and am happy to say I didn't die or break anything. I searched around some more and found this strong lifts 5x5 thing that has you lifting 3 days a week and you switch it up a little but nothing too crazy. Anyway, I'm doing everything with just the bar (45lbs) but for some reason, I can deadlift 115 comfortably. My knee won't let me squat that much and my arms aren't strong enough to do that overhead or as a bent row, but whatever. I'm just glad I can do it.

    Oh! The program seems like a good thing for me (steady and gradually add heavier weights but the reps and sets stay the same. Just figured I'd mention that if anyone else who's feeling chicken like I was stumbles across this thread.

    I did Stronglifts for about a year before I outgrew it. It's an awesome program!
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
    annaskiski wrote: »
    I'm not sure she's calculating her TDEE correctly. She doesn't say her age an weight, but for
    6ft woman, 40 and 250 (since she's shooting for 200ish), TDEE is 2200.

    So TDEE -500 is 1700 calories.

    I recalculated for 6ft, 50 and 300 lbs, and TDEE is 2500 calories.

    She says she was trying to hit 2600 calories, which was TDEE - 500.... Umm, I don't know how to get there.

    Using some online TDEE calculator instead of using MFP (which she admits was the same number as what the dietician gave her).
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Are you not able to do overhead press and rows with the bar at all, or just with the 110 lb you mentioned for your deadlifts? If the bar is too heavy for certain lifts, just use dumbbells until you can progress to the bar.
  • avygyaru
    avygyaru Posts: 51 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    Are you not able to do overhead press and rows with the bar at all, or just with the 110 lb you mentioned for your deadlifts? If the bar is too heavy for certain lifts, just use dumbbells until you can progress to the bar.

    Oh no! At that time, I was doing about 85 pounds for overhead press and rows. I had to stay there for a little bit to be able to say, "Yes, NOW I'm ready for 90." Stubborn arms. I still have to "hold" the same weight for a couple of sessions when it comes to my arms. My legs get stronger faster I guess. Still love Stronglifts though!
  • avygyaru
    avygyaru Posts: 51 Member
    everher wrote: »
    annaskiski wrote: »
    I'm not sure she's calculating her TDEE correctly. She doesn't say her age an weight, but for
    6ft woman, 40 and 250 (since she's shooting for 200ish), TDEE is 2200.

    So TDEE -500 is 1700 calories.

    I recalculated for 6ft, 50 and 300 lbs, and TDEE is 2500 calories.

    She says she was trying to hit 2600 calories, which was TDEE - 500.... Umm, I don't know how to get there.

    Using some online TDEE calculator instead of using MFP (which she admits was the same number as what the dietician gave her).

    You're exactly right. Since changing my calories, I've lost 14 pounds (as of Monday) and have sworn off calculators.
  • avygyaru
    avygyaru Posts: 51 Member
    sympha01 wrote: »
    FWIW, I am a former mega-obese person (>340 lbs) who lost weight with moderate strength training.
    • It did not make me bigger.
    • FWIW, after I lost the weight, I was 10 lbs heavier than my lightest adult weight, and 2 dress sizes smaller. Presumably because 10 lbs of muscle takes up a lot less space than 10 lbs of fat.
    • Also, my overall shape was much improved.
    • Increasing my strength did way more to increase my confidence than losing fat ever did. Being stronger and more capable is awesome!
    • You can always do more than one thing. Lift weights a few days a week, do other things other days of the week. Well-rounded fitness is a good thing. And it will help keep you from getting bored, and may help protect you from injury, too.

    Thanks so much for sharing your experience! It's motivating for sure. So far, so good after that scare a few weeks ago. While I didn't look any different really, I had gained in that 2-3 month window and almost stopped once I saw the number. Like full on panic mode. Groovy now. But yeah, lifting is addictive and fun and beating my high score every week is something to look forward to aside from smaller clothes.
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