Weight lifting doesn't burn fat

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Replies

  • keyaunadunham
    keyaunadunham Posts: 3 Member
    Hasnt*
  • Mezzie1024
    Mezzie1024 Posts: 380 Member
    I know this thread has gone a bunch of different directions, but I'm still stuck on the doctor saying to lift less. Barring unrevealed joint/muscle/tendon issues, that is simply bizarre. I could understand if the doctor said to add more cardio to your routine to burn more calories, but not at the expense of resistance training. Besides, you have now been given the advice you need to log accurately and create your needed deficit for weight loss. Best of luck.

    Next time your doctor gives you questionable advice, ask him/her to explain why. I always go in with a list of concerns, a list of questions, and I take notes, making sure to ask about anything I don't understand, including where I can learn more. My doctors are generally great, but my body is ultimately my responsibility, so I try to learn as much about how it works (and doesn't) as I can.

    Best of luck to you. Enjoy weighing your food -- I love how I have to wash fewer dishes because of my scale. :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Mezzie1024 wrote: »
    I know this thread has gone a bunch of different directions, but I'm still stuck on the doctor saying to lift less. Barring unrevealed joint/muscle/tendon issues, that is simply bizarre. I could understand if the doctor said to add more cardio to your routine to burn more calories, but not at the expense of resistance training. Besides, you have now been given the advice you need to log accurately and create your needed deficit for weight loss. Best of luck.

    Next time your doctor gives you questionable advice, ask him/her to explain why. I always go in with a list of concerns, a list of questions, and I take notes, making sure to ask about anything I don't understand, including where I can learn more. My doctors are generally great, but my body is ultimately my responsibility, so I try to learn as much about how it works (and doesn't) as I can.

    Best of luck to you. Enjoy weighing your food -- I love how I have to wash fewer dishes because of my scale. :)

    I too go with a list of questions, and email if I have followup questions.

    @Danicandothis what exactly did your doctor say about weightlifting? That you shouldn't bother at all or just that it wasn't a great way to create a calorie deficit? Did he or she literally just say "Weightlifting doesn't burn fat" and leave it at that?
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    Mezzie1024 wrote: »
    I know this thread has gone a bunch of different directions, but I'm still stuck on the doctor saying to lift less. Barring unrevealed joint/muscle/tendon issues, that is simply bizarre. I could understand if the doctor said to add more cardio to your routine to burn more calories, but not at the expense of resistance training. Besides, you have now been given the advice you need to log accurately and create your needed deficit for weight loss. Best of luck.

    Next time your doctor gives you questionable advice, ask him/her to explain why. I always go in with a list of concerns, a list of questions, and I take notes, making sure to ask about anything I don't understand, including where I can learn more. My doctors are generally great, but my body is ultimately my responsibility, so I try to learn as much about how it works (and doesn't) as I can.

    Best of luck to you. Enjoy weighing your food -- I love how I have to wash fewer dishes because of my scale. :)

    See, the way I read it was that the OP is already doing a lot of exercise but feels she isn't burning enough calories, so the doctor suggested that she swap out some of the lifting for more cardio, which generally burns more calories. Assuming that she can't or doesn't want to add another hour on top of the 7-8-ish hours she's already doing (which is totally reasonable), that would make sense to me. She'd still be doing 2-3 hours of lifting, which is not nothing.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Danicandothis wrote: »
    So weigh everything? Measuring with cups and tsp or tbsp isn't accurate?

    cups and measuring spoons are fine for liquids, and I frankly use them for things like oats and rice, etc...but if you're using them for solids you don't want to heap them which is what most people tend to do...weight is more accurate in general.

