Losing Lbs and weight training.

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Phil4035
Phil4035 Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all, I've been running on a 500 calorie deficit for 4-5 months now. Lost 23 lbs Yay. In that span I've started going to the gym (not as consistent as I would like). I've been doing cardio for 30 mins and some strength training. I started feeling pretty good but as I increased my strength training reps my weight started to go up and I've lost my desire to continue. I might just have to stick to cardio for now as it seems like it takes a long time to lose 1 lb and then I gain like 3-4 lbs. I know everyone says muscle weighs more than fat but I'm trying to lose weight. My goal weight is 170 and I haven't been under 200lbs for over 15 years. My concern is with the deficit plan that I'm losing more than just fat. Any suggestions on workout?

Replies

  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    Keep doing both.. that 3-4 pounds your seeing is just water weight that your muscles are holding onto while they repair themselves.

    if you cardio only, it will eat away at the muscle and the fat.. but by doing both, you'll retain more muscle and lose primarily fat. Plus muscle burns more calories at rest then fat.. so your metabolism will be higher, and you'll be burning extra calories without even doing anything extra.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    I suggest that you stop focusing on the number on the scale and realize that in order to be healthy, you may need to add some muscle tone to your body, which will result in some yo-yo'ing with weights. I'd personally start taking reference pics and/or taking measurements rather than focusing on scale weight as your metric of progress. There's also the fact that muscle is the biggest calorie burning engine in your body, so adding some additional lean muscle will just give you a higher BMR, allowing you to eat more calories while still maintaining a deficit.

    Barring that, I'd say go for bodyweight resistance stuff rather than weight lifting as your strength training of choice, or pick a cardio activity that also strains your musculature (rowing, swimming come to mind).
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Keep doing both.. that 3-4 pounds your seeing is just water weight that your muscles are holding onto while they repair themselves.

    if you cardio only, it will eat away at the muscle and the fat.. but by doing both, you'll retain more muscle and lose primarily fat. Plus muscle burns more calories at rest then fat.. so your metabolism will be higher, and you'll be burning extra calories without even doing anything extra.

    this! try not to be discouraged by the initial gain, its worth it! make sure u are drinkign lots, and getting plenty of protein in ur diet.
  • ladysandy
    ladysandy Posts: 82
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    Keep doing both.. that 3-4 pounds your seeing is just water weight that your muscles are holding onto while they repair themselves.

    if you cardio only, it will eat away at the muscle and the fat.. but by doing both, you'll retain more muscle and lose primarily fat. Plus muscle burns more calories at rest then fat.. so your metabolism will be higher, and you'll be burning extra calories without even doing anything extra.

    AGREE!
  • Victoria2448
    Victoria2448 Posts: 559 Member
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    WOW! Finally some good advice on here. Can I hang out with you cool kids?:glasses:

    Your goal should be fat loss not weightloss. Like it was said earlier, focus on your measurments. The scale doesn't tell the true story.

    Lift weights and do cardio but not on the same day. Keep your workouts to an hour or under. Make sure you have a rest day.

    Diet is 80% of any solid healthy program.
  • Nooshie56
    Nooshie56 Posts: 2
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    I have been on MFP for over a month now- I monitor everything I eat, make sure I don't go over my calories goals. I started running for 30 minutes a day now I am up to 45 min and I do strengh trainning. Well to my surprise not only I have not loss a pound. but I have gained 1.9 lbs. I am very depressed right now and I am beginning to wonder if it's worth it. Everybody is saying not to worry about the scales but I am making those lifestyle changes so I can see result. It's hard to push forward when you feel like you a fighting a losing battle.
  • hitmygoalin10weeks
    hitmygoalin10weeks Posts: 22
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    IDefinitey keep doing both. U will tone and lose at the same time! I was just battling the same thing... Ive been at the gym hard core for a little over 2 weeks now doing cardio and weights... I was doscouraged when I got
    On the scale and gained 2 pounds! What the heck, right!!! I need to lose weight not gain... I measured and had lost 5 1/2 inches... Have you measured? It is common 4 this to happen! Trust me... U will shrink in no time doing both!
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
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    Cardio and Strengthening are key to weight loss. While trying to lose weight ... you should do cardio 3 to 4 days a week and weight lifting 2 to 3 days a week. I encourage you to push your limits with the weights ... increase the weight and reduce the rep. The idea is to build muscle over time ... a long hard workout is NOT necessary. I enjoy my Cardio and probably go extreme, so don't base it off my 2+ hour workouts. When I started this journey I did one hour cardio ( walking or swimming ) seven days a week. I then added 30 min of weights three days a week. But I will add ... your diet is just as important and while struggling with your regimen is and can be difficult ... a strict diet three days a week can help you lose 2 to 3lbs weekly. When I say strict ... I simply mean healthy and under 1200 calories. There are alot of GREAT foods that will jump start your metabolism and keep you full all day long. Consider a day of Greek yogurt, Salmon, Spinach, Nuts, Sweet potatoes, chicken ... add some cayenne pepper to your meal and tweek it til it is something you will enjoy eating ! Don't forget if you love chocolate ... 3 oz of DARK chocolate w/ 72% Cocoa is GREAT for your body ! Good luck and ... NEVER GIVE UP ! :) ♥
  • getfitnfab
    getfitnfab Posts: 418 Member
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    Nooshie, focus on a healthy lifestyle

    If you are like me and build more muscle, than buy a few pants lower than your current size, make, style and same brand

    Do same for the shirts

    I went from a size 14 pants to a size 6

    No matter what do not get discouraged

    Go girls!
  • Nooshie56
    Nooshie56 Posts: 2
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    after the heart break this morning, I am afraid to measure myself. :cry:
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,319 Member
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    Weight lifting will help you maintain what you already have, while on a calorie deficit. Considering how long you have been on a deficit, it may be a good idea to switch to maintenance, or even gain, and concentrate on strength training for a few weeks.
  • Victoria2448
    Victoria2448 Posts: 559 Member
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    I have been on MFP for over a month now- I monitor everything I eat, make sure I don't go over my calories goals. I started running for 30 minutes a day now I am up to 45 min and I do strengh trainning. Well to my surprise not only I have not loss a pound. but I have gained 1.9 lbs. I am very depressed right now and I am beginning to wonder if it's worth it. Everybody is saying not to worry about the scales but I am making those lifestyle changes so I can see result. It's hard to push forward when you feel like you a fighting a losing battle.

