What Would Happen if Weight Training with a Calorie Deficit?

albayin

I think my primary goal isn't gaining muscle but rather lose fat while keeping whatever little muscle I got. Now I wonder if this is doable. Last round I did was to increase calorie intake when starting lifting heavy then I ended up bigger than ever. Not only I "gained" back all the weight I managed to lose but also gained a few more pounds. I was at my record high in my whole life. And of course, inchese were increasing too. I was so depressed. Then I stopped wt, but started dieting alone. I managed to go back down to smaller but now I wanted to lift again, but I can't afford being any bigger.

Mind if I be kind of a butthead for a minute?

As a woman, and on a diet you have two huge strikes against you ever gaining muscle mass easily. Without the additional calories, and very limited amounts of testosterone, it will not ever be easy for you to bulk up. Probably the weight and mass gain you saw was simply the excess water surrounding your muscles after beginning lifting. Right at first, your muscles will swell a LOT with water in order to help them heal, and from the shock of the new exercise. As weeks roll on, the excess water will flush from your system and you will get back to "normal" size.

The absolute best thing you can do for your body is to add weight lifting into your workouts along with good amounts of cardio. Without the extra calories, and a LOT of hours of lifting, I guarantee you that you will not bulk up, it's just not possible. :-)

I wasn't worried about "bulking up" if they were true muscle gain. The thing that puzzled me as I stated earlier is that swollen, which annoyed big time. It was going on for 3 months before I decided to recheck what I was doing.

albayin

I also read that lots of cardio with weight training might not suit everyone's need? Ideally I would like to see a lighter weight on the scale and smaller size on pants.

RiverDancer68

My thighs got bigger too. I don't know what it was from, but when I finished doing Insanity my jeans no longer fit my thighs.
I was eating higher calories then too.
I am now lifting 3 times a week and eating less. It has been two and a half months. I haven't lost any weight, but My body looks much more fit and I am holding my fat in better areas.

I put on 1" in my thighs, and am having the same issues with my jeans! Did you lose inches after you changed things up?? My jeans fit me everywhere else the same, just not in my darn thighs!!!

LadyIntrepid

I've been combining weight training (full body for 1 hour 3x/week) plus lots of intense cardio (usually 4-5 hours total/week) and eating at a deficit (netting 1200-1500/day, eating exercise calories back) without a lot of weight to lose, like yourself, and I am very pleased with the results. Weight goal achieved, body fat % goal achieved (22% for a going on 50-yar-old), inches lost, muscles look nicely toned, not skinny fat in the least and I feel really good overall. Combining weight training, cardio, and calorie deficit has worked really well for me.

wareagle8706

Good things will happen.

If you are new to weight training you will still be able to increase strength quite dramatically and you will retain your current muscle mass, giving you that toned look as opposed to skinny-fat.

Start tomorrow.

Depending on your yor current weight anD what you intend on doing, 1200 cals may not be right for you, work out your calorie requirements for yourself. If you gonna start lifting eat more protein than mfp tells you.

Very good answer.

wareagle8706

I also read that lots of cardio with weight training might not suit everyone's need? Ideally I would like to see a lighter weight on the scale and smaller size on pants.

no guarentees on the smaller number on the scale if you're weight training, but expect a small pant size. Just stick with it for 6-8 weeks to see results. You can't just weight train for a couple weeks and expect to look any different. You might feel stonger but that probably won't SHOW on your body for a good 8 weeks. Just be consistent and stay with it.

psuLemon

It truly is difficult to determine what will happen. Depending on how much weight you have to lose to fit into the normal category, your body might drop body fat at first. You will definitely gain strength at first but that will stall over time. Is it possible you still retain all your lean body mass, sure. Is it a guarantee, nope. I say this because all the studies are conducted on obese patients and I have yet to see any study done on an acceptable weight person. I will say, from my experience, a lot of people stall at even cutting fat when they are on lcd's. For example, I worked with a women who is 36 years old, 5'5, 155 lbs. She couldn't lower her body fat from 28% when she was eating 1400-1500 calories. I had her eating 2100 on the 4 lifting days and 1800 on the three rest days. 12 weeks later, here is her response

"I just wanted to thank you for your help. You helped me a few months back and I just wanted to give you an update on my progress. 12 weeks ago I started at 154 and 28% bf. I got my bf remeasured last Friday and it was 24%. But I only lost 1 pound. It is crazy to me but I have learned to ignore the scale. You were right that keeping consistent and not giving up my body would finally adjust.

Thanks again for your help!

Stephanie"

taso42

I've been strength training in a calorie deficit since roughly the beginning of the year (so 6 months let's say). I am still making strength gains. But I think the gains would come faster/easier on a surplus.

psuLemon

For most people, you actually can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. It all comes down to nutrition and what you put in your body and the amount and type of weight training you do. It takes discipline and a strict diet, but it can be done. When you do this, EVERY calorie you put in your body counts.

When I say strict diet, I mean strict diet. Eating cheeseburgers while trying to cut fat and build muscle is not going to cut it, no matter how many calories you take in.

