Hmm I lost ten pounds... can I be done now?

yo_andi

For the record, I think there is an issue of semantics here.

While it is true that it is incredibly hard, if not impossible, to gain muscle while eating at a deficit, building muscle and reducing bodyfat is possible. Building implies working on, or developing what's already there. Gaining muscle has to do with creating something where there was nothing before and that has to happen at a surplus.

At least, I think that's the issue here.

crazylovergrl

A slice of pizza is not going to make you gain a whole lb. 1 lb = 3500 calories. If it does, you might have a gluten allergy that's inflaming your body.
That's crazy talk. A whole pizza, yes. A slice, no.
It took me 5 years to get where I'm at now from 235. I took small steps and now I do eat very clean and work out at least 4 times a week, but things weren't always like that and they most likely shouldn't have been...
Like everyone else said, it's a lifestyle not a diet.

I have tips for you:
work out- it will increase your metabolism, curb your appetite and increase all of the feel good chemicals in your brain
eat more veggies- try to fill your plate half way with non-starchy veggies. It will give you less room to eat whatever you decide put on the other half of your plate
Eat protein, complex carb combinations- it will keep you full longer
Nothing should be off limits- deprivation will make you binge
Decide to live- Obesity will KILL you. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones

And for god's sake, start out at maintenance for your ideal weight. You might just end up losing weight there if you've been going overboard for so long. Ease into it! It's a way of life forever!!!

YOU CAN DO IT!

yoovie

just because you lose fat and get leaner that does not mean you are building muscle...


a lot of people on this site have those concepts mixed up.

to build muscle ie add mass one must have a calorie surplus over a period of time

to lose weight cut fat one must have a calorie deficit over a period of time

now someone explain to me how you can do both at the same time...

now when you get leaner aka lower you body fat % then you body will be more muscular thus making it more efficient, but you are not "building muscle" when you get leaner. you are just removing a lot of the fat from around the muscles you already have.

Im sorry but you do have this a little confused and we have already explained how you do both.

By eating with a surplus (which doesnt even have to be that much of a surplus) you are building muscle. The muscle you are building from scratch burns fat at a higher rate - you keep getting stronger - you keep burning exponentially more just by existing. You lift heavy, you push hard, you burn off the fat - and not just while youre exercising but for the entire day following that workout.

When you eat at a deficit, your body must burn off stored fat and that lowers your body fat percentage.
When you eat at a surplus because you are lifting or building muscle, your body has to burn off stored fat WHILE using your surplus cals AND stored fat to repair and rebuild your muscles.

Both scenarios lower your body fat percentage.
One scenario leaves you looking droopy at goal weight.
One scenario leaves you looking like you think your going to look at goal weight.

you can lift all the weights you wants but you are not going to build muscle and reduce fat at the same time...

Im walking proof that you are 100% wrong. In the last two years ive been focusing on strength, Ive lost 0 pounds, 14% body fat and over 24 inches around my body as well as going from a size 11/12 to a 7/8 and thats exactly what happened. I built muscle, I lowered my body fat and I didnt lose any pounds. I just shrank.

so how much weight did you gain??????

you are atrociously bad at math 175-175 = +/- 0

simply put if you didnt gain any weight you didnt gain any muscle...

SIMPLY PUT i replaced the fat I was holding with more muscle.

I was holding fat. I took it out of my skin and shoved some muscles in. But I took out the same amount of fat as muscle that I put in. So im the same weight Im just made of different things and therefore smaller.

OMG I swore I would never post this picture.



fat is bigger than muscle when it comes to how much room it takes up in the body. So if I take out 5 pounds of fat and build 5 pounds of muscle- i weigh the same but im smaller.

if you only want to be right and not learn something about biology- or if youre trolling and getting a kick out of pretending to not understand, please be nice and let me know now so I dont kill myself trying to help you :sad:

thingal12

this happens to me A LOT! I try to reward myself for continuing this journey to be healthier and skinnier. I reward myself with food and clothes.

yoovie

For the record, I think there is an issue of semantics here.

While it is true that it is incredibly hard, if not impossible, to gain muscle while eating at a deficit, building muscle and reducing bodyfat is possible. Building implies working on, or developing what's already there. Gaining muscle has to do with creating something where there was nothing before and that has to happen at a surplus.