    Please stick with it...if I had given up after a month, after trying every workout under the sun and logging my food...I'd still be an average frumpy Mom. Rome was not built in a day...you didn't gain the weight in just a month,. Perfection takes time.

    P.S. STAY OFF THE SCALE
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
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    When you lose weight you are losing a ton of muscle mass which is why strength training is so important. Are you eating enough calories??
  • Phil4035
    Phil4035 Posts: 6 Member
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    When you lose weight you are losing a ton of muscle mass which is why strength training is so important. Are you eating enough calories??
    According to my BMR My calorie goal with deficit is 1980. Ive stayed under that for a long time but lately I've been losing motivation in keeping up with monitoring and found myself mentally estimating and not keeping track.
  • Phil4035
    Phil4035 Posts: 6 Member
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    I have been on MFP for over a month now- I monitor everything I eat, make sure I don't go over my calories goals. I started running for 30 minutes a day now I am up to 45 min and I do strengh trainning. Well to my surprise not only I have not loss a pound. but I have gained 1.9 lbs. I am very depressed right now and I am beginning to wonder if it's worth it. Everybody is saying not to worry about the scales but I am making those lifestyle changes so I can see result. It's hard to push forward when you feel like you a fighting a losing battle.
    The lifestyle change and healthy frame of mind are the most important things. Also I have an accountability partner that I text / talk to almost everyday and it helps when I want to cheat. I know focusing on the lifestyle and not the weight is the right thing to do but it's discouraging when you don't see results.
  • jkuhn71
    jkuhn71 Posts: 199
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    I suggest that you stop focusing on the number on the scale and realize that in order to be healthy, you may need to add some muscle tone to your body, which will result in some yo-yo'ing with weights. I'd personally start taking reference pics and/or taking measurements rather than focusing on scale weight as your metric of progress. There's also the fact that muscle is the biggest calorie burning engine in your body, so adding some additional lean muscle will just give you a higher BMR, allowing you to eat more calories while still maintaining a deficit.

    I second that!!! I got frustrated at the very beginning of my journey - my first weigh in after a week of eating clean and logging hard exercise (6 days of cardio + 3 days of weight lifting), my weight was UP on the scale. But my coach at the gym talked me off the ledge and did the rest of my body comp analysis (measurements with a tape measure and body fat %), and those numbers went DOWN. I could see that my fat mass went down (lost fat weight!), but my lean mass went UP more than my fat mass went down! So having a 'gauge' for your success other than the scale is a VERY GOOD THING! The scale doesn't tell the whole story! And for the record - through my journey, the number on the scale dropped more weeks than it stayed the same or went up. FIRM believer in weight lifting and non-scale measurements of success here!!! :happy:
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    Keep doing both.. that 3-4 pounds your seeing is just water weight that your muscles are holding onto while they repair themselves.

    if you cardio only, it will eat away at the muscle and the fat.. but by doing both, you'll retain more muscle and lose primarily fat. Plus muscle burns more calories at rest then fat.. so your metabolism will be higher, and you'll be burning extra calories without even doing anything extra.

    this.
  • FitJ1210
    FitJ1210 Posts: 754
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    Bump
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
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    I suggest that you stop focusing on the number on the scale and realize that in order to be healthy, you may need to add some muscle tone to your body, which will result in some yo-yo'ing with weights. I'd personally start taking reference pics and/or taking measurements rather than focusing on scale weight as your metric of progress. There's also the fact that muscle is the biggest calorie burning engine in your body, so adding some additional lean muscle will just give you a higher BMR, allowing you to eat more calories while still maintaining a deficit.

    Agree on this. Stop whining on the scale & just do your measurements. If you notice that your clothes fit better then you're on the right track, PERIOD!!!!! Now if it seem no changes in your measurements either, it may be either water weight or what you are eating. Also have you been weighing yourself using the same scale at the same time?
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    I think this obsessive focus on scale weight is the single biggest contributor to diet/fitness failure. It's just one indicator of progress, and the closer you get to being "done," the less meaningful scale weight becomes. So many people arbritrarily pick a number and judge themselves as failures if they can't get to it, but what they don't realize is that they may look better at a higher weight. I strength train with kettlebells and heavy free weights. I like the way it makes me look and feel. Now, I could stop doing that, let my muscles atrophy, and weigh less than I do now. But I don't think I'd be happy at all with how I looked.

    If you are consistently eating at a deficit, you WILL lose weight, no matter what kind of exercising you are doing. As an earlier poster mentioned, your muscles hang onto water during the repair and recovery process. The more training you do, the more water your muscles are able to retain, so it's not a surprise at all that you've seen your weight go up slightly as you've increased your strength training. The thing to keep in mind that is that most of it is water weight, which shows up on the scale, but not in the mirror. So don't let a few lbs here and there make you feel like what you are doing isn't working.

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