When to start lifting?

joleenl

I need advice. I have been reading and gearing up to start heavy lifting. My problem is I still have at least 25 pounds I want to lose, so should I lose them first and then start lifting? If a calorie deficit is how we lose weight but the only way to gain muscle is by eating a calorie surplus so I am under the understanding I can't lose wieght and gain muscle at the same time. Can I start lifting and eat a deficit to strengthen my exsisting muscles to lose weight and then once at my goal weight start eating a surplus to gain additional muscle? I can't really see the point in gaining beautiful muscle if I have so much fat that they can't be seen.

Another question:

To gain muscle can I eat a surplus on heavy lifting days only and be at a deficit on rest days? Will that be enough? Or do I have to be in a surplus constantly?

joleenl

Oh I should mention I already started some strength training. I have 40 pound weights at home which I started to use. I also do like sits ups, push ups, and planks along with other exercises right now.

Acg67

I need advice. I have been reading and gearing up to start heavy lifting. My problem is I still have at least 25 pounds I want to lose, so should I lose them first and then start lifting? If a calorie deficit is how we lose weight but the only way to gain muscle is by eating a calorie surplus so I am under the understanding I can't lose wieght and gain muscle at the same time. Can I start lifting and eat a deficit to strengthen my exsisting muscles to lose weight and then once at my goal weight start eating a surplus to gain additional muscle? I can't really see the point in gaining beautiful muscle if I have so much fat that they can't be seen.

Another question:

To gain muscle can I eat a surplus on heavy lifting days only and be at a deficit on rest days? Will that be enough? Or do I have to be in a surplus constantly?

The answer to the thread is yesterday

You will be able to gain some muscle while in a consistent deficit since you're new to lifting. You could do a surplus on lifting days and deficit on rest days for a recomp type diet but progress will be much slower on both the fat loss and muscle gain fronts

joleenl

I need advice. I have been reading and gearing up to start heavy lifting. My problem is I still have at least 25 pounds I want to lose, so should I lose them first and then start lifting? If a calorie deficit is how we lose weight but the only way to gain muscle is by eating a calorie surplus so I am under the understanding I can't lose wieght and gain muscle at the same time. Can I start lifting and eat a deficit to strengthen my exsisting muscles to lose weight and then once at my goal weight start eating a surplus to gain additional muscle? I can't really see the point in gaining beautiful muscle if I have so much fat that they can't be seen.

Another question:

To gain muscle can I eat a surplus on heavy lifting days only and be at a deficit on rest days? Will that be enough? Or do I have to be in a surplus constantly?

The answer to the thread is yesterday

You will be able to gain some muscle while in a consistent deficit since you're new to lifting. You could do a surplus on lifting days and deficit on rest days for a recomp type diet but progress will be much slower on both the fat loss and muscle gain fronts

So if I start lifting and eat a surplus constantly.... will I still lose weight?.... I don't care if it's slow.

Acg67

I need advice. I have been reading and gearing up to start heavy lifting. My problem is I still have at least 25 pounds I want to lose, so should I lose them first and then start lifting? If a calorie deficit is how we lose weight but the only way to gain muscle is by eating a calorie surplus so I am under the understanding I can't lose wieght and gain muscle at the same time. Can I start lifting and eat a deficit to strengthen my exsisting muscles to lose weight and then once at my goal weight start eating a surplus to gain additional muscle? I can't really see the point in gaining beautiful muscle if I have so much fat that they can't be seen.

Another question:

To gain muscle can I eat a surplus on heavy lifting days only and be at a deficit on rest days? Will that be enough? Or do I have to be in a surplus constantly?

The answer to the thread is yesterday

You will be able to gain some muscle while in a consistent deficit since you're new to lifting. You could do a surplus on lifting days and deficit on rest days for a recomp type diet but progress will be much slower on both the fat loss and muscle gain fronts

So if I start lifting and eat a surplus constantly.... will I still lose weight?.... I don't care if it's slow.

No, if you are in a surplus you will gain weight

Capt_Apollo

You can lift and eat at a deficit to lose weight. Maintain a high protein intake to build muscle. you'll be building muscle for a while thanks to what is known as newbie gains. These gains last for a long long time.

zaftiggirl

I have like 80lbs to lose, and I started lifting heavy right away! I'm losing weight at a slower pace but my body is changing more quickly than it has with previous weight loss attempts.

Feel free to correct me on this, MFP, but this is what I've learned in my research: the idea is that your body already has a surplus of calories from which to build muscle - the fat on your body! Lifting heavy while cutting calories moderately helps you to keep your lean body mass and build it slowly, so the weight you lose is more fat and less lean tissues.

I think the biggest 'transition' is to stop tracking progress by the scale alone, and go by measurements/body fat percentage as well, putting more emphasis on those.

I lift 3x a week and do yoga 2x a week (yoga on my rest days; reserving recreational cardio for weekends) and I eat about 2100 calories every day. On rest days, if I'm not hungry I might stop at 1800 - it just depends on how I'm feeling. At a higher calorie level, and with the adjustment to a new workout I fluctuated like crazy for about two weeks - but I'm back to losing steadily now and I feel great!

joleenl

I need advice. I have been reading and gearing up to start heavy lifting. My problem is I still have at least 25 pounds I want to lose, so should I lose them first and then start lifting? If a calorie deficit is how we lose weight but the only way to gain muscle is by eating a calorie surplus so I am under the understanding I can't lose wieght and gain muscle at the same time. Can I start lifting and eat a deficit to strengthen my exsisting muscles to lose weight and then once at my goal weight start eating a surplus to gain additional muscle? I can't really see the point in gaining beautiful muscle if I have so much fat that they can't be seen.

