Gain muscle first then lose fat

LisaUlrey

I am new to weight lifting. Prior to this I was just doing cardio and watching my calories. I know muscle weighes a lot more than fat but when does the balance get tipped and you start weighing less and losing fat? Will I notice a drop in wight or just inches? Should I alternate periods of cutting my calories and upping them for lifting?

MzManiak

If you are still at a calorie deficit, you will not actually "gain" much muscle. You will gain strength and keep more muscle (losing a higher % of fat) than you would if you didn't lift. Usually the scale-stall only lasts a couple weeks, then you will start to see the numbers drop again. Just be sure you're getting your protein in.

I suggest having your body fat % measured at the gym, so you can track that as well as inches & pounds lost.

Iron_Lotus

If you are focusing on losing weight then eat at a calorie deficit to lose fat and lift to maintain the lean body mass you already have. If your focus is on building muscle eat at a calorie surplus to build. You can't do both, you need to decide on what your goals are right now.

LisaUlrey

If you are still at a calorie deficit, you will not actually "gain" much muscle. You will gain strength and keep more muscle (losing a higher % of fat) than you would if you didn't lift. Usually the scale-stall only lasts a couple weeks, then you will start to see the numbers drop again. Just be sure you're getting your protein in.

I suggest having your body fat % measured at the gym, so you can track that as well as inches & pounds lost.

So, considering I still have weight to lose, which should I be doing? Lifting at my TDEE or at 10% lower? I really want to gain muscle but should I wait until I lose more weight?

MzManiak

If you are still at a calorie deficit, you will not actually "gain" much muscle. You will gain strength and keep more muscle (losing a higher % of fat) than you would if you didn't lift. Usually the scale-stall only lasts a couple weeks, then you will start to see the numbers drop again. Just be sure you're getting your protein in.

I suggest having your body fat % measured at the gym, so you can track that as well as inches & pounds lost.

So, considering I still have weight to lose, which should I be doing? Lifting at my TDEE or at 10% lower? I really want to gain muscle but should I wait until I lose more weight?

That's for you to decide. Which goal is more important at the moment? How much weight do you want to lose? What body fat % are you at, and where do you want to be? Just remember that it's never only muscle or only fat. If you eat at a surplus, you will gain both, muscle and fat. If you eat at a deficit, you will lose both as well. The lifting just sways the percentages.

Since you are new to lifting, I would caution you to continue eating where you were and monitor your progress for a couple weeks. If you're too tired/ becoming too sore/ etc... raise your calories a bit. Find something that works for you. Once you've been lifting for a good 6-8 weeks, and are comfortable with knowing your calorie numbers, I'd suggest heading over to Sara and SideSteel's group for some advice. I'll be back to paste the link...

ETA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

They have great information in there to read and are great about answering questions and they really know their stuff.

LisaUlrey

If you are still at a calorie deficit, you will not actually "gain" much muscle. You will gain strength and keep more muscle (losing a higher % of fat) than you would if you didn't lift. Usually the scale-stall only lasts a couple weeks, then you will start to see the numbers drop again. Just be sure you're getting your protein in.

I suggest having your body fat % measured at the gym, so you can track that as well as inches & pounds lost.

That's for you to decide. Which goal is more important at the moment? How much weight do you want to lose? What body fat % are you at, and where do you want to be? Just remember that it's never only muscle or only fat. If you eat at a surplus, you will gain both, muscle and fat. If you eat at a deficit, you will lose both as well. The lifting just sways the percentages.

Since you are new to lifting, I would caution you to continue eating where you were and monitor your progress for a couple weeks. If you're too tired/ becoming too sore/ etc... raise your calories a bit. Find something that works for you. Once you've been lifting for a good 6-8 weeks, and are comfortable with knowing your calorie numbers, I'd suggest heading over to Sara and SideSteel's group for some advice. I'll be back to paste the link...

ETA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

They have great information in there to read and are great about answering questions and they really know their stuff.

KarenJanine

I am new to weight lifting. Prior to this I was just doing cardio and watching my calories. I know muscle weighes a lot more than fat but when does the balance get tipped and you start weighing less and losing fat? Will I notice a drop in wight or just inches? Should I alternate periods of cutting my calories and upping them for lifting?

If you have gained or maintained weight since lifting but are eating at a calorie deficit, this is because your muscles are retaining more water. Therefore your LBM has increased but that doesn't necessarily mean your muscle tissue has increased.

Inch loss is definitely the best guage of fat loss as the water weight will skew scale readings. Take monthly measurements and also take progress photographs whcih can be a good way to see differences the tape measure doesn't pick up.


In terms of whether to increase cals to gain muscle or decrease to continue to lose fat, that is pretty much up to you.

To bulk eat at a smalls urplus to gain muscle while lifting. Bear in mind there will always be some fat gain along with the muscle and that as a woman the most muscle you can hope to gain is around 1lb per month. Therefore ideally a bulk should be 3 months or longer to see any real results. Because of this some people prefer to keep eating at a deficit and get their body fat lower before doing a bulk.

On the plus side, lifting is great fun when bulking as strength and energy is increased. You should see great strength gains during this time.

I think you were also referring to calorie zigzagging where you say about eating more when lifting. Many people choose to eat more on lifting days and less on rest days but this will have little effect on weight loss/gain and muscle loss/gain as it is the overall picture of calorie surplus or deficit over weeks and months that will have more effect.