At least, I think that's the issue here.

yeah which is why I stated that you cant do that for more than a week before it stops working.

yo_andi

For the record, I think there is an issue of semantics here.

While it is true that it is incredibly hard, if not impossible, to gain muscle while eating at a deficit, building muscle and reducing bodyfat is possible. Building implies working on, or developing what's already there. Gaining muscle has to do with creating something where there was nothing before and that has to happen at a surplus.

At least, I think that's the issue here.

yeah which is why I stated that you cant do that for more than a week before it stops working.

Yep.

Kenzietea2

just because you lose fat and get leaner that does not mean you are building muscle...


a lot of people on this site have those concepts mixed up.

to build muscle ie add mass one must have a calorie surplus over a period of time

to lose weight cut fat one must have a calorie deficit over a period of time

now someone explain to me how you can do both at the same time...

now when you get leaner aka lower you body fat % then you body will be more muscular thus making it more efficient, but you are not "building muscle" when you get leaner. you are just removing a lot of the fat from around the muscles you already have.

Im sorry but you do have this a little confused and we have already explained how you do both.

By eating with a surplus (which doesnt even have to be that much of a surplus) you are building muscle. The muscle you are building from scratch burns fat at a higher rate - you keep getting stronger - you keep burning exponentially more just by existing. You lift heavy, you push hard, you burn off the fat - and not just while youre exercising but for the entire day following that workout.

When you eat at a deficit, your body must burn off stored fat and that lowers your body fat percentage.
When you eat at a surplus because you are lifting or building muscle, your body has to burn off stored fat WHILE using your surplus cals AND stored fat to repair and rebuild your muscles.

Both scenarios lower your body fat percentage.
One scenario leaves you looking droopy at goal weight.
One scenario leaves you looking like you think your going to look at goal weight.

you can lift all the weights you wants but you are not going to build muscle and reduce fat at the same time...

Im walking proof that you are 100% wrong. In the last two years ive been focusing on strength, Ive lost 0 pounds, 14% body fat and over 24 inches around my body as well as going from a size 11/12 to a 7/8 and thats exactly what happened. I built muscle, I lowered my body fat and I didnt lose any pounds. I just shrank.

so how much weight did you gain??????

you are atrociously bad at math 175-175 = +/- 0

simply put if you didnt gain any weight you didnt gain any muscle...

LOL Yoovie, you are wasting your time with this one! I am literally laughing out loud.
Did you not see her pictures?

spippin73

MFP is not a diet. It is a lifestyle change. But...you have to be willing to want it. My son has transformed his body in the last 10 months and he got me going. He has lost 80 pounds and his confidence level has sky rocketed. Simple...his determination has set him free!!! Now I am on the journey with him. My weight loss is slow, but promising.

Get a little trampoline and run/jump to your favorite tunes. Just a little thing like that can help.

I have set no time limit on reaching my goal and I don't feel deprived. Recording everything I eat has opened my eyes and made me realize that 1200 cal. is plenty of food for me. Logging it has made it real.

Good luck to you. Do this for you.

yoovie

LOL Yoovie, you are wasting your time with this one! I am literally laughing out loud.
Did you not see her pictures?

no... what pictures??

mandorla

You've made some awesome changes and you're doing awesome!

I am lazy I do not want to find time to exercise and I do not like being sweaty. That being said I have found 45 minutes in my day for walking. I walk during lunch for 30 minutes and again in the afternoon for 15 minutes. I personally feel so very much better because of it and it doesn't feel as though I'm using up time I could be sleeping or doing fun things.

crazylovergrl

Hehe, you ladies are silly. I've been at a deficit and built muscle over the past few months. Went from 45 lb squats to 85 lbs, upped my bench from 45 to 65... Could give endless examples of this, plus it shows on my body. Maybe some people need to bulk, but not everyone needs a calorie surplus to gain muscle.
And don't you talk bad about my Yoovie... She's cute nomatter what body fat %.

LizL217

SIMPLY PUT i replaced the fat I was holding with more muscle.

I was holding fat. I took it out of my skin and shoved some muscles in. But I took out the same amount of fat as muscle that I put in. So im the same weight Im just made of different things and therefore smaller.

