Weightlifting is one of the best ways to build muscle and transform your body, if that’s what you’re after. While there are many benefits of strength training that don’t involve changing your body composition, experts often recommend weight training for weight loss. But what if you’re lifting weights but not losing weight? It can be frustrating if you’re not seeing results, but a little stagnation doesn’t mean you should start skipping your weightlifting sessions just yet.
‘Strength training can help you build lean muscle, which in turn improves your metabolism,’ says physician Amy Lee, MD, chief medical advisor for Lindora. ‘A better metabolism means more fat and calories burned, helping you lose weight.’ But keep in mind that a variety of other factors can impact your ability to lose weight, like nutrition, lifestyle habits, and genetics.
If you’re weightlifting regularly but aren’t seeing much progress on the scale, it’s natural to feel defeated. However, this doesn’t mean you should ditch strength training altogether. Here are the potential reasons you’re lifting weights but not losing weight—and what to do about it, according to trainers and dietitians.
Meet the experts: Amy Lee, MD, is a physician specializing in medical nutrition and obesity medicine and is the chief medical advisor for Lindora. Jessica Cording, RD, is a nutritionist and author of The Little Book of Game Changers. Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, is the co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab and CEO of Promix Nutrition. Kimberly Gomer, RDN, is a dietitian in private practice and nutrition expert at Consumer Health Digest. Avery Zenker, RD, is a dietitian at Everflex Fitness.
10 reasons you’re lifting weights but not losing weight
1. You’re gaining more muscle mass.
Which, to be clear, is a good thing! The more you lift, the more muscle you build. But sometimes, that new muscle mass means that the number on the scale remains the same (or even increases).
‘Lifting weights helps build muscle, which is denser than fat,’ says Avery Zenker, RD, a dietitian at Everflex Fitness. ‘This means that you can lose fat, but your overall weight on the scale might not decrease significantly,’ she says. Any weight gain from muscle shouldn’t discourage you from working out, though—after all, resistance training has been shown to have positive effects on women’s body composition, overall strength, and more.
2. You’re not eating a balanced diet.
It’s no secret that when it comes to losing weight, following a healthy, balanced diet plan is key. ‘Strength training—while being awesome for body composition and metabolism—isn’t going to result in weight loss if diet is ignored,’ says Miami-based dietitian Kimberly Gomer, RDN. While you don’t have to follow a super-strict diet regimen in order to lose weight, prioritising nourishing, well-rounded meals will support your workout routine.
Try to focus on nutrient-dense whole foods you enjoy, Zenker says. This includes a balance of protein, healthy fats, carbohydrates, fruits, and veggies. If you’re in the gym consistently, try adding some healthy protein bars or nutrient-dense smoothies to your routine so you can stay energizsd and fuelled for every rep.
3. You could use more protein.
Consuming more protein is all the rage these days, and for good reason. ‘Protein is important for muscle repair and growth, and it also helps keep you feeling satiated through the day,’ Zenker says. ‘Insufficient protein intake can hinder muscle recovery and reduce the effectiveness of your workouts.’
High-protein diets may also help with weight loss, research shows. This is because consuming protein decreases ghrelin levels (the hormone that signals it’s time to eat), so you don’t feel the impulse to overeat—which, over time, prevents excess weight gain.
There’s no magic amount of protein your body needs to lose weight, and you should always chat with your doctor before aiming for a specific number in your diet, Zenker says. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) has long held that adults need 0.75 grams per kg of total body weight per day, but this is considered the bare minimum. If you’re lifting weights on the reg, you likely need more on a daily basis—closer to 1.7 grams per kg of body weight for long-term health outcomes, per a 2016 study published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. That said, some experts recommend even higher protein intake, especially if you tend to be very active. To be safe, always talk to your doctor first to determine the optimal amount of protein for you.
4. Alcohol could be hindering your success.
Alcohol can be a sneaky source of empty calories that work against your weight loss efforts, says Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, the co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab and CEO of Promix Nutrition. If you tend to drink more than one alcoholic beverage at a time, you run the risk of having elevated cortisol levels, hindered reaction time, or even decreased ability to work out as intensely—so you may not be getting in as meaningful of strength training sessions as you think if you’re drinking regularly, he says.
The best way to cut excess calories and make progress toward your weight loss goals is to stop drinking, Matheny says. But, if that doesn’t feel feasible for you, try changing up your drinking habits by sticking to just one drink once or twice a week, for example, or switching to low-calorie alcoholic drinks like vodka and soda while avoiding sugary cocktails like margaritas and piña coladas. The NHS states that for adults who choose to drink, you should have no more than 14 units (roughly six drinks) per week.
5. Your exercise is too low-intensity.
There’s nothing wrong with low-intensity movement, but if your workout routine is too gentle, it may not be helping you lose weight in the long run. ‘With 99 per cent of strength training exercises, you should feel cardiovascularly challenged,’ says Matheny. Although intensity can be hard to measure, keeping tabs on how you feel after you work out will usually clue you into whether your routine needs a tune-up. ‘If you don’t feel like you’re fatigued afterward, you’re probably not training hard enough,’ he says.
