I've recently started a diet, and so far am doing well with about a 10 lb loss as of this morning. Part of my new routine is to work out for about 20 minutes a day on my elliptical trainer, and also to lift using my weight machine home gym every other day, generally taking the weekend off for both. Neither of these are the very top of the line equipment, but they aren't too shabby either. I work 2nd shift in a factory, and I do my routines after I get off work in the middle of the night. My home set up is good enough that I have no plans to go to a regular gym.
I'm a little confused about what goes on when one diets and lifts, though. I've heard that it is almost impossible to lose weight and at the same time build muscles. I am not exactly what one could call strong, yet I do see improvements in my stamina and lifting capabilities even after this short a time (thinking of upping my lifting on most exercises by 10 lbs today!). I've read that part of this is due to my body's "reorganizing" itself to accomodate its new workload, with the muscles becoming more efficient rather than larger. Ok, fair enough, but part of my mind is insisting that this process can only go so far; at a certain point more muscles is needed to lift more load.
So, can anyone set me straight? I know that after hauling around 260 + pounds I must have at least some muscles in there somewhere just to keep upright. Is my lifting while losing just preventing (or slowing) this muscle mass? Or might I actually be increasing those I have while losing the weight that I seem to be?
Edit: One would think that after spending the money I did to by a good one, I would know how to actually spell the word "elliptical" correctly the first time.
Hi there
First, congratulations on your new healthier lifestyle, your weightloss, and beginning and sticking to a workout routine
It's not impossible to build muscle and lose weight, but it does take some effort and nutritional planning. If that is your goal, you should be eating 5-6 mini-meals a day, adequately balanced between complex carbs and lean proteins with plenty of fresh vegetables, and you need to be lifting progressively heavier loads 1-2 times per week per body part. If your goal is more weightloss and overall conditioning without muscle loss, you can accomplish that also.
You are right: as a heavy person, you probably have plenty of muscle mass (at least in your lower body) to start with. From my experience doing fitness testing on heavier women, they usually have plenty of muscle in their lower bodies, but proportionally weaker upper bodies. As you lose weight, you'll probably lose some muscle mass in your lower body, which you can minimize with resistence training. Hopefully, you'll gain strength and muscle in your upper body through your resistence training (weightlifting). Good for you for doing the lifting while you are losing! It is possible to lose through diet alone, but a lot of what you'd lose would be muscle mass. The result would be a quicker drop on the scale, but a less efficient metabolism, less healthy bones, a jigglier looking body...basically a skinny fat person!
During the first few weeks of any lifting program, your body is adjusting to a lot of new stresses. Increases in load produce new stresses on muscles, ligaments, tendons, blood supply, blood pressure regulation, new neural pathways. During the first few months of lifting, you have a "honeymoon period" when you'll make quick gains in strength. Muscle size correlates somewhat to strength and endurance, but is also genetically determined. You can design a lifting program to maximize muscle growth if that is what you are interested in ( doesn't really seem like that's your goal tho ), or keep doing what you are currently doing since it seems to be working for you. Just up your weights as the load becomes easier, and keep your reps in the 12-15 range.
Mel explained it all so well that all I can add is a note about my own personal experiences. During the year that I was losing weight, I added almost ten pounds of muscle while losing 132 pounds of fat (for a net loss of 122 pounds) - so YES, you can gain muscle while you lose fat!
Eat clean, with lots of protein, do your cardio, and lift heavy and you'll do just fine!
Well, I just typed out a pretty lengthy reply, but the board ate it. *Sigh*
Thank you for the replies, I really did learn from them. I have a clearer idea that I might be aiming to gain muscle in my arms, while maintaining what I have in my legs. Makes perfect sense; I'm plenty weak in my arms, and fairly strong in my legs.
One thing I'm not sure of is how much protein I should be eating. I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't see the need to eat meat at every meal, either. I guess that during the week, when I am really on my diet (I sorta take the weekends off, though I am taking care to not go overboard with that) I eat maybe 3 smallish servings of it a day, mostly in the form of milk, cheese, eggs, and sometimes small portions of meat. If that's not enough, would just drinking a couple more cups of low fat milk be enough? I really don't look forward to prospect of eating more meat, nor of resorting to protein shakes or supplements.
On a happy note, I did manage to get through today's lift with 10 extra pounds, and got through (barely!) my usual routine of 3 reps of 15. I also spent 40 minutes on the elliptical instead of my usual 20; at my usual quitting time I just didn't feel like stopping. I feel good now, in a tired and achy way, but good.
Thank you again for your information and encouragement. I'm not lifting and exercising as a chore, it's really something I like to do when I discipline myself to make it part of my routine. If I had to make a choice between eating less and exercising more, I would choose the exercise every time. Of course I don't have to make this choice, but I would like to manage my eating and working out options in an intelligent way.
As noted above, I'm not really trying to become ripped. Just to become a little better than I am now. I really like the way I feel when I feel strong (for me, that is).
Tea - congratulations on lifting 10 more pounds! That tired but happy feeling is a good one, isn't it?
About protein - higher protein is suggested when you're lifting weights because protein is crucial for muscle building and repair. When you lift weights, you're actually making microscopic tears in the muscle (sounds bad but it's a good thing ) and when your body repairs the tiny tears, the muscle heals stronger. In a nutshell, that's how muscles get stronger - being stressed with weights and growing back stronger. And protein is the building block of muscle repair.
