when to start building back?

BIGBMF

So I lost over 130. I was 400. At 263 I feel like the loose skin is already starting. At what point should I be trying to build muscle?

aleister777

The best time to start lifting is yesterday. The second best time is right now. There is no reason to wait unless you want delayed results.

BIGBMF

But dont i need to eat more to gain muscle?

ConnorS879

If i was you i would concentrate on losing body fat by dieting, cardio and doing some weights, weight training will be good for you becuase as your muscles rebuild it will burn calories, even throughout your sleep

lishie_rebooted

But dont i need to eat more to gain muscle?

To gain, yes you need to eat at a surplus.
But lifting while at a deficit with adequate protein consumption will help maintain lean mass/minimize muscle loss.

In all honesty you should have been lifting the entire process. But if you feel the need to lose more, lifting will help. Even if you eat at maintenance and lift, you can do a slow recomp. There was a thread about it for females I saw yesterday. You can search for it - it'd be a similar process for you.

Look at beginner programs - most notably Stronglifts 5x5.

taunto

Start today. While true that you will have to eat at a surplus to gain muscle, lifting while losing weight (and eating sufficient protein) will help you maintain your muscle mass while you losing mostly fat.

y00b0y

You can gain muscle if you're a beginner..

YF92

Good job bro, now start muscle training.

And don't worry about the loose skin, It takes time for the skin to adapt. There might be a lil loose skin, but you'll look much better nonetheless

JoRocka

getting stronger is not the same as gaining muscles.

And as a newb lifter- and someone who has weight to drop- you can gain SOME muscle- but it's not going to hurt you either way- there is never a time to NOT lift (outside of injury).

Start lifting today since yesterday is gone.... you won't regret it.

Cortelli

Your underlying muscles likely grew as you gained weight -- it takes more muscle and energy to move those 400 pounds around than moving 180 pounds. As you lose weight you should be hoping to lose fat and not muscle. As noted above, the best things you can do to preserve what muscle you already developed through daily living and moving your weight around is to eat adequate protein and work those muscles regularly with challenging resistance training (lifting weights).

Think of it like a signal to your body: "Hey body, I know I'm keeping you in a deficit so you have to generate energy from yourself, but you can see I really need those muscles with all the regular effort I am making, so please concentrate on drawing necessary energy from the fat stores only, thanks."

Brolympus

But dont i need to eat more to gain muscle?

No. If you are overweight still, you aren't in danger of not having enough calories needed to make the necessary repairs and synthesize new muscle fibers. Plus you are going to be getting "newbie gains" for at least 3 months if you haven't been lifting already, where you will simultaneously gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. This will not last forever though.

Once you notice a plateau, you will have to start doing bulk/cut cycles. On a bulk, you eat your daily calorie needs +250 extra. Any more, you are just packing on extra fat. On a cut, you do the opposite, although you can drop it to something like -500 without any serious losses (assuming everything else in your fitness plan is correct).

So for right now, continue to cut your calories, load up on lots of protein, and go pick things up and put them down until you notice you are seriously stalling.