Building Muscle to Lose Weight Faster

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birkona
birkona Posts: 24
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone!

I started my diet and exercise regime 3 days ago (still in the early phase.) I have been doing half an hour of cardio in the morning before breakfast and i have lost about 4 pounds so far; probably from water weight. I have been wondering if I should incorporate a little bit of muscle building with my exercise routine. So my question to you all is this: Does building muscle in conjunction with cardio help you lose weight faster?

I realize that muscle weighs more than fat, but my goal is to lose 50 pounds in 6 months. Just wondering if the process would be much quicker if I added a little bit of muscle building into that.

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  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    Not really, but weight training will help you preserve more of the muscle that you already have, so that when you get to your goal weight your body fat percentage is lower and you look slimmer.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Hello everyone!

    I started my diet and exercise regime 3 days ago (still in the early phase.) I have been doing half an hour of cardio in the morning before breakfast and i have lost about 4 pounds so far; probably from water weight. I have been wondering if I should incorporate a little bit of muscle building with my exercise routine. So my question to you all is this: Does building muscle in conjunction with cardio help you lose weight faster?

    I realize that muscle weighs more than fat, but my goal is to lose 50 pounds in 6 months. Just wondering if the process would be much quicker if I added a little bit of muscle building into that.

    You won't build muscle at a calorie deficit but weight training will help you keep the muscle you have. If you do cardio only at a calorie deficit you will lose some of your muscle along with the fat over time. This is pretty important to do if you want to look fit in the end and not skinny-fat.
  • fightdem
    fightdem Posts: 38
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    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/01/what-burns-more-calories-cardio-intervals-or-weight-training/

    ^ I got a good website for this. Personally, i only do weight training for weight loss. Because i don't really like cardio, and it's boring imo. Acording to the link above, weight training is the better method for weight loss. If you still want cardio, try HIIT for better result.
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
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    You'd be better off doing less cardio and more weight training. Building muscle increases your metabolism making you burn more calories at rest. Plus, it makes you super sexy. At a deficit, if you only do cardio you're going to kill your metabolism as you lose lean body mass. You won't see the scale move as quickly when you're doing weight training, but it's definitely worth it. I've only lost 3 lbs in the last month but I lost 5 inches off my body and I only started heaving lifting about two weeks ago and was eating at maintainence the last two weeks.
  • birkona
    birkona Posts: 24
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    Good to know! Thanks everyone! I will start adding some muscle building exercises alongside my daily cardio workout. I started HIIT yesterday. I think I will do it every other day and cardio on the opposite days.
  • birkona
    birkona Posts: 24
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    I started HIIT yesterday. I think I will start doing it more often.
  • birkona
    birkona Posts: 24
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    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/01/what-burns-more-calories-cardio-intervals-or-weight-training/

    ^ I got a good website for this. Personally, i only do weight training for weight loss. Because i don't really like cardio, and it's boring imo. Acording to the link above, weight training is the better method for weight loss. If you still want cardio, try HIIT for better result.

    Great website! What's interesting is when I started doing HIIT yesterday, I felt hungrier all day (the website states that it helps you burn calories afterwards.) Where as when I do just regular cardio, I'm not as hungry all day. That explains it!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    50lbs in 6 months is very ambitous...esp for a woman...

    It has taken move almost 1 1/2 years to do that...at a steady 3/4lb a week...(minus vacation weight gain of 4lbs)
  • birkona
    birkona Posts: 24
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    50lbs in 6 months is very ambitous...esp for a woman...

    It has taken move almost 1 1/2 years to do that...at a steady 3/4lb a week...(minus vacation weight gain of 4lbs)

    I wanna aim for 2 pounds a week. It can easily be attained. I lost 30 pounds in two months before and maintained a toned physique at the same time.

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