Losing weight before gaining muscle?

summerroxygoodin
summerroxygoodin Posts: 62 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've heard people saying that if you are trying to lose weight (belly fat) you should lose the fat first then do weight training. I'm still confused on the whole thing. I thought that gaining muscle meant that you would be losing fat since the muscles have to have some sort of fuel.

Please let me know what I should do.

193---135

Replies

  • viperk1
    viperk1 Posts: 43 Member
    Do both. You just wont see the results of the weight training until the fat is gone, but it will help in the fat loss efforts.

    Also, it's extremely hard to build muscle in a caloric deficit, but you can definitely improve your strength.
  • Colorfan
    Colorfan Posts: 230 Member
    To gain muscle, you need to eat more than your maintenance calories

    To lose weight, you need to be on a calorie deficit.

    Usually for someone who hasn't exercised or done strength training before, you can do both for a little while but eventually it will catch up to you where you are neither gaining nor losing.

    But thats the quick and simple way of explaining it, and why people recommend to do one or the other, but not both.
  • catfive1
    catfive1 Posts: 529 Member
    Eat at a slight calorie deficit and lift heavy weights (eg: Stronglifts 5x5). This will help you to lose body fat while maintaining most of you muscle mass. Takes time but it is worth it.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I've been doing both. I even did both before I lost my 33 pounds, I just didn't do it as well. :bigsmile:

    I am definitely seeing results from both weight lifting and cardio.
  • oc1timoco
    oc1timoco Posts: 272 Member
    That is what I was told too. Lose the fat then build muscle. I'm paying for that mistake to this day. I should have done both. For 2 years now I have been dealing with muscle damage and loose skin. It may not be that way for you or many others but if you can do both then do both.
  • LVCeltGirl
    LVCeltGirl Posts: 473
    I was always told to do both, each time I've made this journey. The strength training (weights) will help tone you while you lose the weight.
  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
    You can easily lose weight and gain strength through weight training at the same time, you just have to closely manage your protein intake, and insure your weight loss is at a slow rate. The strength gain will be slower than if you had a calorie surplus, but because you are starting out you will have big gains for a while anyways. Once you are on your last 10 or so pounds it would be difficult, but before that you can definitely gain while losing slowly, so ignore people who say this (they dont have a clue, I'm doing this right now, I've done it before, "you can't gain while losing weight" is pure baloney).

    If you go ahead and lose weight first and have lower body fat when you start training, you lose the increased strength gain rate while having high bodyfat, and you will probably have lost some of the strength you had when you had more fat and weighed more. Your body resorbs some muscle if you dont stress your muscles enough while you are losing. So, you start weaker and with a slower max rate of gain if you lose first. Don't wait for weights!
  • Ian_Stuart
    Ian_Stuart Posts: 252 Member
    I'm here to second the strength training approach. If you want to super-charge the fat loss aspect then add in a day or two a week of HIIT or Tabata exercises.
    I highly recommend this article to get started: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

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