Can lifting make you skinny?

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beastmode2718
beastmode2718 Posts: 108 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I know everyone says to do cardio and strength which I do but I just started to focus more on strength. I was just wondering if it helps you loose weight or is purely for muscle gain or both. I don't really need to loose much more weight but I would like to tone up in order to be strong and look a little thinner without dropping a lot more weight.

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  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    It makes you leaner and more compact.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I believe you are looking for this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1
  • barryplumber
    barryplumber Posts: 401 Member
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    A calorie deflict will make you skinny that's it. Weight training will pump up the muscles and as said make you lean once you shed the fat.

    Cardio will excersise the importat muscle the heart. Cardio will help you burn a lot more calories to obtain your deflict and enable you to eat more, this making it easier to balance your macros.

    So both are important they assist one another
  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
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    I'm smaller than I was when I started at 220 all I do is lift weights. I'm only called skinny when fully dressed wearing a US size 4.

    I have been holding at 140-145 for 18 months and have dropped 1 size at the same weight and gotten leaner. recomp for the win.

    so weight lifting doesn't make you skinny it makes you less fat if you are in a deficit or at maintenance.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
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    I think if you get your diet wrong while on a weights programme and have too high a calorie deficit you can actually shrink your muscles. 20% maximum calorie deficit when weight training is what I've heard, and give yourself enough time to recover between sessions.
  • br3adman
    br3adman Posts: 284 Member
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    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    I think if you get your diet wrong while on a weights programme and have too high a calorie deficit you can actually shrink your muscles. 20% maximum calorie deficit when weight training is what I've heard, and give yourself enough time to recover between sessions.

    If you don't eat protein you will loose muscles. Protein plus lifting = muscle growth
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,325 Member
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    yes. lean.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    Your calories determine whether you're skinny/heavy and how lifting will affect your body. You can lose weight with no exercise at all if you're eating at a calorie deficit. Conversely, you can run and lift and pack on the pounds if you're eating too much.

    When you're in a deficit, you lose fat and muscle. Lifting and adequate protein helps retain the muscle you have while losing fat. When you're eating in a surplus, lifting helps you put on muscle, but you will also put on some fat depending on the number of calories in that surplus.

    Exercise can help increase your deficit (it's easier to get larger burns from cardio) but from my experience, it's just easier and more consistent to manage a calorie deficit in the kitchen and exercise for fitness. That way you're where you want to be calorie wise for your goals regardless of what exercise you do or don't do that day. I also eat back 100% of my exercise calories.

    Bottom line, you're calorie intake will determine weight loss/gain.

    If you want to lose a bit more body fat and start putting on some muscle, then look up body recomposition. There are some nice threads on it in the forums. Essentially, you eat near or at maintenance and lift heavy. I've been doing it for several months now and am seeing results. I am going down inches, gaining a little more muscle and the scale is going up a bit.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
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    You can absolutely get leaner with lifting. In my opinion it's much better than cardio. Now like the others have said here you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. You can't just exercise.
  • katecampisi
    katecampisi Posts: 23 Member
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    I have lost weight with lifting and calorie control. I eat lots of protein-around 100grams a day. I don't do a huge amount of cardio. Prob 40 minutes three times a week. But I workout with weights for at least 4 hours a week. And I'm on my feet all day at work-iPhone step counter gets me at 10 thousand steps a day but not sure how accurate that is! I get my heart rate up with heavy or high reps. I am leaner and a lot more toned lifting weights as opposed to when I was doing more cardio and just looked slimmer without muscle definition. I have definitely gained muscle while on 1200 calories per day with no real calorie restriction on weekends. Building muscle increases your metabolism.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    I lost all of my weight while lifting in a calorie deficit. I'm not "skinny", but I think I look a lot more lean than I would if I had not lifted.
  • _bellator_
    _bellator_ Posts: 50 Member
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    No, your diet will make you skinny.
    Lifting will just make you a badass.
  • pdwhitlock
    pdwhitlock Posts: 83 Member
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    Weight loss is all about your diet. I lift and I'm losing weight because I'm on a calorie deficit. I've begun measuring my body fat % every couple weeks for more accurate tracking of my progress as muscle gain has slowed down my loss. However, I'm much happier with my body now that I'm focusing on strength rather than how many calories I can tack into my daily log due to how long I've done on an elliptical. I do still do a couple days of cardio but only to keep my health up not so much for my weight loss.

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