    What does a cup of chicken look like? It would depend on how you cut it up right? So where's the accuracy?

    i weigh my oats and rice because Ive noticed in cups I cannot eyeball the right portion for someone who is like me I would recommend weighing them. for you it may work though

    I've tested it and come within a few grams most of the time. I also have a pretty wide margin of error...I need around 2800-3000 calories per day to maintain and can eat around 2300-2500 calories to cut weight
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    Here's why you need to lift: because otherwise you burn muscle as well as fat during your weight loss. That sets you up to burn fewer calories at maintenance when you get there, and not to look as good. If you lift while you're losing, you keep as much muscle as possible which means you will burn more cals and look better in the long run.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    Maxematics wrote: »
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    tstan63 wrote: »
    At 5'1" you do not need 1800 calories? 1000-1200 max is all you need and if its good foods eating smaller meals 5-6 times a day. You will not be hungry and have all the nutrition you need. People completely overestimate how much food your body needs and justify more food with more working out. What makes up those calories you are eating? What food? Plain and simple to lose wait eat less and exercise. You will lose faster with cardio and weights but will still lose and no matter what all the gym heads tell you, its eating less especially after 40. I started gaining after 40 as all women tend to do unless you adjust your diet. Don't listen to men, they have no idea what women's bodies go through and how they start to change. Also so called fitness and nutrition experts who are in their 20's - 30's. They are in for a big awakening once they are over 40 but we all go through that phase. They will just have to wait until they get there and will know what I'm saying. We (women and men) need less calories as they age after child bearing years - the cycle of life theory where you go full circle back to being a baby . You need protein 3-4 ounces per breakfast lunch and dinner(1 serving is size of the palm of your hand, men 2 palms) Vegetables (1 serving is the size of your fist, men 2 fists) Smart car (1 serving is the size of 1 cupped hand, men 2 cupped hands) and Healthy Fat (1 serving is the size of 1 thumb, men 2 thumbs). Good protein sources = beans, eggs/egg whites, chicken breast, beef, shrimp, red lentils, yogurt (no sugar), scallops, salmon, pork tenderloin, tuna, turkey, etc. Vegies= Greens leafy, broccoli, eggplant, carrots, brussels sprouts, bell peppers, cauliflower. Smart Carbs= squash red potatoes, bulgar, plantains, brown rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa, chickpeas. Healthy Fat=EVO, Walnut oil, sesame oil, avocado oil, canola oil EV coconut oil, butter, avocado, almonds, peanuts. You notice there is no bread and wheat products anywhere in this list. Once you get older these are the kiss of death for women and weight loss. If you are eating a lot of bread, forget about losing not matter how much you exercise. You also notice there is no sugar in there. Obviously we need to indulge in things once in a while and that fine but not on a daily basis. As a general rule, no bread, no sugar and sticking to 1200 or less calories a day for someone who is only 5'1" tall. I'm 5'3" and I only lose weight when I'm eating 900 - 1100 calories and working out. I'm not hungry, light headed as long as I eat good foods and multiple time per day. Eating this way keeps your blood sugar steady all day. Also limit alcohol intake as this acts as sugar and bad carbs in your body. You don't need fancy fitness and body monitors to tell you what your body is doing. You just need to eat small portions and do your workouts and learn how you feel in your own body based on what you are eating and doing. You may feel hungry for the first week until your stomach shrinks from those 1800+ calories you are eating but it will not last long and you will feel so much better and more energy. If your getting hungry there are what is known as free foods that you don't need to factor into your calorie count or won't affect it. These are things like 1/2 cup almond milk, broth, sugar free jello, 2TBS whipped topping. You can also add condiments and flavorings without adding a lot of extra calories and will not defeat your purposes like Balsamic vinegar, low sugar BBQ sauce, Fat free cream cheese, 1 TBS half/half, hot sauce, reduced sugar ketchup, mustards, 1TBS parmesean, pickles, salsa, Shirataki noodles, light sour cream (1TBS) soy sauce 2 TBS, sugar free syrup...) Good luck and look forward to hearing your progress.

    So much nope. 1200 is the minimum for proper nutrition. Your suggested diet is inadequate but your measuring is very inaccurate so probably actually is higher than 900-1100. Lots of pseudoscience nonsense.

