Can I Lose Weight by Lifting Weights Only? The answer is absolutely yes! This is where we come to the importance of lifting for both strength and fat loss. Your body burns calories doing resistance training, and with good eating (e.g., 5-10% less than your daily calorie maintenance), fat loss is very effective. Begin with lifting three times a week and then grow into a 4 to 5 times a-week routine as you cement the habit. These lifting sessions should take 45 minutes or so each.
Consistency is key. Average results driven by new users training with strength programs like Fitbod achieve 34% strength gain in just a few months, helping motivate new users to keep going. If you are already in the habit of lifting three times a week, you can aim for somewhere around 4-5x/week to see some difference. Lifting weights, followed by a balanced diet, is going to maintain those results while keeping you strong and lean.
Weight Loss Overview:
When losing weight, the important thing is to create a calorie deficit. This means taking in fewer calories than is required for your body to burn through the course of a day. Your body then draws on its own reserves — such as stored fat — to produce energy. This causes you to lose weight.
To achieve this deficit, whilst most of us think about eating less, it is also really important to allow your normal activity and increase your non-exercise activity (like steps throughout the day) and complement this with your workouts. If you are doing regular exercise activities such as weight lifting, you’re not only losing fat, but you’re also building muscle, and muscle increases your overall metabolism.
4 Ways to Create a Calorie Deficit:
Eat Less: To lose weight, you should eat fewer calories than what your body needs. This causes the body to start using its resources, such as fat, in order to create energy, resulting in weight loss. While many believe they should simply eat less to get this deficit, the other piece of the puzzle is to focus on increasing your NEAT (or non-exercise activity thermogenesis) by taking more steps during the day. When you do this, combined with your regular workout and exercise activity, you will not only burn more calories, but you will also build more muscle, supporting long-term weight management.
More NEAT: Higher NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) is one way to lose weight without having to add workouts. This includes the energy your body uses during the day for stuff like standing up, walking, or even fidgeting. NEAT encompasses all activities, loosely put, that are not associated with formal exercise and are not involved in trailing to a gym for a workout, e.g., including breathing, eating, or any other bodily functioning such as sleeping. NASM research suggests that controlling these small movements will help you burn more calories over time, especially if those 3-4 hours of structured exercise per week are surrounded by a total of 110-115 hours per week of activity. This is a great initial step in losing weight and staying fit.
Do More Lifting: You must generate a calorie deficit to reduce weight — stay focused on lifting weights. To avoid losing fat and muscle mass, you need to do weight-lifting workouts at least three days a week to increase muscle and strength. Now, these sessions may not burn as many calories as something like cardio would, but they certainly have merit for fat loss, and they absolutely will be your bread and butter in this phase. As long as you remain faithful to your intense workouts, it’s acceptable to skip cardio.
All Of The Above: In order to lose weight via lifting heavy weights, you have to make sure to maintain your caloric deficit. It means you should consume less food and be more NEAT (non-exercise activity) – which, believe it or not, can make all the difference to your overall calorie burn. Also critical: incorporating regular workouts into your daily or weekly schedule. These activities can contribute towards the loss of weight and maintaining muscle growth and retention over a time frame of 23-24 hours daily. Having an action plan that lays out the most effective approach to achieving weight maintenance is key to the long game of keeping off those pounds.
What Is the Best Workout to Lose Body Fat?
The best way to lose fat isn’t a single method, but workouts you actually enjoy will get you further in the long run. You’re much less likely to quit if you’re having fun doing it. The best will learn how to lose body fat through strength training and cardiorespiratory movements. Focusing on both types of workouts while also eating healthy is a smart strategy, according to Chag. It’s really about finding a fit that works for you and following through over the long term.
Is It OK to Only Lift Weights to Lose Body Fat?
Sure, you would be perfectly fine doing weightlifting for fat loss. “If you hate running or traditional cardio, you don’t have to do it,” Chag explained to POPSUGAR. Weight training: Lifting weights alone is a great way to burn fat and reach it. But if you’re hoping for quicker results, supplementing with some cardio and tweaking your diet can help make this a well-rounded routine. Cardio is not essential, but pairing it with weightlifting or changing your diet might be even more effective.
Should you lift weights or do cardio first?
It really depends on your goals. If your top priority is to build muscle and get stronger, you should do the weights first, in the purest terms. Do cardio first if your goal is to improve speed or endurance. The fact is, the answer to the question of whether you should do weights or cardio first lies within an individual exercise plan. A balanced approach that includes both weights and cardio throughout the week isn’t going to steer you wrong. But you don’t need to do both in every gym session.
Is it better to lift light weights or heavy weights?
