Weight lifting -when to start trying for muscle gain

How many calories are eating daily?

IMO it makes more sense to just go ahead and do your muscle building first, and then cut all at once. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but it will be most likely the most effective way to reach all of your goals. You can also cycle your diet a little differently so that you will still burn fat while increasing strength and building a little bit of muscle. You will likely need to cut out the massive amounts of cardio in order to make any of this work, though. Muscle building is srs bzns, and your body is going to need a LOT of available energy to replenish those muscles and rebuild them on rest days. You will need to ACTUALLY rest.

This is EXACTLY what I would like to get some answers to, as we have it very similar! I too am 5'7", but my low weight was 156 a couple weeks ago and now suddenly it's back up to about 159 (I've been doing the P90X program with weight training for six weeks and am hoping that the stall/gain is due to muscle building/water retention). I have read so many different things about how I should be eating at a surplus to gain lean muscle mass but then I should be reducing calories to lose fat, etc. etc. I'm so confused! I too want to be around 135-140, maybe even 145 if that looks good enough with great muscle mass. Part of me says I should just back off on the weights for a while and cut the calories a little (I am NETTING around 1700-1900, which means that I actually EAT 2200-2700 on workout days, which is six days a week) so I can lose some weight again BUT I really, really do not want to go back to JUST burning fat AND muscle! I would rather stay at this weight and have some strength and tone than be just skinny and weak and flabby! But isn't there some way to continue to lose weight AND gain lean muscle mass??

Please feel free to add me as a friend, as we have very similar goals!

IMO it makes more sense to just go ahead and do your muscle building first, and then cut all at once. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but it will be most likely the most effective way to reach all of your goals. You can also cycle your diet a little differently so that you will still burn fat while increasing strength and building a little bit of muscle. You will likely need to cut out the massive amounts of cardio in order to make any of this work, though. Muscle building is srs bzns, and your body is going to need a LOT of available energy to replenish those muscles and rebuild them on rest days. You will need to ACTUALLY rest.

Thank you for this. It's what I keep thinking. It does seem to make the most sense to just try to gain some muscle and then expect the fat to start melting off like crazy after a while. It's just a little discouraging when you want to see that scale move. But it's a journey, not a destination so I'll do whatever it takes!

It sounds like you are on the right track.
Muscle gain is an issue I plan to address AFTER reaching my weight and fat goals.
I am not ready to start gaining weight just to gain muscle.

Forget that - it can add too much fat.
I do resistance as I am losing fat to maintain muscle - not build. You don't build muscles in a state of calorie deficit anyway, but it helps with strength and lean body retention which helps metabolism.

An exercise program devoid of resistance is not a well balanced system.
You are doing great!

And don't worry about "building muscle" - let than happen in its own time when you can eat a surplus once you've achieved
your fat loss goals. That's my take.

Good Luck!

When you begin stronglifts or whatever, you could stay in the calorie deficit. The program starts very light and you probably wouldn't add much if any at that stage. Cut back on the cardio and move to a calorie surplus when the wts become more challenging. I have been doing 5x5 since April and did not watch my diet at all for the first 7 months. I added wt but not a lot of inches around the stomach. I am currently trying to lose 1 lb per week while still lifting. Will see how that goes and how it effects strength

When you're trying to add muscle mass and lose fat at the same time, you need to use a tape measure and the mirror rather than just the scale to help decide if your weight change (or not) is a result of fat gain/loss or muscle gain/loss.

Looking for advice on how best to achieve my goals....

I'm 5'7, 153 lbs. My original goal weight was135-140, but I'm now thinking 145 may be more realistic since I've incorporated weight training. But, I'm still 10ish lbs from my goal and definitely have addl fat loss to accomplish.

I'm currently eating at a 250 cal deficit and eating exercise calories, to fuel my workouts. I'm in the middle of the New Rules of Lifting For Women program. I lift MWF, and do cardio interval training, incline work, and usually one day of longish running (5-6 miles) on non-lift days. I am losing at the 1/2 lb per week rate. All told I have lost 28 lbs since August.

I'm anxious to start gaining muscle, but really want to lose some additional fat before I do so. I'm thinking of continuing with NR thru the next 3 stages, then moving to maintenance for two weeks, then starting a slight calorie surplus and moving on to Stronglifts 5x5 or some other similar program.

My question is, if I haven't accomplished all the fat loss I'm hoping for, will this be counter-productive? Should I continue at a deficit until I've reached my fat-loss goal? Or can I start building muscle sooner?

It's what ever you feel comfortable with and which goals are more important you. Do you want to see strength gains or fat loss? You can't do both at this point. If you have your heart set on training on a race, I would continue with the fat loss/deficit until that is over. Then begin a bulking cycle.

And don't worry about "building muscle" - let than happen in its own time when you can eat a surplus once you've achieved
your fat loss goals. That's my take.

And then have to cut the fat you inevitably gain whenever you go through a bulk phase? This is what I have trouble understanding why anyone would want to do. It is nearly impossible to gain muscle without gaining some fat along with it. So if you want to END UP well-muscled and ripped, there's less overall cycling involved if you just gain your muscle now, and then cut it all when you have the muscle tone you want.