Deficit + "Newbie" Strength Gains = No Change?

Although everyone wants to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, it isn't possible . . . UNLESS you are an overweight newbie . . . or on performance enhancing drugs. Which one is it?

I would say no. Women in particular have trouble gaining muscle on a bulk, let alone on a deficit. Even if you had small noob gains I would think it wouldn't be even close to stalling your weight loss completely.

More likely you're storing some extra water for muscle repair from your new routine. Gaining muscle at a deficit and for a woman is pretty much impossible.

Can you provide some sort of citation that refutes the science in my link in the first post?

No citation here from me but I started at 170 lbs at 5'5" and strength training. I actually have never stalled more then a day or two. Drink plenty of water and be patient? Or you can just believe you're making mad gains.

The body fat measurements from a scale are not going to be something that you want to base your whole theory on.

Factors such as body type, body temperature, hydration, and recent exercise can have a noteworthy impact on the number you see on the scale. Even wet or sweaty feet can skew the results.

from http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/body-fat-scales-do-they-really-work.html#b

Body fat scales are available for home use. These work by sending a small, harmless electrical current through the body to detect fat and lean tissue, providing a reading of your body fat percentage. Because these measurements can change according to the time of day and fluid and food intake, the results are most accurate if you can take the measurements at the same time each day. The devices overall likely vary in accuracy, but they can be good for tracking changes over time.

This one has good explanations of accurate methods to get body fat % http://www.medicinenet.com/weight_scales_dont_tell_the_whole_story/views.htm

Though you are not gaining weight this article http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/595473-why-the-scale-goes-up-with-a-new-workout-program-must-read is good for explaning what might happen when you start a new workout. Not EVERYONE stalls / gains when they start working out - I didn't and after almost 2 months of weight lifting I am still losing. I didn't take measurements yet but I am definitely seeing a little more definition than I had before.

Just keep doing what you are doing and take measurements

If you just started strength training, I expect you've got some muscle swelling. That's basically just water retention and it'll make you weigh a bit more. Stick with it and you'll see the scale move downwards again.

Muscle take a long time to put on-- especially in women-- so I doubt you'll ever put on muscle at the same rate you lose fat.

Good on you for starting strength training, btw. A slight calorie deficit and weight training is a great way to lose weight.

Gurprincess,

You've gotten some great links and information here.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that you said you are "very weak". I think that's a red flag. I've been weight training on and off for ten years and I've never felt very weak, and I strength train pretty intensely now and I don't feel weak.

Maybe that's something to look at?

I agree - these are great reads, thanks. I started working out in September, and I played with the same pound and a half for over 6 weeks, despite my mad logging skills. Given how sore I was, I was pretty sure it was water.

As long as you're disciplined about tracking your calories in and your calories out, you'll lose weight consistently (assuming your calorie deficit is sufficient, naturally). Getting more protein than MFP recommends, and fewer carbs, would also help. Also, fat is your friend, don't avoid dietary fat, except trans fats, they are generally preferable to their low-fat alternatives, which are usually chemicals and carbs. And eat yummy foods, don't force yourself to eat dry, tasteless "health" food. I've lost weight without a hint of a plateau for over two months now, just by keeping an eye on calories. I eat fast food (making lower calorie choices) and lots of packaged soups, salads, etc., mainly because it's easy to be exact with my calorie totals than freshly prepared foods that have to be measured with food scales. Plus I'm lazy and I hate to cook. :bigsmile: When I eat out at a mom-and-pop restaurant or a fancy restaurant that doesn't provide nutritional info, I generally overestimate the calories if the info on a specific item isn't available online.

Don't starve yourself, but don't allow yourself to fall into the pattern of thinking that if you just do X amount of exercise, you can have Z amount of calories. Unless you are extremely rigorous, X and Z will never be the same number—and Z could wipe out your calorie deficit very easily. I don't exercise at all, I'm trying to lose weight first, I'll worry about "toning" after I'm at my goal, because I don't want to introduce the exercise variable into my weight loss equation.

And remember, day-to-day gains and losses should be tracked, but it's the weekly and monthly trends that are most important. We didn't gain our excess weight over the span of a few days or weeks, and it's going to take a while to lose it. But it doesn't have to be an ordeal. That's why I committed to the only thing that truly matters, counting calories, and dispensed with all the optional stuff like exercise, eating "healthy", etc. If you've got willpower to spare, by all means do those other things too (but keep an eye on calories above all). I don't have willpower to spare, so I just did the bare minimum. :drinker: