Question about lifting.

[LuvTheGym]

I understand that women do not get as big as men, so I should not have to worry about getting bulky, but here's the thing. I weigh 257 currently (was 270) and I weight lift 5x a week, and also do cardio. I have been doing this for the past 5 weeks. Well, when I eventually lose the rest of the weight, are my muscles going to be too big? Should I go easy now & just increase cardio and step weights up later? Or will my muscles stop at a certain point? I know that muscles show more when you decrease body fat, but is it true that they will not get too big unless you are training them really hard, and increasing your diet to bulk?

[terracotta]

You don't have to worry about your muscles "being too big" once you've lost the fat.

First of all, you'd have to have absolutely amazing genetics. And secondly, you'd have to be eating above maintenance.

Eating below maintenance, you are not going to gain a significant amount of muscle to cause a problem. On the contrary, what muscle you do gain will only help to take the fat off (you will burn more calories at rest).

Having high body fat can actually give you a "bulky" appearance before you've lost the fat. But once you've lost it, you should be pleased with the results.

[Gracehbd]

Definitely don't worry. Lifting is essential to KEEP muscle when loosing weight, and wouldn't it be great when you're done to have good lean muscle left behind so you're super toned? As above, you won't put on much while you're cutting, if any, but you really want to avoid loosing any!

[LuvTheGym]

Thank you so much, both of you. You've put my fears at ease =]

[Monique Miuccini]

Great question Christi!..I think a lot of women wonder about this, thinking that why bother lifting weights now to make muscle, when it's just going to make me look bigger than I already am. You consistency and dedication to your fat loss/muscle gain regime to fantastic!..You go girl!!!!..whew!..if only other young women would see that lifting weights can make them stronger, not only physically; but mentally and build more confidence!..Please continue to lift your weights, because as you build lean muscle mass, this burns umpteen more calories per lb. than per lb. of fat(which burns virtually nil). So, you will be increasing your metabolic caloric burning rate as time goes on. You will burn more calories in each training and cardio session versus someone who only does cardio/very little weight training! On top of that, you're building sexy feminine muscle, shapely muscle, and sculpt your physique while losing the fat faster! No, you won't get too big, thanks to dear old mother nature, women have 1/10 the amount of GH(growth hormone) as men do naturally, so no issues there. Also, you would need to follow a higher calorie/higher protein/much heavier/intense training program for specific cycle periods(micro cycles) to move beyond muscle plateaus. So, keep on lifting and enjoy yourself..and most importantly...HAVE FUN!!!!!)

[baileys423]

Originally Posted by Firecracker365

Great question Christi!..I think a lot of women wonder about this, thinking that why bother lifting weights now to make muscle, when it's just going to make me look bigger than I already am. You consistency and dedication to your fat loss/muscle gain regime to fantastic!..You go girl!!!!..whew!..if only other young women would see that lifting weights can make them stronger, not only physically; but mentally and build more confidence!..Please continue to lift your weights, because as you build lean muscle mass, this burns umpteen more calories per lb. than per lb. of fat(which burns virtually nil). So, you will be increasing your metabolic caloric burning rate as time goes on. You will burn more calories in each training and cardio session versus someone who only does cardio/very little weight training! On top of that, you're building sexy feminine muscle, shapely muscle, and sculpt your physique while losing the fat faster! No, you won't get too big, thanks to dear old mother nature, women have 1/10 the amount of GH(growth hormone) as men do naturally, so no issues there. Also, you would need to follow a higher calorie/higher protein/much heavier/intense training program for specific cycle periods(micro cycles) to move beyond muscle plateaus. So, keep on lifting and enjoy yourself..and most importantly...HAVE FUN!!!!!)

WOW, you just said a mouth full more technical than what I would have come up with.

anyways she's right, don't worry about that..look at my pics in my profile, I went from fat, skinny to muscular. Lift heavy, diet is key!!