OMG I swore I would never post this picture.



fat is bigger than muscle when it comes to how much room it takes up in the body. So if I take out 5 pounds of fat and build 5 pounds of muscle- i weigh the same but im smaller.

if you only want to be right and not learn something about biology- or if youre trolling and getting a kick out of pretending to not understand, please be nice and let me know now so I dont kill myself trying to help you :sad:

Hehe, Yoovie, I think you are being remarkably patient!

And to the OP, the benefits of living a healthier life are numerous and self-perpetuating. Exercise a little bit and swap a few unhealthy decisions for healthy ones and you'll have more energy and feel better. You'll want to do more exercise and make even healthier decisions. MOMENTUM is a huge advantage in getting healthy, so keeping it up is so crucial.

But if you want to be done, and feel like living a shortened life with diabetes, bad joints, organ failure and sooooo many other problems, by all means, give up now. But I'm guessing your family would like to have you around for a while, and you'd probably prefer to feel good and be proud of yourself than feel miserable and wallow in self-pity. The choice is no one's but yours.

yoovie

THAT'S A DUDE???????????????

now my brain is blown wide open. I want to help girls learn to accept lifting and love it - but im not arguing with a DUDE about how muscles work. Im OUT.

yoovie

Hehe, you ladies are silly. I've been at a deficit and built muscle over the past few months. Went from 45 lb squats to 85 lbs, upped my bench from 45 to 65... Could give endless examples of this, plus it shows on my body. Maybe some people need to bulk, but not everyone needs a calorie surplus to gain muscle.
And don't you talk bad about my Yoovie... She's cute nomatter what body fat %.

♥ I love seeing lifter girls around - proving you get smaller - and even if you do gain muscle weight after awhile- youre still smaller and way stronger and no one cares about those 8 pounds seriously. NO. ONE.

leah0521

Don't give up! If you want to lose the weight, do what it takes. I HATE exercise. I started out a month ago on MFP thinking I"m only going to change my diet, I can lose the 30-40 pounds doing this, no exercise. I noticed some changes, yeah, but then I thought about it, I want to notice changes faster. I can do this! I have been starting to jog in past two weeks. Don't get me wrong, I can only jog about 1-2 minutes right now before I am tempted to lay down on on the ground and say screw it, but I keep going. I DREAD lunchtime (that's when I jog) but I do it every day and then I feel great afterwards, for 2 reasons, I DID IT, I got my butt out of my chair, even though I really really didn't want to, and because my body needs it and it regenerates me for the 2nd half of my day. Hang in there, everyone's right. You don't have to cut out all food you love, just moderate and watch the calories.

supertracylynn

How often are you weighing? Weigh once a week, on a Thursday or Friday morning (to give yourself some breathing space from the weekend).

Change ONE thing at a time. If you change it ALL at once, it's a sucky diet and not a lifestyle change.

Angie_Fritts

Wow - sorry losing weight was such an inconvience for you! If it's that much of a hassle and the benefits don't outweigh the negatives, then yes....you can be done.

The problem is, you're still thinking of this as a diet instead of a way to lose weight and change your lifestyle to keep that weight off long term. If you can't eat certain foods because they trigger you, that's fine. And certain foods have health benefits that others don't. But, you don't have to cut out foods just to lose weight. Yes, the scale jumps up the day after you eat pizza.....but it goes back down after the sodium is flushed out of your system. Drink more water.

You also don't have to exercise - it's not required to lose weight. But don't say that you're too busy. That's insulting to the MFP members who do find time to exercise - we all have obligations, commitments, and requirements. But a lot of us just make sacrifices in order to get a workout in. If you don't want to do that, that's fine.

I stay motivated because being 43lbs lighter is better than being obese. And being fit and healthy is better than stuffing my face with too many calories. That's my motivation....but it sounds like you're just not there yet. Hopefully it "clicks" for you soon.

THIS^

victorious27

nothing tastes as good as being thin feels

...says the one with butterfingers as their picture.

I honestly haaate that quote. Just like, "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Like...why would I even remotely think about getting cake if I wasn't able to eat it? :grumble:

Kenzietea2

LOL Yoovie, you are wasting your time with this one! I am literally laughing out loud.
Did you not see her pictures?

no... what pictures??

Sorry, exhausted with a 5 week old.
I meant that part for the guy arguing with you

jofjltncb6

In...and with a large bucket of virtual popcorn.