Why lift weights when losing weight if not to build muscles?

Not to perpetuate the hijack, but will anyone concede that people can gain muscle in a deficit if u define gain as increased size & mass. BUT also that gain is due to the muscles being continuously swollen w/fluid. There are enough people here w/measured increases while eating a deficit. How can you tell someone who got bigger and weighs more that they didn't gain muscle when you know muscle swells with fluid? So who cares if in the strictest definition that no new muscle fibers were created, when a person measures bigger & weighs more how can they not say they gained?

This again?

Somehow, there all these humans that defy science. Someone should call a physician and study these groups of people that gain muscle in a calorie deficit. Because, it should be studied, since it cannot happen. But, since they insist, it should be carefully studied and documented for the unexplainable science that is happening in such large volumes.

This again?

Somehow, there all these humans that defy science. Someone should call a physician and study these groups of people that gain muscle in a calorie deficit. Because, it should be studied, since it cannot happen. But, since they insist, it should be carefully studied and documented for the unexplainable science that is happening in such large volumes.

The study was already done... http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attach...1&d=1310193169

Now, this was performed with highly trained athletes under strict controls, but it IS possible to lose weight and gain lean body mass and strength. The study is amazing though, because trained and elite athletes would have the hardest time to lose weight and gain muscle without the aid of exongenous drugs.

To speak to an earlier comment : an untrained, very overweight person, or even someone who is severly obese, will find that building muscle while losing weight in a caloric deficit is very likely and possible. With the right protein intake and focus on diet, this individual is recruiting muscle fibers that have been underused. Caloric restriction using diet, combined with further reduction of calories through weight training will simultaneously burn excessive fat and build muscle.

It's very easy to just give an answer that "sounds" right. With a little research, it's better to give an answer that is correct. Gotta love science!!

I would like to see the study but you link is not working.

As far as I know (From my personal trainer, Lindora, My own research and stuff they told me in the Army) Muscle burns calories. A person with more muscle will have a higher resting metabolic rate than someone without. When you are burning fat if you do not lift weights or weight train then you will lose muscle mass and after losing the fat you want your resting metabolic weight will decrease with the loss of muscle and since you burn less calories it will be harder to keep the weight off.

When you lift or do exercises that tire your muscles it breaks them down and the rich protien diet helps rebuild them. If you do not want to bulk up you do less weights and more reps... (That is what I do) If you want to be like Arnold was "Ill be back" then more heavy weight and less reps.

Hope that helps. I am not professional but I have had a lot of experience and plan to get into the field of weightloss at some point so I hope this helps. That is as accurate as I can get. If anyone finds inaccurate information in here please contact me so I can make sure to learn what is true and not!

The point is that when you do shred the fat, what's underneath it will look fantastic

Gaining muscle does not necessarily translate into weight gain.

of course it does. muscle has mass. thus weight will go up when you gain it.

When you lift or do exercises that tire your muscles it breaks them down and the rich protien diet helps rebuild them. If you do not want to bulk up you do less weights and more reps... (That is what I do) If you want to be like Arnold was "Ill be back" then more heavy weight and less reps.

This. Is. Not. True. While you may be able to "calculate" how many calories you burn while during cardio, the intensity of the cardio has an impact on caloric expenditure post workout (EPOC)

The intensity in an aerobic exercise bout has the greatest impact on EPOC. As exercise intensity increases, the magnitude and duration of EPOC increases. Therefore, the higher the intensity, the greater the EPOC and the greater the caloric expenditure after exercise.

Ok I've read a lot of threads about it and I know it's important to lift weights while losing weight so we don't lose muscles... but I've also read that you can't build muscles on a calorie deficit (although the nurse calculated that I gained 2lbs of muscles in 3.5 months, but I was obese then and 2 lbs is really not much out of 118 lbs).

So, what's the point? Wouldn't a protein rich diet be enough to maintain our muscles then? Can someone explain to me the logic behind it?

You can gain mucle in a deficit. I'm quite noticeably larger but much leaner.

sure you are...

For those reading this. It _may_ be possible. but ONLY under 4 conditions

1) you're very fat.
2) you're utterly untrained.
3) You used to be trained, but are now untrained for long period of time. muscle memory
4) You're on gear

And even then if these conditions are true, there is no guarantee. The simple fact is for most people losing fat requires a calorie deficit and gained muscle mass requires a calorie surplus. these are very opposing conditions.

O rly?

I weigh more in the first picture