Gaining muscle before losing weight??

Dimplez413
Dimplez413 Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
For about 4 days now I've been working out with a kettlebell. Clearly that tones your body and makes you gain muscle, but does that prevent from losing weight? I'm trying to get down at least 40lbs and I'm just afraid that lifting will just make me gain muscle and not lose weight. The 2 main things I'm focused on is losing belly fat and toning my arms. I'm also planning on buying 5lbs weights to do my lunges and squats with so before I do so I just want to make sure that doing those workouts won't prevent me from losing weight..

Replies

  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
    If you gain muscle, that's good. You will lose fat faster than you gain muscle so provided you do eat at calorie deficit your weight should drop. BUT the scale is not the best indicator of results. Look at yourself in the mirror and see if you are getting results. A tape measure and b/f calipers are also useful and how your clothes fit.
  • Sycoholic
    Sycoholic Posts: 282 Member
    It's really hard to maximize weight workouts and lose fat because you're not feeding the muscles. Now that doesn't mean it can't be done. My own experience had me using a tape measure. A scale just didn't work. After awhile I took two weeks off from weights, did a lot of cardio and lost 10lbs. Those two weeks got me a lot closer to my ideal weight and now that I'm back to lifting I have much better definition which has fired me up even more.

    Now a suggestion I have is to do two workouts a day. In the morning, before breakfast (or eating anything) do a half hour of cardio. You'll be burning fat because you've fasted all night and your body has an empty fuel tank. I've read studies that show that you'll lose 20% more fat this way.
  • crazy4lulu
    crazy4lulu Posts: 822 Member
    you gain muscle by eating at a surplus and bulking so to say. you lift heavy to gain muscle. you do minimal reps at a heavy weight to gain muscle. you do NOT gain muscle by lifting 10 lb weights. you lose weight by burning off more calories than you chew!!!!! if you want to tone your arms and lose belly fat... try HIIT!! it works!
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
    bump.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    You will not gain muscle with light weights. You can burn fat, but it must be in conjunction with a good diet.

    So to answer your question, no, you won't gain weight (or muscle) by doing kettlebell and dumbbell lifting.
  • rick_po
    rick_po Posts: 449 Member
    Remember that what you really want is to reduce your body fat percentage, not just "lose weight." The scale is a decent approximation of your goal, but it's not perfect. If you're throwing a kettlebell around, don't be a slave to the scale - be sure to track your measurements, too.

    In the end, you might find out you only need to lose 30 pounds, if you gain enough muscle with your weight training. Also, the more strong muscle you build now, the easier it will be to lose fat later. So not only is this early muscle gain making you stronger, it's also an investment in your future weight loss.

    For most women, the last thing you need to worry about is gaining too much muscle. Celebrate every pound of muscle you can get.
  • Fithealthyforlife
    Fithealthyforlife Posts: 866 Member
    It honestly doesn't matter which happens first...

    Losing fat, gaining muscle, or both.

    You will look and feel better either way.
    Both will eventually happen for you. Stick with it!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Lift now, because it will preserve your lean muscle mass and help drive your bodyfat% lower.

    And don't bother buying 5 pound weights to do squats and lunges with. I promise you that your legs won't even notice 10 pounds. Either buy something significantly heavy, or better yet, spend the money on a jump rope or running shoes.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Do you want to lose weight or fat?
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Lift now, because it will preserve your lean muscle mass and help drive your bodyfat% lower.

    And don't bother buying 5 pound weights to do squats and lunges with. I promise you that your legs won't even notice 10 pounds. Either buy something significantly heavy, or better yet, spend the money on a jump rope or running shoes.

    Ding ding ding.
  • mink63
    mink63 Posts: 35
    Believe me, if you lose weight without building muscle you will be "skinny fat". If you gained weight during pregnacy, i bet you lost some muscle and added some jiggle like me. 5 pound weight will do nothing for you!!! Total waste of your time and energy. Are you afraid muscle will make you bulk? It wont! It will make you lean and hot. You want muscle!
  • TinaReinholz
    TinaReinholz Posts: 37
    Bump

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