If you’ve been a little stagnant lately, try adding five to ten more reps to each exercise in your routine or start lifting heavier weights until your workouts feel more challenging, Matheny says. It may also help to add a bit of cardio into your weekly routine. You can also ask a certified personal trainer for pointers—chances are, they can help you find a sweet spot that will best support your goals.
6. Your habits are inconsistent.
Consistency is key in achieving any wellness goal, and if you’re inconsistent with your workouts and habits, it could be deterring your weight loss progress, says Dr. Lee. ‘Don’t strength train once during week one of your journey, then five times the next, and two times the next,’ she says. ‘Have a set schedule, a well thought-out plan or programme, and maintain your healthy habits.’ Forming meaningful habits—like eating a balanced diet, drinking enough water, or strength training regularly—and being consistent with them on a daily and weekly basis will help you optimise your journey with weight management, she says.
7. You might be snacking too much.
‘Strength training has a way of making you feel very hungry,’ says dietitian Jessica Cording, RD, author of The Little Book of Game Changers. This can occasionally lead to mindless snacking, which ultimately hinders your weight loss goals. If you’re not thinking ahead about how to get a balanced meal, you could end up eating tons of empty calories that aren’t nutrient-dense, Cording says.
The boost in appetite can also make you overeat, Gomer says. ‘[It’s] no doubt that more muscle equals more metabolic action which helps for both weight loss and maintaining weight loss. However, it is extremely easy to “out eat” your exercise.’ When you exert energy weightlifting, your body compensates by increasing leptin, your hunger hormone, to maintain homeostasis and keep things nice and balanced for survival, she explains.
To be clear, by no means should you stop snacking or restrict yourself from meals if you’re trying to lose weight (or ever, for that matter). But instead of reaching for a salty bag of chips after your next lift session, try a healthy snack that will keep you full and support your long-term weight loss goals (think: nuts, avocados, hummus, fruits, and whole grains).
8. …or you’re eating too little.
Being in a calorie deficit—burning more calories than you consume—is often held as a gold standard strategy for weight loss. However, if your body doesn’t get enough calories, you can experience muscle loss, fatigue, nutritional deficiencies, and even decreased motivation to keep exercising, all of which make weight loss harder, says Zenker. Instead of restricting your calorie intake, fill your plate with nutrient-dense whole foods and focus on intuitive eating, which involves honouring your hunger and fullness cues. Think: eating when you’re hungry, stopping once you’re satisfied, and not feeling guilty for enjoying yummy meals.
9. You need more rest, recovery, and sleep.
Despite the idea that going hard in the gym is the only way to see weight loss results, getting enough rest matters, too. ‘You don’t get stronger while you’re working out—you get stronger when your body recovers,’ Matheny says. Make sure you’re stretching before and after your workouts and integrating regular rest days into your routine. Try not to train the same muscle group over consecutive days, and give yourself 24 hours of rest in between workouts if you can, Matheny adds.
Additionally, getting enough shut-eye is even more important if you’re working out while trying to lose weight. ‘Inadequate sleep can disrupt the balance of hunger hormones such as ghrelin and leptin, leading to increased appetite and cravings for high-calorie foods,’ says Zenker. Better sleep quality (think: restful, undisturbed sleep on a consistent basis) and longer sleep duration have been associated with higher success in weight loss efforts, per a study published in Nutrients.
The recommended amount of sleep for adults is seven to nine hours, per the NHS. To achieve optimal rest, set up a healthy sleep environment which may involve relaxing activities before bed, reducing screen time, and limiting caffeine intake, says Zenker.
10. Not enough time has passed yet.
It’s natural to want fast weight loss results, however, it’s important for weight loss to be healthy and sustainable, so be patient with the journey. ‘Weight loss is a gradual process. Significant changes in body composition often take time—and especially if you’re looking to increase muscle mass while losing fat, progress could be slightly slower,’ says Zenker. Your weight can fluctuate during the day by five pounds or more, depending on factors like water retention, bowel movements, fluid intake, and your menstrual cycle, she adds. So, know that it may take a while, and patience and consistent healthy habits will pay off.
How to lose weight safely
If you’re lifting weights consistently and incorporating practices like healthy eating, adequate rest and recovery, moderating (or avoiding) alcohol, and the other tips experts have suggested, you could notice a change in your weight in as little as a few weeks, says Matheny. However, there is no fast track or one-size-fits all solution for weight loss, and sometimes you may need to shake up your lifting routine to see clear results over time.
One way that you can do this is by engaging in both low and high-impact exercises to give your body a variety of training, says Dr. Lee. ‘Resistance training is crucial for metabolism maintenance, but also make sure you are doing something for overall cardiovascular health,’ she says. Cycling, dance, and boxing are all great workout options to add, she says.
If you’ve been trying to lose weight for a month and you don’t feel that you’re making any progress, it’s a great time to re-evaluate your routine, Cording says. It can help to track your nutrition with a food diary, use a fitness app for motivation, or grab a friend and go to the gym together for accountability. You may also want to invest in a scale that measures your body fat percentage so you can watch that number go down instead of your overall weight, Matheny says.
It may also help to monitor more than just the number on the scale—or take a break from tracking your weight altogether, Zenker says. Instead, focus on your exercise performance and how you feel, she recommends. ‘Celebrate small wins,’ she says. ‘Every small step counts.’