Questions about Weight Loss + Muscle Gain simultaneously

brewernq

I have no problem losing weight by tracking my calories, but would like to start weight training at the same time. I realize to put on muscle you have to EAT, and I am only eating 1700 calories a day. Is this even possible, or should I just wait until I have slimmed my fat down to my goal, and THEN try putting on muscle? I have been lifting for about 2 months now, and trying to get as much protein as possible, but with 1700 calories, it's pretty difficult and feels like im wasting my time.

dsapp918

Most say it's not possible to lose weight and gain muscle , while others say it is. In either case if you are getting enough protein and lifting you will absolutely do the next best thing to gaining muscle...preserving as much as possible while losing fat.
Once you hit your fat loss goals and start bringing your calories up you can gain muscle .

Shellz31

While there are internet sites that say the opposite, it's completely possible to lose weight and gain muscle simultaneously. When you weight train you break down muscle and as it repairs itself you gain muscle. If people didn't gain muscle while losing weight they would always be stuck lifting the same amounts, and I know I can lift more now than I could 20 pounds ago lol.

Plus like dsapp said weight training helps you not lose muscle mass while dieting.

:happy:

Holly_Roman_Empire

While there are internet sites that say the opposite, it's completely possible to lose weight and gain muscle simultaneously. When you weight train you break down muscle and as it repairs itself you gain muscle. If people didn't gain muscle while losing weight they would always be stuck lifting the same amounts, and I know I can lift more now than I could 20 pounds ago lol.

Plus like dsapp said weight training helps you not lose muscle mass while dieting.

:happy:

This is one of those internet sites. You can't gain muscle while eating at a deficit. You're confusing strength gains with muscle gains.

OP, there's no reason to not do a strength training routine before you are at goal. In fact, it might help you achieve your goal weight. The only way you will put on muscle is if you eat at a surplus. If your goal is to bulk, unfortunately, I don't have a lot of knowledge on that.

briandahawaiian

This is one of those internet sites. You can't gain muscle while eating at a deficit. You're confusing strength gains with muscle gains.

OP, there's no reason to not do a strength training routine before you are at goal. In fact, it might help you achieve your goal weight. The only way you will put on muscle is if you eat at a surplus. If your goal is to bulk, unfortunately, I don't have a lot of knowledge on that.

Agree!

ok to an extent you can gain muscle while burning fat, but its temporary, if you have never lifted, this will be the case. it will taper off though, and because you are eating in a deficit you will stop gaining muscle (newbie gains). but do not stop lifting, you wanna preserve whatever muscles you have and ensure you are just burning the fat!! then when you reach an ideal bf % then start eating in surplus to gain muscle, if that's what you want best of luck!

TR0berts

When you weight train you break down muscle and as it repairs itself you gain muscle

Mostly, but not necessarily. If you don't have enough Calories/protein, you won't have enough material to repair/build the muscle to where it originally was.

If people didn't gain muscle while losing weight they would always be stuck lifting the same amounts, and I know I can lift more now than I could 20 pounds ago lol.

Strength gains != muscle gains. Strength gain is a function of neuromuscular adaptation, not because the muscle got bigger

edwardkim85

28/male. 6 feet 116.5kg.

Started off 3.5 months ago at 127kg. ( 10.5kg loss)

I'm eating 2k - 2.2k /day now with about 40/20/40 ratio(carb / fat / protein) or I try to keep it at that. My diary is open and my protein intake is never below 150g. I try to keep it between 150g - 200g / day with protein shakes.

I also do have a 'carb load' , 'cheat day', 'eat whatever day' that you call it where I just eat what I want so I don't get cravings for the next week. Usually ends up being about 5kcal/day every 7 - 10 days.

I started the first 3 months with bootcamp and heavy weight training(with cardio - walks, bikes etc 40 min), 5- 6 times/week.

For the last couple weeks, I've been doing Crossfit about 4 times/week with 2 days of cardio/heavy weights(total 6 days/week).

I mention my stats because I think it's important to compare different styles of losing weight(There's no right or wrong way imo, just diff ways). I haven't done a body fat analysis before and now but before, I was a Size 44 pants at 127kg.


Now I'm a Size 38(ok maybe 39 ) and I've gone down several size in clothings as well( XXXL --> XL)

I can now do about 7-8 full pullups, bench 225 lbs 12-14 times, squat 315lbs 12 times, deadlift 315 lbs 12 times. I couldn't even lift those weights 1- 2 times 3.5 months ago.

My cardio has improved too. I could barely walk at 127kg at speed 3.5 miles on the treadmill for 10-15 min. Now I can job at speed 6 on a slight incline for about 20 min.

So the point is, yes, it is possible to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneosly if you're new to training. You will need to eat carbs while losing weight as well. You CANNOT go on a super low carb diet if you're doing intense circuit style lifting like crossfit and expect to get maximum fat loss and strength gain results from it. You just won't get as fit or as strong without carbs. Just eat clean carbs from brown rice and keep your macros and kcal in check.

That's my experience so far. This is by no means an expert advice.

edwardkim85

Also, remember that people say 3500 kcal = 1 pound of fat. While this is true, burning 3500 kcal doesn't equate to 1 pound of fat LOSS. This means that just because you have a deficit of 3500 kcal/week doesn't mean you should lose 1 pound on the scale. Sometimes you will lose more, sometimes you will lose 0.

There's actually a study I read a while ago where two groups of women were given the same # of calories ( 1600 I believe) and was monitored strictly for a period of 3 months. One group was given high carbs, while the other was given high protein.

They BOTH lost the SAME amount of weight. It's just that the body composition(fat %) differed significantly between the two groups.

I wish I could anecdote this study but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

With chicken breast, fish, veggies, brown rice + protein shakes, you can get more than enough protein intake for the day.(I supplement two protein shakes a day as 'snacks')

the 1 g of protein per pound of body weight is for serious lifters and us civilians do not need that much protein, even if we lift 'heavily' for our standards. 0.4 - 0.5g will suffice.

The famous 6 pack Mike Chang is the one who said the above comment regarding proper protein intake level and common misconeptions. Mike Chang #1 lol