Sending myself mixed signals? Cut vs. Bulk?

esjohnson03

Hello All!

I'm sure I'm not the first person to ask this question but I can't find a good answer anywhere... can you lose weight AND gain lean body muscle while on a calorie deficit if you're still considered "overweight?"... and if so, about when does that stop?

I'm down 57lbs but still hovering around the 300lb mark. I'm 6'5" and figure I have another 40-50lbs to lose before I'm near my goal. I read in multiple sources that lifters typically go through bulking & cutting phases but I assume these people are already around a healthy maintenance-type weight, which I'm obviously not at yet. How long is it possible to continue to see reduction in body fat and increase of muscle while dieting? Am I likely to notice a plateau on the scale or significant decrease in the rate of gains while strength training when I approach that point?

Or maybe it's more clear if I re-issue my question in a different way: Am I sending my body mixed signals by 1) eating a calorie deficit (i.e. telling myself to lose weight) while 2) lifting ~3-4 times a week and making sure I have a high protein diet (i.e. telling myself to gain muscle)?

My goal is to lose the fat but retain as much of the muscle I've gained over the last year's worth of workout (increase muscle eventually) and am wondering if it makes more sense to increase cardio and focus on cutting and then build later or if a more "balanced" approach of lifting/cardio will continue to work. Thank you in advance for any productive suggestions/comments/criticisms!

auddii

Tagging to see the answer. I know there are "newbie gains", but don't know how much you can gain or how long it lasts. I've been wondering, so I'm looking forward to the answer. (Although I'll be different anyways as a female.)

SideSteel

Think of it this way:

Suppose you were to just do cardio and diet and no weight lifting, and drop down to 220lbs. You might lose 60lbs of fat and 20lbs of muscle. I'm literally pulling numbers out of my *kitten* but it's to make a point.

Now lets suppose you were to lift weights, do cardio, and diet down to 220lbs. You might lose 80lbs of fat and zero lbs of muscle. So in this example you don't gain ANY muscle.


Now compare the two results. In the case of lifting weights, the END RESULT is that you are MORE MUSCULAR even though you did not actually gain LBM.


I reiterate, I'm pulling numbers out of my *kitten*. But the example should explain why actual gains in skeletal muscle aren't entirely relevant when you're asking whether or not lifting makes sense.

So the cliffs to your answer: You should be lifting while in a caloric deficit. Doing some cardio is also a good idea if you don't have a diversion to it.

As to the specifics: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

Sarauk2sf

Just to add to SideSteel's post.

Yes, it is possible to make gains while overweight. However, the amount will depend on a number of factors, one of which is whether you are new to lifting (which it sounds like you are not). Others include age, gender, training intensity, BF%, genetics etc etc etc. However, as there are so many variables, there is no way of predicting how much, or even if, you will make gains.

The important thing to focus on is LBM retention. Muscle is very hard to gain and you do not want to lose it while dieting. An appropriate strength training routine as well as adequate nutrition will enable you to keep as much muscle as possible.

CoderGal

calorie deficit: you'll lose muscle and fat. There's a 'newbie gains' thing...I don't know much about it. Apparently it's minimal. I don't think you can hulk on a bunch of muscle with newbie gains. With strength training you'll lose a higher ratio of fat then muscle. You'll become firmer faster.

calorie surplus: You'll gain muscle and fat. With strength training you'll gain a higher ratio of muscle then fat. Put it this way. This is what I'm doing and I'm up 10 lbs and in the same pants.

I wouldn't worry about confusing yourself or your body lol. I'm not sure if you'll lose as fast, you may. But I've seen some incredible changes in people who decide to go the strength training route. Some of them aren't dieting and are just getting slimmer. Some of them are dieting and looking quite a lot slimmer then and when you hear their weight you'd be surprised. I'm significantly smaller now at 130 then I was before at 130...like...by a lot...like...I remember feeling like crap at 130 thinking 'How did I let myself get to this point' and feeling embarrassed in my clothes even when it fit. Now I'm like yeah...look at that...muscle lol.

edit: omg I was talking to someone how I use to say the word like between sentences and have stopped for years and now I'm typing it :S

Anyway what Sidesteel and Sara said, they've been looking into this and doing this for a lot longer then I have