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Should I Stop Trying to Lose Weight???

lorenzoinlr
lorenzoinlr Posts: 338 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm now within 5-8 lbs. of my weight goal. But it occurs to me I'd like to gain at least that much in muscle over the next few months working out. Without getting too far into the debate as to whether one can lose weight and gain muscle at the same time, it seems I'm working against myself if I continue to try and lose.

Shouldn't I reset to a zero weight loss and then just let my resistance training do it's thing? Absent opposing logic from the MFP community, that's what I'm going to do,

So have at it.

Replies

  • cyncetastic
    cyncetastic Posts: 165
    Stop focusing on "weight" and start to focus on your overall body composition. I think what a lot of people mean when they say "I want to lose weight" is "I want to lose fat." You CAN lose fat and build muscle. I have done it - and my body weight only decreased by ~2-3 lbs, yet my body fat percentage went from 23% to ~17%.

    Ignore the scale! Take measurements of your body (waist, hips, thighs, neck, arms, etc) and focus on those instead.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I'm no expert but I say, why not? At some point, the # on the scale (and other arbitrary measurements like BMI) means less and things like physique, body fat % and other body measurements start meaning more. I've seen plenty of examples of that here on the boards and that's what I'm shooting for when I get closer to my goal as well.
  • pinkita
    pinkita Posts: 779 Member
    Check out sites like nerdfitness.com ... I found about it yesterday while looking in one of the other MFP threads and it has a lot of useful info there.
  • lorenzoinlr
    lorenzoinlr Posts: 338 Member
    Stop focusing on "weight" and start to focus on your overall body composition. I think what a lot of people mean when they say "I want to lose weight" is "I want to lose fat." You CAN lose fat and build muscle. I have done it - and my body weight only decreased by ~2-3 lbs, yet my body fat percentage went from 23% to ~17%.

    Ignore the scale! Take measurements of your body (waist, hips, thighs, neck, arms, etc) and focus on those instead.

    Exactly. In fact, it's what I've done as well over these last few months. So why not trust that process and with the added calories enjoy life a little more and make it even easier to gain muscle.
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