To Weight Train or NOT to Weight Train? THAT is the question!
 

OK, so 9 weeks ago i joined the gym to get this weight off. In the beginning i was just doing cardio and things were great. I lost 4 pounds the first week and 10 pounds total for the month. About 4 weeks ago i started weight training 3 times a week and my weight loss has really slowed down. I weight myself every friday and i remained at the same weight for 3 weeks! Now i'm starting to lose again but its only about a pound a week. So, im not sure if I should reduce the number a days i weight train or cut it out completely. I just want to go back to seeing the results that i was seeing before :(

You are building muscle, which has weight. A pound a week is good. Start taking measurement so you can see other changes in your body. Keep weight training, as the weight comes off your amazing toned muscles will start showing and you'll be very glad.

I love my weight training routine, it's also paired with toning excercises. It just gives me a break from regular cardio.

Definitely weight train! The cardio could eat up some of the muscle and when you stop dieting and exercising you will put that weight back on and fast if you don't have the lean muscle to keep your metabolism up! Weight training not only makes you appear skinner for your weight but it's essential to aging gracefully.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but in the first month you were probably losing water weight. If you weren't lifting, you may also have been losing lean muscle mass: it happens to every dieter, but especially people who just cut calories or do cardio.

Two things have happened since the first month. First, the water weight loss has slowed, as it does to everyone after the first couple of weeks (regardless of what they do). You won't return to that initial pace of weight loss even by cutting out lifting, at least without drastically cutting calories too (which has it's own problems). Second, your weight training is helping you retain muscle and lose a higher proportion of fat. That's a good thing.

//b. strong,
Kim

If you only have time to do one or the other, weight train. If time allows, do both. Recognize neither cardio nor weight training causes weight loss. A caloric deficit does.

Sorry to hijack this thread - I hope that's not what I'm doing - but I wanted to ask a related question.

I'm 6 months into my weightloss/lifestyle change. I calorie count and do some sort of exercise between 2-5 times a week (yeah, some weeks I'm slack). I do a mixture of jogging, Zumba, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs and plain old walking. I haven't done any "weight training" as such - and I kind of thought I wouldn't until I got much closer to goal weight... is this terrible?

The answer is WEIGHT TRAIN!!

Case in point - here are my before/after pictures. The total difference in weight is 7lbs, I did 6 months of very heavy weight lifting.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/goal...st-partum.html

It's not just for weight loss - it's about body composition, promoting good bone health, and remaining healthy.

HAHA! Thats what I had planned on doing! However, after reading what everyone has said and thinking about it, they are right. I've noticed that im slimmer (mostly up top) than before. My work pants today are way too baggy for my taste! lol. I think i will continue with the weight training!

A year ago I was about your weight now. I started weight training 3 times a week. If you measure you will see more results then on the scale. My trainer told me to just be patient and it will start coming off so easy. She was right. About 6 months into the weight training I started seeing real results. Then I started weight training harder with a new trainer and I am seeing even greater results. Additionally I have some firm muscle and less saggy skin on my arms. You don't see immediate results but weight loss is a marathon- not a sprint.

Congrats on the weight loss! That really motivated me! :cool:

For SURE weight train! It will ALL pay off in the end!

The reason why your not loosing weight is probably because you're gaining muscle mass...

The benefits of strength training go a long way... Once you shed the fat, you'll be able to see how much your body has improved...

I don't think anyone is going to chime and say skip the weight training. ;) You'll see across the board women with the same stats wearing different sizes, sometimes 2-3 sizes different. If you weight train, you will be on the smaller size of that equation. ;) Yes, you will weigh heavier than you want. But your weight is not written on your forehead.

The scale goes wonky with weight lifting. It's ok! But mentally you have to be prepared for it.

youre right. It's just very frustrating. I jumped on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh in and i gained another .8 pounds! It's really annoying. I just wont feel better until i start seeing results on the scale.

