Strength Gain/Weight Loss Balance

blakebailey87

I'm morbidly obese and working hard to make myself healthy for life. I eat at a good caloric deficit, I do 30 minutes of cardio daily, and I lift weights. For those of you who have been there, done that, I'd love some input/advice on how to eat and work out in order to keep losing fat without sacrificing strength gains entirely. I know I need to eat to fuel the muscle, but I don't want to halt my weight loss progress. At my weight it is much more beneficial to me to lose weight than it is to gain strength, but many experts agree that strength training with cardio is the fastest and most effective way to get in great shape.

Here's how it currently stands:

I eat 1500 to 1800 calories a day (MFP recommends a lot more than that however). I understand that some of you will consider this to be too much of a deficit, but to each his own. I'm not too stubborn though so I'm willing to hear you out on nutrition.

I do T25 core cardio and T25 speed 1.0, one or the other, daily.

I lift weights here at home. I do a full body split.

Open to all suggestions.

James9090

How long have you been working out and watching your food intake?

rsclause

Me I do better when I eat every two hours. Between meals I eat an apple or tree nuts. Its weird as I get closer to my deficit calorie number the better my loss is. My therory is to trick your body into thinking there is a never ending supply of food. I couple this with lots of exercise daily.

Rancerox

I have used the information found at this website and it has worked quite well for me. It does cover how to maintain your muscle (strength training) while losing fat.

It may be worth a look to see if it fits your goals.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-build-muscle-and-lose-fat/

Good luck to you.

cajuntank

So a couple of things personal insights and questions... I know losing weight is the top priority as coming from over 300lbs+ myself, it was beginning to become a more increasing health issue than worrying about maintaining muscle or strength. But luckily, our bodies work in a way that in the beginning, we can tap into that "stored energy" we call fat and make some newbie gains in both strength and muscle, so being on a proven/structured strength program is optimal. Being that you are morbidly obese, you can have a large caloric deficit for a while to shed off some of the major fat stores. I don't know if I would follow that large of a deficit for any longer than a couple of months as that might be unsustainable for the long run, but this will have to be something you monitor for adherence from a physical and mental point of view. That is a really large deficit for your weight and normally, these are the types of deficits that are Dr. monitored. Losing weight too fast can cause loose skin issues later on, which might be unavoidable anyway, so be mindful of that as well.

So now the questions... How much are you losing on average a week at that deficit?
What strength program are you doing at the moment?

Azdak

So a couple of things personal insights and questions... I know losing weight is the top priority as coming from over 300lbs+ myself, it was beginning to become a more increasing health issue than worrying about maintaining muscle or strength. But luckily, our bodies work in a way that in the beginning, we can tap into that "stored energy" we call fat and make some newbie gains in both strength and muscle, so being on a proven/structured strength program is optimal. Being that you are morbidly obese, you can have a large caloric deficit for a while to shed off some of the major fat stores. I don't know if I would follow that large of a deficit for any longer than a couple of months as that might be unsustainable for the long run, but this will have to be something you monitor for adherence from a physical and mental point of view. That is a really large deficit for your weight and normally, these are the types of deficits that are Dr. monitored. Losing weight too fast can cause loose skin issues later on, which might be unavoidable anyway, so be mindful of that as well.

So now the questions... How much are you losing on average a week at that deficit?
What strength program are you doing at the moment?

OTOH, if the OP loses weight, they he will not be maintaining that large a deficit. If calorie intake remains relatively constant, the deficit will gradually shrink along with his overall mass. I would recommend more the 1800 end of the range, but I don't think it's a big issue. Large deficits are more of an issue when body fat is low, or when calorie intake is low ( e.g. <1000 calories), but 1800 is a decent amount of food, regardless of the deficit size.

erickirb

I would suggest losing slowly (1lb/week weight loss goal) and follow a tried tested and true program such as Starting strength (great book even if you don't do the program) or Stronglifts 5x5.

Azdak

But luckily, our bodies work in a way that in the beginning, we can tap into that "stored energy" we call fat and make some newbie gains in both strength and muscle, so being on a proven/structured strength program is optimal. Being that you are morbidly obese, you can have a large caloric deficit for a while to shed off some of the major fat stores.

^^this. No need to over complicate things. Maintain your deficit, do cardio, lift weights. The whole "muscle/strength/fat" thing will take care of itself. Down the road you can tweak things if it becomes necessary.

erickirb

So a couple of things personal insights and questions... I know losing weight is the top priority as coming from over 300lbs+ myself, it was beginning to become a more increasing health issue than worrying about maintaining muscle or strength. But luckily, our bodies work in a way that in the beginning, we can tap into that "stored energy" we call fat and make some newbie gains in both strength and muscle, so being on a proven/structured strength program is optimal. Being that you are morbidly obese, you can have a large caloric deficit for a while to shed off some of the major fat stores. I don't know if I would follow that large of a deficit for any longer than a couple of months as that might be unsustainable for the long run, but this will have to be something you monitor for adherence from a physical and mental point of view. That is a really large deficit for your weight and normally, these are the types of deficits that are Dr. monitored. Losing weight too fast can cause loose skin issues later on, which might be unavoidable anyway, so be mindful of that as well.

