Weight Lifting + Cardio = Weight Loss?

Diet first and for reduced muscle loss, most people report lifting helping the most. Not dieting too aggressively is also key to not losing much muscle mass.

General suggestions:

1. Weight loss (or, conversely, weight gain) is all about caloric deficit (or, conversely, caloric surplus)
2. Follow a canned training program, one that provides progressive overload. There is a link in here somewhere. I will find it and post it (after the fact)
3. Recovery is just as important - if not more important - as the training sessions.
4. Cutting - or loosing body fat - can be done numerous ways (with respect to 'aggressiveness')
5. Bulking - or gaining muscle mass with the side-affect of more body fat - is usually done when a man's body fat is down around 10% - 12%.
6. While cutting, ensure that you are on the higher end of protein intake.
7. Remember to adjust your caloric maintenance as you loose weight. So, maybe every 5lbs lost re-evaluate.


You have - if I am reading things correctly - roughly two months to loose the desired 30 - 40lbs? That would be super fast....

Lifting while you lose weight will help retain muscle you have (otherwise you will lose way more muscle than necessary along with fat). Once you lean down then you can decide if you want to bulk up more to build more size.

Would you cut after a bulk without lifting? No. So why would you neglect lifting now?

I also agree that both cardio and lifting are important for health and fitness.

Here are links to a couple threads you might find helpful....

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300310/most-helpful-posts-fitness-and-exercise-must-reads#latest

It's diet first. Exercise is beneficial for mental and physical health. This is an anecdotal observation, but if I lose weight through diet alone I tend to look flabbier versus using exercise as a supplemental activity.

Guys should cut to about 10% body fat (about 30" to 31" waist on average) and then bulk to about 15% body fat (about 33" to 34" waist as an estimate).
Rinse and repeat.
This is because of how the hormones and insulin response work in the male body.

Your waist is measured at the navel in a relaxed state after exhaling.
DO NOT TRY TO SUCK IN YOUR GUT. Your "pants size" is NOT your waist measurement.
By the way, this is especially true if you get pants from somewhere like "Old Navy", because of 'vanity sizing'.

Proper nutrition and training (not "diet and exercise") go hand-in-hand.

Follow a strength program that focuses on the barbell compound lifts, for at least 3 to 4 months.
Something like StrongLifts5x5, Starting Strength, or Bigger Leaner Stronger should be what you are doing - for now.

Make sure you do your cardio on days you do not lift or at least do it after you lift.

You say "lose 30-40 pounds", which makes me presume it is really more like 50 lbs.
Most people are really bad at estimating body fat percentages.
But at 35 lbs, losing 1 to 2 pounds per week (on average) could take from 20 to 40 weeks of dedicated training and disciplined nutritional compliance.
That is just the "cut", by the way. The "bulk" will require more time.

Losing 30 pounds in 3 months would be losing 2.5 pounds of fat per week on average which is completely unrealistic unless you are morbidly obese and 99% compliant with your training and nutrition.
If that is the case then you need to lose more weight than you stated.

What you *think* you can do has no bearing on the biological processes involved.

In other words you should be thinking in longer terms to reach this particular goal, like around 6 months.

If you don't want to do the necessary work then don't expect much in the way of long-term results.

According to my calendar there are 11 weeks until September 4, 2018.
So be happy if you manage to lose another 11 pounds of fat without losing any muscle by then.

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Calorie deficit for weight loss, prioritizing protein intake to preserve muscle.

Exercise for fitness. Your goals determine what workout is for you. I am a competitive powerlifter, so I lift heavy and do minimal cardio.

This^. There is no exercise in and of itself that causes weight loss. Exercise burns calories. Calorie deficit is what causes weight loss. You can't out exercise a bad diet.

Your goal is ridiculously unrealistic and would be unhealthy if you achieved it. You have lots of muscle loss. No way you can lose that fast and have it all be fat because physiology.