Advice on protein, lifting, and losing weight!

jcast92
jcast92 Posts: 144 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I have a few questions for you all regarding building muscle and losing fat. I know in order to lose weight you must have a calorie deficit, and that lifting weights helps you lose fat as opposed to lean mass when you lose weight, but i don't know what my approach should be if I want to get toned/get muscle while still losing fat!

Should I have a deficit? Should I increase my protein consumption? should I not do as much cardio?

What has worked for you? I would appreciate any advice.

I'm female, 5'6.5", 21 years old. Diary is open, and I currently weigh 141 lbs, but i have no idea what my fat percentage is.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • thylordclifford
    thylordclifford Posts: 17 Member
    Your body burns twice as many calories digesting high-protein foods as it does foods that are high in carbs or fat. Your body burns Carbs, then Fat, then Protein, in that order.

    Once again. Personally. I won't eat back calories I've burned unless it's a monster day of burning calories. Even then I only eat back some. People with faster metabolism probably can get away with it. I think any alleged 'magic number' of calories to stay within is bunk. Just like a certain amount of water to drink each day. (Never actually extensively researched to prove it.) If you are eating smart and feel satisfied. Your not starving yourself like others claim on lower calories. Higher protein will make you feel fuller, as opposed to carbs starch and sugars making a person feel hungry.,

    I'd do lighter weights higher reps and definitely cardio as a young girl - (unless you want to be a bodybuilder) More protein will likely aid in toning and speed up the fat burning process.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    Unfortunately, it is pretty tough to burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. This is because your body requires a calorie deficit to burn fat but a calorie surplus to build muscle. There are a couple options that you can take for losing weight/body fat.

    1. You can do periodic training, meaning burn off the body fat until you reach your goal and then work specifically on gaining some muscle mass back onto your frame.
    2. You can do the zig zag diet plan. This entails 3 days at lower calories (high in protein), and 1 day of higher calories (higher in carbs). The benefit of this is that the periodic higher calories days will give your body the energy that it wants (while also being good for the mind if you're having a hard time with a low calorie high protein diet) so that it doesn't think that it is starving. It can also help avoid plateaus for this reason.

    Myself, I used the periodic diet plan. As a man I was eating 1800 calories/day at 50% protein, 30% carbs, & 20% fats. If you're going to dot he periodic diet, I would try to eat as much as you can while still losing body fat. That way, you'll have more room to make adjustments if you hit a plateau, but based on the stats your provided, I don't think that will happen since you don't seem to have a ton of weight to lose.

    Hopefully this helps and wasn't confusing. Please let me know if you'd like any clarification.

    Allan
    Team Grit
  • Julesdublin
    Julesdublin Posts: 39 Member
    You won’t look like a body builder if you lift heavy weight as you are a woman and you don’t have enough testosterone to look like The Incredible Hulk.
    I find that with lifting the calorie expenditure is not as high as with cardio. I do both as I need to lose the “layer of sexiness” that is covering my body at the moment.
    Because you don’t have a lot of weight to lose you will very soon be able to see the muscle definition after you spend a while lifting. The results are a lot quicker to notice than if you do cardio only.
    A protein shake every day to bump up the macros does no harm either if you need the help.
  • marissabakescakes
    marissabakescakes Posts: 35 Member
    Please do not listen to the advice about higher reps and lower weights. Lifting heavy weights will NOT make you look like a body builder. Women lifting heavy leads to a seriously sexy physique and will give you the results you want, I promise! I recommend eating closer to 1500 calories a day (set your weight loss to 1 pound or less a week since your already close to your goal), that way you don't lose as much muscle mass while in a deficit. This will also lead to the body you are looking for. ALSO, put away the scale for a month while lifting, and take photos and measurements. That will keep you motivated!

    I am just getting into the heavy lifting, you can feel free to add me as a friend. :smile:
  • thylordclifford
    thylordclifford Posts: 17 Member
    I agree with high calories for bulking huge mass - (when you're a teen). But I can pump out rep after rep of 62lb dumbbell curls and throw 300lbs around like a toy. And my calories are typically kept under 1400 a day. I haven't ventured into 1900 cals unless its an extremely long day with major exercise. (like 2 1/2 hrs on elliptical with 7-9 resistance plus weights) And I'm anabolic and getting stronger. So.. explain that.

    As a teen I had to bulk. Teens or women who were overweight would not benefit from lifting heavier weights. You can build muscle under fat and look fatter. For slimming and building muscle It depends on the individuals genes and metabolism. period.

