Tips on weight loss and muscle gain?

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meliaazzam
meliaazzam Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Can anyone give me any tips on losing weight and gaining muscle at the same time. I almost sounds like a negative thing because the muscle will make the scale go up. But I understand that.
If anyone has done this tell me what you did. Thanks!
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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,692 Member
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    Can anyone give me any tips on losing weight and gaining muscle at the same time. I almost sounds like a negative thing because the muscle will make the scale go up. But I understand that.
    If anyone has done this tell me what you did. Thanks!
    Not probable due to the fact that gaining muscle means gaining weight. While recomp is possible, weight doesn't change much at all while doing it. And it take time to do.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
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    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
  • ash190489
    ash190489 Posts: 587 Member
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    Gaining weight from weight training and gaining muscle takes a while... so you should definitely see a difference on the scale (in terms of it going down for fat loss before you start to see it go back up again in terms of muscle building.

    What I think you might mean is lose weight as in body fat and gain muscle.

    Weight/strength training is going to help in relation to lowering body fat % and in making your clothing sizes smaller but give you more strength and definition. Start here. Get a trainer to show you some compound training exercises at the correct weight. Lots of women are thought to lift too light, making it take even longer to see results. You want a weight that is going to challenge you. Also throw in some High Intensity Interval Training for cardio training too. It's good to have a mix.

    Secondly control your diet, eat plenty of protein to help muscles repair and don't eat confined carbohydrates (white pasta, white bread, etc.), eat wholesome foods - abs are made in the kitchen!

    I am currently in your situation and have been for a little while.

    Good luck x :smile:
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
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    You can't gain muscle on a deficit.

    But what you can do is maintain your lean body mass while losing fat. Eat adequate protein (generally 1g per lb of lean body mass) and lift heavy weights. Also eat at a moderate calorie deficit.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,692 Member
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    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
    While "newbies" gains can happen in a person that's NEVER worked out in their life, muscle gain on a calorie deficit isn't probable unless you're really very overweight/obese, or an athlete returning after a long layoff.
    People that "see" muscle when fat is reduced are mistakenly assuming they gained muscle when that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    You really can't gain muscle when you are eating at a deficit. The best you can hope for is to strengthen and hang onto as much of the muscle that you currently have.

    Eating at a modest deficit, heavy lifting, and consuming at least 1gm protein per lb of LBM are three ways you can do that.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818594-building-muscle-and-losing-fat-at-the-same-time
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
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    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
    While "newbies" gains can happen in a person that's NEVER worked out in their life, muscle gain on a calorie deficit isn't probable unless you're really very overweight/obese, or an athlete returning after a long layoff.
    People that "see" muscle when fat is reduced are mistakenly assuming they gained muscle when that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Huh that's weird since I've lost almost 40 lbs, never plateaued, eat the calories mfp says to eat, and have muscle that I didn't have before. Super JM fan here and she says strength and cardio circuit training burns fat while building muscle and that's what I've done believe it or not
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
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    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
    While "newbies" gains can happen in a person that's NEVER worked out in their life, muscle gain on a calorie deficit isn't probable unless you're really very overweight/obese, or an athlete returning after a long layoff.
    People that "see" muscle when fat is reduced are mistakenly assuming they gained muscle when that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Huh that's weird since I've lost almost 40 lbs, never plateaued, eat the calories mfp says to eat, and have muscle that I didn't have before. Super JM fan here and she says strength and cardio circuit training burns fat while building muscle and that's what I've done believe it or not
    The muscle you say wasn't there before in reality actually was. That's your lean muscle mass. It was previously covered with a layer of fat so it wasn't visible.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
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    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
    While "newbies" gains can happen in a person that's NEVER worked out in their life, muscle gain on a calorie deficit isn't probable unless you're really very overweight/obese, or an athlete returning after a long layoff.
    People that "see" muscle when fat is reduced are mistakenly assuming they gained muscle when that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Huh that's weird since I've lost almost 40 lbs, never plateaued, eat the calories mfp says to eat, and have muscle that I didn't have before. Super JM fan here and she says strength and cardio circuit training burns fat while building muscle and that's what I've done believe it or not

    If your eating at around 1200 cals a day it's highly doubtful you will of gained any significant muscle. You will of lowered your body fat though, making the muscle you did have much more evident.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    The net gain in lean body mass newbies legitimately notice is also only witnessed if the deficit period is short. After a certain length of time, the body will no longer direct adequate nutrients to retain the accrued muscle and will decrease it as it is deemed too metabolically expensive to keep.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
    While "newbies" gains can happen in a person that's NEVER worked out in their life, muscle gain on a calorie deficit isn't probable unless you're really very overweight/obese, or an athlete returning after a long layoff.
    People that "see" muscle when fat is reduced are mistakenly assuming they gained muscle when that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Huh that's weird since I've lost almost 40 lbs, never plateaued, eat the calories mfp says to eat, and have muscle that I didn't have before. Super JM fan here and she says strength and cardio circuit training burns fat while building muscle and that's what I've done believe it or not

    I thought the same thing when I first started out, but I have since learned that the muscle I didn't think was there before was actually just covered with fat. I didn't gain muscle, but it sure looked like I did because my body looked different.

