Heavy weight lifting and calories!!!

Hi everyone! I am a little over a year out now and have had my ups and downs for sure! I am down almost 130lbs since last March and I feel awesome! I have about 50-60lbs more to go and I know I will get there but in my own time! I workout about 10-11 hours a week, most pretty intense cardio and some weight lifting. But I want to start up with a personal trainer in the next couple weeks and add either an hour or 2 to my workout routine more a week. My problem is is I was talking to a personal trainer today and he said if I want to look like the "Sexy" people in the gym as I call them(the ones who hang out by all the free weights and heavy lifting machines all day) then I will have to start there but we talked about nutrition to get there. 

He was telling me once I start heaving lifting and working out harder that I will need to up my calories to 1500-1800 a day, carbs 160g, and protein 200g. He was fully aware that I have the sleeve and said that I would probably have to drink more protein drinks to get to my goal of that many calories a day but the gastric sleever in my cringed at the thought of consuming that much food and it scares me to even want to consume that many calories at this point in my journey! I by no means want to look like a body builder but I just want to look good and toned, I want to be one of those "sexy" people lol. So I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with heavy lifting after surgery and what does your diet look like now? Did you achieve the "sexy" people look without consuming those insane amounts of calories and carbs? Or did you some how manage to intake that much food and calories and look good now? 

I do sometimes feel like after I workout so much at the gym with what I am already doing I feel completely drained afterwards like maybe I am not consuming enough to keep my body going the way that it does, and that if I start adding really hard lifting session that it will completely wipe me out. Again any input on this situation is greatly appreciated! 

Thank you!

To lose weight, you MUST burn more calories than you eat. That will burn fat, but it also burns some lean body mass. It is completely unavoidable. If you lift heavy weights, you will burn a higher percentage of fat, and lose a lower percentage of lean body mass. Lifting heavy means you can't do more than 8 or 10 repetitions at a given weight. If you can do more reps, you aren't lifting heavy.

So if you want to lose more weight, you absolutely cannot add additional muscle. Lifting will preserve existing muscle. You will also get stronger, but that is making existing muscles stronger, not adding new muscle.

To add new muscle, your body MUST have a caloric surplus. This is exactly what your trainer wants you to do. It is the ONLY way to add muscle. Extra calories plus HEAVY lifting equals new muscle.

But extra calories also means some extra fat, and higher weight. Again, this is completely unavoidable. And also the part that freaks all of us out.

Bodybuilders go through this cycle, and call it cutting and bulking. They always lift heavy. For a while they eat extra calories, adding muscle -- and fat. They look chubby, and are. Then they cut calories to get rid of the fat -- but lose a little of their new muscle at the same time. But they look good. But then they have to add calories again, because they are losing muscle. And the cycle of cutting and bulking continues.

It sounds like you want to lose a lot more weight before you get caught up in any of this. By all means, lift heavy weights, it's a great thing for you right now. You'll gain strength, feel great, and maximize fat loss while minimizing muscle loss. But stay on low calories to complete weight loss first. You won't add muscle, but that's not your most immediate need, is it?

This is really great advice. 

Thank you so much! That all made perfect sense! That was exactly the answer I was looking for! 

Fantastic advice