Weight loss muscle gain question

Merkavar

ok so I'm losing weight, about a kg per week. I'm not to interesting in gaining muscles, but I would like to maintain the muscles I have.

So here is where I'm confused, here and othe places seem to give me contradicting answers.

Can you gain muscle while losing fat?
Can you maintain muscles while losing fat?
What is a better option than the scales if you are able to gain muscle while losing fat to give a better idea of your fat loss.

I was thinking waist measurements to track you stomach fat decreasing. I am just concerned that while I am working out etc the scales might drop by less (assuming you can gain muscle) each week because of small muscles gains.

If your exercising more but getting less results on the scale I'm sure you can see this would be demotivating.

I guess that's it.

Thanks

malibu927

Only if you're brand new to weightlifting.
Yes, lift all the things! Look up Stronglifts 5x5.
Calculating your body fat percentage. There are many ways to do it...some are more accurate than others.

Chrisparadise579

Hey man, good job so far 2lbs a week is perfect! yes you can gain some muscle while losing weight but that will stop when you get close to your goal weight. you can absolutely maintain muscle while losing and the best way to do that is to lift weights, and get alot of protein (around 1g per lb of body weight) The best ways to measure progress is to 1 track body measurements like you said and 2 track for body fat percentage using calipers ($8 on amazon). when you start lifting weight you will actually lose more weight because weight lifting is more effective for weight loss then cardio. The first few weeks might seem slower on the scale but that is because of water retention. You can do a search of an upper lower split for a good weight loss program, but try to avoid strength programs they are not the best for weight loss.

Showcase_Brodown

The best you can realistically expect while in a deficit is maintaining the muscle you have, through training the muscle and getting plenty of protein. In this situation you would hopefully be preserving the most muscle mass as possible, while the weight lost would come from fat. You may not be able to completely prevent muscle loss, but you can minimize it.

Measuring body fat can be tricky. Some scales have an estimate on body fat, but I doubt they can be very accurate. There are more reliable, professional methods, but those will cost you some money. You can also get skin fold calipers so you can measure different folds from different places on your body and then plug the numbers into a formula to get a pretty good idea. That last one might be the most accurate for the cost.

Merkavar

Yeah I might look into getting some calipers. When I started at the gym they Did a test that included those measurements. So I have a starting point.

I_Will_End_You

Can you gain muscle while losing fat? No
Can you maintain muscles while losing fat? You're likely to lose some muscle while in a calorie deficit no matter what, but lifting, getting enough protein, and a smaller deficit will help you to retain more muscle than if you were not doing those things. So...you can minimize muscle loss.
What is a better option than the scales if you are able to gain muscle while losing fat to give a better idea of your fat loss. I'd suggest calipers. Make sure you measure they exact same spot every time. They may not be 100% accurate, but if you're as precise as possible while measuring, you can at least tell if the number is going down.