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Is It Possible To Lose Weight With Strength Training And Not Count Shit

Deadlifting

I’m in a situation that most of us find ourselves in at some point, we’re a little more fluffy than we’d like to be and we want to do something about it.

Right now I’m not a runner anymore.  I’d love to be a runner again but my stupid hip won’t stay on point and I’m not sure what I have to do to keep it strong and balanced.  It seems that doing leg exercises everyday is my only option at this point which seems silly. By that I mean, I was given exercises in physical therapy to do which helped but once I stopped doing them my hip went right back to being weak.  Doing them everyday for the rest of my life seems a bit much.

But I do CrossFit and I lift weights on the regular.  I thought for sure that I would lose some pounds and inches doing CrossFit and after a year of it, I have not.  That is beyond frustrating. Like what am I doing wrong? Maybe I’m not pushing myself hard enough? Or maybe it’s something in my eats?  I’m choosing to focus on eats right now.

I follow a bunch of weight lifters on Instagram and they fall into two camps; Those that act like since they lift they can eat junk and still look amazing (Side note, I unfollowed most of those, it was just too much).  Or those where they talk about counting macros and weighting their food and timing every bite they take, and all I keep thinking is, Dear God is that what it comes down to?

Because seriously? I don’t have time for that shit.

Oh I tried it counting things.  I watched calories and tried to count macros using My Fitness Pal and I could not do it.  I could never get my macros and calories to match up.  My macros were always under and not even close to what was prescribed to me. If I got my macros close to the numbers given to me then I was over calories for the day.   I gave it the good college try and did this for three months.  Not once did I ever get close to my numbers.  I also did not lose any weight during this time. (PS: I know that people usually either count one or the other but I was tasked with both.) I was freaking miserable counting stuff all the time.

When I was a runner, I lost weight no problem and did it by eating real foods without weighting or counting anything.

But now? I’m stuck.  To me portioning out meals for the day and eating chicken and broccoli every. single. day. Seems a bit much and not something I’m willing to do just to get the lean strong look I want.

I mean, can’t I eat whole real foods, limit or kick junk to the curb, and have a few drinks and still lean out?  Is that possible? Because all the lifters make it seem impossible unless you count and be sure to get your pre and post workout shakes/drinks/chemicals in!

And I’m not down with that.  There has to be a middle ground, right?  Something?

4 thoughts on “Is It Possible To Lose Weight With Strength Training And Not Count Shit

  1. Such a great post, Andrea! I have felt the same way lately. I’m not doing the obsession thing. Between my nutrition background and my past weight loss efforts, I can tell you just about every calorie, macro and micro nutrient in most foods, and don’t get me started on the bars and chemicals I filled my body with back in the day. It’s just not life. I won’t spend mine counting crap. I’m going to eat food – whether it’s a natural food bar, pho, or a big freakin pizza. As far as I’m concerned everything tastes better than thin feels. :) I refuse to turn down a high quality culinary experience because abs require that I eat 3 oz. of turkey and 1 cup steamed green beans.

    You inspire me because you’ve hung onto a lot of the whole food/ from scratch practices that I’ve lost over the past few years with all of our moving. I see your posts and think – I have to start making that again!

    I’m with you, though. I’m out to prove that there is a middle ground. For me, I just need to calm down. When life gets hectic, I don’t necessarily eat a ton of bad food, but I eat a lot of food. Then my fullness meter gets off track. I have to put full focus on eating smaller portions. That’s really my focus right now and I do keep weight down/get leaner when I choose my carbs wisely – not cut out, but pick the ones I truly enjoy. So let’s do it this year! Lean and eating some damn good food! Start thinking of a club name, because I know there are a lot of people out there who will want to join it. :)

    • YES, we need a club name! Haha! I agree with everything thing that you’ve said. I just can’t live my life weighting and measuring everything. I’m motivated and determined but that is just too much for me. Plus I’m not looking to be some high level athlete, I’m just looking to be strong and healthy.

      And thank you so much for those kind words! I admit that I did have to get back into the swing of things. When we moved here, we ate out all the time and I lost my kitchen mojo for a while. Thankfully I was able to find my way back around.

  2. Nicole says:

    “Doing them everyday for the rest of my life seems a bit much.” That’s exactly how I feel about PT exercises for my back! And when I start exercising, it flares up, so I don’t, but it still sucks because I don’t do anything to make it better. It’s a Catch-22. One of the best things I’ve done has been to get a cutting table that doesn’t require me to hunch over it. Maybe when IKEA opens here I’ll looking into an adjustable desk for work so I have the option to stand and work. All I do is freaking sit all day for work and my hobby/side hustle requires a lot of sitting, too. And then I’m tired and sit around. Can’t win.

    I’m with you on the frustration – I do not like counting/tracking every single bite. Right now I can’t really complain about anything because I’m not DOING anything. Sitting on my butt and eating junk, lol. I’ve had a lot of salads in the past week, so I’m calling it a win. I would like to lose a few pounds and get some strength since we’re trying to have another kid and I want to be a bit healthier for that.

    • Hi, Nicole! Thanks for replying! It’s definitely frustrating and it’s sometimes hard to keep going when I’m not seeing any change. That said, I know that having to count and weight everything is going to make things even more frustrating for me so it’s like, where do I go from here?

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