How long can I lift in a deficit?

jelleigh

Hello all,

I've read here a lot that it's possible to maintain and even build muscle while eating in a deficit if you are obese (or at the beginning of weight lifting). Im wondering how long that's lasts for? Is it related to body fat %? At what point would I need to be eating at maintenance to build muscle? I started Stronglifts last month and still have 50 lbs to lose so don't expect to leave deficit any time soon but have this question just for setting expectations .
My stats: 5'8 sw215 cw189 gw140 , SL 3x /week, avg 8000 steps a day, no other exercise , eating 1400- 1500 cal a day. (1 lb /wk)

sijomial

You can lift your whole life whether you are in a deficit, maintaining or gaining.

No-one can tell you a certain number of calories in deficit or BF% where you might be able to gain some muscle, maintain your muscle or lose some muscle. Far too many variables.

But to get the best possible results when you get to goal weight I bet you know you need to keep doing the right things.

ecjim

just keep doing it until you get near your goal - you may have to tweak your cals or macros from time to time as needed. You've made good progress so far - keep going Eastcoast Jim

Nony_Mouse

You can continue lifting in a deficit even once any newbie gains tail off. Why would you stop? You will continue to gain strength, so long as you're lifting progressively, and minimise any muscle loss that may occur as a result of being at a deficit.

californiagirl2012

sijomial wrote: »

You can lift your whole life whether you are in a deficit, maintaining or gaining.

No-one can tell you a certain number of calories in deficit or BF% where you might be able to gain some muscle, maintain your muscle or lose some muscle. Far too many variables.

But to get the best possible results when you get to goal weight I bet you know you need to keep doing the right things.

THIS ^ I was in a deficit nearly the entire three years that I lost 85 pounds and built muscle at the same time. Go by how your body feels. We are all different. Lifting causes stress, and the deficit causes stress, but so does lack of sleep, not enough water, not enough of a macro if not balanced, and life/family/work stress, it's all cumulative, and then add in a myriad of health and hormone issues... see, no exact formula or answer there. You have to adjust constantly to what is going on.

jelleigh

Thanks everyone. I guess I mislabeled my question. I intend to lift either way but I was wondering more how long I would be able to build muscle while in a deficit. As in, how fat do I need to be to support muscle growth while eating in deficit. Lol. But it sounds like there isn't really a way to know, or any kind of formula . I have no way to measure body fat accurately so if I am in fact losing fat but gaining muscle (which I realize wouod be a small amount of muscle on a woman) I would have a hard time seeing it on a scale. But I will try to pay attention to ... I guess measurements? And go from there.

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mmapags

jelleigh wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I guess I mislabeled my question. I intend to lift either way but I was wondering more how long I would be able to build muscle while in a deficit. As in, how fat do I need to be to support muscle growth while eating in deficit. Lol. But it sounds like there isn't really a way to know, or any kind of formula . I have no way to measure body fat accurately so if I am in fact losing fat but gaining muscle (which I realize wouod be a small amount of muscle on a woman) I would have a hard time seeing it on a scale. But I will try to pay attention to ... I guess measurements? And go from there.

If you're talking about newbie gains, not very long. A month to 6 weeks maybe. As a woman, gain maybe .5 to 1 lb. It's not really consequential. But it's better than not.

jelleigh

Ya I guess that's what I'm talking about. Just what I kept hearing from people is that if you start lifting and are obese, you could gain muscle for the first bit while in a deficit. I just wasn't sure how long that "bit" was. And then in another thread a woman told me she didn't stall out for 9 months when she first started lifting (although eating in a deficit) and I was half wondering if how much you improve is tied to muscle gain (it made sense in my head anyhow) so I was wondering if it might last many months.

mmapags

jelleigh wrote: »

Ya I guess that's what I'm talking about. Just what I kept hearing from people is that if you start lifting and are obese, you could gain muscle for the first bit while in a deficit. I just wasn't sure how long that "bit" was. And then in another thread a woman told me she didn't stall out for 9 months when she first started lifting (although eating in a deficit) and I was half wondering if how much you improve is tied to muscle gain (it made sense in my head anyhow) so I was wondering if it might last many months.

There's no way to tell exactly how long and how much but what I gave you is a decent benchmark. Stalling out is a whole other thing and has to do with the neuromuscular adaptations that increase strength and not gaining muscle(myofibbular hypertrophy). That can go on for months but will stall at some point.

misnomer1

i have been in deficit for 3 months and started stronglifts 5x5 around same time. started with bf% around 25 or more i guess. deficit now is around 600kcal per day, bf% around 18-20. dropped around 7.5kg.

strength gains have been considerate. now slowed down a bit but still happening. as for size gains, i dont know. every muscle group is rock hard now though.

jelleigh

Wow @misnomer1 great job! And thanks for the real numbers. It helps me to know what kind of results others have had.

ninerbuff

Forever.

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Okiludy

I’ve lost 54lbs since early Apri. I am still fat but much less now. My lifts have all gone up. Hell I squat 315 and deadlift 415 now. I started with bar only on squats and 65 on deadlift to learn the lifts. I ran out of standard linear progression after about 3 months. I switched to weekly progression as I needed more recovery to go up. Oh I’m also 45.

I think the amount you are overweight has a huge factor in how long you can continue making strength gains in deficit. You can alter other recovery factors like taking an extra nap but at some point you’ll need more food.

Oh in terms of size I have gained size in chest, traps, and tri. Biceps and legs are not bigger but much harder. Back and abs still have too much fat to tell.

Personally I am going to lift in deficit until I hit 95kg and then run bulk/cut cycles between 95-105. This averages me at a weight I’d like to be and a class I want to compete at. This will be 80lbs less than where i started.