Confused-fat loss but muscle definition.

bbontheb

Can someone explain the whole thing about fat loss and muscle definition to me? I thought you can't gain muscle when losing fat and eating at a deficit?

I'm so confused. I'm 60 lbs overweight at least. I've lost about 19 lbs so far but seeing more muscle definition in my arms. I'm feeling a bit stronger as well but not doing strength training (just cardio).

I feel stupid for asking someone to explain it to me if it's muscle or not. haha

bmchenry02

You're not gaining in a deficit just maintaining the muscle you do have while losing fat, making it visible. When you've reached your goal weight you could then slowly increase your intake to then build muscle if you choose. I'm currently in the same boat...not in the building phase yet.

arditarose

Yeah. If you lose the fat over the muscle, you start seeing it! And the more you weight train and use a progressive overload, the more muscle you SAVE and the more you see once you get to goal. It's a thing of beauty.

bbontheb

Okay so it's basically there already and the fat is coming off of there so now I can see it? LOL sorry, such a dopey question.

I am not ready for strength training yet but would ideally like to be strong and healthy vs thin and the same as me being overweight (weak). I'm guessing that I would have to add strength training to get stronger then...won't get stronger by doing cardio and such at home.

arditarose

bbontheb wrote: »

Okay so it's basically there already and the fat is coming off of there so now I can see it? LOL sorry, such a dopey question.

I am not ready for strength training yet but would ideally like to be strong and healthy vs thin and the same as me being overweight (weak). I'm guessing that I would have to add strength training to get stronger then...won't get stronger by doing cardio and such at home.

That's it. But you do have to strength train while you're in your deficit to help save as much muscle as possible. You can do body weight routines that can help too, as long as it progressively gets more difficult. I'm not sure why you're not ready to strength train yet, that is why I suggested it.

cwolfman13

well, it stands to reason that if your muscles are covered up by fat...when you lose that layer covering up your muscle, that...well...you'd be able to see the muscle definition.

joeyg7519

Look into carb loading. It is possible to add muscle and loose fat. Also look into HIIT training for cardio instead of running on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I do jump rope or jumping jacks in between each set to keep my heart rate up. HIIT burns more fat over a longer period of time as opposed to long periods of cardio such as treadmill. It also takes more than half the time to do.

Sarauk2sf

First of all, it is possible to gain muscle on a deficit. Its just hard and slow outside newb gains and is dependent (as is gaining at maintenance and in a surplus) on a good progressive overload routine and getting sufficient protein. The size of your deficit will impact the possibility as well.

However, generally people hope to maintain muscle mass on a deficit (as any gains you may make will be minimal) and lose fat in order to see their muscles.

Why do you say that you are not ready for strength training? It will mitigate the risk of muscle loss.

bbontheb

Thank you for your advice.

I meant going elsewhere to do strength training (gym etc). Not in our budget right now so I did get some ideas for at home exercises though but wasn't sure if that was the same. Not worried about numbers on a scale at all. Just sort of not even sure what I could do at home without much equipment

PeachyCarol

Do bodyweight exercises at home. Look into Convict Conditioning, You Are Your Own Gym or check out the Beginner's Body Weight Workout From Nerd Fitness (http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/).

Liftng4Lis

Newbies can gain muscle in a deficit (everyones window is different, so know one can say how long this will last) and you can, with VERY HARD work have gains. What you're noticing as you lose weight, is the muscle underneath that's already there.
The ideal is to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible, so lifting now is beneficial. Actually, start yesterday.

bbontheb

So, if you are doing cardio you lose lean muscle mass? Sorry, new to all this and not really up to speed on our bodies obviously haha

Merkavar

Sounds like your carrying around 19 pounds less now.

Imagine your weight lost were ankle weights or hand weights that your removing. You have basically been doing low level weights the whole time you were over weight.

Dawn410

For at home strength, I have a set of resistance bands. It is amazing how many strength exercises you can do with a good set of resistance bands. And they cost less than a month at the gym!