Weightlifting & Weight Loss For Women

Women sometimes shy away from the weight room at the gym in favor of cardiovascular exercise. If you're one of those women, and you want to lose weight, your focus may be on burning calories to create a caloric deficit. High-energy cardio activity does help you burn calories, but it has its limitations in terms of long-term weight management. You can lose weight more quickly, maintain that loss and look leaner and tauter by adding weightlifting to your routine.

Significance

Weightlifting can be intimidating if you don't know how to set up a program, or you fear developing muscles. Although cardio exercise, such as running or cycling, offers benefits in terms of respiratory and cardiovascular health, it offers limited muscle-building benefits. Weightlifting burns fewer calories during the actual exercise time, but it helps you build lean-muscle mass -- which does offer calorie-burning and weight-loss advantages.

Muscle Advantages

Muscle tissue takes more calories to maintain than fat tissue. The more muscular you are, the more calories you burn at rest. Because of this metabolic boost, you can lose weight and manage your goal weight more easily. Weightlifting also improves your stamina and daily function, so you can be more active in daily life and burn more calories. As you age, you naturally lose muscle mass, causing your metabolism to dip and making weight loss more difficult. A regular weightlifting routine can help you offset this muscle loss and prevent age-related weight gain.

Appearance

Women who lose pounds but do not lift weights may be thin, but they appear soft. If you build muscle through weightlifting, you gain definition and an overall fitter, tighter appearance. While you may fear your muscles will become huge and you will look unfeminine, this is unlikely to happen, author and trainer Lou Schuler writes in "The New Rules of Lifting for Women." Developing huge muscles takes hours of dedication and precise nutrition. Women also lack the generous amount of testosterone that makes muscle growth come more naturally in men.

Strategies

To develop lean muscle mass, you have to lift heavy weights. Dumbbells weighing the same amount as your cellphone will not contribute to significant weight loss. Use weights heavy enough to fatigue you in just eight to 12 repetitions. If you are new to weightlifting, consult a certified personal trainer for guidance in developing a program appropriate for your skill level.

Diet Considerations

Although weightlifting can help contribute to your weight-loss goals, you still need to eat a healthy diet with plenty of lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nonfat dairy and unsaturated fats. Remember to keep your calorie intake about 500 calories below what you burn daily to lose 1 lb. of weight per week. Do not go too low in calories, however, or you will risk not having enough energy for your weight-lifting workouts.