The right way of exercising

I started at 148 and i am down to 143lb. The thing is i am 5'1 and a medium to small frame. On average i eat around 1200 a little more on some days not going over 1400 and doing anywhere from 45 to an hour an half exercise every day. I jog and i walk to burn my calories but am worried it may not be enough to lose the weight. I have read other posts where they are doing strength training, and building muscle, but i do not want that, i just want to slim down. Am i going the right way about exercising to have a consistant weight loss?

Weight training is very beneficial and speeds up weight loss, even if you are not trying to build a lot of muscle. The bottom line: it will help you slim down. Use light weights (2-3 pounds) and lots of reps (3 sets of 10-15). 

Also, incorporate interval training into your walking or running. Interval training consists of alternating heavy exercise with light exercise. It is very effective, and there are many studies that show that 30 minutes of interval workouts are more effective at burning calories/fat than 1 hour of moderate exercise. So incorporate sprints with jogs and fast walking with slow walking . You can start at 10 second increments and work your way up.

Original Post by lmb31:

Use light weights (2-3 pounds) and lots of reps (3 sets of 10-15). 

Why not heavy weights? I mean, the bag I carry to work every day weighs more than 2-3 pounds. How would lifting lighter weights than that have any benefit?

I agree with amethystgirl. You aren't going to get anywhere if you don't challenge yourself. Are 2-3 pound weights really challenging your muscles? I'm an advocate of heavy weights!

Original Post by browneyedgirl7t7:

I have read other posts where they are doing strength training, and building muscle, but i do not want that, i just want to slim down.

If you are eating at a deficit, you will not build muscle.

The people who are building muscle are eating at a surplus. Or seeing their muscles get a little swollen post-lift and thinking that they are gaining muscle, but really are just retaining water.

She does not want to build a lot of muscle, hence the lighter weights. And, she is just starting out doing strength training.

You can still build muscle when you are not eating at a deficit. Your info is incorrect. Ever heard of weight-gainer?! Or body builders?

Original Post by lmb31:

You can still build muscle when you are not eating at a deficit. Your info is incorrect. Ever heard of weight-gainer?! Or body builders?

Um... that's what I said - you can gain muscle when not on a deficit (that is, at a surplus, - you won't gain much if you are only eating at maintenance). Weight gainers? Body builders? They eat MORE than they burn.

You cannot gain muscle (beyond newbie gains) if you are eating at a deficit - where does the new mass come from if your body is burning more calories than you are taking in?

Some reading for you: Strength without size: how to get strong without getting bulky.

I also like this quote from another stumptuous article:

Many woman who insist on training with light or medium weights and doing many reps end up building Sarcosplasmic Hypertrophy, common in body building, is bloated, soft and useless muscle. Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy involves the growth of the sarcoplasm and non contractile proteins that do not directly contribute to muscular force production. Filament area density decreases while cross-sectional area increases, without a significant increase in strength. Proper strength training leads to gains in Myofibrillar Hypertrophy which is referred to as strong and dense muscle.

I'm just trying address the questions and concerns of browneyedgirl7t7, not get into a discussion about the overall effectiveness of low weight/high rep or vice versa on muscle building.  

http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/diet-fitn ess/lifting-weight-lose-weight.html

I'm trying to address those concerns as well, assure her that she will not gain muscle if she lifts heavy, and correct the misconceptions that so many have that lifting heavy will make anyone, even a woman who is eating less than she burns, gain measurable quantities of muscle.

I came across this post and now I'm confused. If you can't gain muscle while eating at a deficit, then how does someone lose weight AND gain muscle at the same time. Or is that just impossible?

Original Post by amethystgirl:

I also like this quote from another stumptuous article:

Many woman who insist on training with light or medium weights and doing many reps end up building Sarcosplasmic Hypertrophy, common in body building, is bloated, soft and useless muscle. Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy involves the growth of the sarcoplasm and non contractile proteins that do not directly contribute to muscular force production. Filament area density decreases while cross-sectional area increases, without a significant increase in strength. Proper strength training leads to gains in Myofibrillar Hypertrophy which is referred to as strong and dense muscle.

This quote confuses me. Does your article refer to body-builders only, people losing weight, and/or general exercise? What about people who do yoga? Granted, you're not LIFTING anything (but you're body) but it still strengthens your muscles. I have read articles that suggest these strength-building techniques (along with light weight-lifting with higher reps) help improve a runners performance, but nothing about useless muscles.

However, I do agree that:

More calories burned than eaten = deficit = weight-loss

More calories eaten than burned = gain (muscles or fat; depending on if you're sitting on your lady lumps all day or not).

A little strength training is only going to help.  And, unless you go all out and try to lift weights everyday, you are not going to bulk up. I started off with real stretchy resistance bands.  This slowly increased my strength and muscle mass which, in turn, really helped fat start to burn off.  The only part of my body that got "muscle-y" are my quads but I like them!  Building a little bit of muscle will tone you up and actually help you to look slimmer since your body will be more tight and not "skinny fat".

Thank you to everyone who replied. Not that i am confused or anything, i know that muscle burns more calories and so for more of a weight loss i should do some weights.

As to what weight. I guess that i should start light and repeat and increase if i wanted and use heavier weights further on down the line more in key with my workout.

