Weight training/weight loss

[WhereIsMyBrain]

I’d love to start weight training. Am currently overweight and keep reading about people losing weight and improving their health as a result of weight training- I don’t really understand how this works (I think I have a slightly 80s view of exercise, that losing weight takes a lot of cardio and aerobics 😂)

can anyone come explain how it works and the best approach to take.

Muscle burns calories.
If you have more muscle you'll burn more calories.
Plus as you get older (40+) your body loses the ability to maintain muscle mass, which compounds the problem. So weight training (ideally starting earlier in life) can counteract that.
Have a wee google around the topic there's loads out there.

You'd need to eat less alongside weight training

Weight training also means you continue burning calories for longer after training… although I’m training and can see a difference (personal training sessions to build my confidence as it’s all alien to me) I’ve not really lost weight because I still eat like a pie lord.

Running 30 mins is dull, sometimes good if I’m in the headspace but other times I need to mix it up and do short bursts of things or I get bored.

Weight loss is 80% diet, but weight training is fantastic for getting you strong and helping you get lean. It's wonderful to be strong! I love being able to throw my suitcase up on the rack above my seat in the train, and just know I can do stuff.

In specifics: if you d back squats with good form and train with relatively heavy weight (anything over 30 kilos really) and slow deep repetitions, you'll have to brace your abs, so your core gets involved, and you get ab strength as well.

Weight training is fab but you really need to know what you’re doing. Have you got a local gym nearby? Usually they have personal trainers who can you show you the ropes on how to use the machines (how many reps, your goals etc etc). You can book a course of 6-10 sessions initially. It is well worth the investment as you do need to know what you’re doing.

i lost 3 stone over 9 months with the help of a PT. I am eating 1300-1400kcal/ day, 120g protein/day, 10k steps/day, weight lifting heavy for 8-10reps 2-3 times/week. I am tracking my food with MFP.
Diet is what makes you lose weight.Not exercise. But exercise means that I feel stronger and my body is very shapely and toned, no flab after losing the weight. My thighs look incredible and I can show off my bicep bumps in sleeveless tops.
Eating 120g protein ensured that I didn’t lose lean muscle, lost fat, and didn’t feel hungry, weak or lightheaded.
I do not do any aerobic exercise, although I try to power walk for an hour at lunchtime to get my steps in fast.
The day after my first (body) weight session I couldn’t sit on the toilet from the thigh muscle pain. I was in agony. I cried thinking I couldn’t get through it. My PT is a wonderful woman who believed in me and rang me to see how I was and assured me that I will never feel that pain again if I keep at it. She’s right. I have one more stone to lose.
Good luck and do PM me if you have any questions or need some support x

I agree with pp. You need to know what you are doing or you risk injury, or not progressing and getting disheartened.

If you have never done any weight training, I would get some help, PT or small group classes, or bodyweight park bootcamp, or whatever is available and possible for you. Once your basic form is OK, there are lots of threads here and elsewhere about different programs.

There are lots of different approaches and what suits one person may not suit another - again, some professional advice will help.

My small suggestion for your weight loss is

Start simple step in the early stage, then you reach into high. Just do 3 to 4 km walking in the starting stage at morning time. Jogging and running is surely helps to achieve your weight loss goal. Start simple and reach into high.