Can I build muslce AND burn fat?

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nathangilstrap
nathangilstrap Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Good morning MFP! I've got a few questions for you fitness minded individuals.

About 3 months ago I weighed in at 263 lbs. At 5 ft 8 in that put me at approximately 40 on the BMI charts. Today I weighed in at 233. This puts me in the 35.4 range on the BMI scale. Which I am generally happier with.

Now for my goals - I want to weigh at most 199 lbs by 12/4/15 (my wife's 30th birthday). I think that is very doable. However I also want to start building muscle. I want a leaner more defined figure.

Currently I am on week 4 of the Couch to 5k running app and it has helped me shed the weight that I am wanting to quite quickly. However, cardio is boring. And nothing, no matter how hard I try makes it NOT boring.

Can I lift weights and still lose weight? I know muscle weighs more than fat or rather is denser so I could still lose inches while gaining muscle but my ultimate goal is to be below 200 and be muscular.

Is this possible? If so what exercises should I do? Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
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    Yes.
    Lifting while losing weight helps lose fat instead of muscle.
    Some purist argue you can't gain muscle while eating in deficit but trainers I trust have said one can.
  • G8rRay
    G8rRay Posts: 89 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Yes, but make sure that you are eating enough protein and, possibly, swap some carb calories (reduction) for fat calories (increase), while keeping your total calories the same as currently, since you're already losing weight.

    Oh, and you've already lost enough weight that you should reassess your calorie requirements to continue weight loss.

    Regarding boring cardio (C25k): Have you registered for a 5k race, yet? I've found that training for an event seems to keep my interest in running.
  • LolaKarwowski
    LolaKarwowski Posts: 217 Member
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    I believe it's called recomp. Correct me if I'm wrong.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,566 Member
    edited July 2015
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    To lose another 30lbs in a 5 month span, and gain some muscle while doing it? I'll emphatically say no, with the possible exception of some newbie or returning to lifting gains. But that will be minimal.
    In one case you have to be catabolic (lose tissue) to lose weight. The other you have to be anabolic (add tissue) to put on muscle. Being in deficit alone lowers testosterone (essential for muscle building) which is why it's improbable for it to happen.
    Now it CAN happen with recomp, but that a long arduous process.

    I believe you should just go for your regular goal, WHILE doing some lifting to retain what muscle you have and once you get there, reassess if that's the way you want to look. Then from there you can make the next goal.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • br3adman
    br3adman Posts: 284 Member
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    It’s not possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same exact moment in time because one process is catabolic (losing fat) and the other is anabolic (building muscle). It is possible, however, to gain muscle and lose fat over let’s say the course of five months, or even over the course of a day you may be able to lose fat and build muscle, but on a very small scale.

    You should mainly focus on loosing fat without loosing muscle. If you were to eat low calories for a week then workout pumping protein,carbs,fat before and after it's possible. You can of course loose muscle doing this or it can work depending on what you eat and how much you eat.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    Can it be done? Yes.
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

    In your situation, with your stated goal, are you going to achieve it?
    Probably not.

    IMO, your first goal should be losing the fat. That takes having a calorie deficit, and is helped by cardio.
    In order to preserve what muscle you have now, do weightlifting. It's doubtful you'll gain any muscle, but if you
    can avoid losing it while losing the fat you'll have an easier time later. It's easier to preserve than regain.
    Once you get close to your healthy weight, increase the weightlifting, increase protein %.

    Plug your numbers into this body fat calculator, then do it again in a couple months.
    http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
    It will at least give you a rough idea of how you're doing.
    In my case, it says I managed to gain a couple pounds of lean body mass while losing 80 lb of fat, but I think it's
    measurement error. I'm happy simply to have maintained lean body mass.
  • nathangilstrap
    nathangilstrap Posts: 8 Member
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    G8rRay wrote: »
    Yes, but make sure that you are eating enough protein and, possibly, swap some carb calories (reduction) for fat calories (increase), while keeping your total calories the same as currently, since you're already losing weight.

    Oh, and you've already lost enough weight that you should reassess your calorie requirements to continue weight loss.

    Regarding boring cardio (C25k): Have you registered for a 5k race, yet? I've found that training for an event seems to keep my interest in running.

    I am going to reassess my calories soon. I've still been loosing at a rate of 2-3 lbs per week and I have been ok with that thus far.

    And yes I am registered for a 5k in September. :)
  • nathangilstrap
    nathangilstrap Posts: 8 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    To lose another 30lbs in a 5 month span, and gain some muscle while doing it? I'll emphatically say no, with the possible exception of some newbie or returning to lifting gains. But that will be minimal.
    In one case you have to be catabolic (lose tissue) to lose weight. The other you have to be anabolic (add tissue) to put on muscle. Being in deficit alone lowers testosterone (essential for muscle building) which is why it's improbable for it to happen.
    Now it CAN happen with recomp, but that a long arduous process.

    I believe you should just go for your regular goal, WHILE doing some lifting to retain what muscle you have and once you get there, reassess if that's the way you want to look. Then from there you can make the next goal.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Thanks for the tips. This makes sense.
  • nathangilstrap
    nathangilstrap Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your replies. I appreciate it.
  • cbrook29
    cbrook29 Posts: 57 Member
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    so although a lot of literature and conventional wisdom says you can not do both of them simultaneously, I personally went from 15% to 10% fat and stayed at 165 lbs. I was at definitely at a caloric deficit. So this means I gained muscle and lost fat. Again, this is just my experience. At a caloric deficit (I weigh my food and figured out my basal metabolic rate). I did HIIT and lifted weights (hard) doing progressive overload. I am not discounting what others have said before me but based on my own body I would say "Yes, it is possible although some say like Mark Lobiner (I know Bro science) it's not optimal to try to do both. Also, Lobiner as has seen folks who lose fat and gain muscle. I know it's just anecdotal evidence.

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