    Yep and crap like that further perpetuates the incorrect notion that women have to eat so little to lose, or maintain, their weight. My maintenance calories are 2100-2400 and I'm 5'3" and 114 pounds, but yes I don't need more than 1200 calories and I will certainly just turn into a blob of fat by 40. Uh oh, I only have 7.5 more years to go!

    I've got to think that bad measuring is why people in this mindset think they can only eat the healthiest of healthy food - they don't realize how many calories they're actually eating so they force themselves into incredibly restrictive diets to compensate. Eating *a* piece of bread isn't going to mess up anyone's diet. Eating bread thoughtlessly and with big pats of butter? It might if you're not careful, but the answer isn't "NO BREAD FOR LADIES!", it's "bread in moderation."

    Ya, when I had a bread mixer I'd easily put away a half a loaf with the aforementioned big pats of butter. I left it behind in the move. It wasn't the bread that was a problem, it was my inability to moderate fresh bread.

    Also, bread made from wheat flour (as opposed to sprouted grains) can make me sleepy, but I realize I am in the minority, so would never give avoiding it as global advice. And it does work well as a bedtime snack for me.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Mezzie1024 wrote: »
    I know this thread has gone a bunch of different directions, but I'm still stuck on the doctor saying to lift less. Barring unrevealed joint/muscle/tendon issues, that is simply bizarre. I could understand if the doctor said to add more cardio to your routine to burn more calories, but not at the expense of resistance training. Besides, you have now been given the advice you need to log accurately and create your needed deficit for weight loss. Best of luck.

    Next time your doctor gives you questionable advice, ask him/her to explain why. I always go in with a list of concerns, a list of questions, and I take notes, making sure to ask about anything I don't understand, including where I can learn more. My doctors are generally great, but my body is ultimately my responsibility, so I try to learn as much about how it works (and doesn't) as I can.

    Best of luck to you. Enjoy weighing your food -- I love how I have to wash fewer dishes because of my scale. :)

    It might have been said in a different context. OP was saying she lifted 3-4 days/week, did Zumba 3 days/wk. Obviously, there are several variables involved here, but it is not implausible for the context to be: cut down (not eliminate) strength training and increase cardio volume (assuming that time commitment relatively fixed). Depending on how one is lifting, reducing the lifting days would have little negative impact.

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    stevencloser wrote: »
    danmason2025 wrote: »
    Fat Loss Wars: Cardio Versus Weight Training! By Shannon Clark November 04, 2015 •

    We are going to give weight training a point in the fat loss wars due to the calorie burn after the workout is completed. Find out more right here as the battle for fat loss success heats up between cardio and weight training.

    If you were to propose the following situation to the average gym-goer, it would probably play down something like this.

    "When you want to do lose fat you do what?"

    "And, when you want to build muscle, what happens then?"

    They would respond that when they want to lose fat, they start doing more cardio. When they want to build muscle, well naturally, they weight train. Seems to make sense. Cardio burns off calories; weight training makes you gain weight.

    s this really accurate though? Could weight training strictly be used for fat loss - with no cardio at all? You bet.

    Falling for this common misconception is one of the biggest mistakes you could make and will not only hinder your progress, but will leave you not quite looking as you hoped.

    Here's why.

    WEIGHT TRAINING AND METABOLIC INCREASES FOR THE PERIOD FOLLOWING ///
    With Cardio Training, You Might Get An Extra 40-80 Calories Burned. The first reason we are going to give weight training a point in the fat loss wars against cardio training is due to the calorie burn after the workout is completed.

    Studies have demonstrated that after a weight training workout, the metabolism can be boosted for up to 36 hours post-workout, meaning rather than burning say 60 calories an hour while sitting and watching TV, you're burning 70. While you may think, 'Big deal - 10 extra calories', when you multiply this by 36 hours, you can see what a huge difference that makes in your daily calorie expenditure over that day and a half.

    When you figure out that on a monthly rate, it becomes even clearer how regular participation in a weight lifting session will really increase your calorie burning and thus fat burning capacity.

