Hey guys!

So I've been reading quite a lot lately, about how lifting weights can be beneficial when trying to lose fat/weight..
Are you guys lifting weights in order to lose weight and if so, how has it helped you? And where do I start (as in, how many times a week/what kind of exercises etc)

At the moment, my exercise routine consists mostly of cardio exercises (treadmill or elliptical), and I always used to think that cardio exercises were the best when trying to lose weight, but yeah, i'm a bit confused right now :')

Thank you in advance! <3

Lifting weights is AMAZING. But you have to be willing to ignore the scale a little bit.

New Rules of Lifting for Women is a good place to start learning the basics.

I have lost 10 lbs since I started lifting, and 4 dress sizes in those 10 lbs. It makes a HUGE difference in your body composition. I have never been this happy with my body.

ValRock - Are you saying the scale will go up when you start lifting weights? If so, why do you gain weight? Thanks!

It could. Your muscles retain water as they repair. So it's a temporary gain, and certainly not fat. Also, I look miles different at 164 with a lot of muscle mass than I did at a skinny-fat 174. I'm carrying a lot more lean mass and a lot less body fat. The scale can't tell the difference, it can only tell you how much your body weighs - but the difference is important!

Muscle weighs more then fat. I saw on here (a while ago) a sticky that had a picture of 5lbs of fat and 5lbs of muscle. And my goodness they were different! They fat was just a big blob and the muscle was much SMALLER then the fat, yet they weighed the same. Depending on how much you weigh now you probably wont be seeing the numbers going up for a while when you start lifting weights.
My cousin weighs about 10lbs more then what everyone guesses because she lifts weights. So while she is super thin, she also dense in weight.

Exactly. What we're after is fat loss. Sadly there is no way to easily and accurately measure fat so we focus on the scale which as thousands and thousands of posts here show is frustrating and unproductive - yet we still do it.

Pictures and measurements are a far better indication of progress than what the scale says.

Others have pointed this out, so I'll just take my turn at it. It's too important to let slide. Muscle does not "weigh" more than fat. Muscle DOES have greater density. A pound of feathers and a pound of steel weigh exactly the same. One's a function of gravity, and the other is a function of mass. Valrock provided a perfect physical example.

Over in the Maintainers forum, we had a long thread at the beginning of the year about the scale number being merely a symptom of a much larger picture of health. The further in this journey you go, the more tools you have with which to judge your health. Relying on a single measure, the scale, works for a while, but eventually we reach a point where it's not just the amount of fat changes taking place. One of the most common "I wish I'd done" regrets is that folks don't take measurements when they start.

Thanks for all the info. It makes more sense now.

Thanks for all the replies! It's highly appreciated And yes, I agree with superchick36, it all makes much more sense to me now!
Especially what you said Valrock about gaining a bit, due to water retention in the muscles.

What kind of weight lifting exercises do you guys do btw (if you do any)? And is it true that you shouldn't be training the same muscle group two days in a row? Or does this only apply to men trying to build bigger muscle?

Sorry for the amount of questions btw, I keep finding different answers on the web, hence my confusion.. :')

New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great place to start. It'll also help clear up a lot of confusing/contradicting things you might be reading on the Web.

Like Val said, ignore the scale. It's more about how you feel in your clothes and how you look rather than the number on the scale.

Also, don't be afraid to lift heavy! As ladies, we don't really have the body chemistry to put on a bunch of bulky muscles like men do.

Also also, be aware that you can't "spot reduce" trouble areas.

I started lifting weights and when I started shedding I had some really nice sculpting arms! So nice in fact I took a bunch of pics of my tones arms. I loved the look! I was afraid to pick up weights thinking that it would make me weight more but it worked out well. I am currently back to doing my weights and alternate it with pure cardio sessions.

That's great to hear! I think I'm going to switch to 3 HIIT cardio sessions (currenylu doing 3 'normal' 30-45 min sessions) and 2-3 weight lifting days a week from now on..
Will keep you guys updated on the progress

Btw, is it better to focus on different muscle groups every time I work out, or can I do full body weight lifting routines too? Does it really matter, or are they both as effective?

I do both. It has actually helped tone some of my thigh jiggle, which is a heck of a feat! lol

The trend at the moment is to do a program (like New Rules for Women) that has you doing a full body workout two or three times a week. It burns more calories and is more efficient as a form of exercise. The different muscles for different days thing comes from bodybuilders--but most of us aren't trying to be bodybuilders and it isn't necessarily the best use of our time.

And to the question above, ALWAYS take a rest day between lifting with the same body parts. Muscles are built in *recovery* from lifting, rather from the lifting itself. 48 hours. Walking, running, yoga, elliptical, biking etc are ok, but you want to keep it light.

Really, check out the New Rules of Lifting for Women. It's a great program and a brilliant and challenging place to start.

I, too, am doing the New Rules of Lifting For Women. It sounds very consistent with your earlier post. It recommends 2-3 days a week of full body lifting, and then if you want to do cardio, it recommends HIIT. I started lifting early in this weight loss journey, so I can't say whether it's slowed my loss rat from what it otherwise would have been, but it certainly has not stopped it. And, BTW, I love the way cardio makes me feel, but I love the way lifting makes me feel even more. I will let you know about my feelings on body shape after I get rid of another 70 pounds of fat or so.