You can't build muscle and lose weight! So whats the point?

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soinbnsng
soinbnsng Posts: 65 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay that wasn't an affirmative statement.
I am trying to lose a significant amount of weight and have read tons and tons about how weight lifting can help more than cardio. But is that true? because I have also read in many different places that you cant build muscle and lose weight since losing weight requires a calorie deficit and gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus.
So I am confused, Should I focus less on weights and more on cardio UNTIL I have lost the weight and are ready to tone up.
If so, how many minutes of cardio should I do per week?
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Replies

  • Shannon_PAC
    Shannon_PAC Posts: 24
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    I'm interested what people have to say about this.
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
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    Do both cardio and weights. As a beginner you can lose weight and gain muscle at the same time. It just comes down to following a good diet and exercise program. Ultimately weight-loss comes down to calories.
  • tomcornhole
    tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
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    Lift weights while losing weight to minimize the amount of muscle mass you lose. It is MUCH more difficult to get muscle back once you lose it. A lot of folks get to their goal weight or BF% and don't like what they see. I was one of them. Went from 254 to 185 and looked like a POW. Now I am struggling to add back LBM that I lost and it is a very difficult task.

    Start lifting now. Do cardio, too if you enjoy it. But definitely move heavy things while losing weight.

    Tom
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Focus on your diet first. Until you've got your caloric deficit nailed down, it's not going to make any meaningful difference what kind of exercise you do. This is especially true if you have a lot to lose.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Lift weights while losing weight to minimize the amount of muscle mass you lose. It is MUCH more difficult to get muscle back once you lose it. A lot of folks get to their goal weight or BF% and don't like what they see. I was one of them. Went from 254 to 185 and looked like a POW. Now I am struggling to add back LBM that I lost and it is a very difficult task.

    Start lifting now. Do cardio, too if you enjoy it. But definitely move heavy things while losing weight.

    Tom

    ^this

    Also, it's healthy, so why not?
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
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    Lift weights now to retain your LBM while you lose weight...bonus is you will look better when you get where you want to be.
  • Tffanie4712
    Tffanie4712 Posts: 115
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    Yes I'm struggling as well I hope when I get down to my goal weight and goal body fat percentage I will like what I see.
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,323 Member
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    The program I am doing now touts "Muscle burns fat," which totally makes sense to me. I would say it definitely won't hurt to strength train with your cardio.
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
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    Lift weights while losing weight to minimize the amount of muscle mass you lose. It is MUCH more difficult to get muscle back once you lose it. A lot of folks get to their goal weight or BF% and don't like what they see. I was one of them. Went from 254 to 185 and looked like a POW. Now I am struggling to add back LBM that I lost and it is a very difficult task.

    Start lifting now. Do cardio, too if you enjoy it. But definitely move heavy things while losing weight.

    Tom

    ^this

    Also, it's healthy, so why not?



    What they said. And the more muscle you keep the more you get to eat.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Lift weights while losing weight to minimize the amount of muscle mass you lose. It is MUCH more difficult to get muscle back once you lose it. A lot of folks get to their goal weight or BF% and don't like what they see. I was one of them. Went from 254 to 185 and looked like a POW. Now I am struggling to add back LBM that I lost and it is a very difficult task.

    Start lifting now. Do cardio, too if you enjoy it. But definitely move heavy things while losing weight.

    Tom

    ^this

    Also, it's healthy, so why not?

    ^^yep.

    While you may make some 'newbie' lifter gains at first, they will be pretty small. The main reason is for the preservation of muscle. There are a slew of other benefits also.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Lift weights while losing weight to minimize the amount of muscle mass you lose. It is MUCH more difficult to get muscle back once you lose it. A lot of folks get to their goal weight or BF% and don't like what they see. I was one of them. Went from 254 to 185 and looked like a POW. Now I am struggling to add back LBM that I lost and it is a very difficult task.

    Start lifting now. Do cardio, too if you enjoy it. But definitely move heavy things while losing weight.

    Tom

    This.

    I wish I had started lifting sooner. I am recomping, so I'm building a tiny amount of muscle while eating at maintenance. It's very slow going. Would have been better to have kept what I had in the first place instead of trying to "lose weight first and then tone up"
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Well, you can certainly LOSE muscle and lose weight, that's for sure.

