Can lifting make you skinny?

I believe you are looking for this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

I'm smaller than I was when I started at 220 all I do is lift weights. I'm only called skinny when fully dressed wearing a US size 4.

I have been holding at 140-145 for 18 months and have dropped 1 size at the same weight and gotten leaner. recomp for the win.

so weight lifting doesn't make you skinny it makes you less fat if you are in a deficit or at maintenance.

hamlet1222 wrote: »

I think if you get your diet wrong while on a weights programme and have too high a calorie deficit you can actually shrink your muscles. 20% maximum calorie deficit when weight training is what I've heard, and give yourself enough time to recover between sessions.

If you don't eat protein you will loose muscles. Protein plus lifting = muscle growth

Your calories determine whether you're skinny/heavy and how lifting will affect your body. You can lose weight with no exercise at all if you're eating at a calorie deficit. Conversely, you can run and lift and pack on the pounds if you're eating too much.

When you're in a deficit, you lose fat and muscle. Lifting and adequate protein helps retain the muscle you have while losing fat. When you're eating in a surplus, lifting helps you put on muscle, but you will also put on some fat depending on the number of calories in that surplus.

Exercise can help increase your deficit (it's easier to get larger burns from cardio) but from my experience, it's just easier and more consistent to manage a calorie deficit in the kitchen and exercise for fitness. That way you're where you want to be calorie wise for your goals regardless of what exercise you do or don't do that day. I also eat back 100% of my exercise calories.

Bottom line, you're calorie intake will determine weight loss/gain.

If you want to lose a bit more body fat and start putting on some muscle, then look up body recomposition. There are some nice threads on it in the forums. Essentially, you eat near or at maintenance and lift heavy. I've been doing it for several months now and am seeing results. I am going down inches, gaining a little more muscle and the scale is going up a bit.

I have lost weight with lifting and calorie control. I eat lots of protein-around 100grams a day. I don't do a huge amount of cardio. Prob 40 minutes three times a week. But I workout with weights for at least 4 hours a week. And I'm on my feet all day at work-iPhone step counter gets me at 10 thousand steps a day but not sure how accurate that is! I get my heart rate up with heavy or high reps. I am leaner and a lot more toned lifting weights as opposed to when I was doing more cardio and just looked slimmer without muscle definition. I have definitely gained muscle while on 1200 calories per day with no real calorie restriction on weekends. Building muscle increases your metabolism.

No, your diet will make you skinny.
Lifting will just make you a badass.