STS stalling weight loss?

G

gigstar1

Cathlete
I am starting my recovery week after 8 weeks of Meso 1 and I got freaked out over something I read in one of FitnessFreaks' posts. That you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time and that if you have fat to lose then you should stick with endurance until you get to your goal and then start the heavy weight lifting!

I do have fat to lose and STS is all about building muscles so I am doing myself a disservice? I respect Debbie's opinion very much. But I'm loving STS. But would love to lose weight more. Any ideas?

Lisa
 
I've always wondered if this theory applies more to elite body builders and not so much to regular folk. I feel as if I have added muscle while losing fat on STS. No hard measurements, just going by my body's look. I don't have lots of fat to lose, but my definition has improved on STS and my back muscles in particular, look bigger.
 
It will happen

I was a little concerned about this too when I started STS. I think that it is totally correct that you can't build muscle when trying to loose fat, however having said that I think that the benefits of STS will show up both ways. They have for me in a big way. I did not see alot of change during M1 clothes got a little looser and I was feeling a bit more toned but nothing really noticeable. However I did notice that I was able to do more weight in the lifting and had way better range of motion. I cleaned up my diet even more during M2 and added more cardio and now I am starting to have major changes. I am down a size and my body is changing shape. I think I had a long way to come to get to a point where my body could loose fat that I could notice. There was another post a long time ago that was by fit44 that talked about fat within the muscle. Sometimes changes don't show up on the outside as the body is using up the fat within the muscle first. Meso 2 is all about building muscle but it also seems to be the time that most people are seeing the biggest changes and inches lost. I personally have not lost that much weight but I just saw my sister this weekend and she had not seen me since Easter and she could not believe the difference. Her comment was " What the hell have you been doing??? Your body looks different!"
Stick with it. There were many posters who were unsure if they should move on after M1 to M2 feeling that they were not ready and Cathe always said move on follow the program.

I am just giving you my experience and tid bits that have kept me going!
Good luck
Heather
 
I have always read this too, but I can tell you that I just finished STS and dropped 3 sizes during the program. I also built muscle, but the fat loss was really big for me (and I didn't make any drastic changes to my diet). Physiologically, I understand why you shouldn't be able to do both, but that doesn't mean that heavy weights won't help you lose weight. Some bodies respond better to different kinds of training, and perhaps the heavier weights are just what you need to shock your body into dropping the extra weight.
 
"you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time and that if you have fat to lose then you should stick with endurance"

If that the case then how do body builders or fitness models lose fat and gain muscle mass and definition. I think it's less to do with your workouts and more to do with your diet.

One of the main theories of STS is muscle confusion. You can't have muscle confusion if you do the same endurance training all the time.
 
I have no advice for you but I can tell what I've experienced. Since I started STS I've lost 12 lbs and some changes and my clothes are getting big on me. My weight loss stalled out for about a month during the end of Meso 1/beginning of Meso 2 and then suddenly about the 3rd or 4th week of Meso 2the weight started falling off me. Today I'm starting week four of Meso 3 and I'm still losing. I'm now 1 lb from my goal weight and I think I might surpass that this week. I've learned through trial and error that I HAVE to get at least 45 - 60 mins. of cardio 5 days a week (even if it's just walking an hour a day...I live in AZ and some days it's just too hot to do much of anything else!) to keep the scale moving.

Good luck.
 
Thanks so much for all your input!! I wasn't going to give up on STS.... but maybe when I'm done I'll focus on endurance rotations for the a good 2 to 3 months.

Lisa
 
While I think it's true that you can't gain "the most mass possible", or lose "the most fat possible" at the same time (one takes a calorie surplus, the other a calorie deficit) I do believe that you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. (In that case, some of the fuel for muscle building would come from fat stores).

Traditionally, bodybuilders have gone through a "bulking" phase (where they try to put on as much mass as possible, and don't pay much attention to fat gains as well, followed by a "leaning out phase" (where they try to lose fat while maintaining as much of their muscle as possible). I think nowdays, especially with fitness contestants who are also fitness models, there is less of a split between the two.
 
I dont know much about the "cant lose fat and gain muscle at the same time " issue, but I am doing the 6month sts program. I am currently in Meso 2 week 3 (first round) and I have went from a tight size 20 jeans to a comfortable size 16. I refuse to weigh myself until the end of the program, but I am definetly losing weight. I do have to admit that my eating was not so clean during Meso 1. I have been eating clean since I started Meso 2 and I have increase my cardio intensity (not time). I do believe that food is the key and is roughly 70% (or more) for any weight lost or weight training. I hopes this help. Veronica
 
I was wondering this also... I'm not currently doing STS, but I am consdering it, but wondering if I should get to my goal weight first. I am currently lifting heavier weights than I ever have trying to build some strength and lose weight at the same time.

Kathryn, I asked that very question a couple of weeks ago; if our bodies go to fat stores when building muscle, so thanks for posting and helping to confirm fat stores do get used when lifting weights.

I guess for me, it would be nice to lose the weight and see SOME nice muscle definiton revealed instead of losing the weight and being flabby and disappointed after losing it.
 
Become a Fat Burning Machine

You can find a ton of threads from people on this forum that have already lost a lot of weight and increased their strength with STS. The results speak for themselves.

The statement, “you can’t gain muscle and lose fat at the same time” when lifting heavy weights is just not true and is not a belief that is held by very many fitness professionals. Millions of people disprove this statement every year by gaining muscle and losing unwanted fat at the same time.