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!:o

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!:D

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. :no: 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. :D
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!:o 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!:p 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!:p 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!
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*Diets make you look good in clothes, but exercise & weightlifting make you look good naked! ...........'nuff said! :)

Aside from muscle retention another big reason to lift weights is the hormonal response your body has. It will significantly increase in the enzymes responsible for fat oxidation and obese individuals often have a defect in fat oxidation. I strongly advise lifting 3x a week and doing full body workouts. This is a big topic but there is a lot more going on than simply retaining muscle.

Also, sorry to be the bad guy but ... reality check -

If you weigh 275lbs and you're eating 1200 on off days and 1800 on workout days and you're gaining weight two things are possible :

1) Your scale is broken
2) You're not counting calories right

Minor flucuations in weight happen due to water balance. I'm not talking about a day or two I'm talking about a trend. Many people screw up the calorie thing when they first get started. Weigh, don't measure your food.

Finally, if you're 275 lbs there is no reason you need to eat 1800 calories on workout days unless it is a compliancy issue. Do you need to have the higher calories days to avoid the big binge? If not I'd just stick with 1200 a day and give yourself a cheat meal a couple times a week. Recoginze that the most important thing is giving yourself a diet plan you can live with over the long haul.

hahah now THAT statement was convincing enough! LOVE it!

I agree. I just think that many women in general feel that if they don't see a change in the scale that they are making no progress which simply isn't true, especially if you are incorporating weight training.

John,

I know you are new to this site so welcome :) One thing I'd say is that it sounds like she has an eating plan which she is happy with. A lot of calorie counters do zig/zag where they eat lower calories some days and higher calories on others.

1500-1800 calories on workout days for a 275 lb woman sounds fine to me, coming from a woman who weighed that and beyond. Now I'd agree that if for some reason it isn't working over time, she may need to evaluate and see what she can tweak. Staying the same or even gaining within a couple weeks time frame is not unusual for a woman.

John, I agree with Nelie. Women's weight fluctuates more than a man's and 1200 calories is not enough to fuel the body of a woman who weighs 275, or at least not efficiently.

I do agree with you though that all of us need to take extra care with the weighing and measuring of our foods. Calorie creep happens to all and is an often overlooked problem with the scale. However a .8 "gain" after one week can not be called a true gain.

Sorry, it's just that if you had told me I had "gained" .8 pounds because I wasn't eating right I would have given up. (And DID...many times!) I gave up because of that advice for ten years!!! I am where I am right now because I finally got the idea that the scale fluctuates. It fluctuates. It does! It goes up, it goes down, but given persistence and dedication to plan, it does eventually go down.

I always operate on a 4-6 week principle. If things don't start changing by then, it's time to re-evaluate. Due to the amount of water, muscle tissue, and body fat on a person's body (especially a female around 200+lbs), you really have to try and wait it out to see consistent downward trends. Good luck!!!

Definity keep up with your weight lifting regimen. Weight lifting is GOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!

I have been weight lifting just a couple of times a week,when I am at my boyfriend's house. I am a college student, and I have access to a gym with weights, but I am so nervous about weight training around men. Also, I do not really know what I am doing without some guidance. I don't have money to pay for a personal trainer. I think this is the reason some people wait to do weight training: it can be embarrassing for an overweight person to lift weights in public, and it may be easier to do cardio on a treadmill then learning weight training exercises.

Is there like a beginner's guide or a tool someone has used to learn proper weight lifting on their own? I just feel so safe, and secure doing cardio in my gym, that I do not want to get out of my comfort zone and do weights by myself.

I highly recommend anyone wanting to do weight training to have a few sessions with a personal trainer. If that isn't an option, you can learn by yourself. One good site is http://www.stumptuous.com

Also, there is a weight lifting forum on 3FC, you can always come and ask questions :) A few people here are personal trainers or personal trainer certified.

Thank you for welcoming me to the site here and elsewhere.:D

My point regarding not increasing calories on workout days is many experts reccomend dieters increase calories on workout days to fuel their workout and at 275 lbs you have plenty of fuel onboard already. The OP has stated she is not happy with the rate of loss, hence my suggestion. If the plan is working the way Mz Juicy D wants than by all means feel free to stick with the plan.