Why am I lifting?

HerbertNenenger

New to lifting, about six weeks or so. I have about 30 pounds left I'd like to lose but wanted to start focusing on body composition as opposed to weight loss. Even though I haven't dropped any pounds since starting, I like the changes I am seeing and feeling, HOWEVER.....
everybody and their uncle says that you can't build muscle in a caloric deficit. When I see that over and over again, I know there must be truth in it, which leads me to ask..... is this all for naught? What benefits does it have if I am still in deficit?
Stats: 46 years
weight 190/goal weight 160
eating 1700 kcal/day (diary's open)
and am lifting heavy as I can, practicing negative-accentuated exercises (heavy weighted squats 30 seconds going down/negative, followed by 30 seconds up/positive, then 30 seconds down/negative, one rep, making the circuit of the machines, 3 x per week for 30-40 minutes per session.

Any tips/advice you can offer would be appreciated. Thank you !

HerbertNenenger

(crickets)

raindawg

I'll let the pro's weigh in on this one, but my limited understanding is this. By lifting you'll maintain a higher portion of the muscle you currently have. So as you continue to lose weight it will be more fat than muscle coming off. Also, people have more muscle under the fat than they think they do, so as you continue to peel off the fat you will see more and more muscle definition showing up giving you the appearance that you are gaining muscle. So in reality you may not gain muscle, but in appearance you will. Hope that makes sense.

levitateme

I have reduced my body fat by 3% (from March - May) lifting in a deficit. I haven't checked it in a month, but judging by how my clothes fit, I have reduced it more since then. That's why you're lifting in a deficit. Maintaining the muscle mass you already have so your body can burn fat more efficiently.

MarshallLuke

Why ARE you lifting? That sign right there clearly says do not touch! Sheesh!

Anyway, I think lifting and toning on a calorie deficit is fine. I mean you might not get the shape or definition you would if you were eating for bodybuilding. However, I run all the time and despite putting up calorie deficits each day my legs are toned and (if I do say so myself) sexy. I also used to do P90X on a deficit and got pretty toned.

martinel2099

There's plenty of reasons to lift weights while at a calorie deficit.

To start, it's complicated but you're right, you cannot build muscle while on a calorie deficit, however, you can improve strength in your existing muscles and give your body a reason to hold onto your muscle while you are losing weight. If you are working your muscles and lifting heavy weights your body is less likely to lose muscle. So if you want a reason to lift heavy, that's a big one! Improving your strength and how you feel is also a good bonus.

This is why I left heavy even though I am working to lose weight, or better definition to lose fat. After I get to my goal weight/Body fat %, my plan is to continue lifting but start bulking and cutting. Bulking is where you eat at a small surplus while on a lifting program to gain muscle mass (and unfortunately some fat because you will always gain fat on a surplus) then cutting while still working out to preserve muscle and loss fat.

AshwinA7

Lifting on a caloric deficit will help you keep the muscle you have and target fat for weight loss.

You can still gain on your lifts through neuromuscular adaptation (where your muscle fibers become more efficient at lifting but no necessarily bigger).

Are you tracking how much weight you're lifting? That can help you understand how far you've come and where you want to be.

Cherimoose

I agree that lifting keeps your metabolism up. I'll just add that i don't recommend the "superslow" method that you're doing. It's more for endurance than strength. Plus it's unnecessarily painful. Since you're new to lifting, i would follow a tried-and-true program, like NROL or Stronglifts. Check Google for more on them.

JoRocka

why lift while losing weight

easy

maximize fat lose
minimize muscle loss

losing weight doesn't have to be just weight- meaning fat + muscle.

losing fat is what you want to do- not lose muscle.
And just because you can't necessarily get BIGGER on a deficit doesn't mean you aren't going to get stronger.

mayfrayy

muscle retention and *strength gain