What do people mean by doing weights?

[LittleRebelGirl]

I know it spends stupid, but can someone please explain it to me?
What do you mean by doing weights? Do you mean lifting the little dumbell things? Using the machines? Both? Something else. I just hear the phrase doing weights and am never really sure what that means.

It means using dumbells or other machines to create resistance which builds muscle tone, and muscle if that's what you're aiming for.

Free weights are the dumbbells but nowadays women are no longer limiting themselves to the “ little “ light weights. You can get a good all over work out with a couple of dumbbells or kettle bells combined with movements like squats and lunges. You have to have good form though so sometimes it’s easier to use resistance machines.

Okay, so using the machines is fine? I find myself gravitating more to these.
I'm not sure if I'm doing it right though as I'm doing at least 45 mins, more like an hour 3 times a week and have been increasing weights (I started a leg press on 100kg, now on 150kg 10 reps x 3). It's been 3 months, but other than weight loss (which is what I'm aiming for) I'm not seeing any other changes. My BMR hasn't increased which I thought it should with weights. It has lowered since I've started - although I'm not sure by how much it would have lowered anyway as I've lost a stone since starting.
My muscle mass has also lowered since starting. So I'm not sure where I'm going wrong! I'll attach some screen shots which show when I started, and current for BMR and muscle mass.
I also do 45mins-1hr cardio in the same session. I mean I'm losing weight, which is what I want. But I thought doing weights too would be changing my body shape, toning, increasing muscle mass, bmr etc. It isn't. My measurements aren't changing when I use a tape measure, but that isn't unusual for me anyway as I've only lost 5 inches from my hips in the 5 stone I've lost. I gain and lose weight all over so it takes a good chunk of weight loss to see anything off my measurements.

Oh. I think I just realised why the muscle mass looks like it is going down. It's because I've lost 7kg in that time frame isn't it? Maybe...?! So confusing!!!

It’s not easy to gain muscle and lose weight at the same time. What are your macros? You need to focus on get good protein. I’d also use measurements and phots to track progress rather than weight.

Are you eating enough protein? Most people eat less protein than needed to gain muscle. Try to get 1.5 grams per Kilo of weight.

The way I am “doing weights” is by following structured classes, I don’t think I would be disciplined enough to really do the work at the gym. I don’t know if objectively I gained any muscle mass by I definitely lost fat (simple fold test shows this) and I do have visible muscles on my arms, back, belly and legs so it must have worked.

You need to eat more to gain muscle - it's very hard to do that in a calorie deficit. As PP said protein is key. While weights is great, depending on how much weight you still need to lose I'd concentrate on that, then on building muscle, which is hard for females anyway. Try eating close or at maintenance calories, up your protein. Possible get a PT for a few sessions explaining your goals? They might suggest you reduce your cardio and train an extra day with weights.

To loose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit
to gain muscle you need to be in a calorie excess
It is possible to do both at the same time, but I’ve never worked out how!

Happy to listen if someone could explain it 😀

@LittleRebelGirl you're getting stronger so you are making some progress, but it's not physically possible to build muscle and lose a lot of weight at the same time. Given the weight you've lost and the cardio you're doing it sounds like you're in quite a strict calorie deficit. To build any noticeable muscle you need, well, something to build from! You can't make it out of nothing. If you want to change your shape by adding muscle (and increasing your BMR/TDEE) you would need to be prepared to increase your calories for a while, most likely increasing the amount of protein you eat, and lift heavy. Increasing calories can be mentally challenging if you've lost weight, but if done gradually and by eating healthy foods you won't be adding on lots of bodyfat (a little, but not what you've lost)

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with machine weights but they aren't usually the most effective for adding muscle because they are mainly accessory exercises - most of the machines work small specific muscles at a time. To add muscle you want to be doing compound movements that work big muscle groups. That's why you see so many women in the gym using barbells these days for things like squats, deadlifts and bench press. It's worth looking into if you want to maintain your weight loss long term, as getting smaller (without building muscle) can mean needing to try and stick to quite low calories long term that can be hard to maintain.

Also do you mind me asking if the screenshots are your weight, or weight you've lost, and how tall you are?
If you're 45kg, even if you're short you would be very lean, and would need to be prepared to put on some weight to have muscle definition (which is the 'toned' look you refer to)

Yes, is 45 your weight OP? How tall are you? I’m only 161 cm or so tall and at 45 kilo my muscles would disappear.

Okay, I'm happy then! I just thought I may be doing something wrong.
I can't afford a PT (I can't afford the gym any more either but since I'm tied in for a year, I'm stuck with it!).
I'm not 45kg (I wish!). I'm 75kg. That photo is the muscle mass data from the gym app. I'm 5ft 2. I need to lose another 12kg ideally.
Once I'm there I'll then start trying the upping calories/protein thing to gain muscle. I definitely need to lose that weight first. I'll still be top end of the healthy weight for my height.
Yes I've been in a calorie deficit for just over a year now, at 1290 cals which is absolutely fine for me, not a struggle at all. I'm now losing around 1lb a week (it had dropped to 1/2 lb before I joined the gym 3 months ago). I've got 26lb more to lose... so that will take me til at least Christmas. My new year goal it seems will be to tone and gain some muscle!
Will Google compound movements as I have no idea what that means, but thank you for the idea!

@LittleRebelGirl I understand about wanting to lose the weight first, but honestly you might be better off eating a bit more and getting stronger. If you can add muscle and up your BMR/TDEE you'll find the weight loss much easier in the long run. You build a bit of muscle for a while, then cut your calories again (but not as low as 1290) and you'll lose weight more quickly and easily

If it helps, I'm about the same height as you and 60kg, with quite a lot of muscle for my frame. Before doing weights my maintenance was around 1400 calories. Currently I think it's around 1800-1900 (I have a sedentary job but I do do sports as well as strength training) That gives me a lot more wriggle room.

Compound movement examples if you want to look then up -

Squats (any variety, but usually not advisable on a smith machine)
Deadlift (again, lots of varieties)
Bench press
Overhead press
Rows (machines are fine for these, eg seated rows)
Pull ups (assisted on machine, or lat pulldown on a machine)
Hip thrust

If you can't afford a PT, then maybe pick one exercise, look up some videos on YouTube and try it a few times in the gym before picking another one. It's important to practice movements with lighter weights to feel confident with it at first, that's something you can start doing any time. Also while there's a million YouTube videos for the above, if you want to find somewhere to start, I find Mindpump have a decent amount of free resources, and quite a good podcast too (don't always like their general chatter but the fitness advice is good! They tend to be more realistic than the twenty year old influencers that dominate a lot of fitness spaces)

I do weights by doing Caroline Girvan videos in my living room with a set of adjustable dumbbells on Amazon. I spent the first few weeks just getting the form right because that is very important. I did build muscle whilst in a deficit but to do that you have to accept the journey is slow but steady. My body visually changed before my weight changed if you know what I mean. I lost inches and toned up but wasn’t always losing on the scales. Don’t panic if the scales slow up, switch to measuring with a tape