Muscle Gain --> Fat Loss, How long?

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YumiZoomi
YumiZoomi Posts: 42
in Health and Weight Loss
While trying to lose weight, it's suggested to lift weights to gain some muscle if not at least maintain the muscle I already have. Even though, to lose weight I'm eating at a deficit so muscle mass increase won't be all that significant (or so this is what I'm concluding from reading the multiple different forum posts from everyone).

So once you've started lifting, it's possible to gain some muscle while in a caloric deficit and so your weight won't go down because muscle weighs more than fat. I was wondering, how long will that weight stay where it is or even go up a little before that fat starts shredding off to bring the weight down? And, is it at all possible that the weight will go down even while muscle is being built? Like, burn fat pounds faster than the rate of building muscle pounds so the weight will still be going down?

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  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    You won't gain enough muscle to make you not lose weight.
  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    You are slightly over thinking it.

    You create a caloric deficit and burn fat. You eat an adequate amount of protein and incorporate resistance training in order to get stringer, have better body composition and retain muscle mass.

    New lifters, under trained, obese lifters will see what we call newbie or noob gains. In a man its not a great amount and on a woman it's even less. These gains are not going to be significant enough to completely mask fat loss. In the initial stages of lifting you will retain more water as your muscle will benefit from hydration saturation for repairing purposes. That might mask some fat losses for a little bit but water retention is a factor that is always present when we lift do after a while it's in the equation as a constant variable. If you're in a caloric deficit and doing everything else you're supposed to be doing then you will see it reflect on the scale in time.

    Also keep in mind the in female you have several days a month where you will naturally retain more water even if you are not lifting.

    ^this.
  • YumiZoomi
    YumiZoomi Posts: 42
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    Ohh I see.. So retain muscle mass is the goal/purpose of lifting while in caloric deficit?

    So.. When do I start to build muscle? After I've lost the weight I wanted to lose?
  • YumiZoomi
    YumiZoomi Posts: 42
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    So then what's this protein talk? Maybe I'm confused but I've gotten this impression that as long as you consume a huge amount of protein... muscle building can still happen regardless of caloric surplus/deficit.. Is this false then?
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    edited January 2015
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    YumiZoomi wrote: »
    So then what's this protein talk? Maybe I'm confused but I've gotten this impression that as long as you consume a huge amount of protein... muscle building can still happen regardless of caloric surplus/deficit.. Is this false then?

    Yes, that's false. Total myth.

    It's good to get enough protein to preserve your existing muscle while you lose. But what "enough" is tends to get dramatically overstated around here. Most research suggests that anything more than 1g per pound of lean body mass is probably unnecessary.

    Once you get to a stage where you're looking to bulk, carbs will actually become more important again.
  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
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    YumiZoomi wrote: »
    So then what's this protein talk? Maybe I'm confused but I've gotten this impression that as long as you consume a huge amount of protein... muscle building can still happen regardless of caloric surplus/deficit.. Is this false then?
    No, it is still dependent on giving your body enough energy for optimal muscle gain, which is a surplus. Protein helps aid in muscle repair and retention in a deficit as well as building in a surplus.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Think of protein like you would vitamins - you need enough but more than enough doesn't give you any extra benefits. Especially important in a calorie deficit but not "huge amounts" that may well skew your diet.

    Everyone's results will differ due to gender, training history, genetics, current training status, the size of your calorie deficit and how much fat you have.

    To me the three keys to getting your best possible body composition results when you get to goal would be:
    A good training regime featuring progressive overload.
    Small calorie deficit.
    Adequate protein.
  • jamikosands
    jamikosands Posts: 1
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    Question. If I'm not meeting my caloric goal daily, how is that helping me and or hurting me from losing weight and getting shredded
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    jamikosands wrote: »
    Question. If I'm not meeting my caloric goal daily, how is that helping me and or hurting me from losing weight and getting shredded

    I'd suggest starting your own thread rather than hijacking OP's. But in a nutshell: Eat enough to fuel your workouts and weight loss. It's important.
  • YumiZoomi
    YumiZoomi Posts: 42
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    sijomial wrote: »
    Think of protein like you would vitamins - you need enough but more than enough doesn't give you any extra benefits. Especially important in a calorie deficit but not "huge amounts" that may well skew your diet.

    Everyone's results will differ due to gender, training history, genetics, current training status, the size of your calorie deficit and how much fat you have.

    To me the three keys to getting your best possible body composition results when you get to goal would be:
    A good training regime featuring progressive overload.
    Small calorie deficit.
    Adequate protein.


    So.. I'm 220 right now. My calorie goal daily based on MFP is 1210 a day (set for 2lbs a week). I've set my nutrition goals to 40/40/20.. (carbs/protein/fats). What really IS the recommended protein intake for my weight/gender? I suck at these calculations.. Just give me a flat gram amount. LoL.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    2 pounds a week is probably too aggressive a goal for you. That's a deficit of 1000 calories a day, which for most women isn't sustainable for very long, especially not without risking dropping some muscle mass.

    Try setting it to 1 or 1.5lbs/week for now. Just use MFP's defaults for fat, protein and carbs for the time being, You can see how that goes for you and re-assess after a couple of months.
  • illyich
    illyich Posts: 195 Member
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    I think that 40/40/20 would be alright to throw some muscle on, but 1210 cals a day sounds like it would hurt you if you're trying to pack on some muscle. Maybe set it for 1 pound a week instead of 2. It will leave you more wiggle room and your weight training will thank you for it.
  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
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    Where are we throwing muscle?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    There's endless debate about protein so you may be unintentionally opening a can of worms!
    I really don't like set macro ratios - they make little sense really unless you eat exactly the same every day. Much prefer to view protein and fat as minimum goals

    This thread says it better than I ever could.....
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

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