Weightlifting & Weight Loss

ryanformato
ryanformato Posts: 1 Member
edited December 19 in Motivation and Support
My wife lost significant weight over the last 3 years (70 pounds) and is trying to lose the last 10-15 pounds. She has been struggling with this and was walking religiously while having her diet in check. I suggested weightlifting 3 x a week total body workouts to gain muscle which will be a more permanent fix to me than this excessive walking/cardio. She started 3 weeks ago and has had her diet in check perfectly. She usually eats about 1500 calories and then her exercise is between 300-400 calories burned in about an hour of weightlifting or walking on an incline on her off days. 3 weeks later she is freaking out because the scale is the same or slightly up. I think she is doing great because the weights she is lifting or the amount of reps increases nearly every workout. I keep on stressing it must be water retention or muscle building. Any tips/advice?

I am having her do the following routine 3x a week.

Back Squats 4x10 (Quad)
Leg Curls 3x10 (Ham)
Reverse Grip Lat Pull Downs 3x10 (Lats and biceps)
Seated Rows 3x10 (Back)
Dumbbell floor press 3x10 (Chest)

Hip Thrusts 3x10 (Glute)

Tricep Pull Over 3x10 (Tricep)
Leg Raises - She can now do 3 sets of 20. (Abs)


She has been doing great and what I keep doing is upping her reps to 12 and then once she hits 12 reps, up the weight and drop back down to 8-10 reps. Then continue on. I know there are other exercises that can be suggested but I am working around her shoulder injury which is why I'm avoiding certain exercises that can aggravage her hands/shoulder such as shoulder press/deadlifting/romanian deadlift.



Replies

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    edited January 2019
    Not sure if your wife is logging on MFP, if she is check her cal burn for lifting. (In the ‘cardio’ tab under ‘strength training’)

    You don’t say her weight, but 300-400 cals sounds a little high. Lifting doesn’t burn a lot of cals, still worth eating them back though.

    You are more than likely correct, it is water weight and nothing to be concerned about. It will just mask her loss for a couple of weeks.

    I tend to carry 2-4lbs less when I don’t lift, just drop the water weight when having a break.

    Have a read of the AllPro programme in this thread. It is similar to what your wife is doing so may help you formalize her progression and deloads.
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Cheers, h.

    As an FYI, here is a good way to get a calorie burn for walking.

    Walking calorie equation.
    (Weight x .3) x distance in miles = cal burn
    (W in lbs x .3)x (distance in km x .621) =cal burn.

    Running use weight x .6 or .63

    .621 converts km to mile.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Adding weightlifting causes a bit of water weight gain. As long as she's still n a deficit, she'll still be losing fat. I gained 3 lbs the first month I lifted and then lost 3 lbs over the next month. During that time, my measurements decreased by quite a bit. Weight is not everything.
  • sarahbetherck
    sarahbetherck Posts: 270 Member
    Tell her to measure instead of weighing for a while. The scale can be unmotivating when starting to lift but the payoff is in the inches.
  • SABoj
    SABoj Posts: 88 Member
    Lifting will help push past the plateau. Initially the scales will tip in the wrong direction, but its only temporary if you stick with it. Be sure she's eating enough calories too... sounds crazy, but you need more quality calories when lifting. Good luck!
  • Buff_Man
    Buff_Man Posts: 623 Member
    At this point the scales are basically useless. Your wife will be gaining some muscle, water etc. The best guide is regular measurements and pictures. Maybe a weigh in once a week just to watch the trend is ok. If she's new to weight training then she can make a lot of gains and her weight will fluctuate and she'll probably steadily lose bodyfat. She shouldn't stay in a calorie deficit for more than 3 weeks at a time. In fact it's probably better to stay at maintenance or slightly more calories for a couple months and then slowly go back to a deficit for 3 weeks at a time.
  • Buff_Man
    Buff_Man Posts: 623 Member
    Also her workout should start to introduce more compound movements like bench press, squats, deadlifts. These will improve her calorie burn, posture and overall strength. In order to benefit from weight training she also needs sufficient protein, upto 0.8g per lb bodyweight is plenty, but the key is consistency. Each meal at least one fist sized portion of lean fish, chicken or meat or eggs.
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