Losing Weight To Building Muscle!

therenegadeangel

Hey everyone. So I won't go on an on, but I've been trying to lose fat and build and maintain muscle for the past 2 months, and I'm a little confused by something.

You know how you see stick skinny dudes and chicks with no muscle? Well, I recently had a thought: If you must lose a certain amount of body fat to show those muscles, why aren't these rail then people muscular? Well duh! They have to actually have that muscle...

My point being, when do you know how much is enough? How can you tell whether you need to lose more fat, or if you actually have lost enough and just need to build muscle? I'm at a loss. See, I'm not overweight, within my range (130 pounds currently) but I have some belly fat. My tummy is actually flat, but when I pull, I see the what I have to lose. I'm just not sure how much weight I need to lose, or even if I have ab muscles to show yet.

I hope this was explained well, but what I'm asking is, how do you know when you've lost enough weight to show your muscle definition?

therenegadeangel

I'd post a pic or two, but I have no idea how :O

Rae6503

Are you lifting weights? That's one of the best ways to maintain muscle during fat loss.

You could get a body fat test. That might help you decide where you want to be.

Personally I decided to switch gears for a while and start working on muscle building even though I still had 10lbs to lose to get to my desired body fat percentage. My plan is to lift heavy and eat a surplus through the winter, then try and cut fat again in the spring and summer. Mainly I got tired of dieting and winter seemed like a good time to eat a lot.

Rae6503

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/262875-need-help-adding-pictures-look-here-pic-heavy

therenegadeangel

Here's like two pics, not very clear, sorry about that!




Thanks for the help Rae! And yes I have begun to weight lift, consistently. I just don't know if I should lose more weight, or just keep lifting to get that definition.

Rae6503

It's up to you. I think you are right, you could still go down a little more (if you'd like, I think you look great now but I totally understand the desire to look a little more defined) or you could take a break for a while and build muscle.

If you want to keep losing fat, make sure you have a small-moderate calorie deficit, eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, and lift weights 2-3 times a week.

blockhead922

Well, I think losing weight and building muscle can be the same thing. Those super skinny people don't really have to lose weight to be skinny, they just never really gaining weight in the first place... so they've never really needed to workout or build muscle.
I absolutely LOVE Jillian Michael's 6-week 6-pack workouts. They're TORTUROUS but they work. The first time I did it was at night because I had to get something in really quick and no one was home and I just did it, showered, and hit the sack, and when I woke up in the morning I actually saw a difference. Not a major one, but I could tell that if I stuck with it for the 5x a week for 6 weeks she recommends, I'd have abs instead of flabs to show off. She makes strength and cardio training the same thing in those workouts and that's why she can guarantee results.

blockhead922

okay girl, there's no way you're overweight

therenegadeangel

I'm definitely not overweight! I weigh 130 pounds right now. I was just thinking of maybe losing a few pounds and at the same time lifting weights. I do cardio every other day, and lift weights every other day (Basically MON WED FRI SAT). I'm starting to think that I should just focus on building muscle, then after a few months of progression, if I can't see the definition or need more, then seriously lose some weight.

Lozze

I'm definitely not overweight! I weigh 130 pounds right now. I was just thinking of maybe losing a few pounds and at the same time lifting weights. I do cardio every other day, and lift weights every other day (Basically MON WED FRI SAT). I'm starting to think that I should just focus on building muscle, then after a few months of progression, if I can't see the definition or need more, then seriously lose some weight.

Glad you know you're not underweight. You're GORGEOUS!

I see it put on here that what women need to do to get the bodies they want is so lift and lift heavy. Someone with the link (not on home computer sorry!) can hopefully post to an article about a girl who put on weight through lifting but got smaller. (nerd fitness?) The pics are AMAZING and they seem to be what you want.

Your body is great and if you're looking to get more muscular weights really are the way to go.

therenegadeangel

I'm definitely not overweight! I weigh 130 pounds right now. I was just thinking of maybe losing a few pounds and at the same time lifting weights. I do cardio every other day, and lift weights every other day (Basically MON WED FRI SAT). I'm starting to think that I should just focus on building muscle, then after a few months of progression, if I can't see the definition or need more, then seriously lose some weight.

Glad you know you're not underweight. You're GORGEOUS!

I see it put on here that what women need to do to get the bodies they want is so lift and lift heavy. Someone with the link (not on home computer sorry!) can hopefully post to an article about a girl who put on weight through lifting but got smaller. (nerd fitness?) The pics are AMAZING and they seem to be what you want.

Your body is great and if you're looking to get more muscular weights really are the way to go.

Thanks! :blushing:

Well, I think that's what most people are saying is to keep up with the lifting! I'm gonna see if I can find that article. But I actually started lifting back in November, started with 7.5 pound weights. Now I bench 40 pounds! So I'm definitely going to stick with my weight training. Thanks everyone.

And if someone finds that article, link me please! Any other advice is oh so welcome :flowerforyou:

Lozze

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero

Found it!

That's what I want to look like. Not sure if it's possible since I'm so overweight now, but I'm going to try!

It seems you're on the right track, good luck!

kdiamond

You have a great base to build on...I bet you will look even better if you lift some heavy weights!

og8997889

This kind of reminds of an old program I did last year that helped me lose 47 pounds over 8 months and was able to finally able to see my 2 pack of abs. (working on my 6 pack lol) http://boyels.com was the program if I remember correctly. Its time to build muscle and high intesity workouts.