Weight training and weight loss/muscle tone

changemylife2017
changemylife2017 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Sorry to ask a question that hs probably been discussed quite heavily before, but I just can’t seem to find a forum or discussion that quite fits my situation.
I’ve about halfway through my weight loss journey - I’ve lost 11 of 22 kg - and I’m a 20 year old woman. This goal will still leave me as overweight according to my bmi but my baby steps.
So now that I’m about halfway through, I didn’t want to plateau so I’m adding more physical activity to my routine.
I go to the gym approximately 5 times a week and I alternate a weight circuit and cardio. I am noticing more muscle tone in my arms but I am still concerned about becoming bulkier rather than slimming down. Have I just bought into the diet industry bull crap or is it possible to still look chubby even though my muscle are larger?
I am eating at a small deficit that’s easy to maintain.

Sorry for asking a question that’s probably been asked a million times before, but I just had to ask somebody

Leela

Replies

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Its a myth that weight training will make you look bulky. There are hundreds of threads showing people who weight train/lift heavy who are not bulky at all.

    Your muscles will become more visible as you lose fat and that is what is happening now.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    If you're in a deficit, you are not likely to build muscle - if you do it would be because you are untrained and lifting heavy and progressive (not sure if that's what you do or what your program is) and it would not be enough to make you look bulky. Your lifting is much more likely to simply help you retain what you have.

    Ultimately weight training helps you reduce the amount of muscle you lose along with fat (in a caloric deficit). This is the primary reason many here advocate smaller deficits and slower weight loss. If you don't add muscle mass, and you get stronger, what will happen is that as you lose fat, the muscles will begin to show. If you did add some muscle, remember muscle doesn't "weigh more than fat", it is more dense than fat - meaning it will occupy a smaller space. (Hint - this is partly why BMI can be an unreliable indicator).

    Bottom line though is this: if you are weightlifting in a deficit, you are essentially preserving muscle mass, not adding to it.

    Congratulations on your progress.
  • sorchaedwards1991
    sorchaedwards1991 Posts: 19 Member
    It is extremely hard for women in general to gain loads of muscle and look bulky due to our genetics and hormones. Also, whether you're a man or a woman, you need to eat A LOT of calories to bulk out - weight training will help you shed fat and look more defined and toned. It isn't the best at burning calories though so you need to make sure you're in deficit.


  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited February 2018
    The muscle tone is just residual tension that you get from weight lifting, your muscles aren't getting any bigger just getting firmer. You aren't going to be gaining muscle but rather preserving it so don't worry. To look bulky you really have to try it just doesn't happen by accident nor is it easy to look like that.
  • changemylife2017
    changemylife2017 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks for the response guys! I’ll keep going knowing that by the end of it I’ll still have some muscle mass, but I’m not going to accidentally bulk up
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    You may want to take a look at this thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    You may want to take a look at this thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky

    Another great article (also written from a woman's perspective) about "getting bulky": https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/blog/strength-training/heavy-bulky/
  • Jacquifly
    Jacquifly Posts: 3 Member
    If it was possible to become accidentally bulky, bodybuilding wouldn't be a thing :wink:
    Congratulations on your work <3 But rest assured that if you're eating at a deficit then any muscle you see is most likely always been there! It's cause you're losing the fluff that used to live around it :)
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Jacquifly wrote: »
    If it was possible to become accidentally bulky, bodybuilding wouldn't be a thing :wink:
    Congratulations on your work <3 But rest assured that if you're eating at a deficit then any muscle you see is most likely always been there! It's cause you're losing the fluff that used to live around it :)

    Yup! I was 114lbs above a healthy body weight when I started. And constantly giving piggy-back rides to a slightly-smaller-than-I-should-be adult DEFINITELY created some muscle. It just happened to be buried under a layer of fat...
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