Weight training with a lot of weight to lose

[laura]

I have always been afraid of weight training. Somewhere along the line I was taught that it would turn fat into muscle, which I DO NOT want to do. Therefore I “used” to stick to running 4.5 miles a day, and other cardio, but never seemed to get under 150 lbs.

Now that I have so much weight to lose (I stopped all cardio and running years ago), is weight training good for me to do? I was going to wait until my weight came down considerably before beginning, but now I’m not sure.

My weight is 273 lbs and I’m 5″3…..any advice or feedback as to what is best for someone like me?

I did do my 1st day of weight training today, but need to know if this right…..I am having visions of being all big and solid, not petite and nicely shaped.

[Kelly]

Cutting calories will help you lose body fat, which is what you need to focus on right now at your current weight. Most women can’t even build large bulky muscles if they try very hard, so don’t worry about that! Do the workouts if you want but they’re optional. Most people want some definition and tone after losing the fat and that’s what the workouts are for.

[Kelly]

And by the way, fat and muscle are two different kinds of tissues. You can’t turn one into the other-it’s just not possible. But you can burn off fat to reveal whatever muscle you have underneath.

[laura]

Thanks Kelly, I will look for Kiya’s blog! I guess keeping in a deficit, getting exercise are what I need to focus on right now. I’ve been feeling guilty for not doing the weight training part, but sceptical at this point for me as well.

[Rose]

I have shoulder injuries right now and am not lifting weights. I do a lot of walking and hiking with my puppy as my main exercise, until there is snow for skiing. I think walking is one of the best activities out there for people with a few extra pounds. Because you are carrying your own body weight you will burn more calories than a smaller person. Plus it is a great stress reliever to be outdoors and is very helpful for insulin resistance, especially if you walk after meals.

[sharon]

Like kelly said, you CAN’T “turn fat into muscle”. You will LOSE fat and you will BUILD muscle, but your female body is NOT capable of building muscle the way it is capable of developing fat deposits. AT ALL. Think about it…have you ever, ever, ever seen a female who is 200+lbs and solid muscle? It is not possible. Women are meant to be petite and we can only build a very small amount of muscle that gives us shape.

I am a poor example compared to others because my transformation wasn’t very dramatic, but I started at 150lbs of doughy roundness and ended up at 115lbs. I lifted weights as very heavy as I could the whole time. In the last year since I reached my goal weight, I have continued to lift heavy and eat more. Nothing much has changed.

Lifting weights will help you gain strength and look better when the fat is gone. It will also help you get into the right habits and lifestyle so you can maintain your transformation for the rest of your life. It will help your stamina for doing regular life things and chores. It will help your self esteem and your overall frame of mind. It will improve your bone density. It will help you with dietary compliance because you won’t want to ruin your hard work in the gym. Lifting weights can ONLY do you good, good, GOOD!

[Julie]

Muscle and fat are two different types of tissue. You lose fat and gain muscle. Fat is very bulky. It is made up of little sacs of lipid (oil). When people have a lot of fat it is like a layer of oil filled marbles or those funky oil bath beads. Muscle is very compact and dense. Fat sits like a blanket, right under the skin and on top of the muscle mass. There can also be fat between the muscle ( think marbling in meat) and, worst of all possibilities, fat attached to the omentum which is the connective tissue that is in your abdominal cavity and holds the viscera in place.

Women who complain about getting bulky are either deluding themselves into thinking their thick blanket of fat is “bulky muscle” or they are neurotic fashionistas who enjoy having limbs that are like toothpicks but with no “gross” muscle definition. OK I respect that idea if you are a model/actress who need to have that “look’ for your job. That’s an esthetic choice, so they can have it. But truthfully weight training will always help you look better if you are also controlling calories at the same time. This last part is critical. Control calories. That is what makes you lose weight. Lift weights. That will give you an actual shape that is not “bulk”.

Bulk is fat. Muscle is lean. I would really counsel you to do the weight training with vigor as you are losing weight from your diet.

Do not make any assumptions about having too much muscle if there is a lot of fat on top. Your muscles are a lot smaller than you think and short of winning the genetic lottery and or taking steroids you will not build massive slabs of muscle the way a body builder does. People forget that it requires years of training to build muscle and at some point everyone hits their potential. After that you will not get bigger.

Here is another more important reason than just vanity. Maintaining strength and balance as you age. Women are short changed in the muscle department to begin with. As you age and do nothing that paltry muscle gets tinier and tinier until all that is left are muscles that look like marionette strings. If you want to be one of those old ladies that can’t get herself on and off a chair or the toilet without help then by all means don’t lift weights. It might make you strong enough not to need a walker.

[Eva]

Weight training WILL help you build muscles, but those muscles will also help you BURN FAT and increase your resting metabolic rate. Win/win!! It is extremely hard for women to get bulky. It’s actually extremely hard for ANYONE who has a low amount of body fat to get bulky (the really bulky powerlifters have a lot of body fat, too).

And those women who look like men? Doesn’t happen naturally. Natural bodybuilders have to work SO HARD to look the way they do. It does NOT happen by accident.

Sometimes when larger women start weight training, they DO initially look bulkier, but that’s because they haven’t shed the fat. Obviously fat over muscle is still going to look bulky. But without the fat, there’s very little bulk to be had.

The “toned” look that women are usually after comes from lifting heavy things. That’s the sort of muscle women who work hard can expect to get!!

And haha… if you COULD turn fat into muscle through weight training I would be ALL OVER IT!

[laura]

thanks ladies for all of the feeback!! Makes me feel better about continuing with the weight training. I guess I have known a few women/girls who were “solid” yet fat….I was like this when I was a kid, and there are the totally “flabby” jelly-like fat. And the “solid” women were always active, exercising, etc…but, I guess, from your words of wisdom, they are just eating way too many calories still. Which led to the old adage “they are big boned”.

[Julie]

Sometimes people who are mesomorphic are called “big boned” If you are a mesomorph you end up weighing maybe a few pounds more than a ecto at your height. But not that much. You can NOT judge what type of body you have until you get lean enough to see actual muscle definition and bone structure. So toss out all assumptions about big boned or being small or large until you lose the fat.

At that point you may be quite surprised at what your body looks like. And do give yourself the permission to go lower in weight than you ever though possible if you are trying to reach your metrics. Those of us who thought we would always be big boned or chunky or what ever were very surprised at how tiny we really are. 5’2″ is tiny no matter how you look at it. Just keep your eyes on the prize and keep going ’till you get there.

[Author]

Posts