So I really can't gain muscle and lose weight & fat at the same time?

amandadunwoody
amandadunwoody Posts: 204 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
I started mfp 6 weeks ago. I never tracked my food before, never dieted... so I'm learning a lot. I am reading blog posts here and everywhere else about diet and exercise. I weighted 188 when i started so as a 5' 1" female that is too much.

I am using free weights, doing lots of fitnessblender workouts, doing pushups, walking... everyday I do something. Short term goals are 100 pushups, 1 pull-up, and for my clothes to fit better again! Long term goal is to be about 138 (50 lbs from my starting weight) and to be strong.

But I'm running a calorie deficit most days, but I want to build muscle too. Is all that sweating just going towards burning calories? Will I slowly but surely get stronger as I slowly but surely lose weight?

Replies

  • pattygarcia744
    pattygarcia744 Posts: 2 Member
    Patience is key! Clean eating and exercising at same time will both make losing weight and muscle gain successful. Salt and sodium have in moderation. Feeding your muscles after an intense workout is also important. 80% is diet and 20% is the exercise part. Drink at least a gallon of water a day. Water plays an important role in weigh loss and muscle building. You can do it!! If there's anything I can help you with feel free to ask! God Bless
  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
    Hi, I am no expert but I think the answer is yes and no! The strength training that you are doing will go towards keeping what muscle mass you have. To build bulk you do need a calorie surplus but to become stronger you need to do what you are doing whilst gradually increasing the load. The exercises you do will eventually become easier so you'll have to find more ways to test yourself. That's you getting stronger.
    If you eat at a deficit you will loose weight and exercise and diet will encourage that to be fat loss.
    Basically, if you want to loose weight, retain muscle and get stronger carry on as you are whilst adding weight or intensity. If you want to "build muscle" you'll need to eat a calorie surplus and do much more hypertrophic workouts.

    I hope I've got that right, I'm just learning myself.
  • amandadunwoody
    amandadunwoody Posts: 204 Member
    Karen_libert wrote: »
    The exercises you do will eventually become easier so you'll have to find more ways to test yourself. That's you getting stronger.
    If you eat at a deficit you will loose weight and exercise and diet will encourage that to be fat loss.
    Basically, if you want to loose weight, retain muscle and get stronger carry on as you are whilst adding weight or intensity.

    Thanks! I feel like I'm doing the right thing but I'm pretty much doing it alone so it's great to have some feedback!

    I have never been athletic but when I started working out it was like a switch was flipped! I felt so much better. More focused, less stressed, less tired all the time. Really. Awesome. And I wanted a way to make it a lifestyle and commit to the changes or else it would be too easy to just not do it. MFP and now my fitbit are such a blessing. I feel in control for the first time.
  • amandadunwoody
    amandadunwoody Posts: 204 Member
    pattygarcia744 wrote: »
    Salt and sodium have in moderation. Feeding your muscles after an intense workout is also important. 80% is diet and 20% is the exercise part. Drink at least a gallon of water a day. Water plays an important role in weigh loss and muscle building. You can do it!! If there's anything I can help you with feel free to ask! God Bless

    Thanks! I do drink lots of water. I only drink water or plain tea. I quit soda almost 4 years ago and quit putting sugar in my tea 2 years ago but kept gaining weight lol. Go figure! Thanks for the feedback!
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Aside from perhaps "newbie gains", no, you won't be gaining muscle while eating at a deficit. However, that doesn't mean you won't become stronger or increase your endurance. The work you're doing now is helping preserve the muscle that you do have, so that the weight you're losing is mostly fat and less muscle.

    You're on the right track. Stay the course!
  • LLduds
    LLduds Posts: 258 Member
    edited June 2015
    I've read that people who are brand new to exercise/lifting and with a fair amount of fat to lose can build some muscle in a caloric deficit, but I don't have specific studies to cite.

    ETA: Agree w/what Ninkyou said :)
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    Aside from perhaps "newbie gains", no, you won't be gaining muscle while eating at a deficit. However, that doesn't mean you won't become stronger or increase your endurance. The work you're doing now is helping preserve the muscle that you do have, so that the weight you're losing is mostly fat and less muscle.

    You're on the right track. Stay the course!

    This is the bottom line. I'm always hesitant to say any beginner will gain muscle while strength training in a deficit. It is not a fact. Can it happen? Yes. Will it happen for everyone? No.

    Also, I think beginners should know that if they're in a deficit, the trend on the scale should be downward-no matter what. Maybe there is some water retention due to new added exercise. But in general, if you're in a deficit you should be losing weight. I just hate to see people get behind on their goals just because someone told them it's okay, they're building muscle.
  • amandadunwoody
    amandadunwoody Posts: 204 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    Aside from perhaps "newbie gains", no, you won't be gaining muscle while eating at a deficit. However, that doesn't mean you won't become stronger or increase your endurance. The work you're doing now is helping preserve the muscle that you do have, so that the weight you're losing is mostly fat and less muscle.

    You're on the right track. Stay the course!

    This is the bottom line. I'm always hesitant to say any beginner will gain muscle while strength training in a deficit. It is not a fact. Can it happen? Yes. Will it happen for everyone? No.

