lifting weights but not losing weight:(

You're not going to lose much weight by lifting. You will lose fat and gain muscle. If you only want to lose weight and not gain muscle then lower your calories, eat healthy, and do cardio.

You're not going to lose much weight by lifting. You will lose fat and gain muscle. If you only want to lose weight and not gain muscle then lower your calories, eat healthy, and do cardio.

this is uninformed nonsense. you will not build muscle unless eating at a calorie surplus. you may 'lose' less 'weight' because you wont lose as much muscle, you will maintain it. but thats a good thing or you will be flabby as all hell.

Since I started strenght training, I didn't lose weight, but I've lost inchs!!! I will take inchs over pounds anytime. I am the only one that see the number on the scale but everyone can see my amazing butt in my size 4 skinny jeans!!!

how long are the chalean videos and how many different weight sizes do you need to do them?

The length of the CE videos range from 30 -45 minutes (approximately). The answer to your other question depends on your personal strength level. The goal is to lift heavy enough weights to max out between 6 - 12 reps (depending on what phase you're in). So it depends on what it takes for "you" to max out. I started out with weights from 3 - 8 lbs (yep, I was a weakling). Now I'm up to 8 - 20 lbs. and I just finished my 5th week (Push phases). HTH

Julie

I'm the same way, lifting weights, but not losing pounds. I am losing inches and when I was on vacation for a week, I ate what I wanted, but watched my portions. I came back the same weight as when I left. That never happens, but I think the added muscle to my body helped me maintain!!! I'll take that over stressing out over a number on the scale. Good luck!!!!

You're not going to lose much weight by lifting. You will lose fat and gain muscle. If you only want to lose weight and not gain muscle then lower your calories, eat healthy, and do cardio.

this is uninformed nonsense. you will not build muscle unless eating at a calorie surplus. you may 'lose' less 'weight' because you wont lose as much muscle, you will maintain it. but thats a good thing or you will be flabby as all hell.

I concur.

I concur as well!! There is a bunch of science that proves that doing "cardio" is not anywhere close to the best way to lose weight or fat. Chronic cardio may help you create a caloric deficit, but is the least efficient way to lose weight and fat. Intense strength training sessions, and intense interval training are proven to be the most efficient way to lose fat. It's not about the time you spend it's about the intensity.

Just my 2 cents...

As a real life example, I lifted weights like an animal for 6 months before I tried losing an ounce. When I did start to eat at a deficit, the weight flew off quickly. I kept up with the weights, but started a lot more cardio. The result; the muscles gained prior, also started to diminish with the weight (fat) loss. I have maintained relative strength, but have not gained an ounce of muscle, despite some pretty intense strength training. Looking back, it was an unintended genious way to lose weight. My trainer calls muscles "the fat burning engines". So on the long view; gaining the muscle "up front", and not worrying about diet so much, will serve you well when you switch gears to "diet" mode.

Bump

I'd kind of like to see some research on this, actually. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. To lose fat you need to be in a caloric deficit as far as in your intake goes. To build muscle you need sufficient energy, building blocks, and stress etc. If you have fat stores, couldn't someone possibly be eating to a caloric deficit but still have enough energy to build muscle mass if the energy stores (fat) are used by the body? It seems like gains would be fairly slow since your body has to break down the fat to use for energy. You'd also want to make sure protein intake and workout routine supported muscle building, but I don't see how the two are completely mutually exclusive.

But as I say, I'm happy to read more on it

The 3 types of persons that can put on muscle on calorie deficit are: an athlete returning to exercise after a long layoff, an obese person who starts working out consistently, a newbie who has NEVER lifted any weights before. Other than that, it's almost impossible to put on muscle in calorie deficit. For every pound of muscle you gain, you'll add on about .3lbs or more of fat with it. Also because of the demand needed for ATP, unless your energy level can provide it, muscle building won't happen, so your carbs are usually increased. This will almost always lead to a surplus. Again, even if your nutrition were spot on, your exercise perfect and you got enough rest, it's improbable to gain lean muscle on a calorie deficit.

And a teenager who will put on juvenile muscle.

And a teenager who will put on juvenile muscle.

They would also need to be in calorie surplus.

Not a huge one if any if they have lots of fat to burn. One of the tricks supplement companies use to show those huge muscle gains if you use their supplement is to use people who are still growing (late teens early 20s) because they put on muscle very easily. Yes, when they do their stuff for their supposedly unbiased testing, they have them eating at a caloric surplus, but even at a small deficit, assuming they have a good amount of fat to burn for energy and provide the protein and nutrients to build the muscle, they will put it on surprisingly quickly. For the rest of us to do so requires so much attention to diet with moving calories around and watching macro nutrients so carefully (a la leangain and a few others I have seen) that it is simply easier to eat at a surplus and then diet off the fat later.

BTW, I put on muscle for the first 6 months of my weight loss journey but that was all because of two big factors 1) I had not trained at all in 6-10 years 2) I had put on a lot of muscle when I was young (teenager who spent most of my time in the gym) and I have found that it came back easier when I started lifting later in life. Since that 6 month or so point, I have lost muscle with the fat and that trend continues although it is not that quick of a loss due to resistance training helping to spare muscle.

Jessica are you on FB? Let's chat! www.facebook.com/beth.simpler