    Scientifically speaking, the human body can either gain: weight AND fat or lose: weight and fat. There is a very small timeframe where both can theoretically happen, but the conditions have to be ideal.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    OP: what are you trying to achieve? What are your goals? Do you currently do any strength training?
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
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    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
    While "newbies" gains can happen in a person that's NEVER worked out in their life, muscle gain on a calorie deficit isn't probable unless you're really very overweight/obese, or an athlete returning after a long layoff.
    People that "see" muscle when fat is reduced are mistakenly assuming they gained muscle when that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Huh that's weird since I've lost almost 40 lbs, never plateaued, eat the calories mfp says to eat, and have muscle that I didn't have before. Super JM fan here and she says strength and cardio circuit training burns fat while building muscle and that's what I've done believe it or not

    If your eating at around 1200 cals a day it's highly doubtful you will of gained any significant muscle. You will of lowered your body fat though, making the muscle you did have much more evident.

    Not going to argue that this isn't the case. I'm still always learning new things. But one thing I have learned is too eat more than 1200 cals a day and that I certainly do!
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    Options
    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
    While "newbies" gains can happen in a person that's NEVER worked out in their life, muscle gain on a calorie deficit isn't probable unless you're really very overweight/obese, or an athlete returning after a long layoff.
    People that "see" muscle when fat is reduced are mistakenly assuming they gained muscle when that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Huh that's weird since I've lost almost 40 lbs, never plateaued, eat the calories mfp says to eat, and have muscle that I didn't have before. Super JM fan here and she says strength and cardio circuit training burns fat while building muscle and that's what I've done believe it or not

    If your eating at around 1200 cals a day it's highly doubtful you will of gained any significant muscle. You will of lowered your body fat though, making the muscle you did have much more evident.

    Not going to argue that this isn't the case. I'm still always learning new things. But one thing I have learned is too eat more than 1200 cals a day and that I certainly do!

    lol thank god for that!! Well whatever you are doing is obviously working for you and that's all that matters really. Well done!
  • strikerjb007
    strikerjb007 Posts: 443 Member
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    While losing fat and muscle is certainly possible, it takes a long time and not everyone can do it. I would suggest you focus on cutting or building muscle. Doing both at the same time will lead to extreme frustration. Understand that most people that claim to lose fat and "gain" muscle are JUST losing fat and getting their muscles stronger. That gives the ILLUSION that you are doing both.

    I say eat at a small deficit and take it from there. Fat will melt and your muscles will show.
  • Christiethorn1
    Christiethorn1 Posts: 30 Member
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    Ok......here is my question/scenario....

    My husband is 6'4" and needs to lose atleast 30 pounds. Right now he is totally focusing on weight lifting. He is eating better only because I am cooking better for him. He is not keeping an eye on calories. I believe he is just attempting to build muscle. Will this in turn help him shed some pounds???
  • avamvoukakis
    avamvoukakis Posts: 1
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    I mix cardio in with strength training when I workout. You can gain muscle but you need the cardio to burn off the fat that will be over top of it
    While "newbies" gains can happen in a person that's NEVER worked out in their life, muscle gain on a calorie deficit isn't probable unless you're really very overweight/obese, or an athlete returning after a long layoff.
    People that "see" muscle when fat is reduced are mistakenly assuming they gained muscle when that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Huh that's weird since I've lost almost 40 lbs, never plateaued, eat the calories mfp says to eat, and have muscle that I didn't have before. Super JM fan here and she says strength and cardio circuit training burns fat while building muscle and that's what I've done believe it or not

    If your eating at around 1200 cals a day it's highly doubtful you will of gained any significant muscle. You will of lowered your body fat though, making the muscle you did have much more evident.

    Not going to argue that this isn't the case. I'm still always learning new things. But one thing I have learned is too eat more than 1200 cals a day and that I certainly do!

    lol thank god for that!! Well whatever you are doing is obviously working for you and that's all that matters really. Well done!



    I have to disagree with some of these statements, while having a caloric deficit, it makes it difficult to build muscle, it is possible, muscle is built by resistance training and then using protein to help muscle regrowth. even with a caloric deficit you should be having the correct amount of low GI carbs mixed with protein before a training session to give you ample glycogen levels to train hard through the session, and then replacing the stores with high GI carbs and protein after a session, to help muscle repair and growth.

    so it is possible.
  • strikerjb007
    strikerjb007 Posts: 443 Member
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    Ok......here is my question/scenario....

    My husband is 6'4" and needs to lose atleast 30 pounds. Right now he is totally focusing on weight lifting. He is eating better only because I am cooking better for him. He is not keeping an eye on calories. I believe he is just attempting to build muscle. Will this in turn help him shed some pounds???

    That's up to him. Some people like to be big even if their BF% is 15% and up and some people choose to get ripped and then gain. I am one of those who think it's better to lose fat first and then bulk. But that's just a personal opinion/choice.
  • meliaazzam
    meliaazzam Posts: 4
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    I need to rephrase my question. I want to gain muscle and have a flat stomach, tones arms and legs. I don't care what the scale says as long as my body is changing. If I gain muscle the scale is going to say I weigh more.

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