Strength training while losing weight

Jasp03

So this question might sound a bit weird, but the reason I am going to ask, and hope that people that have experienced this can share their input is because I'll read on fitness resources about this one way and then somewhere else, I'll read the opposite. So I'm trying to educate myself, but getting conflicting things on this.

Little background first:

I started my weight loss journey at 237lb, as a 33 year old male, 5'11". I've used MFP food logging (I scan barcodes and weigh everything) and it's been working wonders. In addition to that, I also did cardio at the start of my journey. Once I reached 222, I decided that I wanted to throw strength training into the mix.

It's been a month and a half since I've started strength training, followed by either biking or running right after, and of course still counting calories and macros. Now I know that I am improving, because I can see the difference, so I have no doubt that the fat is coming off. However, for the past month and a half, the scale keeps going from 220 to 218, to 219, to 218, to 220, to 218... you guys get the idea. I understand that muscle weights more than fat, and that's why I am seeing the numbers do what they are doing.

So my question is this:
If I keep strength training while losing weight, will I just keep building muscle and hover over this weight, even though the fat is falling off? Or, will I eventually also start seeing the numbers on the scale go down? I've read on fitness resource sites answers that say if you keep strength training, you won't see much loss on the scale, because the muscle replaces the fat, and vice versa.

I want to keep building muscle, but I also don't want to be 220lb worth of muscle. My goal is to be around 175-180. So do I need to cut down on the strength training to get closer to that weight goal first?

ellisangel

Hi, I am doing something a little bit similar. I am a 141.3 pound female and I consulted with a nutritionist who gave me a plan and its been helping me a lot, maybe it could help you. I was advised to have a very high protein low carb diet. I was also advised to do weight training 5 days a week and cardio everyday. Starting with my weight training and ending with a challenging round of cardio. I'm not sure about you but I had a body scan done on me and I had roughly 75 pounds of lean muscle on me before I started my weight loss journey. My goal was to lose the weight while keeping the muscle on me and improving the muscle I have. I eat 145 grams of protein a day to feed my growing muscles, I start with the weight training to burn the sugar stored in my muscles. Then when I do my cardio I try to keep my heart rate at 160 or less bpm so I can burn the fat and sugar stored in my body instead of the sugar stored in my muscles. When I started in January I was 158.2 pounds. Your results may be better because it sounds like your sticking to your diet a little better than me. I'm italian and 105 grams a day goes by really fast! I hope this helps

Jasp03

ellisangel wrote: »

Hi, I am doing something a little bit similar. I am a 141.3 pound female and I consulted with a nutritionist who gave me a plan and its been helping me a lot, maybe it could help you. I was advised to have a very high protein low carb diet. I was also advised to do weight training 5 days a week and cardio everyday. Starting with my weight training and ending with a challenging round of cardio. I'm not sure about you but I had a body scan done on me and I had roughly 75 pounds of lean muscle on me before I started my weight loss journey. My goal was to lose the weight while keeping the muscle on me and improving the muscle I have. I eat 145 grams of protein a day to feed my growing muscles, I start with the weight training to burn the sugar stored in my muscles. Then when I do my cardio I try to keep my heart rate at 160 or less bpm so I can burn the fat and sugar stored in my body instead of the sugar stored in my muscles. When I started in January I was 158.2 pounds. Your results may be better because it sounds like your sticking to your diet a little better than me. I'm italian and 105 grams a day goes by really fast! I hope this helps

That is actually what I've been doing as well, high protein, low carb. I understand how quickly the carbs can add up as an Italian - I am as well. I also follow the same workout routine that you described, and it's working fantastic. I know that I am physically improving, I just don't want to have too much muscle is I guess what my concern is. I don't want to stay at 220, lose fat but gain it all in muscle. Though, what you're describing sounds like that won't happen, as my daily routine is basically what you just described.

JeromeBarry1

The short answer is No. You can lose fat and slow the rate of muscle loss by strength training and consuming high protein in a calorie deficit. However, as you remain in a calorie deficit to lose fat, you very likely will not be growing muscle. You'll be lifting, you'll be losing weight, and you will seem to be more muscley, but you'll be less fatty.