Being the frame that i am, muscle in the wrong places such as my thighs would look out of place, as i know they can look chunky as it is, i want to move away from all of that.

I think as far as my work outs i will incorporate 10 minutes of reps for every half hour of excercise and see how i get on.

Thank you all again.

mperic, that's an excellent question, and I don't have the answer. I would never think to tell someone that yoga would create "bulky" muscles, but I also wouldn't consider yoga good for strength training, past a certain point (I think yoga has its uses, just not strength training). Perhaps it is because you aren't actually doing multiple reps of exercises, but holding positions, which I'd have to assume is different for muscles? But I don't know a better answer.

kirstiel - for the most part, it is incredibly difficult to lose fat AND gain muscle at the same time. You can have "newbie gains" at first, where you gain a little muscle when you first start lifting, but the gains are minimal. More often, women notice that their muscles have swollen (water retention) after lifting, and their weight goes up a little (again, water retention), and they assume that they've gained pounds of muscle.

fit4tina - Lifting every day would not lead to bulking... it only leads to not letting your muscles recover, thereby limiting your strength gains, so it isn't recommended for anyone.

I can tell you that I've been lifting for going on 2 years now, and I am far from bulky.  I lift heavy, relative to my own strength, with reps going from 5 to 12. How much I lift completely depends on the exercise, how many reps I am doing, and how much rest I have between sets.  There are some exercises where I use a 5lb weight, or even body weight, because that's all I can lift for those reps. There are others where I lift over 100lbs (squats and deadlifts).

I'll leave you guys with this last quote, from an article called Ten Training Truths You Need to Hear (it's all a quote from here on out - someone once decided that I had written the last part, and I can assure you, I am not a trainer - I'm basing my info on the articles, books, and info on CC I've read and my own experience):

Generalization #3: Low rep leg training builds bulky legs, whereas high rep leg training brings out the detail and will build nicely toned legs.

Truth: For the majority of muscle groups, performing reps of 10 or below does seem to work better for mass, but legs are an exception. Assuming you're training close to failure, nothing builds "bulky" legs faster than performing intense sets of 20-50 on squats, leg presses, lunges, and other hard movements.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but keeping the reps low when training legs is more conducive to "tone" than to "bulk." I can't stress this enough.

The girls who come to me complaining of stocky legs are almost always doing sets of 20 or more on legs. I simply switch them to lower reps; over time, the legs stop blowing up, and daylight starts peeking through between the thighs. Hallelujah!

If you cant gain muscle while eating on a deficit then whats the point of strength training while losing weight?

Original Post by healthisinplease:

If you cant gain muscle while eating on a deficit then whats the point of strength training while losing weight?

This is what I want to know as well. I was always under the impression that the body turned the fat into muscle. Now that I'm a bit older and think about that, it doesn't seem to be likely (or is there a way that the body converts fat to muscle?). But I still think there has to be some way for the body to build muscle during weight loss because other wise you would have to lose almost all the fat off of your body (down to 19-23 % for example) then begin to strength train. Otherwise you would be lifting and your body not building any muscle right? At least this is my impression of what has been said.

Muscle and fat are two very different tissues - they don't switch back and forth any more than bone would turn into either.

Yes, you won't gain muscle when eating at a deficit.  But not lifting increases the chances that you will lose muscle while dieting. Lifting while dieting helps prevent muscle loss, which is not only important for your metabolism (muscle burns more calories than fat, although some people overstate by how much - still, it's not something you want to lose), it also makes you look better.

I don't want to make too general a statement, because surely there are plenty of people who lost weight without lifting and look just great, but it is... not uncommon to find that the people who lose weight without lifting look like smaller versions of their old self (that is, soft). And those who lifted while losing weight, because they maintained their muscle (and maybe even put a little on when they first started - again, that's newbie gains) look smaller at their weight goal, and firmer.

I went from at one point being 135 (and never exercising) up to 168, and then back down to 135 (through diet, lifting, and cardio)... and I look a helluva lot better (smaller, tighter, stronger) now than I did when I was last at this weight.

Also, you can get stronger without increasing muscle... and there's never anything wrong with being stronger.

Once again, I agree with amethystgirl. Lifting while losing weight maintains as much lean mass (muscle) as possible while losing FAT, which, presumably, is what you are aiming for. And I wouldn't worry about your thighs getting bulky. Muscle is more dense than fat, so a pound of muscle is smaller than a pound of fat. And, as amethystgirl has pointed out, you can't build muscle at a deficit. It violates the laws of thermodynamics (matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed). If you are taking in less energy (calories) to the point where you are losing body mass, your body is using your fat (and hopefully less muscle) for fuel for your daily activities. It will not use that energy to build more mass. If you are taking in a surplus of calories, then yes, muscle can be built. And as far as mass gainers and other supplements, there is nothing magic about them. They may have more protein and help to repair muscle after a workout, but unless those supplements cause you to go over your decided calorie allotment they won't magically make you gain muscle.

Thank you so much! I get it now, if trying to lose weight and eating at a deficit, lifting will not INCREASE the amount of muscle on your body but it will PREVENT it from being lost. Therefore, your weight loss will be faster because you will still have the lean mass you started out with. And to top it all off...you will look better!

You got it, kirstiel ;)