Muscle and fat

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Doinitin2015
Doinitin2015 Posts: 32 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi there I would like to clarify about muscle and fat I hope it does not sound to dumb just trying to understand it it fully......so here goes .... It says 5 pounds of muscle takes up less room then fat so I get that but when you start working out and they say you gain muscle have you then increased the size of the muscle you currently have ? Also how long does it take until you start seeing a "shrinking " if you are working out three times a week.....30 minutes weights and walking 30 minutes...thanks

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  • Cchioles
    Cchioles Posts: 276 Member
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    Gaining Muscle Is Definitely Not An Over Night Thing. The Time It Takes Is Directly Affected By Training Frequency, Diet, Training Efforts, The Individuals Body, And So Many Other Factors. Basically What You Put In Is What You Get Out Of It.. Work Hard ANd You'll See Results, But Expect It To Be A Lifetime Of Commitment Because Staying HEalthy Is A Lifestyle Anyways!
  • DesertGunR
    DesertGunR Posts: 187 Member
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    Well you have a grasp of it. A pound is a pound, the difference is the volume of space it takes up is true. To lose weight you have to start in the kitchen and get your diet right. To build muscle you have to put it under stress such as a program like StronLifts 5x5 and others like them, and eat at, the very least, at maintenance but more likely at a surplus. It is a long complicated progress. Once you have started on a program you enjoy doing, it will become an addiction of sorts.

    If you are trying to lose weight and gain muscle at some point in the journey the scale is no longer going to be your friend. Go ahead and get used to taping yourself or having a good friend help you. Your body is reshaping itself so before, during and after photo's will also help in documenting your progress.

    Good Luck!
  • 10inprogress
    10inprogress Posts: 89 Member
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    ^^^this.

    You ideally want to build the muscle to eventually lose fat, since that muscle burns calories and fat does not. Get the number on the scale out of your head and focus on body composition. You get out of it what you put in, so if you're really putting in your all you're going to see the small changes and FEEL better. Like someone else said, at that point you're hooked and it's a full blown obsession.
  • Hollywood_Porky
    Hollywood_Porky Posts: 491 Member
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    Cchioles wrote: »
    Gaining Muscle Is Definitely Not An Over Night Thing. The Time It Takes Is Directly Affected By Training Frequency, Diet, Training Efforts, The Individuals Body, And So Many Other Factors. Basically What You Put In Is What You Get Out Of It.. Work Hard ANd You'll See Results, But Expect It To Be A Lifetime Of Commitment Because Staying HEalthy Is A Lifestyle Anyways!

    Well written. :)
  • Hollywood_Porky
    Hollywood_Porky Posts: 491 Member
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    DesertGunR wrote: »
    Well you have a grasp of it. A pound is a pound, the difference is the volume of space it takes up is true. To lose weight you have to start in the kitchen and get your diet right. To build muscle you have to put it under stress such as a program like StronLifts 5x5 and others like them, and eat at, the very least, at maintenance but more likely at a surplus. It is a long complicated progress. Once you have started on a program you enjoy doing, it will become an addiction of sorts.

    If you are trying to lose weight and gain muscle at some point in the journey the scale is no longer going to be your friend. Go ahead and get used to taping yourself or having a good friend help you. Your body is reshaping itself so before, during and after photo's will also help in documenting your progress.

    Good Luck!

    Yes! The diet is key - it's really 80/20 - diet to training. CICO turns into GIGO if you are not careful (Garbage In Garbage Out). Nutrition is essential in training.
  • Hollywood_Porky
    Hollywood_Porky Posts: 491 Member
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    10inprogress wrote: »
    ^^^this.

    You ideally want to build the muscle to eventually lose fat, since that muscle burns calories and fat does not. Get the number on the scale out of your head and focus on body composition. You get out of it what you put in, so if you're really putting in your all you're going to see the small changes and FEEL better. Like someone else said, at that point you're hooked and it's a full blown obsession.

    Totally correct. Body composition means everything. I wish I knew that 20 years ago. Even last year - way overtrained on cardio and burned muscle without eating enough - and I was eating like crazy. Finally got into weights again - and the body fat melted off. Being 46 it's tough - but still doable.
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
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    You may see some initial fat loss and water loss related to burning off carbs.

    Building muscle is a bit of work. For some that are naturally lean and have a fast metabolism, those called hard gainers, you may have to seriously bust tail to gain a pound of muscle.

    Eating right and exercising may show better results you can judge after giving it 6 months.

    Hang in there. It is a long term quality of life change for the better!

    Just think of a pound of fat coming off your body like a grapefruit. And a pound of muscle going on like a tangerine. As you get stronger and fitter, and swap more grapefruits for tangerines :)

    Your body will change before your eyes and the scale may not change much at all
  • Doinitin2015
    Doinitin2015 Posts: 32 Member
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    Thanks for the responses it helps and yes be patient! Tough to find the right calories for me as I am now older and really with no doubt 1300 max hopefully work anything more just does not but pretty tough going anyway will keep moving and see waht happens

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