Another question:

To gain muscle can I eat a surplus on heavy lifting days only and be at a deficit on rest days? Will that be enough? Or do I have to be in a surplus constantly?

The answer to the thread is yesterday

You will be able to gain some muscle while in a consistent deficit since you're new to lifting. You could do a surplus on lifting days and deficit on rest days for a recomp type diet but progress will be much slower on both the fat loss and muscle gain fronts

So if I start lifting and eat a surplus constantly.... will I still lose weight?.... I don't care if it's slow.

No, if you are in a surplus you will gain weight

So should I gain some muscle first and then try to lose my wieght? I really want to lose the weight and gain muscle - I just cant decide what order is best!

DopeItUp

I need advice. I have been reading and gearing up to start heavy lifting. My problem is I still have at least 25 pounds I want to lose, so should I lose them first and then start lifting? If a calorie deficit is how we lose weight but the only way to gain muscle is by eating a calorie surplus so I am under the understanding I can't lose wieght and gain muscle at the same time. Can I start lifting and eat a deficit to strengthen my exsisting muscles to lose weight and then once at my goal weight start eating a surplus to gain additional muscle? I can't really see the point in gaining beautiful muscle if I have so much fat that they can't be seen.

Another question:

To gain muscle can I eat a surplus on heavy lifting days only and be at a deficit on rest days? Will that be enough? Or do I have to be in a surplus constantly?

The answer to the thread is yesterday

You will be able to gain some muscle while in a consistent deficit since you're new to lifting. You could do a surplus on lifting days and deficit on rest days for a recomp type diet but progress will be much slower on both the fat loss and muscle gain fronts

So if I start lifting and eat a surplus constantly.... will I still lose weight?.... I don't care if it's slow.

No, if you are in a surplus you will gain weight

So should I gain some muscle first and then try to lose my wieght? I really want to lose the weight and gain muscle - I just cant decide what order is best!

Do whichever you prefer, there is no right or wrong answer. Whether you're in a deficit or in a surplus you should be lifting regardless. It just depends if you want to be losing weight or gaining weight currently.

JulesAlloggio

as soon as possible... there is no time limit as to when to start.

RoseTears143

I agree with other posters - start lifting now. I started lifting 4 weeks ago right along with doing Insanity. It will help shape your body faster and as you start to build that muscle you will burn fat faster by default which will make it easier for you to get those last few lbs off most people struggle with. Just be sure to get enough protein from whatever sources you choose to build that lean muscle. And don't eat at surplus on the regular or you will gain weight instead of lose like mentioned.

joleenl

as soon as possible... there is no time limit as to when to start.

Did you even read the question?

I know there's no time limit.

I wanted to know basically if it's better to lose weight then gain muscle or gain muscle then lose weight.

JulesAlloggio

Mix cardio and weight lifting together. You will shed more weight doing so.

And yes I read it. Sorry I didn't give more detail the first time.

mytime1986

I want to start heavy lifting. But I am at loss as to what to do other than show up at weights section of the gym. Is there any good sites/ books or any place at all I can get some solid info on what and how to build a good routine and when I should increase my weights. I use little weights now but nothing over 15 pounds.

joleenl

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll start lifting at deficit until I lose some more weight then I'll "bulk" or eat at a surplus to gain muscle. I have already found a good protein supplement that meets my diatary concerns so I think I'm ready to get started.

joleenl

Starting strength or NROL4W. I have both books!

Capt_Apollo

I want to start heavy lifting. But I am at loss as to what to do other than show up at weights section of the gym. Is there any good sites/ books or any place at all I can get some solid info on what and how to build a good routine and when I should increase my weights. I use little weights now but nothing over 15 pounds.

Yes, there are many great websites and books out there on lifting and strength training!

mytime1986

Do you know any off the top of your head at least to get me started?

mytime1986

Thanks I will look them up. :happy:

pluckabee

I'm also interested in the answer to this question, but I never seem to find a satisfactory answer when a thread comes up.

I think the main answers I'm looking far are:

If I eat at a deficit and lift weights will I gain muscle, retain muscle or lose muscle?

ie, is it pointless to lift while eating at a deficit because if you lift you HAVE to do a leangains type diet or else you're wasting your time? And if it isn't pointless, what benefit are you getting from eating at a deficit all the time and lifting weights?

JulesAlloggio

This is what I did.... I would lift weights and do abs on Mon-Wed-Fri... Cardio days on Tues-Thurs-Sat rest Sunday. On my weight lifting days with no cardio..I figured out my BMR and ate about 200 more calories of that and increased protein..lowered carbs.

On my cardio days, I ate 300 more calories than my BMR and increased carbs (for energy) and ate 1 g per pound of weight... (126=126g protein) ate a good amount of healthy fats on both work out days. Sunday's was rest so I only ate my BMR.

Its a total numbers game, but once you get it, you will be burning fat and seeing muscle in no time.


I hope that helps.