Whether this repeats a real identity in the deepest sense is hard to say; this comes back to your goals. There’s no better one than the other unless you have a very specific objective you’re trying to achieve. If I wanted to do a powerlifting competition and one of the main lifts was a barbell back squat, I would be lifting heavy most of the time. But if I were training for a marathon, I’d do more light weights with lots of reps to get my heart rate up and prepare my legs to handle stress for longer periods. For example, if you have not yet set a strength goal, you can get benefits from lifting both heavy and light weights.
Can older adults lift weights?
Not only are older adults capable of lifting weights but they’re meant to in order to sustain their health and stave off degenerative disorders such as osteoporosis. Strength training in midlife and beyond can be a major boost to overall fitness and a safeguard against age-related loss of muscle mass. And it lowers the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases while helping beat back chronic disease. Weight Lifting is especially vital for older adults as it can greatly boost their quality of life. What’s not to love about that?
Does lifting weights help you lose weight?
Yes, you can lose weight with any form of exercise, and weight lifting is no different. The important thing is to burn more than you eat each day to remain in a calorie deficit, which is what you need to lose weight. The beauty of lifting weights is that it helps you build muscle at the same time you’re losing fat. Because muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, the more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn at rest. That results in a higher resting metabolic rate — that is, your metabolism is running while you’re sitting or sleeping.
While the extra calories burned each day may not be massive, it can add up over time. But contrary to common myths, the act of lifting weights is not a panacea for losing weight. You have to stick with a calorie deficit! You can continue with lifting every day (arms only, woohoo!) and put on more calories than you burn but see no progress. The secret lies in pairing weightlifting with a proper diet to achieve the results you want.
How many reps should you do when lifting weights?
How many reps you should do is based on your goals. For your endurance-based goals that focus on improving your running, you will want to lift lighter weights for more repetitions. If, on the other hand, you have strength-based goals, such as one rep maxing your deadlift, you’ll want to lift heavier with fewer reps. If your goals are outside of that and lie somewhere in the middle—running an obstacle course race, for instance—you’d benefit from mixing both kinds of reps and weights in order to address all areas of fitness.
What about women?
There are many women who steer clear of training with heavy weights for fear of becoming too muscular, but this fear is largely misplaced. Women just don’t produce enough testosterone to gain substantial muscle without training at a really high level. If you fall under one of these women who wish to burn body fat, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Slow waves of heavy resistance exercise can trim plumpness and dapple you into a fat-burning furnace through muscle quality. Yes, you might put on some muscle, but you’re not going to start looking like a bodybuilder. Instead, you have to emphasize the natural form without spending hours on cardio workouts.
Increased overall metabolic rate:
When you lift weights and gain muscle, this isn’t just a short-term bonus. Fat, on the other hand, takes no energy to store, while muscle is extremely energy-expensive and requires calories to maintain. This means that more muscular bodies burn more calories, even when not active. Once you’ve built muscle, it remains relatively stable and keeps functioning as a fat-burning engine, even if you’re not training quite so hard. This is why men often get away with eating more calories than women without weight gain — because they have more muscle mass and burn more calories throughout the day, even when they’re not exercising.
What are your goals?
So, before you set off on your fat-loss journey, you need to start by asking yourself why. Is it strictly about health benefits, or is appearance also a driving factor? If aesthetics aren’t on your radar, cardio is often prescribed because it typically burns more calories per minute while you’re exercising. But the post-exercise calorie-burning effect is a lot lower. It depends on what you like. If you like cardio and want cardiovascular benefits, then it’s a good option. However, since achieving a lean body, the kind often seen on a marathon runner or long-distance cyclist, is your objective, you may need to go nuts on the cardio — like extreme levels of cardio garbage just to obtain those physical adaptations.
For many, the problem with dieting to lose weight alone is that when we get the weight off, we are left with a soft, unshapely body. Acting more like a marshmallow than a muscle, it’s the soft or small-looking type of body — Little inner musculature to keep the exterior taut. If your primary goal is to lose fat and look more shapely, toned, and lean, then adding muscle makes more sense. Not only does muscle improve the overall body shape, but it also increases your basal metabolic rate, meaning you can burn through your fat at a quicker rate. And the strength and power you build allow you to train harder without the concern — if you’re worried about adding hunks of muscle and looking like a bodybuilder — of transforming your physique into one that doesn’t represent your natural look.
Yet another thing to keep in mind is that muscle can store intramuscular fat, so the muscle is more or less a sponge for fat (and also water). The larger your muscles, the bigger the sponge, soaking up fat before it is stored in less attractive spaces—i.e. the stomach. Your body has more places to spread the fat with your muscles, which leads to a more balanced and toned look.