So now the questions... How much are you losing on average a week at that deficit?
What strength program are you doing at the moment?

OTOH, if the OP loses weight, they he will not be maintaining that large a deficit. If calorie intake remains relatively constant, the deficit will gradually shrink along with his overall mass. I would recommend more the 1800 end of the range, but I don't think it's a big issue. Large deficits are more of an issue when body fat is low, or when calorie intake is low ( e.g. <1000 calories), but 1800 is a decent amount of food, regardless of the deficit size.

With the amount he has to lose his deficit can be larger I agree, but the smaller his deficit the more energy will be available for lifting, making it easier to increase strength while losing.

JoRocka

But luckily, our bodies work in a way that in the beginning, we can tap into that "stored energy" we call fat and make some newbie gains in both strength and muscle, so being on a proven/structured strength program is optimal. Being that you are morbidly obese, you can have a large caloric deficit for a while to shed off some of the major fat stores.

^^this. No need to over complicate things. Maintain your deficit, do cardio, lift weights. The whole "muscle/strength/fat" thing will take care of itself. Down the road you can tweak things if it becomes necessary.

solid.

You could probably be eating more and still lose-
As a woman at 160 pounds- I'm averaging 16-1700 calories- and losing. So - no need to NOT eat if eating an extra 3-400 calories will lose the weight as well AND not make you hungry. And yes- I understand- you are comfortable being hungry -sometimes- it isn't needed- you can accomplish the same task by eating more why not just eat more- you aren't GAINING any "extra" loss by pushing calories to a huge deficit.

ahamm002

The main thing to do is simply eat high protein. 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. That will help you maintain your muscle mass while you lose fat. You'll probably increase in strength while losing weight since half of strength is neurologic anyway.

I would strongly recommend not eating below your BMR. It might lead to fast weight loss initially, but it's not sustainable. So why start out with something non-sustainable? It could just lead to binges or even worse, like loss of motivation and giving up.

this1bigdog

If you want to make strength gains . .you need Protein 3/4 to 1 gram of per Lean muscle mass . .If you are going to do cardio, you need glucose .. which comes from Carbs . .however, calories come from both carbs and protein you aren't going to be able to replace the carbs at a rate to maintain optimal protein for "normal strength gains". . .you'll be able to get some gains if you don't eat enough carbs, but you will feel tired/flat and not lift probably!

but choose to get enough crabs and you muscle won't repair it's self/fast enough to make noticeable gains .. and will instead have much smaller gains . . .

So pick your poison . .I will say it is doable .. most body builders do it. .but the are religous about their food . .so my question for you becomes. .are you willing to live the very strict body builder diet?

cajuntank

So a couple of things personal insights and questions... I know losing weight is the top priority as coming from over 300lbs+ myself, it was beginning to become a more increasing health issue than worrying about maintaining muscle or strength. But luckily, our bodies work in a way that in the beginning, we can tap into that "stored energy" we call fat and make some newbie gains in both strength and muscle, so being on a proven/structured strength program is optimal. Being that you are morbidly obese, you can have a large caloric deficit for a while to shed off some of the major fat stores. I don't know if I would follow that large of a deficit for any longer than a couple of months as that might be unsustainable for the long run, but this will have to be something you monitor for adherence from a physical and mental point of view. That is a really large deficit for your weight and normally, these are the types of deficits that are Dr. monitored. Losing weight too fast can cause loose skin issues later on, which might be unavoidable anyway, so be mindful of that as well.

So now the questions... How much are you losing on average a week at that deficit?
What strength program are you doing at the moment?

OTOH, if the OP loses weight, they he will not be maintaining that large a deficit. If calorie intake remains relatively constant, the deficit will gradually shrink along with his overall mass. I would recommend more the 1800 end of the range, but I don't think it's a big issue. Large deficits are more of an issue when body fat is low, or when calorie intake is low ( e.g. <1000 calories), but 1800 is a decent amount of food, regardless of the deficit size.

With the amount he has to lose his deficit can be larger I agree, but the smaller his deficit the more energy will be available for lifting, making it easier to increase strength while losing.

True, but when you are at that weight, the priority/mentality becomes one of almost survival and needing to shed weight quickly to get to a better healthier point. Looking at it from my point of view when at my heaviest, it was healthier for me to shed weight quickly to a point rather than worry about losing weight slowly which would have probably kept more muscle and caused greater strength gains, but it was more a matter of life and death in my mind to get some weight off quicker.

Also, 1800 is a probably somewhere around 2000 calorie deficit for his height and weight which is rather substantial, but like mentioned, is doable for a while.

cwolfman13

With the amount of weight you have to lose now, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You can sustain a fairly hefty deficit of calories at the moment...so just do that and continue to lift and do some cardio work. As you lean out it will become necessary to adjust your deficit back, but it's really not an issue at the moment.