    With cardio training, you might get an extra 40-80 calories burned after a moderate paced session, and this will depend upon the exact intensity and duration of the workout.

    In order to generate a high amount of post-calorie burn from aerobics, you'd have to be doing it for a very long duration of time, and typically individuals who are capable of doing such a thing, don't need to be concerned with fat loss in the first place.

    Now, sprinting is a slightly different story and will create effects with your metabolic rate closer to that of weight lifting, so that's something to consider as well. With this, you must be sprinting hard in order for benefits to be seen though, which is something some people will struggle with

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/steady-state-versus-intervals-and-epoc-practical-application.html/

    Not related to this discussion but you might find Garmin's method of quantifying training load from EPOC interesting.
  • l8iane
    l8iane Posts: 5 Member
    If what you do doesn't work try other regimen like IF or Keto, I really don't have much Idea about keto but I'm using intermittent fasting for more than a month and works for me. shedding the remaining fats I got.
  • skodadog
    skodadog Posts: 1 Member
    As mentioned by many above, the solution is probably a combination of further restricting the caloric intake and moving to something other than or in addition to Zumba. I wouldn't give up Zumba all together (presumably it's what you like and that is important in motivation). I would also not give up weight lifting, but try reducing the number of weight training days or time you spend weight training in half and with that time, add some other high intensity training (HIT) exercise using a timer. Even 15-20 minutes of HIT training on a cardio/spin bike or elliptical trainer can really make a difference in caloric output (daily and weekly totals). There are great YouTube videos that describe HIT.
  • crw9384
    crw9384 Posts: 7 Member
    edited August 2017
    My suggestion would be to back down your calories. Eat lots of lean meats and vegetables. Cut sugar down to a minimum and change your work out routine. Always get in at least 30 minutes of cardio. Then spend another 30 minutes on strength training. I started out at 214 and my calorie budget was 1590. I normally eat around 1250 a day. And if I'm ever unsure about calories, I tend to overestimate them. My workout routine is basically alternating days with arms and legs. I use machines for my arms and lots of squats for leg day. Paired with cardio. I alternate between walking at a high incline mixed with a little running. Hope this helps.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
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  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    For those of you who would like to continue the discussion on calories burned walking vs. running please see this new thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10586233/calories-burned-running-vs-walking#latest
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    keyaunadunham wrote: »
    I'm surprised that this has been mentioned!! But remember muscle weighs more then fat!!! You may be very well loosing INCHES!! Don't think you're not burning fat because the scale isn't dropping

    Why do so many people totally underestimate how difficult it is for women especially to gain muscle and believe that muscle just packs on? There is a comment like this in every why am I not losing weight thread even in the ones where the person isn't lifting at all. These myths need to die.

    Why? Speculating, but I can think of a few possibilities.

    One is simple wishful (hopeful) thinking . . . the same kind of thinking that makes people believe they certainly should be losing if they "eat clean", go to the gym every day, and cut out sugar.

    Another is the cr*p that a bunch of blogs and internet fitness celebs talk about exercises that will "tone your arms" or "build your six-pack" in 14 days.

    The other is that I suspect there are a few women who start out quite unfit, but actually do start some kind of semi-decent strength program (yay!), then see a pretty noticeable *strength* gain fairly fast (because their starting point allows for strength gain through neuromuscular adaptation), perhaps also see some modest but encouraging newbie muscle gains if the time scale is long enough, lose some weight so that they "look toned" by comparison, lose substantial inches for a variety of reasons, possibly get a bit of a pump or some such, and interpret this constellation of things as "gaining muscle while losing fat", possibly abetted in this by dipsy-doodle body fat percent numbers on home or gym scales.

    I actually had pretty much that exact kind of argument in another thread a while back with an older woman (younger than me ;) ) who insisted she'd gained substantial muscle in a steep deficit, and that the then-OP shouldn't let a meanie like me discourage her by saying 1/4 pound muscle gain weekly would be a good result for a woman under ideal conditions (including a calorie surplus), whereas a 1/4 pound fat loss weekly would be nearly unnoticeable.