Think about hormones:
When performing things like high-rep or short-rest exercises, and repetitive exercises like steady-state cardio, your body primarily recruits the slow-twitch muscle fibers. It can put stress on the body, leading to the release of cortisol, a hormone that can actually inhibit the release of both testosterone and growth hormone. These two hormones are powerful fat burners, and without them in the proper balance, you’re not going to burn fat on your own as easily. By contrast, lifting heavy weights, with a maximum of 12 reps per set and sufficient recovery, has the opposite effect — it’s good for testosterone and growth hormones, which means it will help your body to become a fat-burning machine.
If your goal is to lower your body fat percentage as much as possible, heavy weightlifting plus a good diet will do even better than any type of workout. Keep in mind that if you lose fat but do not build muscle tone or mass, then every effort will have been in vain, particularly in aesthetic terms. Lifting weights will not only help you make progress fat loss-wise but provide a much more aesthetically pleasing shape[[f653d1959d3f921e7bbda8aaa50230d7], which is paramount for your end result.
Can You Lose Weight Just By Lifting Weights?
You can lose weight only by lifting weights, sure, but it may not necessarily be the best long-term option for most people. While weight training is effective, many people feel it’s best to prioritize eating less and increasing your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) for sustained results. Even if you begin lifting weights and do not make changes to what you consume, you may still lose weight if your caloric output exceeds your caloric input. The phenomenon is so widespread that some people find that when they begin exercising, they automatically make healthier nutritional choices, leading to a reduction in calorie intake without any deliberate effort.
But the strategy isn’t for everyone and probably isn’t a long-term solution for staying at a healthy weight. Your body will gradually become accustomed to your workout — and more efficient, which will mean it will use up fewer calories than in the beginning. If you want to lose weight and maintain weight loss for life, your focus should be on strength training combined with calorie tracking and NEAT. One study showed that people who lifted weights three times a week and ate less retained lean body mass (muscle) without harming their resting metabolic rate.
This means those who do strength workouts and take account of their food intake have an easier time shedding weight than those who do not. When people diet and don’t weight-train, they tend to lose muscle and, therefore, burn fewer calories each day. So, what weightlifting does for you is not only allows you to lose fat but also helps you maintain it in the long run, which is key to long-term fat loss.
How To Lose Weight By Lifting Weights?
This is a step-by-step guide to losing weight by using weights, which is the very same process I employ with many of my clients and, indeed, myself in fat-loss phases. You can follow the same steps regardless of whether you are an advanced or a beginner. You might enter at a different stage or need more time in one stage than another, but the important thing is to remain consistent. As long as you follow this procedure, you will be able to lose fat and gain lean muscle at the same time.
Step 1: Lift Weights 2-3x Per Week
If you’re committed to losing weight and gaining strength, a consistent lifting routine is critical. If you’re a complete newbie, aim to lift at least twice per week — this is the minimum you need to make your body start adapting. You don’t need to lift weights every day; even two sessions a week can work the major muscle groups — your legs, chest, back, and shoulders. But if you’re willing to commit more, shoot for lifting three times per week. This will not only help to increase your training volume but also help you to build good habits for your fitness journey. Finally, regular lifting forges a steady pipeline of muscular impairment, which is critical to both muscle growth and fat loss. As you grow and progress, you can start to increase your workout frequency and add other forms of exercise into the mix, such as increasing your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) to supplement your entire exercise regimen.
Step 2: Increase Your NEAT
While you may be reading all this so that you do more “exercising”, what you really want to do is maximize your NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) — that is, all the movement that you do outside of sleep and sport. This involves small activities such as standing, moving more during the day, or even parking further away from your destination. The goal should be to average 6-8k steps a day, eventually building to 10k steps. Making simple changes such as going for a long walk or using a pedometer to track the number of steps you take in a day can hugely increase your activity levels without a structured workout.
Step 3: Track Your Daily Calorie and Macronutrient Intakes
Walking throughout the day, along with 2-3 times a week, is a solid way to stay fit. Conversely, calorie tracking forms the basis of clearly understanding how many calories you consume on a daily basis. In short, knowing the right on how many carbs, fats, and protein will clearly show you whether your diet is to maintain weight, or if you are going to lose weight. If progress seems slow, don’t get disheartened — just commit to the process and don’t look for shortcuts.
Step 4: Decrease Your Calories
To maintain or lose body fat, implement 10–15% reductions in calories every 14 days until reaching the target. During this time, your body can gain and lose up to several kilograms in weight because of variations in water, food, and waste. All of this means that you need to keep your protein intake high, somewhere around. 8-1.2g per pound body weight. For a 180 lb individual, that’s about 144-216 grams daily. The remaining calories should be divided between carbs and fats according to your activity level and personal preference. For carbs, start with 1-2g/lb (30-50g/kg) or roughly 180-360g of carbs for a 180lb person based on activity. Lastly, use the remaining calories for fats (1g fat = 9 cal).
