How much strength training should I be doing?

[Sparrow86]

A little back story... about 7 years ago, I weighed 280 and decided to try taking phentermine to help with hunger and energy issues associated with diet and exercise. Needless to say, I lost weight so fast (often 20-25 pounds a month) and was ecstatic! I lost about 130 pounds before life got the better of me and I quit taking the medication and quit dieting and exercising. I went back to my old habits and gained all of the weight back, plus 10 more pounds. 

Cut to present day... 2 months ago, I realized I was the heaviest I'd ever been at 290. I'm also not as young as I used to be (turning 31 in 2 weeks) and understand that issues will start to arise from my weight problem fairly soon if I don't get this under control. ALSO, I've fallen in love and will be getting married soon. These are all reasons I decided to quit this nonsense and get my weight, and more importantly my HEALTH, in check so I can live a long, happy life with the man I love.

So, I've lost 20 pounds so far. It's taken me 8 weeks to do that, a lot slower than last time, but I do understand it's much healthier this way. No pills, just choosing better foods (and less) and exercising daily. A typical day for me now is eating about 1320 calories, lots of fruits and veggies and plenty of protein through dairy and Boost shakes... AND a daily brisk walk, usually 1.5 hours/day. Some light jogging for 2 minutes a few times, maybe totaling 10-20 minutes of jogging (I'm working my way up, haha). Thing is, after losing 20 pounds, I'm still wearing the same clothes. I've noticed no change in the way my body feels and no change in how my clothes fit. I've always been a cardio girl, but I know I need to tone and build muscle (muscle burns calories, after all) too, but was unsure how much I should do at my size, or if my size even mattered regarding how much to do. I really like the resistance bands and would like to use those.

Any advice would be appreciated! I want to do this the right way this time to avoid that awful gain back. Thank you!

[WavyDavey]

Hi @Sparrow86,

First, congrats on your weight loss so far! It sounds like you're trying a lot of different things, which is really great to find what works for you.

In terms of strength training, I am a huge advocate of it. Especially for people over 30, and women in particular. It can help you set up a new you and a future of good health.

One part that may be of particular interest to you is that strength training can have a profound effect on your metabolism. Muscle takes a lot of calories to maintain, so the body will burn more calories, even in the background.

I hear you about wanting to see more changes in your body. My opinion is, based on your weight and activity level, is that you may not be getting enough calories. When this happens the body tries desperately to hold onto whatever fat it can in a survival mode. And it will break down muscle as well as fat. Only you'll be able to tell if this is happening, but I put it out there so you can check.

Inches come off the body in their own way, not exactly in the order we would like! Going by weight alone can sometimes be deceiving. As an example, I am failing at my weight loss plan, having put on 3 pounds in the last month. But the measuring tape says I've put on an inch on arms and legs, and lost an inch on the waist. So sometimes we don't see the progress in the overall weight, but our body is busy redistributing the weight.

You mention resistance bands. Those are a really great option. I'd recommend getting the long bands (not the 12 inch ones). If you use those to do some squats, an overhead press, and assisted pullups, you'd have many of the major muscle groups covered. As you get stronger, switch to bands with more resistance. 2-3x per week. That could keep you going for quite some time. Enjoy!

[Gershon]

@Sparrow86,

Congratulations on your weight loss. 

In my opinion, you can achieve more by focusing on learning about a healthy diet before worrying about exercise. I suggest starting with the movie "Forks over Knives." It's on Netflix if you have that. You can also rent or buy a streaming version several places online. It will be the beginning of learning about a "Whole foods, plant based diet." 

If you like watching or listening to videos, I suggest these 12 videos by Dr. McDougall. He does the best job explaining a whole food plant based diet.

If you prefer reading, I suggest reading Whole by T. Colin Campbell.

The bottom line is the healthiest diet is starch based (potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, rice, grains, etc.) with some vegetables and fruits. No animal products and no added oils. (Some deviations are normal for most people.)

This diet will cure or prevent most diseases that are a result of a bad diet. Both sources have well-documented research to support them.

The concern I have with your diet is we don't need protein supplements in the form of dairy or other products. If you are getting enough calories, you are getting enough protein. Dairy products have been proven to increase the incidence of cancer. There are many other problems associated with dairy products.

If you choose to try this way of eating, I'd wait until after you are comfortable with it before worrying about exercise. Let's say two or three weeks or even a couple months of research.

For exercise, simply trying to increase your steps at a gradual rate will be enough at first. If something starts to hurt, reduce the exercise until the pain goes away.

There is nothing wrong with strength training at your age, but if you are limited on time, walking will burn more calories even counting the idea that muscle burns more calories than fat. Strength training is more important as we get older, say in the 50's or 60's, so we can maintain flexibility and strength. There are many ways to do strength training. I prefer mostly dumbbells, but other popular methods work well.

[A_Lurker · Accepted solution]

@Sparrow86- I suspect you might be doing too much on too little food.  Everyone is different, but I'm lighter than you and almost eating double (I am purposely losing more slowly at the moment).  When you have a lot of weight to lose I understand it can be very tempting to lose weight quickly.  Jumping into new exercise and completely overhauling your diet immediately can be a recipe for failure.  I can talk more about the nutrition side of it if you want, but you asked about exercises (I've come down from 360lbs last Feb and have lost over 100lbs).

However, why not start with body weight exercises and see how you do.  I actually lift heavier weights 3x a week, but that requires equipment or a decent gym (with some help to start).  In the meantime, here's a site that gives some good options.

http://greatist.com/fitness/50-bodyweight-exercises-you-can-do-anywhere

Pick one from each section and work on them until you feel you've mastered each one, then pick another and work on those.  Oh, and they have exercises with bands on the same site.

http://greatist.com/fitness/resistance-band-exercises