I know some people are afraid of the Myth that heavy lifting will cause them to get bigger, but this just not true. Sure, you can do muscle endurance workouts 12 months a year and get good results, but you will get better results by using a periodization program like STS that mixes up intensity levels keeping your body always challenged and improving. If you just do muscle endurance workouts you will quickly plateau and in the long run your results will suffer.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to lift heavy weights to develop lean muscle mass. Muscle is your body’s furnace and it will help your body to burn fat all day long. So why would you delay adding more furnaces to your body by not starting heavy weight training now?

You can certainly become “thin” without lifting heavy weights, but you will never have the same healthy look as a person who does and you will not enjoy the added extra benefits of heavy weight training.

Cathe has consistently exercised since she was a teenager always doing a combination of cardio, flexibility and strength training. Her body is well balanced and thanks to a high degree of lean muscle developed through years of weight training, Cathe doesn’t have to spend hours every day running on a treadmill just to burn calories. Instead, thanks to weight training, Cathe’s body is a calorie burning machine and thus she can spend less time working out and can enjoy life more.

When it comes time for filming, and Cathe needs to get in peak condition, she doesn’t stop heavy weight training to burn off a few extra pounds, she increases the intensity of her heavy weight workouts and guess what? ... She loses body fat and gains muscle mass every time.

Summary: You will find with STS that if you stick to doing all three mesocycles you will get better results in the long run than a person who does not and you will burn more fat too..
 
SNM, I appreciate your wonderful explanation. Do you think STS is appropriate for an advanced beginner to start with, or would another Cathe DVD be best first and work up to STS?
 
Can a Beginner do STS?

I think an advanced beginner will do just fine with the STS program as long as they take the 1RM tests and use the correct weights as suggested. If a person has never lifted weights and is in poor physical condition it would be best for them to start with a less intense program and work their way up to STS. Some beginners may want to repeat the first week of the STS program several times, pausing their DVD player when extra rest is needed, and then move on with the rest of the program once their body acclimates to the STS workouts.

Beginners will have trouble completing many of the exercises in STS, especially the pushups, but just do your best and by the time you complete your 3 or 6 month program you will be surprised just how far you have come. The 2nd time around doing STS you will be able to focus more and push yourself harder and the program will be a lot more fun for you. Always remember, in time small steps lead to big results and that is what STS is all about.
 
I think there is a big difference between fat loss and weight loss. I can only speak from my experience but when I lifted heavy using the Gym Style series, I struggled to lose weight. I ate clean, increased protein intake, etc. making sure not to lose any muscle. And, I could feel the difference that weight lifting offered. But what I really wanted was to lose weight, not just fat. At 5'7" and 155 lbs., I didn't look like I wanted to look: lean and toned. I got so fed up with the lack of the scale moving regardless of the muscle gains that I just wanted to lose weight. And with that, I also lost lean muscle tissue, but honestly, I didn't care. The scale moved and continues to move. Now, I'm 20 lbs. lighter and much happier and confident with myself. I know it's sad to have a number on a scale validate/reinforce my feelings, but for me, being 135 lbs. lean and toned makes me feel so much better about myself than 155 lbs. Now, I'm heading back to the Gym Style series for more muscle-building but at least now I can see the muscles instead of being buried underneath 20 lbs. of weight.

The point is, there is a place for muscle building and weight loss. I've never known anyone who can do this at the same time. I think you need to focus on one or the other but not both. That doesn't mean to say cardio shouldn't play a role during a muscle building phase or that weights shouldn't be a part of a weight-loss program but to do both at the same time, I think you're just spinning your wheels, especially if weight-loss is your goal. Just my humble opinion.
 
SNM -Fat Burning Machine!!!! :)

SNM - Thank you, also, for the great explanation. Here's a "burning" question for ya... In the workout manager, when it shows the calories burned for a certain workout (which I luv!) I am always surprised that the weight training calories burned aren't that high. I know you continue to burn calories long after, but does anyone know if it's like 50% of what you initially burned?

I would love to know the answer to this. I think it would really be helpful to know.:cool:
 
Terri, what workouts did you do to lose weight?


ksg68 said:
I think there is a big difference between fat loss and weight loss. I can only speak from my experience but when I lifted heavy using the Gym Style series, I struggled to lose weight. I ate clean, increased protein intake, etc. making sure not to lose any muscle. And, I could feel the difference that weight lifting offered. But what I really wanted was to lose weight, not just fat. At 5'7" and 155 lbs., I didn't look like I wanted to look: lean and toned. I got so fed up with the lack of the scale moving regardless of the muscle gains that I just wanted to lose weight. And with that, I also lost lean muscle tissue, but honestly, I didn't care. The scale moved and continues to move. Now, I'm 20 lbs. lighter and much happier and confident with myself. I know it's sad to have a number on a scale validate/reinforce my feelings, but for me, being 135 lbs. lean and toned makes me feel so much better about myself than 155 lbs. Now, I'm heading back to the Gym Style series for more muscle-building but at least now I can see the muscles instead of being buried underneath 20 lbs. of weight.

The point is, there is a place for muscle building and weight loss. I've never known anyone who can do this at the same time. I think you need to focus on one or the other but not both. That doesn't mean to say cardio shouldn't play a role during a muscle building phase or that weights shouldn't be a part of a weight-loss program but to do both at the same time, I think you're just spinning your wheels, especially if weight-loss is your goal. Just my humble opinion.
Click to expand...
 
I did the "series with no name" mostly (LIC, DM, BM2), but included High Step Challenge, BC/ME and running/walking into the rotation.
 
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