I eat five small meals a day and have protein at each one. My daily total for protein is usually 120 - 150 grams/day. It sounds like a lot but it's not when it's divided by five. It doesn't have to be meat per se - how about egg whites, fish, shellfish, cottage cheese, chicken or turkey? You mentioned dairy products for protein - cheese is pretty much just a fat but eggs and cottage cheese are good protein sources. Unfortunately, I don't think milk is a particularly good protein source - though it has some protein in it (8 g per cup), it's more of a carb. It would take about 3 cups of milk to equal the protein in just 3 oz of chicken breast.
Another advantage of protein at each meal is that it helps keep you fuller longer. I'd definitely be hungry between meals if I just ate carbs for a meal. And I find that I crave protein when I'm really pushing myself in the gym; it's like my body knows what it needs after a hard workout.
It sounds like you're doing great! It's so important to actually enjoy what you're doing and you're right - feeling strong is the best feeling!
Thank you again, you've given some thing to think on. I suppose I could try doing cottage cheese for my "break" meals (I get two ten minutes breaks besides my lunch at the factory where I work). I had been eating a couple of handfuls of pretzles during the first one, and then some dried fruit or a banana or something during the second. It wouldn't be that hard to bring a small container of cottage cheese with some fruit mixed in and eat that instead.
I'm glad I found a place where I can get such good advice. Thanks!
If you are vegetarian AND trying to get sufficient protein it might be wothwhile to look into soy protein. This is completely vegetarian, and not so expensive. Like mixing 1/4 cup soy protein powder into the glass of milk you mentioned earlier already will boost the protein content a lot. I am not vegetarian but I put soy protein powder in my midmorning snack: yoghurt with fruitjuice. You can check on fitday what the exact amounts work out to.
Maybe it would be useful to at least consider the possiblities of some sort of protein powder. I am not a vegetarian; had a steak for dinner last night! I just eat meat rarely, and more for aethetic reasons than anything else. I simply like to eat plant stuff!
I am glad that this place is so receptive to newbie lifters. I am so new, and I think so uninformed, I feel a little overwhelmed. Add to this the fact that I'm 40 years old and just under 250 pounds and I feel a little that I might be insulting real weight lifters by refering to myself as being in their ranks. I've been to some of the weight lifting sites linked in this forum; it seems like I am worlds away from what other people are doing.
But, in the end, that doesn't really matter. I am lifting because I like to, and because I like the way it makes me feel, not because I am trying to compete, or even catch up to, someone else.
Just remember, we all have to start somewhere. Even people who are world-class competitive lifters once thought an 8-lb weight was heavy. So start where you are and go from there.
The best thing you can do is use those sites (like www.stumptuous.com/weights.html) to learn how to lift PROPERLY, with GOOD FORM, and build a routine that makes sense. Doing 25 lifts with a weight that's too light, with poor form is almost worse than doing nothing at all. You might also look into a video. I think Kathy Smith is great for having efficient, well-rounded routines and she teaches form pretty well. Look for the videos Lift Weights to Lose Weight, either the original or the newer volume 2. If nothing else, check 'em out of the library and watch them to get the hang of what they do and an idea of the components of a good routine.
Tea, Funniegrrl's right! Everyone had a 'first day' in the gym. You know, I didn't start lifting weights until I was older (46) and heavier (257 pounds) than you are! Please hold your head high and be proud of yourself. We're honored to have you here with us. Just think - someday soon you'll be the one helping the newbies.
tealeaf - I'm also pretty new to this. It's nice to hear your perspective. I have a nutritional trainer who checks everything I eat on fitday.com I had to give up my FF milk b/c it was too caloric for the nutritional benefit.
I drink isopure shakes for my snacks b/c they're easy and mix with water and don't taste gross - so really what more can you ask for.
Tealeaf,
I'm 45 years old (almost 46) and I'm sure most people in my surroundings would be amazed to find out that I'm lifting weights. I myself find it a funny thing to do at times, it is so NOT what i was brought up to do. But everyone has to start somewhere, and I actually LIKE the lifting stuf, even if it is only in my own house and with fairly light weights.
Read Christa's website (sumptuous.com) and you'll see there that you need not be intimidated she shows how much you can do at home with a barbell and a dumbell, and that is LOTS!.
I have been to Krista's site, have it bookmarked in fact. She really does seem to know her stuff, and I have learned alot from the site. One issue I have is that she gives the impression that she thinks that free weights are the only way to go. Well, I have a Pacific Fitness Zuma weight lifting machine at home, I like it, and that's what I am using. I'd like to think that I can do enough strength training on this thing to make a difference.
I know that everyone does have to start somewhere. So I'm taking these baby steps, and doing what I can with what I got.
I don't think that there's anything wrong with using a machine - just a personal preference. I started at the gym using all machines. I've moved to almost all free weights for upper body work, but I'm still using machines for my legs as I have a lot of problems with my knees. The drawback with machines, is that after awhile you just get bored doing the same exercise all the time. With free weights there is more a greater variety of exercises for the same body part, plus you use a lot of auxilliary muscles that you don't with the machines. With free weights you need to keep your balance, you tighten your abs and thighs, etc. even when working your upper body. But whichever way you go, any stength training is better than none and you should see good results.
Lifting and Losing
), or keep doing what you are currently doing since it seems to be working for you. Just up your weights as the load becomes easier, and keep your reps in the 12-15 range.
That tired but happy feeling is a good one, isn't it? 
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