    So if you want to lose 30 lbs... do you want to lose 20 lbs of muscle and organ, and 10 lbs of fat? Or do you want to lose 3 lbs of muscle and organ, and 27 lbs of fat?

    Make your choice.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Lift weights while losing weight to minimize the amount of muscle mass you lose. It is MUCH more difficult to get muscle back once you lose it. A lot of folks get to their goal weight or BF% and don't like what they see. I was one of them. Went from 254 to 185 and looked like a POW. Now I am struggling to add back LBM that I lost and it is a very difficult task.

    Start lifting now. Do cardio, too if you enjoy it. But definitely move heavy things while losing weight.

    Tom

    ^this

    Also, it's healthy, so why not?

    Just belaboring the point here...
  • Shannon_PAC
    Shannon_PAC Posts: 24
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    I started weight training about 4 weeks ago with a trainer. I train with him twice per week. I gained 5 pounds almost immediately and had not lost anything. Then I noticed I was peeing a lot and stepped on the scale and BAM! 6 pounds gone.

    The one thing I will say is this: Being strong makes you more functional. Do it. I noticed today that lifting heavy groceries or picking up my nearly 50 pound 5 year old is like nothing anymore. Even little things are easier. I no long groan when I have to bend over an pick something up or walk up several flights of stairs. Everything is just easier.

    Strength training makes you feel healthy and strong. They scale may stick for awhile, but it will eventually move.
  • uconnwinsnc
    uconnwinsnc Posts: 1,054 Member
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    Okay that wasn't an affirmative statement.
    I am trying to lose a significant amount of weight and have read tons and tons about how weight lifting can help more than cardio. But is that true? because I have also read in many different places that you cant build muscle and lose weight since losing weight requires a calorie deficit and gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus.
    So I am confused, Should I focus less on weights and more on cardio UNTIL I have lost the weight and are ready to tone up.
    If so, how many minutes of cardio should I do per week?

    You can't build muscle while you lose weight, but you certainly can lose muscle while you lose weight. You don't want that, right? So by weight training, you will maintain as much muscle as you can while trying to burn off as much fat as you can. Your goal is to limit muscle loss while on a calorie deficit.


    Edit: Didn't read thread. People already made this point.
  • 50racinggirl
    50racinggirl Posts: 96 Member
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    Do both cardio and weights. As a beginner you can lose weight and gain muscle at the same time. It just comes down to following a good diet and exercise program. Ultimately weight-loss comes down to calories.

    I agree. I lost 64 pounds by lifting weights and doing cardio. I've gained some of it back and just started doing the same routines again to drop the 30 pounds. I truly believe in moderation and balance.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    Doing the strength training helps ensure that you lose mostly FAT, which is what people actually want to lose when they say "lose weight." If you don't do resistance training, your body will sacrifice lean muscle very easily in a deficit.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
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    I lift much more than I do cardio, and I have been meaning to step up my cardio a bit. The only problem is that the actual decrease in the number on the scale is SLOW, but I am loving the results I am seeing. So I basically said screw the scale a while back and really only weigh now every once in a while.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Well, you can certainly LOSE muscle and lose weight, that's for sure.

    So if you want to lose 30 lbs... do you want to lose 20 lbs of muscle and organ, and 10 lbs of fat? Or do you want to lose 3 lbs of muscle and organ, and 27 lbs of fat?

    Make your choice.

    While I agree 100% with your sentiment, I have not seen those kinds of numbers FWIW. Even with what I would consider an extreme approach (e.g. HCG 500 cal/day), the worst ratios I have seen are 2:1 fat: fat-free mass losses. That's bad enough.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Well, you can certainly LOSE muscle and lose weight, that's for sure.

    So if you want to lose 30 lbs... do you want to lose 20 lbs of muscle and organ, and 10 lbs of fat? Or do you want to lose 3 lbs of muscle and organ, and 27 lbs of fat?

    Make your choice.

    While I agree 100% with your sentiment, I have not seen those kinds of numbers FWIW. Even with what I would consider an extreme approach (e.g. HCG 500 cal/day), the worst ratios I have seen are 2:1 fat: fat-free mass losses. That's bad enough.

    I suppose I was exaggerating a little, but in all honesty people who don't understand how difficult it is to put on lean mass are better served with a little exaggeration.

    You can lose 10 lbs of lean mass in a few months. It can take years to put that back on.

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