Beginner with questions!

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madisontaytay87
madisontaytay87 Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey y’all! I’m wanting to lose weight, so I’ve decided to try weight lifting for a change. It’s going well, but I need help with my diet. I need someone that I can bother with all my questions!

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,078 Member
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    Post them here, or over in the Food & Nutrition area. You'll almost certainly get answers, maybe diverse opinions, which IMO is a good way to learn about this.
  • madisontaytay87
    madisontaytay87 Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks! I’m just wondering if I should be eating in a calorie deficit? I know for weight loss that’s important, but a lot of online sources say for weightlifting/muscle gain you should be eating more. So, if I want to lose weight but am doing 3 days of weightlifting a week, and 2 days of cardio, what should I be eating? (Hope that makes sense lol)
  • thisvickyruns
    thisvickyruns Posts: 193 Member
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    madisontaytay87 wrote: »
    Thanks! I’m just wondering if I should be eating in a calorie deficit? I know for weight loss that’s important, but a lot of online sources say for weightlifting/muscle gain you should be eating more. So, if I want to lose weight but am doing 3 days of weightlifting a week, and 2 days of cardio, what should I be eating? (Hope that makes sense lol)

    If you want to lose weight, you need to eat in a calorie deficit, regardless of whether you lift weights or not.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,078 Member
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    madisontaytay87 wrote: »
    Thanks! I’m just wondering if I should be eating in a calorie deficit? I know for weight loss that’s important, but a lot of online sources say for weightlifting/muscle gain you should be eating more. So, if I want to lose weight but am doing 3 days of weightlifting a week, and 2 days of cardio, what should I be eating? (Hope that makes sense lol)

    How much do you have to lose? Are you relatively new to weightlifting?

    If little to lose, new-ish to lifting, a small deficit (half a pound a week loss), good nutrition (especially but not exclusively protein), good lifting routine - that can potentially balance those goals.
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
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    You kind of need to clarify your goals.

    Are you trying to bulk up or are you trying to lose weight?

    If you are trying to lose weight, get stronger, and generally improve your health, then eat a deficit.

    If you are looking specifically to bulk up your muscle mass, then you will need to eat extra calories, lift quite a bit, and expect to gain some fat as well. This is why body builders cycle between gaining and then cutting.

    When I started doing body building many years ago, I was in the gym several hours a day and ended up with more fat than when I started until I did a cutting cycle. It's a very difficult lifestyle to maintain.

    My spouse on the other hand wanted to lose weight and has been exercising intensely 6-7 days a week. He never did a bulk/cutting cycle, so he never got big, but he is lean and absolutely ripped.

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