The only two types of people I would say cannot do this is 1) Advanced bodybuilders and 2) very skinny people with below 8 - 10% body fat levels.

I don't buy it. Very few people, expect for elite athletes, have the ability to gain new lean body mass. Not talking strength. In order to create mass, you need more energy than expelled. And a calorie deficit means you burn more energy then you intake. So I will just say, show me science...


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/447514-athletes-can-gain-muscle-while-losing-fat-on-deficit-diet

Sidesteal

Still, here is one guy's view which is interesting reading: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-2.html. The link is for part 2 of the series, but I recommend reading all parts.

Just an aside: That "one guy" who wrote the above, has very good things to say and (IMO of course) is probably right about damn near all of it. I would recommend reading the articles on his site.

MrsLVF

<---This will happen.
I net 1200 calories. I've been Strength training for only about 6 months. In that time I have lost 17 lbs & 3 pant sizes. Prior to that I was not doing any exercise/ calorie tracking.

DixiedoesMFP

This is just my personal experience, and I am presenting it as such.

Lifting makes me hungry. Very hungry. I can't imagine lifting and eating only 1200 calories, but I don't think it will "hurt" you.

I don't lift as well when I'm hungry so that may impair your progress.

The first 4 - 6 weeks I started lifting, I thought I was getting bigger. I think it was retained water and glycogen for muscle repair. I kept at it though, and now I'm getting sleek and lean and the cellulite is disappearing.

PaveGurl

The body will shrink, lean mass will increase... but the weight loss will be slower than many find acceptable.

I train 3x/ week on a body split (Upper, Lower, Upper one week, Lower, Upper, Lower the next) so I'm hitting the same group 2x/ 7 days. the first two months, I was REALLY annoyed 'cos my pants stopped fitting - my tush was getting rounder! ARGH NO!!! *laugh* Then it all kinda came together.

I've lost about 5 inches in my waist, and dropped 2 pants sizes in the last five months. But it took me five months to lose 15 pounds, which some people might find discouraging and damaging to their motivation. My deficit is that I've set my targets to my rough estimate BMR (I don't use the MFP default of 1200) - and I find that when I eat more, I lose more and my training is better. Unfortunately (??) when I eat "clean" I have a hard time eating more calories *laugh*

Jindra12

I'll might save much of your trial and error. You might want to learn more with Paleo and/or Primal, and Crossfit exercise.

For Crossfit: Check them out on youtube to see how hell it is.

However, you'll need to eat above 1200 calories to be a very fitness person.

If you couldn't meet the calories # then you might want to eat bacons. Bacon is your ally.

jennifer52484

The person will be fine.

meggonkgonk

I think the answer you are actually looking for lies in a healthy amount of balance. Weight training and cardio should both be a part of your routine- they compliment each other. If you are using MFP's calculations, you should be eating most of your exercise calories. If the 'eating exercise calories' back doesn't make sense to you, you should be using another way to calculate your intake/output so that the deficit you can be certain you are maintaining a healthy and safe deficit. With less than 20 lbs to go, your deficit should be on the smaller side (300 - 500 calories a day, MAXIMUM 1lb per week).

Just avoid extremes- extreme cardio, extreme weights, extreme deficit- balance it all and and be patient you should see losses.

bagge72

Good things will happen.

If you are new to weight training you will still be able to increase strength quite dramatically and you will retain your current muscle mass, giving you that toned look as opposed to skinny-fat.

Start tomorrow.

Even she's not eating "enough" per MFP's gold standard?

Perfectly safe, and recommended, this person would benefit from taking some BCAA's though, because while lifting in a deficit they help keep the body anabolic. Take extend it is a great product.

*woops

Yanicka1

I tried it and burned out. I feel better when I eat at 1700 calories.

Try it and you will see how it goes for you

jenluvsushi

I lift heavy on a four day split (upper/lower) with cardio 4-5 days a week.....I eat anywhere from maintenance to a 1000 calorie deficit daily (I track my TDEE through bodymedia)....I eat .8 times my body weight in protein and I really watch my sodium and sugar. So far I have lost 56 pounds but I look smaller now than I did when I was 20 pounds lighter. Lifting weighs while in a calorie defict isn't going to make you grow muscle unless you are jamming a needle in your rear. What it will do is help you maintain your current muscle mass while you drop fat which is so important for your metabolism. You may think you are growing muscle but you are not...you are simply taking away the fat layer above it. As far as your thighs getting bigger...no way that it is anything other than water retention when you are only lifting for 20 minutes at a time and I seriously doubt it was heavy lifting. You get tiny tears in your muscle when you lift and they fill with water to help heal....it's not the same kind of water retention as having too much sodium.

Josie_lifting_cats

I did 1,200. I was crabby. I didn't lose a pound. And I didn't seem to get stronger. (I wasn't doing hardcore lifting, though.)

Increased to 1,475 - much better. Started losing weight, and seemed to make better strength gains.

Now I'm at 1,600 calories - but I'm not really looking to drop a lot of weight, just slowly shift to more muscle. So that's why I stay below my TDEE (on average) and above my BMR. I'm not in any big hurry, though. That's the problem with these things... everyone is in such a hurry.