Losing Weight, but still maintaining strength

I am 5'7 and weigh 150 lbs. I have always been chubby as i see myself. Other people say im fine, but i dont care. How can I lose weight, (about 10lbs) but not get weaker. Like the problem with eating certain things, like its good to eat a lot of whatever to lose weight, but at the same time you dont get the necessary vitamins and minerals to stay strong.
 
How often do you excersize and in what ways? To loose weight you need to eat properly and do a balance of aerobic and anaerobic activities. Anaerobic, like weightlifting, will build muscle and the muscles will be burning more calories 24 hours a day. Upping the aerobic activity won't affect strength, but it might limit the size gains if you're trying to bulk up. It will, however, raise your metabolism so you're burning more calories when you're not working out.

Try to get your heart rate raised for 20-30 minutes before your first meal of the day. Try to have higher portions of carbs in the earlier meals, and as the day progresses reduce that and increase the protein intake. Have around 5-7 (smaller) meals throughout the day. This will help reduce the urge to snack. Never eat two carb meals back to back because your body will get accustomed to using carbohydrates as the main source of fuel, when really your goal is to switch it to burning fat.

Also, try to avoid eating a lot in the evenings. You should have finished your last meal around 3 hours before you go to bed.

Drink lots of water... lots and lots of it.

I wouldn't be concerned about you loosing strength though, honestly, if you keep active and continue to eat properly it shouldn't be a problem.

It's so so so vital to eat properly though. If you don't eat enough, your body will go into starvation mode and will start packing on more fat for instinctive survival reasons.

Hope that helped,
Dylan
 
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Well with excersizes, I'm just curious how active you are already... do you do any sports?

You'll want to incorporate a lot of cardiovascular activities into your routines. Go biking, running, swimming, rowing, etc. Like I said before, try to do 30 minutes before your first meal, whether it's hopping on the bike, or throwing on some shoes and going for a jog. I don't know how athletic you are though, so don't start off too fast. If you're running, you should make sure you've got good running shoes, and make sure you stretch... stretching is really important (water increases flexibility also). If you're going to start running (and you haven't before) like i said, start slow, do lets say... 30 seconds jogging, 30 seconds walking... and repeat that 5 times on your first day, after a couple days, maybe even a week, up it to 45 seconds or so... that might be too slow for you, but you get the idea. It's just important to go with what's "right" for your body... it'll save from nasty injuries like shin splints (which suck because you have to stop training... i have them right now actually :( )

Try to start some "lifestyle sports" if you haven't already. Things like tennis, kayaking, swimming, etc. Maybe joining a martial art would also be benificial... they often have really good workouts, and they help to build discipline.. also if you have a set time for a class, you're less likely to slack off. and the fact that you paid money for it doesnt go for nothing. The thing about lifestyle sports is that, like the name :p they stick with you, and you're more likely to keep the weight off throughout your life than if you were to do a quick diet / rapid weight loss program or whatever.

When you're lifting weights, I'd do lighter weights at more reps... (from 15-20) to tone and strenghten your muscles. There's no need to go for size right now, because since you're taking in less calories to loose weight, it'll be hard to get your muscles to grow significantly... so work on their shape. ( shows you how to do many good excersizes properly). Use freeweights as opposed to machines when possible. Stretching is very important... try to limit the time between sets to about 60-90 seconds. Don't train the same muscle groups two days in a row... if you want to work out two days in a row, then split them up, maybe upper/lower body or however you want. Loose the fat and get the muscle tone first, you can always bulk up afterwards.

And regarding nutrition... there is a book i HIGHLY suggest you read. "Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook - Third Edition". I bought it a little while ago, and it's totally awesome. It will answer all your questions. Don't just brush it off, i TOTALLY MEAN THIS!! you MUST GET THIS BOOK.

Dylan
 
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Yes, i play basketball, and my last mile time was about 7:00. I havent ran in it a while
 
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