Episode 19: Strength Training Vs Weight Loss

We clear up the biggest misconception in fitness: strength training improves how you move and feel, but it does not automatically make you lose weight. We explain why the scale often stalls without nutrition, and we share simple food basics that pair well with lifting. 
• strength training outcomes we can reliably deliver: strength, mobility, stability, balance and energy 
• why “showing up to workouts” does not guarantee losing 10 to 20 pounds 
• how strength training supports fat loss through confidence, movement and muscle retention 
• why lifting can increase hunger if nutrition is not managed 
• why weight loss and exercise should be treated as separate goals 
• what a “solid diet” looks like: higher protein, more vegetables, more fiber and steady hydration 
• why exercise feels like doing something while nutrition can feel like restriction 
• how combining training and nutrition improves motivation and sustainability

Transcript

Welcome And The Big Misunderstanding

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey y'all, welcome to another episode of the 1% better podcast with your host, Josh Williams. Hope you're all having a fantastic day. It's been a little while since I recorded one of these, but hopefully we have a good one for you all today. And I just wanted to talk about the reality and the understanding or misunderstanding of what strength training is and how it plays in with weight loss.

What Strength Training Can Guarantee

SPEAKER_00 0:23

And I've met with a couple of clients, and one of the things I really try to do when I meet with prospective members or clients is not paint a rose, rose-colored pathway or trail to their destiny, and really be able to say, this is what I can guarantee that you will get from us. This is what I can actually help you with. And if I can still help you, then I would love to be a part of that journey. But there's sometimes where I'm I can't help them. I'm not a good fit and I'm not going to sell that. And so one of the things we come across a lot is I'll be meeting with a new client and I'll say, you know, I want to gain strength. I want to increase balance. I want to increase energy. I want to move better. I want to have more freedom. Like I'm

Why Weight Loss Is Not Guaranteed

SPEAKER_00 1:13

not feeling restricted about my day-to-day life. And I would like to lose, you know, 20 pounds. And the reality is, is there's a lot of things I can do with strength training, with really quality coaching and movement and using weights. And I can help with all that. I can help with the strength. I can help with the mobility. I can help with the stability, the balance, the energy, all of that with good coaching, free weight, strength training, twice a week, three times a week if you want, we can accomplish that. I can almost guarantee that if you show up twice a week to one of our facilities and work with one of our awesome coaches, I can get that for you. The one that always causes hesitation is a client that says, I'm going to lose 10 pounds, I want to lose 20 pounds. And the reality is, I can't guarantee that by you showing up two or three or four times a week because they're really two separate things. And we have to understand that strength training

Separate Goals: Training And Nutrition

SPEAKER_00 2:13

assists weight loss. It ideally allows you to have more energy so you move more, have more confidence, so you move more, have more strength and stamina, so you can do more for longer and give you that confidence where you're not overthinking and you're just able to do. So it plays a role in that. But the reality is strength training doesn't equal weight loss. And if we're doing it really well, we're gaining muscle and we're decreasing body fat. And the clothes might fit a little bit better. But if our goal is to lose a larger amount of weight, which, you know, 10, 20 pounds is a larger amount. A typical person, if they're doing steady weight loss without losing muscle mass, is going to be losing about a pound a week to maybe two pounds a week. And so if that is the primary goal, strength training is awesome. Again, you're going to feel better, be stronger, but we got to call it what it is, what it, what it's good at. It's good at movement, it's good at energy systems, it's good at strength. But for pure caloric restriction and decreasing, it's it's not. Strength training, in a lot of ways, will if you don't manage it right, the diet, it's gonna make you hungrier because you're burning calories, you're burning fuel, you're tired now. And so all this to say is strength training can be a great pathway and a great starter to then focus on nutrition to lose weight. But typically, we want to look at them as two separate things. I'm moving, I'm working out because I feel alive, I feel free, I feel more capable, I can be the person that I want to be, I'm stronger, I don't need to rely on other people. But if I want to lose weight, I now need to work with a nutritionist, or at the very least, focus on my nutrition. And so that's one of the things that, you know, the fitness industry, I think, blurs a lot is exercise and weight loss. And a lot of the really successful programs, you'll notice they don't separate the two when it comes to strength training and nutrition. They'll combine the two into one. Because the reality is you do need both to get that sustainable weight loss. And I say all this, strength training, I love it. I think it's one of the best things that you as a person can do for yourself for your long-term health and well-being. That being said, if your number one goal is to lose weight, and it doesn't matter how strong you get, you're gonna be really disappointed with the results of strength training if you're not incorporating a solid diet.

Simple Nutrition Basics That Work

SPEAKER_00 4:51

And so, what does that mean? What does a solid diet mean? And so typically for a lot of our people that we're working with and what their energy systems require is gonna be a diet that is slightly higher in protein. What that's gonna allow you to do is to maintain that muscle, but also it's gonna allow you to feel full. And so we're not getting as hungry as we go throughout our day. So we're gonna be less likely to overeat. What else is it gonna require? Eating more vegetables, eating more fibrous foods. Again, why? Full of nutrients, give you energy, but also they're heavier, so they leave you full. And then hydration, we're drinking water at every meal, have a nice glass of water. Why? Because it keeps you full. And all that weight keeps you full. It also, again, gives you energy, helps with your skin, all of that, not being as tired. And so hitting the basics of hey, I'm getting vegetables, hey, I'm getting protein, hey, I'm getting my water in, nothing sexy. But if you're doing that plus strength training, now there's a really good chance that you're gonna get stronger, feel better. And, you know, if that weight is a goal, you're gonna start losing weight. Hopefully, this was helpful. Hopefully you found that

Why Exercise Feels Easier Than Diet

SPEAKER_00 6:00

educational. If you were kind of, I won't say confusing, a lot of times the lines get blurred. And the reality is what's really great about strength training and exercise is you feel it. You feel like you did something by taking a step towards that goal and you're tired and it feels good, then the emotional side is met. Where nutrition can be a little harder because you sometimes just feel hungry and you feel like you're restricting something. I'm holding something back versus strength, I'm doing something, I'm doing, I'm doing. And nutrition can feel like I'm restricting. And so they do actually work best together because though you're restricting, and one side you're doing, it kind of helps that feedback and motivational move. So hope you all have a wonderful day, and talk to y'all soon.