Maxxitt

Keep your weight training going. Six weeks into lifting, you're about 4 pounds down in scale weight, which is great. Keep measuring so you can track progress. You won't turn into "all muscle" It just doesn't happen like that! Without taking substances, two pounds of muscle gain a month is about the max for men the first year into a heavy lifting program, assuming that they are NOT training with a calorie deficit.

heybales

Some respected science advice on the matter.

Weight training to do during fat loss - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

jondspen

heybales wrote: »

Some respected science advice on the matter.

Weight training to do during fat loss - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

I don't know if what he is saying is true or not, he lists no references. Everything he says may be spot on, but no credentials (MD or such as I could see, only a BS in Kinesiology from the University of California at Los Angeles), and no references except to other posts on his sight. I wouldn't call it "respected science adivice" as if it's from a PhD clinical doctor, or even someone with a master's. There is a lot of bad and misleading science out there...take it with a grain of salt.

jseams1234

jondspen wrote: »

heybales wrote: »

Some respected science advice on the matter.

Weight training to do during fat loss - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

I don't know if what he is saying is true or not, he lists no references. Everything he says may be spot on, but no credentials (MD or such as I could see, only a BS in Kinesiology from the University of California at Los Angeles), and no references except to other posts on his sight. I wouldn't call it "respected science adivice" as if it's from a PhD clinical doctor, or even someone with a master's. There is a lot of bad and misleading science out there...take it with a grain of salt.

What the heck is a "PhD clinical doctor"?

Lyle McDonald is one of the most respected voices in the fitness industry. This is the first time I've heard someone besides "shouty man" warn people that Lyle may be full of woo. lol

I suppose Dr. Jason Fung ticks off the required credentials?

AnnPT77

ellisangel wrote: »

Hi, I am doing something a little bit similar. I am a 141.3 pound female and I consulted with a nutritionist who gave me a plan and its been helping me a lot, maybe it could help you. I was advised to have a very high protein low carb diet. I was also advised to do weight training 5 days a week and cardio everyday. Starting with my weight training and ending with a challenging round of cardio. I'm not sure about you but I had a body scan done on me and I had roughly 75 pounds of lean muscle on me before I started my weight loss journey. My goal was to lose the weight while keeping the muscle on me and improving the muscle I have. I eat 145 grams of protein a day to feed my growing muscles, I start with the weight training to burn the sugar stored in my muscles. Then when I do my cardio I try to keep my heart rate at 160 or less bpm so I can burn the fat and sugar stored in my body instead of the sugar stored in my muscles. When I started in January I was 158.2 pounds. Your results may be better because it sounds like your sticking to your diet a little better than me. I'm italian and 105 grams a day goes by really fast! I hope this helps

The bolded: Not really important. What fuel you're using during exercise matters for exercise performance, but doesn't really matter for weight loss. If you're in a calorie deficit, you'll eventually burn fat to make up the difference, at some time. How much fat/glycogen/etc. you burn or store changes continuously throughout the day, but if you're in a deficit, the stored fat will burn at some point . . . perhaps even while you're sleeping.

If you're prioritizing muscle maintenance/gain, it makes sense to do strength before cardio. It may make sense to keep cardio less intense, so you get overall good recovery, minimize destructive excessive fatigue, that sort of thing. But for weight loss, calorie burn is calorie burn. If you're taking steps to maintain muscle (strength exercise, sufficient protein), getting good rest and recovery (two different things), and not trying to lose weight crazy fast, you'll burn stored body fat, and mostly that, to make up your calorie deficit.

OP, when you start strength training, you'll hold onto some extra water weight for muscle repair. That can mask fat loss on the scale for a while. A month and a half seems like about the time your fat loss, if it's going well, should start dominating again.

If you're not losing, it very likely comes down to the standard things: Inaccurate logging, lower than expected calorie burn (maybe via fatigue and lowered NEAT), over-estimated exercise calorie burn that's fully eaten back, that sort of thing.

Mostly, you haven't given us enough info to assess those things, though one jumps out at me: You say you're scanning bar codes. I hope you're aware that bar code scanning is no more accurate than searching for foods manually and putting them in your food diary. MFP is just pulling up one of the crowd-sourced food database entries that matches the bar code, and that database entry can be incorrect. It's important to check those bar-code entries, too, to make sure they're accurate.

WillingtoLose1001984

Jasp03 wrote: »

So this question might sound a bit weird, but the reason I am going to ask, and hope that people that have experienced this can share their input is because I'll read on fitness resources about this one way and then somewhere else, I'll read the opposite. So I'm trying to educate myself, but getting conflicting things on this.

