Lose weight and then add muscle or both at the same time

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mhwitt74
mhwitt74 Posts: 159 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This may be a redundant question but how do you guys feel about this. Should I focus on losing the weight and then build up the muscle or do both at the same time. I feel like that I won't reach my goal weight if I pack on muscle weight at the same time.

Replies

  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I don't think you can gain muscle (or very little) if you're eating at a deficit you just maintain it and increase your fitness by exercising (apart from some small "noob" gains). I'm sure someone will come along with a more comprehensive explanation of the science though.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    Lose fat then gain muscle. It is incredibly slow/improbable to do both.
  • kristen2713
    kristen2713 Posts: 253 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Depends on how much you have to lose and your goals. Think about eating at maintenance and recomping if it's not a huge amount. You can't build muscle while eating at a deficit, but you can lose fat, while building muscle by eating at maintenance or small surplus. Just remember fat and weight are not the same. ETA: Try not to focus on a specific number. You could end up very disappointed when you hit said number, or may be quite happy with a higher one.
  • Hensonator1084
    Hensonator1084 Posts: 195 Member
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    Lose weight first but maybe with a smaller deficit so you dont lose muscle, you will be disappointed if you try and do both as its a lot harder to do
  • Luckadea
    Luckadea Posts: 19 Member
    edited February 2017
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    JohnnyPenso wrote: »
    Lift to maintain muscle while losing. If you don't, you will definitely lose muscle mass and perhaps a great deal, as you shed weight. Not all the weight comes from fat. Of course, lifting weights also has the added benefit of burning calories, enhancing cardio (if you structure your workouts that way), making you look and feel better etc. It's awfully hard to gain back muscle at any time, so maintaining what you already have, while losing weight, will pay off big time down the line.

    Like anything else, there's a better way of doing this as well. Lifting lighter weights for high reps isn't going to do as much for maintaining muscle as lifting heavier weights for less reps. Compound lifts are much better than isolation exercises etc. It doesn't have to be complicated either. 5x5 Stronglifts, NROWLFW, Starting Strength and lots of others, are good programs that are easy to follow. If you haven't done this before, form is critical, both for performance and avoiding injury. Get a trainer for a few sessions if you can afford it, if not, YT the heck out of each lift and try to watch yourself in the mirror as you lift.

    100% what JohnnyPenso said! Do both! Your body is more likely to burn fat when you lift, because it needs the muscle to lift and then burns the fat as fuel.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    No-one knows anything about you.....

    History, experience, goal, current status etc.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    edited February 2017
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    At your ht/wt/age...lift to preserve the muscle you already have, deficit to lose the fat. Building muscle is really...really hard to put on. We don't just pack it on that easily, why would you want to do 2 to 3 times the work putting the muscle you lose back on?
  • mhwitt74
    mhwitt74 Posts: 159 Member
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    Thank you guys for your advice. I am really looking to get under 200 pounds. Got 12 more to get there. At the same time I have been lifting so maybe I should really look at losing inches of belly fat. That is where mine is. I have been doing more reps with lighter weights. I will amp up the weight and fewer reps. Any advice on how many sets and reps per set?
  • mhwitt74
    mhwitt74 Posts: 159 Member
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    JohnnyPenso wrote: »
    Lift to maintain muscle while losing. If you don't, you will definitely lose muscle mass and perhaps a great deal, as you shed weight. Not all the weight comes from fat. Of course, lifting weights also has the added benefit of burning calories, enhancing cardio (if you structure your workouts that way), making you look and feel better etc. It's awfully hard to gain back muscle at any time, so maintaining what you already have, while losing weight, will pay off big time down the line.

    Like anything else, there's a better way of doing this as well. Lifting lighter weights for high reps isn't going to do as much for maintaining muscle as lifting heavier weights for less reps. Compound lifts are much better than isolation exercises etc. It doesn't have to be complicated either. 5x5 Stronglifts, NROWLFW, Starting Strength and lots of others, are good programs that are easy to follow. If you haven't done this before, form is critical, both for performance and avoiding injury. Get a trainer for a few sessions if you can afford it, if not, YT the heck out of each lift and try to watch yourself in the mirror as you lift.

    Thank you guys for your advice. I am really looking to get under 200 pounds. Got 12 more to get there. At the same time I have been lifting so maybe I should really look at losing inches of belly fat. That is where mine is. I have been doing more reps with lighter weights. I will amp up the weight and fewer reps. Any advice on how many sets and reps per set?
  • HM2206
    HM2206 Posts: 174 Member
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    What if you're looking to replace fat with muscle?

    Should I still lose fat first and then build muscle, or do the process at the same time?

    (Female, 26. 5"9, 134 lbs)
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    HM2206 wrote: »
    What if you're looking to replace fat with muscle?

    Should I still lose fat first and then build muscle, or do the process at the same time?

    (Female, 26. 5"9, 134 lbs)

    You can't replace fat with muscle.

    At your stats, you can start looking into a recomp as you eat at maintenance and use a progressive overload program such as Stronglifts 5x5 to change your body composition. It is a slow process but you would be able to change your shape without changing your weight much.

    Alternatively, you can bulk and then cut but it would depend on your body fat %.

  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    mhwitt74 wrote: »
    JohnnyPenso wrote: »
    Lift to maintain muscle while losing. If you don't, you will definitely lose muscle mass and perhaps a great deal, as you shed weight. Not all the weight comes from fat. Of course, lifting weights also has the added benefit of burning calories, enhancing cardio (if you structure your workouts that way), making you look and feel better etc. It's awfully hard to gain back muscle at any time, so maintaining what you already have, while losing weight, will pay off big time down the line.

    Like anything else, there's a better way of doing this as well. Lifting lighter weights for high reps isn't going to do as much for maintaining muscle as lifting heavier weights for less reps. Compound lifts are much better than isolation exercises etc. It doesn't have to be complicated either. 5x5 Stronglifts, NROWLFW, Starting Strength and lots of others, are good programs that are easy to follow. If you haven't done this before, form is critical, both for performance and avoiding injury. Get a trainer for a few sessions if you can afford it, if not, YT the heck out of each lift and try to watch yourself in the mirror as you lift.

    Thank you guys for your advice. I am really looking to get under 200 pounds. Got 12 more to get there. At the same time I have been lifting so maybe I should really look at losing inches of belly fat. That is where mine is. I have been doing more reps with lighter weights. I will amp up the weight and fewer reps. Any advice on how many sets and reps per set?

    You can't spot reduce fat. It comes off where it comes off, unfortunately. For many people, the belly area is the very last to go. :(

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