Trying to loose while some gaining muscle and when does it balance out.

michaelachallis

Hello fellow trying-to-loose people.

I have recently stepped up my workout big time, essentially making a lot of my workouts more dynamic and doing a lot more weight training to tone my body.

I am eating sensibly and running at a calorie deficit.
I knew that i would put on muscle - it is visible on my body, especially arms and legs and i have put on 2 lbs.

I am currently 158 lbs with a goal weight of 145.

How long did it take you to essentially plateau on the muscle gaining and start loosing again?
Any tips will be welcome. Cheers


edit: i realise most of what i have just said is completely naive/rubbish, thanks for the wisdom everyone.

randomtai

You don't gain muscle on a deficit.

michaelachallis

randomtai wrote: »

You don't gain muscle on a deficit.

ok thanks for the info, so essentially i am toning not muscle gaining.
I have always been weight loosing focused and not bothered about toning and muscle but now i am on my last 20lbs i would like to be more educated

BombshellPhoenix

There are two circumstances by which one could gain a teeny amount of muscle in a deficit (not 2 lbs worth, I assure you. ). Newbie or overweight newbie new to weightlifting (something like All Pro, strong lifts 5x5, heavy lifting is ideal) but the gain is tiny and short lived.

I weightlifted at the start of my weight loss on. At 170 lbs is where I started.

You are probably noticing water retention in those areas, which cause them to appear bigger. Or are possibly shedding fat over the muscle, which makes them look better.

The benefit of resistance training is retaining your current muscle while you lose weight. Also, getting proper amount of protein is ideal, typically 1g per pound of lean body mass.

Muscle gain is best at a calorie surplus. I won't say that's the only place it can occur but optimally, it is. Like... a woman, new to lifting would be lucky to gain 12 lbs of muscle over a YEAR in a calorie surplus (weight gain). Let alone in a deficit.

Think of it this way....why would your body waste energy building something while it's trying to retain what it has on less energy?

Take weight loss at a sustainable pace, get a good amount of protein and I highly recommend lifting. You'll gain a great amount of strength without adding new mass but if you stop losing weight over several weeks....I'd look at logging accuracy far before I'd blame muscle.

michaelachallis

BombshellPhoenix wrote: »

There are two circumstances by which one could gain a teeny amount of muscle in a deficit (not 2 lbs worth, I assure you. ). Newbie or overweight newbie new to weightlifting (something like All Pro, strong lifts 5x5, heavy lifting is ideal) but the gain is tiny and short lived.

I weightlifted at the start of my weight loss on. At 170 lbs is where I started.

You are probably noticing water retention in those areas, which cause them to appear bigger. Or are possibly shedding fat over the muscle, which makes them look better.

The benefit of resistance training is retaining your current muscle while you lose weight. Also, getting proper amount of protein is ideal, typically 1g per pound of lean body mass.

Muscle gain is best at a calorie surplus. I won't say that's the only place it can occur but optimally, it is. Like... a woman, new to lifting would be lucky to gain 12 lbs of muscle over a YEAR in a calorie surplus (weight gain). Let alone in a deficit.

Think of it this way....why would your body waste energy building something while it's trying to retain what it has on less energy?

Take weight loss at a sustainable pace, get a good amount of protein and I highly recommend lifting. You'll gain a great amount of strength without adding new mass but if you stop losing weight over several weeks....I'd look at logging accuracy far before I'd blame muscle.

Thank you very much bombshell, the wisdom is greatly appreciated, as i replied earlier this is all new to me and i appreciate any education i can get, cheers.

BombshellPhoenix

michaelachallis wrote: »

BombshellPhoenix wrote: »

There are two circumstances by which one could gain a teeny amount of muscle in a deficit (not 2 lbs worth, I assure you. ). Newbie or overweight newbie new to weightlifting (something like All Pro, strong lifts 5x5, heavy lifting is ideal) but the gain is tiny and short lived.

I weightlifted at the start of my weight loss on. At 170 lbs is where I started.

You are probably noticing water retention in those areas, which cause them to appear bigger. Or are possibly shedding fat over the muscle, which makes them look better.

The benefit of resistance training is retaining your current muscle while you lose weight. Also, getting proper amount of protein is ideal, typically 1g per pound of lean body mass.

Muscle gain is best at a calorie surplus. I won't say that's the only place it can occur but optimally, it is. Like... a woman, new to lifting would be lucky to gain 12 lbs of muscle over a YEAR in a calorie surplus (weight gain). Let alone in a deficit.

Think of it this way....why would your body waste energy building something while it's trying to retain what it has on less energy?

Take weight loss at a sustainable pace, get a good amount of protein and I highly recommend lifting. You'll gain a great amount of strength without adding new mass but if you stop losing weight over several weeks....I'd look at logging accuracy far before I'd blame muscle.

Thank you very much bombshell, the wisdom is greatly appreciated, as i replied earlier this is all new to me and i appreciate any education i can get, cheers.

No problem ♡ It's a very common misconception that the two can occur so easily. You're probably experiencing water retention from picking up in to exercise. When I weightlift, I tend to hold more water than not. It'll even out in time

randomtai

BombshellPhoenix wrote: »

There are two circumstances by which one could gain a teeny amount of muscle in a deficit (not 2 lbs worth, I assure you. ). Newbie or overweight newbie new to weightlifting (something like All Pro, strong lifts 5x5, heavy lifting is ideal) but the gain is tiny and short lived.

I weightlifted at the start of my weight loss on. At 170 lbs is where I started.

You are probably noticing water retention in those areas, which cause them to appear bigger. Or are possibly shedding fat over the muscle, which makes them look better.

The benefit of resistance training is retaining your current muscle while you lose weight. Also, getting proper amount of protein is ideal, typically 1g per pound of lean body mass.

Muscle gain is best at a calorie surplus. I won't say that's the only place it can occur but optimally, it is. Like... a woman, new to lifting would be lucky to gain 12 lbs of muscle over a YEAR in a calorie surplus (weight gain). Let alone in a deficit.

Think of it this way....why would your body waste energy building something while it's trying to retain what it has on less energy?

Take weight loss at a sustainable pace, get a good amount of protein and I highly recommend lifting. You'll gain a great amount of strength without adding new mass but if you stop losing weight over several weeks....I'd look at logging accuracy far before I'd blame muscle.

Very well said :flowerforyou: