So I was of the mind set because of many past experience’s in the gym that I should not go too heavy with my weights till I’m closer to maintenance because I may have some scale stalls well, I tell ya.. since I have practically NO muscle tone and a lot of loose skin I am at the point that I’d like to push myself even if my thighs and arms increase in size ( I never minded looking muscular) I’d rather them jacked than skinny and flabby... I once trained for a woman’s naturals ( ahem, 30 plus years ago) and I had to do cardio and heavy weights , I wasn’t small but very toned and defined.. i know if I start to stall I will freak... I’m torn... should I wait and get close to my goal and lose more fat with cardio? Or, should I go heavy and fill in with the muscle and look how I like to look!.. and probably take longer to get the scale down..I weigh 163 and I’m 5-4” with a goal weight of 140 ...

Edited June 18, 20197 yr by Carrot64

I think you need to work on the “if I stall I will freak” mindset. You logically known that you are building muscle. You know that you want more muscle. You know that you will feel and look better with more muscle. Focus on that, not the scale.

21 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

I think you need to work on the “if I stall I will freak” mindset. You logically known that you are building muscle. You know that you want more muscle. You know that you will feel and look better with more muscle. Focus on that, not the scale.

“If I stall I will freak” sounds silly but my thinking has been so skewed from years of indoctrination that the scale numbers mean something... if I didn’t feel accountable by a WLS team who put emphasis on numbers I might not be so torn . Add to that I’m losing rapidly and that feels soo good... all those around me seem to be numbers focused as well "how much are you down now?!”..I can be a small 140 (but flabby) or thicker but more toned... it sounds like a no brainer unless you are the Queen of overthinking (ME)... trying to explain a stall like that would not be believed by my nutritionist.. that’s ?

Edited June 18, 20197 yr by Carrot64

I would do the weights. Yes, you might have a slight gain when you start (because muscle weighs more than fat, and also, muscle holds onto water), but in the long run, you'll benefit because being muscular means your metabolic rate will be higher.

FWIW - I'm sitting around 155. A normal BMI for me would be in the 125 range which is just crazy for my body type - always has been - I'm very busty and have always had thick thighs (I was a figure skater). Right now, my body fat is down to about 25% and my muscle mass is increasing. I have not had plastics. I lift to support my fencing (as in en garde) I'm nationally ranked in my age group (50-59).

I'm 5'3". I can deadlift 240 and back squat the same. I can overhead press 80 lbs. (Upper body stregnth has been my issue.) I have done a clean and jerk at 80 and a ****** at 70. I am toned. Am I a bit muscular - sure - but I'm never going to see 15% body fat again - I've had 2 kids, been through menopause and haven't had plastics. I was over 300 at my highest weight.

I wear size 6 Levi's (without stretch) and size 6 workout pants. I'm still really busty - but down to a 36DDD from at 42H. I don't care about the number, but how I feel and look. And right now, I look pretty damn good. (As in I get checked out at the gym all the time.)

It's really about you and how you feel in your skin.

Plastics are not an option for me either and I’m currently a size 8 , I guess my struggle is my proportions are off compared to the weight loses of the past( there have been many) my arms and legs are too thin in my opinion and my mid section is still thicker than it ever was even at a higher weight which makes me feel at 163 that 140 would definitely bring me to a smaller mid section but by then my legs will be sticks and I’m not liking my current shape at all.. I guess I should go for it and build that muscle in the legs and arms and forget numbers.. there is a current photo for my profile that’s a month old and I see the disproportionate shape from legs to mid section that seems new to me from any other time I have gotten this low.. now I know I’m older but it just seems different... could it be how rapidly I’ve lost compared to the past? Perhaps .

You can do strength training without adding lots of size. One of the many 5x5 programs would be good - I've done Strong Lifts (comprehensive website - just google) and even the guy who started it is not huge and buff. These programs are designed to increase muscle strength and not focused on muscle size. Lots of things go into increasing strength - CNS recruitment, metabolic capacity of muscle cells, number of muscle cells vs size of individual muscle cells. Now sure, if you lift heavy enough you will see an increase in muscle size but you can do a lot of strength training before you see noticeable muscle hypertrophy.

In my mind strength training is a no brainer for us. We lose a lot of leans mass and strength during our weight loss and a lot of the compensatory physiologic changes working against our long-term success are a result of lean mass loss (ex. adaptive thermogenesis, loss of functional strength) and the best thing we can do is preserve lean mass and rebuilt lean mass.

Edited June 20, 20197 yr by PWMDMD

If you’re worried about how you’ll feel about a stall just take regular measurements and body fat analysis - that’ll give you something else to focus on which will be far more relevant!