Little background first:

I started my weight loss journey at 237lb, as a 33 year old male, 5'11". I've used MFP food logging (I scan barcodes and weigh everything) and it's been working wonders. In addition to that, I also did cardio at the start of my journey. Once I reached 222, I decided that I wanted to throw strength training into the mix.

It's been a month and a half since I've started strength training, followed by either biking or running right after, and of course still counting calories and macros. Now I know that I am improving, because I can see the difference, so I have no doubt that the fat is coming off. However, for the past month and a half, the scale keeps going from 220 to 218, to 219, to 218, to 220, to 218... you guys get the idea. I understand that muscle weights more than fat, and that's why I am seeing the numbers do what they are doing.

So my question is this:
If I keep strength training while losing weight, will I just keep building muscle and hover over this weight, even though the fat is falling off? Or, will I eventually also start seeing the numbers on the scale go down? I've read on fitness resource sites answers that say if you keep strength training, you won't see much loss on the scale, because the muscle replaces the fat, and vice versa.

I want to keep building muscle, but I also don't want to be 220lb worth of muscle. My goal is to be around 175-180. So do I need to cut down on the strength training to get closer to that weight goal first?

I've been strength training and still am losing. Your calorie intake might be off.

bpotts44

I think what you should do is start taking accurate measurements of your waist, hips, and maybe chest and thighs. This will quantify what you are seeing with real numbers. You can then adjust your nutrition from there.

It is possible if you have never trained before that you could build some muscle while in a deficit although it is hard for your body to be anabolic and catabolic at the same time.

Other than that keep up the hard work!

sarahlucindac

WillingtoLose1001984 wrote: »

Jasp03 wrote: »

So this question might sound a bit weird, but the reason I am going to ask, and hope that people that have experienced this can share their input is because I'll read on fitness resources about this one way and then somewhere else, I'll read the opposite. So I'm trying to educate myself, but getting conflicting things on this.

Little background first:

I started my weight loss journey at 237lb, as a 33 year old male, 5'11". I've used MFP food logging (I scan barcodes and weigh everything) and it's been working wonders. In addition to that, I also did cardio at the start of my journey. Once I reached 222, I decided that I wanted to throw strength training into the mix.

It's been a month and a half since I've started strength training, followed by either biking or running right after, and of course still counting calories and macros. Now I know that I am improving, because I can see the difference, so I have no doubt that the fat is coming off. However, for the past month and a half, the scale keeps going from 220 to 218, to 219, to 218, to 220, to 218... you guys get the idea. I understand that muscle weights more than fat, and that's why I am seeing the numbers do what they are doing.

So my question is this:
If I keep strength training while losing weight, will I just keep building muscle and hover over this weight, even though the fat is falling off? Or, will I eventually also start seeing the numbers on the scale go down? I've read on fitness resource sites answers that say if you keep strength training, you won't see much loss on the scale, because the muscle replaces the fat, and vice versa.

I want to keep building muscle, but I also don't want to be 220lb worth of muscle. My goal is to be around 175-180. So do I need to cut down on the strength training to get closer to that weight goal first?

I've been strength training and still am losing. Your calorie intake might be off.

Same here. Strength training + cardio and still losing weight - about 1.5 lbs/week.

_Arty_

Based on my personal experience and all of the research that I have done, a novice lifter can lose fat and add muscle while being in a deficit (a recomp so to say). Once you become an intermediate lifter (by working out regularly for about 1.5 - 2 years), you have to be in a surplus to gain muscle and a deficit to burn fat (i.e. bulking and cutting). Again, just my opinion/personal experience.

dmt4641

There is no way for you to become 220 lbs of muscle without specifically trying to achieve that goal for several years, so don't worry about that.

You may be retaining water from new lifting program, but you also may be overestimating calories burns from your exercise. If you are using MFP calorie burn, only add bac, 50-75% of the calories back in your diet because MFP usually overestimates. Also make sure you are weighing foods and tracking accurately.

Don't stop strength training, you aren't going to turn into a bodybuilder without a tremendous amount of effort.

nowine4me

Bottom line, be patient and keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t forget to reduce your calories requirement as your weight goes down. It’s sounds like you might have stumbled upon maintenance.