Gym vs jabs

[Ontobetterthings]

I started down the gym a week before Christmas. Cut alcohol first of jan and been dieting and upping protein. Been going gym 4 times a week. Started weight training and lifting weights. Was feeling good this morning. Weighed in and ive lost 3lbs. Im a couple of stones overweight.

Im really demoralised. All my mates have lost loads of weight on ghe jabs. Im just wondering if im doing the right thing now. Aibu?

Weight can fluctuate massively. For me I alway weigh myself first thing in the morning as last thing in the day I can see a big fluctuation.

With regards to protein, I think lots of people can find this bit confusing. You need decent quality protein as well as fibre that you can eat in a deficit. Nuts for example for have fibre and protein but are high in calories compared to chicken. Its difficult to know without understanding what you are eating.

I read the other day that it takes a year to see the full benefits of strength training, but you need to hang in there, it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself. You are looking at the long term, changing lifelong habits. You are already seeing the benefits imo! I’d be happy with 3lb lost over a month.

Depends what you value. The exercise you are doing is amazing for your health, immunity, bone density, will improve sleep quality, increase muscle, give you better posture, lower risk of many illnesses and conditions if you continue, improve quality of skin, hair akd nails if you continue, increase digestion if you continue, etc, and yes you will lose bodyfat too if you continue, which will be way more likely to be maintained over time, with less chance of loose skin.

If you take the jabs you'll lose weight a lot faster, that's the benefit. But most of the other benefits you'll lose (although there's some great effects on losing bodyfat on various conditions). If you don't also train muscles in a gym you risk losing muscle and also risk quicker bone loss. At the moment it seems that lots of people are regaining the weight very fast.

Finally don't underestimate the mental and emotional benefits of exercise - they can be truly life changing.

If short term fat loss is your only goal though, the jabs will get you there faster.

Can I ask where you live and how old you are.
All your mates are on jabs?
Not a single person has told me they are taking jabs and off the top of my head I can think of one who looks like she might have.

You will be healthier and more likely to keep it off. The jabs alone aren’t enough for a healthy lifestyle, the gym and changing eating habits are

Gym will not make you lose weight per se. Gym will make you gain muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat! So you may actually gain a little or lose less than you hope. Have you done measureme ts like waist ? That can be a good indicator? Or a fat percentage test.
Make no mistake people in the jabs are often losing muscle as well as fat. They will need to work extremely hard to avoid too much muscle loss and even harder when they come off not to regain the weight as fat.
You are doing a great thing for your body longer term. Your older self will not regret this muscle ! Be proud of what you've achieved

You need to do a lot of exercise to lose significant weight - Mr Monkey is a distance runner who runs at least four marathons and 20 half marathons a year and at least 50 miles a week training. He eats like a horse and is whippet thin. A couple of gym seaaions a week is not going to do the job.

BUT you need to exercise otherwise you will swap being fat and unhealthy for being thin and unhealthy - which will not serve you well in later life. Exercise will also help keep you tined while you lose weight.

You have to readjust your expectations. Exercise is nearly irrelevant for fat loss. 90% of it comes from adjusting your nutrition. As they say "you cannot out exercise a bad diet". However, as someone who's now been doing strength training for nearly a decade, I look better, feel better and I am much more functional that most of my friends. Regardless of weight.
I often joke that if my partner has an injury on a remote hike, I can deadlift him out to safety. Maybe I am not that strong but I can certainly help him lift a washing machine up three flights of stairs without much bother.

Does 2 stone overweight make you a good candidate for jabs? I thought it needed to be more than that.

What a stupid answer

First of all well done for abstaining from alcohol and hitting the gym. Not easy.

Secondly, I would move your focus from your weight only and to body fat percentage and how you actually feel. As already pointed out you have started on a weight training programme, that will build muscle mass as well as help you lose body fat. Plus, there is always a lag between exercise and results, the first six weeks of any new regime is the hardest as initial progress seems slow to non existent while at the same time you are probably suffering from muscle soreness etc. You are doing brilliantly to get this far. I would invest in a set of smart scales that measures your body composition including body fat %. Also just look at your body, you should start noticing changes in yoir shape even if this does not translate into 'weight loss' readings. Also, always weight yourself at the same time once a week. You are looking at an overall trend spanning weeks so dont get disheartened if one data point is not what you were expecting. Your body changes weight daily by at least a kilo based on hydration alone.

