5'6(F) 255lbs want to gain muscle and lose fat

Janellew86

Today I started lifting heavier weights at the gym and walked for 45 minutes outside. Can I lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? I've been using 310 Nutrition shakes. I'm 37(female)with large build(seriously I have size 12 feet).and previous weight loss down to 150 and you could see my ribs. I lost weight the first time by cardio and weight lifting.I want to get down to 215 and then reevaluate what I want to weigh.

sollyn23l2

Janellew86 wrote: »

Today I started lifting heavier weights at the gym and walked for 45 minutes outside. Can I lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? I've been using 310 Nutrition shakes. I'm 37(female)with large build(seriously I have size 12 feet).and previous weight loss down to 150 and you could see my ribs. I lost weight the first time by cardio and weight lifting.I want to get down to 215 and then reevaluate what I want to weigh.

Yes, you can but it will be slow going. You'll only want to be in a small calorie deficit, like a deficit of 250 calories. Make sure you're getting all your protein.

Janellew86

I've been drinking protein shakes to help get my protein.Im impatient...guess I'm gonna have to learn patience.A small deficit is good. I like to eat.

Retroguy2000

TBH, you'd be better off picking one or other as a priority. Yes, you can build muscle in a deficit, but it requires multiple things to be successful: new lifter, small calorie deficit, sufficiently overweight. You may only tick one of those boxes. IMO you'll be better off picking weight loss as your first primary goal. By all means, lift weights too and get plenty of protein, it'll help you retain the muscle you have while losing weight. But curb your expectations of gaining muscle at this point if you plan to lose a lot of weight.

COGypsy

Like others have mentioned, you’ll probably be happier picking one thing or the other. Even under optimal conditions, muscle gain is a months and years endeavor….not days and weeks. In a deficit, conditions for muscle gain are not optimal. Programming and prioritizing protein are also key. Keep in mind too that if you’re looking to lose bodyweight, calories are key….if you aren’t in a deficit you won’t lose weight.

earlybirdvibes

Thanks for posting this - I’m in a similar boat. It’s hard to pick one when I want both things right now! I’m focusing on building muscle first, what approach did you decide to take?

springlering62

I did both at the same time, but didn’t start until I was about halfway into my 97 (ultimately 82- see below) weight loss.

I lifted regularly, but also did a wide assortment of other workouts, too, including yoga, Pilates, lots of walking and also started Couch25k at that time. My then-trainer who both lifted and was a prolific runner, warned me that running would slim me down and to make sure I ate enough, and she was right.

You have to be careful, though. I pushed the weight loss too far and lost a lot of the muscle I had so slowly built up.

It was a painful decision to add 15 back to accomodate rebuilding the lost muscle,but I’m very glad I went that route. The clothes from 15lbs lower still fit, which was a surprise, although I did just weed out a few tops this weekend that can no longer accommodate my upper arms, which weirds me out since they don’t look big but I guess they are when I’m stripped down to workout gear.

Wait. Let me rephrase that. They don’t look “big” as in unfeminine, Hulk big. They look shapely and pretty dang awesome, and sometimes I look in the gym mirror and am startled by my own self. But, clothing manufacturers assume women wearing “small” sizes have pipecleaner arms. 🤦🏻‍♀️

My personal advice - and this is a very personal choice- start your lifting now. I think if I’d waited til after I lost the weight, it never would have gotten started, and I feel like I saw good results fairly quickly (talking months here- not weeks or days). Enough that it kept me in the weight loss game, because I saw myself reshaping my body in new cool ways.

It’d never too soon to start, IMHO, but again, it’s a very personal choice.

springlering62

And PS, I get a shedload of protein from grilled chicken and smoked pork loin that I cook on Sunday and eat all week.

The only time I resort to a protein shake is if I’m unusually low on protein, as a last resort, and then it’s just a simple smoothie of a bottle of corepower, a serving of cottage cheese and some ice. Delicious, easy and 40 grams protein.

I shoot for 160-180gr protein a day, except Donut Sundays, so hit an average of about 150/day for the week. Im older and unusually active, hence the high protein goals.

But it makes me cringe that folks feel like they have to rely on shakes to get protein. Experiment! Eating is SO much more satisfying than downing some shake.

Sorry for the sermon.

Theoldguy1

As said above you can't build muscle in a calorie deficit However, at 255 pounds you have enough stored fat to build muscle. As others have said, high protein, 300 calorie or so deficit (don't eat back any exercise calories from lifting).

Good luck.

ninerbuff

recomp can be done. You just have to be really patient and don't expect a lot because it's a very tedious process to do to achieve just even a little muscle gain.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

PAV8888

I'm here by mistake because I clicked on the wrong category 🤣

But seriously. As you said you will go down to 215 and reevaluate. Personally I would suggest a quick and dirty BMI 27 calculation as a re evaluation point.

First of all energy availability is what decides whether muscle mass can or cannot grow in the presence of a sufficient need for it to grow.

Need is interesting. Energy availability is interesting.

When energy reserves are high the availability is abundant and sufficient esp for someone who is far from their natural limits for muscle growth

Second is need.

I like to mention this. But really. My calf muscles when I was obese were like a nice holiday ham ready to carve for the table. And lean relative to my body. My ability to step on a step without care and off balance and recover was zero.

As I caught myself almost effortlessly a few days ago while going up the steps carrying groceries I started thinking that I'll have to start paying more attention in my 60s and 70s because springy once and springy twice, but springy 100x there's always a 1% chance of landing face first while carrying *kitten* up the stairs without being able to see.

Point being that my half sized calves are more useful today than my full sized ones were at 280+

There is no reason to NOT keep as strong as possible and no reason to not FEEL stronger as you lose weight. You will certainly become faster and more agile.

But I know this optimization is one that held me back when I was obese and it is, to a substantial extend a barking up the wrong tree problem.

Unless you're a sumo wrestler or competing in strong person contests being strong for your current build not the absolute value of your strength vs a random apex Goliath is what matters to you.

And you will absolutely achieve that while losing weight at a REASONABLE clip, with a well thought out intake of protein, sufficient nutrients and, most importantly, sufficient exercise stimulus so as to have a need for the muscles in question in the first place.

50% of TDEE long term deficits? Bad plan for athletic performance

15 to 20%, maybe 25% while obese? now we are starting to talk reasonable