Step 5: Increase Your Step Count (if applicable)
While it is essential to stay active, it is crucial to focus on increasing the number of steps taken daily. If you are already achieving around 10k steps per day, try to aim closer to 12-15k to see further improvement. The Benefits of Walking During the Workday Walking consistently throughout your day can improve routines as well as overall health. There is a dose-response relationship according to research, meaning that more steps = more benefits, but the effects start to level off in between 8-12k steps. You will receive even better results from this when combined with weight training.
Step 6: Increase Your Workout Frequency (if applicable)
If you’re having some trouble losing weight sustainably, then your workouts might not be frequent enough. An additional weight training session per week can save you approximately. 25-. 5% of your body weight per week as well as preserving lean muscle mass. The 1-2 workout routine is likely beneficial to avoid the symptoms of general health, but if you are miserable with your skinny fat, you could potentially help turbocharge your energy expenditure with around 6 points worth of sessions a week.
Step 7: Adjust Your Intake As Necessary
To sustain an active lifestyle and promote progression while you weight-train multiple days a week, you need to be consuming enough calories. If you’re losing weight at a steady rate, you might want to cut your intake by a steady 5-10% to keep up the pace of progress. Additionally, have a solid amount of protein 8–1.2g per pound of body weight to maintain muscle while losing fat. That balance keeps you on the right path, not losing too rapidly or too slowly.
Step 8: Remain Consistent for 8-12 More Consecutive Weeks
For significant results, you must commit to steps 1-7 for 8-12 weeks. This last task may feel tedious, but it’s essential for long-term effectiveness. Follow the first seven steps, and do them consistently for a reasonable length of time, and you can make some massive, dramatic changes to your physique. In fact, a lot of people will have to commit to tracking their intake, performing cardio, and training hard if they want to lose weight and maintain it. Keep at it, and be ready to go through this cycle again to get what you want.
What To Do If You’re Not Losing Weight While Lifting Weights:
Adjust Your Calorie Intake:
A commitment to reducing the amount of energy consumed by as much as 5-10% is key to being in a deficit to lose weight. So, for instance, if you’re eating about 2000 calories per day on average and not seeing any results, decrease it to about 1800-1900 calories to stay in that deficit. If this deficit is too aggressive and you’re struggling to adhere to it, try a more moderate deficit to help you sustain the plan. Don’t fall into the trap of “eat 1200 calories M- F but eat 3000+ on the weekends.” This ends the deficit diet and stalls progress
Get More Steps in Your Day:
Another hack for accentuating weight loss is simply increasing your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) by way of adding more movement throughout the day. Here is a good place to start: She recommends aiming for at least 8,000 steps every day — not including exercise or strenuous activity. Many of my clients aim for 12,000 steps per day to see results. This is a problem that we need to solve if someone is not getting at least 8,000 steps a day.” When you hit 12,000, don’t try to go for more — just change your diet and ensure your workouts are consistent.
Reevaluate Your Rate of Weight Loss:
It’s not uncommon to feel impatient about losing weight, to believe that weight is not coming off quickly enough. This isn’t a time for fantasizing about the degree of loss. When the weight is lost too quickly, it may even result in losing muscle mass. A healthy rate is around. 5-1% weekly, which aids in muscle retention. If you are losing more than 1 percent of your total body weight per week, it is considered an aggressive rate, and it may not be sustainable. If so, then maybe slow down a little. Conversely, if you’re losing slower than. 500-750 calorie deficit, focus on getting better at eating, NEAT, steps, etc.
Address Your Lack of Discipline and Consistency:
The truth is, if you’re claiming you’re doing things all the time and not getting results, something may be awry. The cold, hard truth is that weight loss is hard and slow. You think you’re consistent, but it’s probably that you’re not making progress. For all we know, those taking weekends off, treating themselves to cheat meals each week, or regularly snacking could be the very reason they are not succeeding. Discipline and following the plan through and through is what will help you accomplish your objectives.
Conclusion
Besides an aggressive calorie deficit and some consistency, the other great secret to losing weight with weight lifting is the spread. Weight lifting can increase muscle, which increases metabolism and fat burning while the body is at rest. But sustainable weight loss involves more than just pumping iron — try upping your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), tracking the number of calories you consume, and getting a variety of foods in your diet. If you remain disciplined, flexible with your routine as required, and commit to consistency for weeks and months instead of just days you will lose the weight you desire, build strength on top of that, and improve your general health. Just remember, strength training is part of the process, and it has to be one piece of the puzzle.