Losing weight and gaining muscle

tackemar

Hey all,
I was wondering if anybody has any eating tips for me. I have lost a significant amount of weight (55 lbs) and have been able to sustain a new lifestyle for about a year and a half. I want to lose just under 20 lbs to reach my final weight goal, but I have, also, been weight lifting recently. I want to lose weight, but I want to gain muscle as well. I have been able to keep my weight at a constant number, which is good because I think I'm replacing fat with muscle. I want to know if anybody has any ideas on how I can gain muscle and lose pounds at the same time. I'm very happy with my progress with weight lifting, but I want to lose fat to look more toned!
Thanks!!
Marissa

LaMartian

Basically, pick one. It's damn near impossible to gain muscle and lose body fat simultaneously. I'd recommend eating just your maintenance for maybe a month, then go into deficit to lose some BF.

Unknown

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SideSteel

You can maximize your chances by:

1) Effective and intelligent program design. (Adequate training volume and progressive overload)
2) consume adequate protein intake
3) Keep your energy deficit small and rate of weight loss low
4) Don't get too lean.

I'm not sure anyone can tell you with absolute certainty whether or not you can (or will) gain muscle while dieting but these are the major items I'd cite, along with genetics which is out of your control.

itsbasschick

if you're lifting fairly heavy, hopefully you already added some protein to your day.

robs_ready

IT is possible, in the early stages to lose fat and build muscle In a calorie deficit.

tackemar

Thanks everybody. I wondered if it was possible since I've been working on it for awhile and have only been able to maintain weight. I'm also wondering if I weight lift and then diet, won't I lose some of the muscle that I have gained? I have been using running as a way to lose lbs because it burns a lot of calories, but will that negatively affect muscle gain?

jesswilson0912

This has been a tough thing for me as well. I am down to my last 5 pounds and I want to tone and drop the pounds. I was speaking to the owner of the gym I joined and he said not to focus on the pounds themselves but to focus on strength training. What happens is that we can loss the pounds and bring them back as lean muscle. Well I was skeptical at first bc I wanted the number on the scale BUT, after being there two weeks I have lost only a few pounds but even more body fat. I feel a bit stronger and can't wait until I start to see a transformation in my body. The way to measure how strong you are getting he says is how long it takes your muscles to recover after your hard workouts.

hassankarimi82

Losing weight is different to losing body fat and gaining muscle mass.

You can gain muscle and lose body fat because the composition of your physique will alter. But in terms of losing weight, you may not. You may even put weight on if your wanting to gain muscle mass.

Personally, I wouldn't concern yourself too much with how much you weigh. Its a very relative thing.

Ask, how much does AWESOME weigh?!

You could look amazing and weigh more, or you could look crappy and weigh less.

SarahPeters3

Running can have an impact on muscle mass just make sure you keep your protein intake high.

arditarose

Personally if I had 20 lbs to lose I would still focus on fat loss, with a little deficit, while lifting heavy and crossing my fingers for newbie gains. Body recomposition which happens at maintenance calories may be better suited once you're closer to goal weight. Just my two cents.