    Light high complex carbs and high protein. And learn how your personal body responds to what. I can memorize word for word everything in my anatomy and physiology texts. My body will not respond to the same regimes as others or written theory
  • marissabakescakes
    marissabakescakes Posts: 35 Member
    I personally don't consider eating 1500 calories per day "high calorie." What works for you may not work for somebody else (just like you said).
    Also, please tell me how lifting heavy and getting stronger while maintaining a caloric deficit will make an overweight woman or teen look fatter? Lots of cardio and super low calories lead to skinny fat women (because you burn LBM in addition to the fat on your body). By lifting heavy weights and maintaining a REASONABLE caloric deficit (aka more than 1200 cals for MOST woman per day), it helps women maintain some more LBM while cutting back on fat. Sometimes slow and steady is better, unless you want to be 120 pounds and 30% body fat (which in my opinion, looks awful).
  • bradXdale
    bradXdale Posts: 399
    Look into Carb Cycling or Carb Nite.
  • Julesdublin
    Julesdublin Posts: 39 Member
    Also, please tell me how lifting heavy and getting stronger while maintaining a caloric deficit will make an overweight woman or teen look fatter?

    I was wondering exactly the same...
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Your body burns twice as many calories digesting high-protein foods as it does foods that are high in carbs or fat. Your body burns Carbs, then Fat, then Protein, in that order.

    Almost. It's not an "order," rather it's a rate. Carbs are processed quicker than fat, which is processed quicker than protein. But it's not all carbs, then all fat, then protein. It's all at the same time, just at different rates.
    I'd do lighter weights higher reps and definitely cardio as a young girl - (unless you want to be a bodybuilder)

    This is pretty much entirely wrong. For OP's goals, she'd likely be better off with a full-body strength training program - 3-5 sets of approximately 5 reps (can even go up to 10-12, as she's a girl) and not have to worry about bulking. Especially on a Caloric deficit.

    More protein - as we don't have full stats for OP, I'd think that 100g of protein per day would be about right - will help to maintain the lean (muscle, specifically) mass. And cardio is fine, but not necessary.
  • jcast92
    jcast92 Posts: 144 Member
    Unfortunately, it is pretty tough to burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. This is because your body requires a calorie deficit to burn fat but a calorie surplus to build muscle. There are a couple options that you can take for losing weight/body fat.

    1. You can do periodic training, meaning burn off the body fat until you reach your goal and then work specifically on gaining some muscle mass back onto your frame.
    2. You can do the zig zag diet plan. This entails 3 days at lower calories (high in protein), and 1 day of higher calories (higher in carbs). The benefit of this is that the periodic higher calories days will give your body the energy that it wants (while also being good for the mind if you're having a hard time with a low calorie high protein diet) so that it doesn't think that it is starving. It can also help avoid plateaus for this reason.

    Myself, I used the periodic diet plan. As a man I was eating 1800 calories/day at 50% protein, 30% carbs, & 20% fats. If you're going to dot he periodic diet, I would try to eat as much as you can while still losing body fat. That way, you'll have more room to make adjustments if you hit a plateau, but based on the stats your provided, I don't think that will happen since you don't seem to have a ton of weight to lose.

    Hopefully this helps and wasn't confusing. Please let me know if you'd like any clarification.

    Allan
    Team Grit

    Thank you ! This was helpful. Your second approach sounds like something worth trying.
  • jcast92
    jcast92 Posts: 144 Member
    Please do not listen to the advice about higher reps and lower weights. Lifting heavy weights will NOT make you look like a body builder. Women lifting heavy leads to a seriously sexy physique and will give you the results you want, I promise! I recommend eating closer to 1500 calories a day (set your weight loss to 1 pound or less a week since your already close to your goal), that way you don't lose as much muscle mass while in a deficit. This will also lead to the body you are looking for. ALSO, put away the scale for a month while lifting, and take photos and measurements. That will keep you motivated!

    I am just getting into the heavy lifting, you can feel free to add me as a friend. :smile:

    Thanks! don't worry, I'm not worried about looking fat. I rather like the increase in strength, and even if I DID look fat, I'd feel way better about myself afterwards. I'll add you! :)
  • jcast92
    jcast92 Posts: 144 Member
    Your body burns twice as many calories digesting high-protein foods as it does foods that are high in carbs or fat. Your body burns Carbs, then Fat, then Protein, in that order.

    Almost. It's not an "order," rather it's a rate. Carbs are processed quicker than fat, which is processed quicker than protein. But it's not all carbs, then all fat, then protein. It's all at the same time, just at different rates.
    I'd do lighter weights higher reps and definitely cardio as a young girl - (unless you want to be a bodybuilder)

    This is pretty much entirely wrong. For OP's goals, she'd likely be better off with a full-body strength training program - 3-5 sets of approximately 5 reps (can even go up to 10-12, as she's a girl) and not have to worry about bulking. Especially on a Caloric deficit.

    More protein - as we don't have full stats for OP, I'd think that 100g of protein per day would be about right - will help to maintain the lean (muscle, specifically) mass. And cardio is fine, but not necessary.

    Thank you for this! I appreciate input from people who seem to have some knowledge of the biological processes behind metabolism. I'm going to try to increase my protein intake, and hopefully that helps!

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