confused about losing fat and building muscle

motivatedkarma

I am losing weight efficiently, accept for last week........, but I am confused about strength training, I want to lose weight, but I also want to gain muscle to be strong so I have been doing cardio, eating at a deficient and also some strength training, but also on a lot of posts I see people saying you have to lose the weight before you build the muscle so should i wait to strength train or am i getting it wrong?

SugaryLynx

I, personally, prioritized strength training while I lost weight. Cardio was a nice way to ensure I was keeping a deficit, where there could be potential inaccuracies (plus I'm told it's good for heart health) but definitely don't stop strength training! There's a small window for newbie gains for the first month or so of weightlifting in ideal conditions but nothing significant. The purpose of strength training in a deficit is to retain your current muscle as you lose weight. Also, you can gain quite a bit of strength without adding new muscles. Maintaining your muscles will leave you leaner at goal weight and keep your metabolism better off because you'll be keeping your muscle you have now at a lesser weight. It's a win/win.

Make sure you're getting enough protein too (typically 1g per pound of LBM) and not creating too aggressive of a deficit. The less weight you have to lose, the more likely the body is to jeopardize muscle along with fat.

Ready2Rock206

You want to preserve any muscle mass you have now - so you're right to start strength training now.

SezxyStef

The issue is that you can't build muscle at a deficit...which is what you need to lose weight.

Strength training while in a deficit it exactly what it says....strength training. It helps build strength but it also help maitain as much of your current muscle as you can as long as you are gettting in adequate protien.

I have been doing strong lifts 5x5 for almost 10months...I've been on MFP for just shy of a year...so if you want to do it...start now.

motivatedkarma

thanks so much everyone