Op, please ignore this it is incredibly difficult and nearly impossible to gain muscle mass on a deficit. If you’re losing about a pound a week, which is a good loss, then you’re eating about 500 cals a day less than you need, if you want it to be 2lbs then it’s 1000 a day deficit.

you still need to work out on the jabs, it’s not one or the other and should neve4 be for anyone, but you don’t need a gym to workout and can do it at home or outside,

Exercise is secondary to diet by a long chalk as regards losing weight.
The gym is great for fitness but the only way to lose weight in any significant amount is to restrict how much you eat.
Mounjaro helps you do that but it still takes effort.
A couple of stones isn’t that much in the scheme of things so you may not be overweight enough to have it prescribed.

Depends on height. If you're short enough, two stone is the difference between an obese and healthy BMI. Additionally some people have a condition that means they qualify at 27 BMI, so depending on height may need to lose even less to hit 25.

For some reason people on here love claiming that two stone doesn't make it worth the WLIs, that other methods will be more successful etc, but this is not the case if that two stone makes you obese. It's become a bit of a trop though.

This. And keep jabbing and gymming!

It’s true that weight loss is 80 percent diet 20 percent exercise but exercise is utterly critical on any diet as protecting muscle is paramount we need to lose fat, not muscle and exercise and consuming enough protein is the way to do it.

and depending on height a couple of stones can be the difference between a healthy weight and obese,

If you re read your message, you said you’ve been doing all these things. You’re feeling good!!! You’ve weighed yourself and now you’re disappointed that it’s not as much as you hoped?
Take the feeling good!!! You’ve done amazing!! Don’t weigh yourself!! You don’t need them to know if you lost weight!! Use a pair of jeans as a measure!!
keep going 💪

I’m doing the exact same thing as you OP. Although I’m not weighing myself as I find it too disheartening. I’m just going by how I look/feel in my clothes.

I’m seeing a small bit of a difference but it’s going to take time and patience. I feel like I barely eat anything and it’s a slog some days but it was time for drastic action.

My question for the regular gym goers here is - how long do you spend in the gym? I really struggle for time, I’m usually cramming in a session in my lunch hour or while one of the kids is at a class etc. I do 20-25 mins of cardio (running on treadmill - I am unfit but I’m trying to follow Couch to 5k and I am finding myself able to run for slightly longer periods) then I do two or three weight machines, focussing on arms as I want to tone them. What else do people do? I don’t really have time to do much more than that?

Well, it's not either/or, as those taking WLI are advised to exercise as well. You may well not qualify for WLI either, even privately, if your BMI isn't high enough. Don't get me wrong, I've taken them and they were a game changer for me, but going by what you say you're already doing all the right things, so might be better to play the long game and let the weight come off slowly? Progress is progress – try not to let the scales dictate it, especially as you were feeling good before weighing. I do know that's easier said than done though!

Welldone that’s AMAZING!

If you are only 2 stone overweight, do the gym and eating well. 3 lbs is great. And you’ll be so much stronger. Keep going.

You don’t want the weight loss to be too rapid- that’s when you get issues like hair loss and gall stones. You’ve lost about 1lb a week in a healthy way, keep going.

@ThisIsAGlobalPlayerOriginalPodcast i tend to split up cardio and strength work. I go to the gym 6 times a week though. Three times for cardio, three for strength, sometimes a yoga session as well. Is it possible to go more often but for less time?

If I find myself short on time I do circuits / HIIT classes for maximum results. Maybe select five exercises for your circuit (kettlebell goblin squat, lunges, crunches, overhead barbell press and barbell arm curls) and see how many reps you can do in 45 seconds before moving to your next station. Do 3 - 4 full circuits. Every 5/6 weeks change the exercises at each station to help keep things fresh and keep your body engaged.

Also, for your indoor cardio I would swap the treadmill for an erg machine (I am biased as I row competitively) as again they offer a whole body work out as well as solid cardio.

You can't out-train a bad diet. To lose weight, you need to be in a slow calorie deficit.