    I get that. I guess it's hard to wrap my head around it that gaining strength is not the same thing as gaining muscle. It seems like a long road ahead to lose the weight. I've tried to keep my sights my on the more immediately attainable goals.
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  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    amandadunwoody wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    Aside from perhaps "newbie gains", no, you won't be gaining muscle while eating at a deficit. However, that doesn't mean you won't become stronger or increase your endurance. The work you're doing now is helping preserve the muscle that you do have, so that the weight you're losing is mostly fat and less muscle.

    You're on the right track. Stay the course!

    This is the bottom line. I'm always hesitant to say any beginner will gain muscle while strength training in a deficit. It is not a fact. Can it happen? Yes. Will it happen for everyone? No.

    I get that. I guess it's hard to wrap my head around it that gaining strength is not the same thing as gaining muscle. It seems like a long road ahead to lose the weight. I've tried to keep my sights my on the more immediately attainable goals.

    Yeah, your muscles become more efficient at moving the weight you're lifting. Don't worry about it. When you do resistance training in a deficit it helps to save muscle. You'll look a lot better when you get to goal if you save as much LBM as possible. My profile picture is what was left under the fat (yes I know there is more fat to lose but I chose to stop here). If I had not lifted in a deficit, I might just look like a smaller version of my overweight self.
  • amandadunwoody
    amandadunwoody Posts: 204 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    Yeah, your muscles become more efficient at moving the weight you're My profile picture is what was left under the fat (yes I know there is more fat to lose but I chose to stop here). If I had not lifted in a deficit, I might just look like a smaller version of my overweight self.

    That is something I was worried about. I was not lean at all the last time I was at my goal weight, but I'd be fine if I could be at that weight fairly lean. Generally for my height I should weight much less than that, but I want to be more muscular than skinny. I figure I can reassess after the 50 lbs is out of the way.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    amandadunwoody wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Yeah, your muscles become more efficient at moving the weight you're My profile picture is what was left under the fat (yes I know there is more fat to lose but I chose to stop here). If I had not lifted in a deficit, I might just look like a smaller version of my overweight self.

    That is something I was worried about. I was not lean at all the last time I was at my goal weight, but I'd be fine if I could be at that weight fairly lean. Generally for my height I should weight much less than that, but I want to be more muscular than skinny. I figure I can reassess after the 50 lbs is out of the way.

    Yeah, you're on the right track. If you're not lifting weights, just make sure your body weight program is FULL body and gets progressively harder.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited June 2015
    amandadunwoody wrote: »
    But I'm running a calorie deficit most days, but I want to build muscle too. Is all that sweating just going towards burning calories? Will I slowly but surely get stronger as I slowly but surely lose weight?

    You're mixing to things in there - strength and muscle building. You don't need to add muscle to get stronger.

    Which is the priority for you - strength, or bulking?
  • amandadunwoody
    amandadunwoody Posts: 204 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    amandadunwoody wrote: »
    But I'm running a calorie deficit most days, but I want to build muscle too. Is all that sweating just going towards burning calories? Will I slowly but surely get stronger as I slowly but surely lose weight?

    You're mixing to things in there - strength and muscle building. You don't need to add muscle to get stronger.

    Which is the priority for you - strength, or bulking?

    Strength. And losing weight. I guess it's me being a newb. Muscles always equaled strength before I started learning about fitness. Definitely don't want to bulk up lol. Not at present.
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
    Sounds like you are on the right track. In a deficit, using progressive methods (changes in difficulty, heavier weights, etc) can lead to getting stronger while body weight decreases. I've followed beginner programs (stronglifts and new rules of lifting for women) with a deficit. Down almost 60 lbs and lifting heavier than when I first started. Some things are harder to increase (upper body for me) and I can't do 100 push ups, but I can actually do push ups on the ground instead of a box or rail (never could do on the knees).

    Keep on pushing and definitely make different goals to work towards. They can be quite helpful if you enjoy having the different challenges to work towards.
  • amandadunwoody
    amandadunwoody Posts: 204 Member
    DawnEmbers wrote: »
    I can't do 100 push ups, but I can actually do push ups on the ground instead of a box or rail (never could do on the knees).

    Keep on pushing and definitely make different goals to work towards. They can be quite helpful if you enjoy having the different challenges to work towards.

    I should clarify that I'm doing pushups on my knees but another mini goal is a full pushup!
    I think the pull-up goal is a ways off. Weighing less may help a lot.
  • Cocoa1020
    Cocoa1020 Posts: 197 Member
    Ive gained some muscle and burned fat.... i dont think its true that you cant do both at the same time. Since muscle is more dense try measuring your neck, bust, waist and hips. i say the neck because thats one of the first places to start shedding fat.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    One thing to remember is that your body built up some muscle to move around your excess weight. A progressive heavy lifting program will help you to maintain some of that extra muscle while you're shedding excess fat. As the fat disappears, those muscles will become more and more apparent. You won't get bulky in any case.

    You're right, it's a long road but every day you're losing is a day you aren't gaining. I'm also sure you didn't put the excess on in a short period of time so it won't come off quickly, either. I think, for me, the mindset that I was making lifetime changes and not just trying to "lose weight" really helped. There is no end goal for me. I don't have a goal weight and I'm not ever going to stop striving to improve myself. The things I'm doing now I plan to keep doing for the rest of my life however long that is.
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