Cutting calories and lifting weights... recipe for disaster?

Smiler106

Firstly some background information... I'm a 5'6" female of 195 lbs. A few years ago sucessfully lost 60 lbs through diet and exercise, I maintained my weight for a few years but recently I basicly fell off the wagon and put most of it back on. During my last weight loss I worked out about 3 times a week, spliting my time 50/50 cardio and weights. I was using light weights and high reps. If I'm honest while I was pleased with the weightloss I wasn't sure that the weights were doing me much good.....

Fast forward a few years and here I am now looking lose some fat and add some muscle. I'm working out 3-4 times a week and splitting my gym time roughly 50/50. The difference is that this time I'm lifting much heavier weights with smaller reps. I am also cutting my calorie intake by around 500 per day... but I do eat my work out calories on work out days and try to increase my protein intake.

I recently read an article (which I can't find the link for now, grrr) which said that weight training while cutting your calorie intake was a recipe for disaster as you will not be able to build the muscle back and you will end up actually losing muscle rather than gaining it. I see so much conflicting advice around, I'm confused.

Can anybody tell me the truth of this matter? Is it detrimental to lift weights on a calorie restricted diet?

tangal88

I think it depends on "how much" you cut your cals. overall. I am not sure how many calories you are eating.

How do YOU feel overall? Are you feeling like you have the strength and energy you need to maintain the workout schedule you have, or are you feeling worn out?

Do you see improvement in your strength, muscle density, results, inch loss?

This can help you decide if you are moving in the right direction, or if you still need to make adjustments.

It is true that it is very difficult to add on muscle, while also trying to cut cals to lose fat. But it can be done, albeit slowly. And its much easier to do if you have a surplus of fat stores, vs someone already at their goal weight, with less fat for the body to draw on for excess energy.

Eating your exercise calories is a good idea, as it will help give you back what your body needs. Most people who cut calories and want to build muscle also, neglect eating back the exercise calories, and that does place them at a higher calorie deficit, and that can lead to issues.

Recipe for disaster? I don't think I would call it that exactly - just means you may not have the results you want. But everything is fixable. Tweaks can always be done. It has taken me 5 years to find the best adjustments for me personally to lose fat, gain muscle, lean out, while lifting heavy. And I am still fine-tuning. I don't think anyone ever really stops doing that.

Also, eating higher protein is a good idea, but should be done on all days - not just strength training days. The body builds and repairs muscle most efficiently in the "rest" phase, so it really needs the protein 24 /7 - as you body does not stop using protein just because you are not lifting that day.

Smiler106

I'm eating about 1550 calories on rest days and about 1900 - 2100 on work out days, about 80% of the fluids I take are water. I see a little more definition in my arms and shoulders but is early days to see a lot of improvement, I'll stick with it another few weeks & reassess. My legs and torso are too buried in fat to see any kind of definition there yet, hahaha. Mostly I feel good, I have more energy than I did before I started working out again and mentally I feel more positive. The other day I did an intense work out and then forgot myself and ate a vegitarian meal, I felt dreadful, won't be making that mistake again! I am trying to up my protein intake every day. Thanks for your advice, I will monitor how it's going and adjust accordingly.

tecallahan

Looks like your calorie intake is pretty good -- I like weight training because it helps me lose inches - not so with cardio only. I think with weight lifting you also want to keep your protein up -- and maybe do protein shake after working out. Your body needs the protein to repair the muscle.

Bet_Lynch

Hi, well i can say from my little experience that lifting weights (doesn't have to be really heavy) really helps with the inches. I never used to lift weights nor did i ever measure myself. But last autumn I started to and after a month I lost 2 inches off my waist and 1 inch off my tummy area, even though my weight fluctuated but eventually went down.

vs1023

I think there are many threads all over MFP talking about this and most people seem to say you can't add muscle (bulk) while in a deficit, but if you're looking to lose fat also it's still excellent to continue weight training and be sure you're eating enough protein. MFP puts protein goals really low. I had to manually increase mine (or you can just ignore the red #'s. I do try to get all my protein from food sources, but sometimes I need to add in some whey protein. I did this prior to getting pregnant and having to stop (high risk) and I really saw myself losing fat, but keeping some definition and leaning out a bit. For now I have quite a bit of weight to lose so I want to maintain the muscle mass I have so I continue to lift weights and do a little cardio while in a deficit and eat enough protein. Once my weight is lower or i'm at goal I will think about eating extra to increase muscle mass.