    Since NM changes can really benefit very unfit/inactive people rather quickly once they start doing more, I think one can even see this misperception among people
    who've begun even more-modest activity programs.

    It may be useful, in these discussions, to explicitly acknowledge that noticeable strength gains, and desirable appearance improvements, can be taking place, even when noticeable muscle-mass gain . . . can't.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    skodadog wrote: »
    As mentioned by many above, the solution is probably a combination of further restricting the caloric intake and moving to something other than or in addition to Zumba. I wouldn't give up Zumba all together (presumably it's what you like and that is important in motivation). I would also not give up weight lifting, but try reducing the number of weight training days or time you spend weight training in half and with that time, add some other high intensity training (HIT) exercise using a timer. Even 15-20 minutes of HIT training on a cardio/spin bike or elliptical trainer can really make a difference in caloric output (daily and weekly totals). There are great YouTube videos that describe HIT.

    It's unclear to me how new OP's workout routine is, but just to be safe, I want to say this: People who are new to working out should not be encouraged to do HIIT routines. It's important to have a reasonable base level of fitness before trying to go "all out" in this kind of routine.

    Much of what's currently advertised as HIIT . . . isn't. So-called HIIT is, in most of these common cases, just the latest over-hyped fitness trend. Many workouts presented as HIIT are just interval workouts (you don't - can't - do HIIT for an hour at a time). There's nothing wrong with regular interval workouts, they just don't have that trendy cachet of "HIIT". The alleged afterburn (or revved up metabolism, EPOC, or whatever) from "HIIT" is seriously overstated.

    People new to exercise, and pursuing calorie burn and general fitness, are well served by boring old steady-state cardio, or regular ol' intervals (such as walk/run), plus a well-constructed strength program. High intensity serves specific athletic training goals, and requires solid base fitness.

  • BootyEvolve
    BootyEvolve Posts: 45 Member
    Danicandothis wrote: »
    That's what my doctor told me. I went in for a wellness check. I workout. I eat reasonably well and I'm not losing weight. She told me to increase cardio and do less weight lifting. I think she wrong.

    Some background: i'm 5'1, currently 230lbs. 40 years old. I work out 4-5 days a week 3-4 days of weight lifting. An hour per session. 3 cardio sessions (Zumba) per week. I eat 1800 calories a day. I measure everything.
    My math has me at about a 4,000 calorie deficit per week.

    What am I missing?

    Lol that's ridiculous. Every article I found says weightlifting BOOSTS your metabolism and keeps it revd up longer than cardio does after your workout. BUT I recommend getting cardio 20 to 30 minutes in and doing resistance training (3×15 reps). Play around with how much your eating in calories and weigh everything. Itll take a while to figure out how much you actually need to fuel your body. Doctors aren't always right. DO some research and do what you feel is right for your body.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »
    I know the cico crowd is going to disagree, but don't eat anything after 6pm and spend your evenings walking outside...

    It really does work, however they want to rationalize why...

    I always wonder what people do who stop eating at 6 PM...I'm often still in the office at 6 PM...on a good day I might be home around 6:30. I haven't been home before 6 PM save for a Friday evening in like 12 years.

    I eat dinner around 8:30 every night and have done so for years...I lost weight pretty easily and have no issues maintaining weight. Not eating after a certain time is just a method for controlling calories and that's it.

    I've been in bed for nearly an hour at the time you eat dinner lol I could never, ever wait that late to eat, i'd be a ravenous hog by then and would no doubt end up overeating. :(
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »
    I know the cico crowd is going to disagree, but don't eat anything after 6pm and spend your evenings walking outside...

    It really does work, however they want to rationalize why...

    Heh. It's 10:50PM here, and I'm just eating dinner now. Well, OK, 2nd dinner - still got lotsa calories left. Lost 50+ pounds just fine, now maintaining, doing all kinda crazy baby-feline like this. ;)

    Guess that works, too. But then, I am one of the "CICO crowd".
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