Then IMHO, the weight training can WAIT! The name of this game is staying in the running. Sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do to stay motivated. I completely understand what you mean when you say you gotta see results on the scale! I certainly was not tryin to hear about all the muscle I was gaining when I was trying to drop 60 lbs!

One thing most people overlook...genetics and other factors play a BIG role in the amount of muscle we have. Additionally, most overweight people have LOTS of muscle...I certainly know I did and still do. It's diet that can help preserve the muscle you already have (protein..protein...and more protein).

I'm still quite muscular after 41 lbs lost and still have yet to start a REAL lifting program (it's on my list..I promise!) Here are some before/present day pics so you can see what I'm talking about. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/calo...-26-lbs-9.html

Much success!

I highly suggest weighing daily, especially with working out. Any time you feel sore it is quite possible you are retaining as much as 2 pounds of water which is used for muscle repair. IF you are truly on plan following a calorie restricted diet, you did not gain .8 pounds of fat. Just keep telling yourself that. Also, sodium, which is found in practically everything, will make you retain water. Deli meats, and ham and pork are big culprits.

I hated weighing weekly because of those weigh ins. That may have been a high weight blip. Maybe you didn't see that the day before you were actually down a pound. If you weigh daily you can track your daily variations and soon those natural fluctuations won't bother you.

can someone please xplain to me the mentality of waiting till you lose weight to start weight training?? aLOT of women feel that way and say so......i dont understand the logic (or emotion?) behind it

One thing about weight training is that when you lose weight, you lose muscle, as well as fat, liquids and tissues. Weight training while you lose weight helps you maintain your muscle mass.

For instance, I've been weight training, the scale actually went UP and people are commenting on how much weight I lost. I'm wearing the same size clothes when I weighed 10 lbs less. To me, the number on the scale means less to me than the size of clothes/how I look.

I agree. All I needed to hear was that when you lose weight as much as 40% of the weight lost could be muscle if NOT lifting. It was more important to me to lose fat.

Though I gotta eat crow a little here...Joyful, you look amazing!! But I swear I think you are the exception. You have abs!! You didn't do any ab work, for instance?

Weight training is awesome to me it has done wonders for my body and I would strongly rec toning workouts etc

I've bene doing mostly weight training, as well as some cardio, and my scale is moving slower than a sloth. lol seriously.

IM in the same boat, but i have noticed im losing inches, which i guess is a good thing, because at least im losing something.
it is frustrating, but in the end it'll be worth it!!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I did go to the gym and weight trained (reluctantly lol) anyways. I'm just trying to stay positive but it's so hard. A friend of mine is not currently weight training and she's shedding quite a bit of weight. I'm not gonna lie, this morning when i weighed i almost gave up. But now i know that its just a part of this emotional rollercoaster...

As far as my diet, i usually eat between 1500 to 1800 cal a day. I try to eat a little more on days I work out a lot. I'm eating more whole grains, fruits and veggies. I've given up white bread and I try to stay mindful of sodium counts in the food i eat. Maybe one day all this hard work will pay off

do you mean you stay towards 1800 calories on the days you work out or do you go above that?

On days i dont workout i usually eat between 1200-1500 cal. I dont have as much time to eat because i work 11 hours days lol. On days I do go workout i eat between 1700-1800

I'll try. It's not that weight training isn't good for you. But weight training CAN stall a scale (glycogen stored in muscles during repair)...and for those of us just getting started, this can KILL our motivation. That is the logic...DO what you can DO...this is how Richard Simmons made his $$$....giving people what they can handle at the time they can handle it.

Lastly...overweight people generally already have LOTS and LOTS of muscle (this barring any repeated attempts at drastically reduced muscle eating diets). Try carrying around an extra 60 lbs each day and see how your muscles grow! The trick is...to PRESERVE the muscle while you lose fat. It is NOT necessary IMHO to weight train to do that. Muscle preservation is mostly done in the kitchen, not the weight room. That's for people who don't have enough muscle. I thinks it's inaccurate to assume that overweight people DON'T have muscle...the reverse is true...they've got plenty of it. It's hard to convince someone with 100 lbs to loose, that the reason the scale isn't moving is because they are GAINING muscle...they generally don't want to hear that! Hope this answers your question.

No way...I hate ab work! I find that running tones the abs. When I run I also make a twisting motion and tighten my abs for 15 mins at a time, consciously focusing on using them though. I also consciously tighten my glutes while I run too! I think this helps a little.

Not sure if I'm an exception, but running just builds muscle and burns fat like no other for me...

But then again, I run moderately 18-19 miles/week 4 days/wk, and I take the other days to completely rest..do nothing...home all day, read watch tv shows...cook, some wii dance 2, etc. I think the when you run past 5-6 miles at a time, that stresses the body, and it's stops cooperating.

Ok, then that sounds right! I was just checking.

I agree with you, partly I used to walk a lot when I was at my highest weight so yeah I have strong leg muscles and as my weight has decreased, my leg muscles are still strong but they are definitely carrying around 150 lbs less than they were at my highest weight. I also had a strong upper body too but my upper body has gotten stronger because of weight training which I'm happy about.

There are also some very sedentary overweight people who don't walk much and may even use scooters for long distances. I remember reading a story about a woman who started exercising by walking out to her own mailbox. There have also been other people on this site who said that they started exercising in a similar fashion. So I'd say not all overweight people have super strong leg muscles and even if they do, that doesn't mean they have a strong upper body.

And of course we have seen quite a few people here who have lost the weight and realized they are 'skinny fat' with still a lot of fat even despite what the scale says.

I can really only speak to my experience in that I believe weight training has saved me. It helped me have a higher maintenance range when I wanted to stop losing weight for a while. It has also reduced the size of my clothes even when the scale hasn't moved.

I'm not against weight training...I have a full out gym at home! I just don't believe it's necessary for the OP if its making her feel like giving up. She can still lose fat without eating up all her muscle even if she doesn't start off with weight training.

Most of us know, this process is one that is constently changing...and so will the OP's. Exercise only works when it is performed...putting too much on your plate, too soon...can kill momentum and thwart progress/training.

That's alst I'm sayin...do what YOU WILL do...this is NOT an all or nothing journey. I don't want the OP to think if she doesn't start off weight training, she will eat through all of her muscle or not see progress...because this simply is not true.

I would continue to do both!
__________________
*Diets make you look good in clothes, but exercise & weightlifting make you look good naked! ...........'nuff said!