Lifting Heavy and little weight loss?

rcates2424
rcates2424 Posts: 208
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So I have been on a two month program of watching calories, lifting heavy, and cardio the last three weeks. I have lost a total of 14 pounds, but most of that was in the first 5 weeks. I have been stuck for the last couple of weeks. My question was, is it possible to gain enough muscle to offset the fat loss and thus yeild only small losses. I havent been keeping measurments, but it seems that i have gained some muscle and lost fat, is this typical? Trying not to get discouraged by the lack of scale progress.

Replies

  • NU2U
    NU2U Posts: 659 Member
    I wanna know too!!
  • prettygirlhoward
    prettygirlhoward Posts: 338 Member
    I wanna know too!!

    Meeee Three!! :-)
  • fitnhealthykaren
    fitnhealthykaren Posts: 117
    This is almost exactly me too, so I'll look forward to seeing responses!
  • kaydensmom12
    kaydensmom12 Posts: 338
    I often don't lose weight for 8-10 weeks but lose a ton of inches. Honestly inches lost are more important than weight loss. I would suggest to start measuring yourself and paying less attention to the scale since so many things are effect it:) I had not lost any weight for probably 2 months, then I started weight lifting and lost 5 or 6lbs in the first 3 weeks. I have not lost anything since and have gone up a few lbs but have consistently been losing inches. I do not let the scale bother me and do not even consider the weight it says as a measurement of my progress.
  • rcates2424
    rcates2424 Posts: 208
    Any other guys have this issue?
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    I lose at slower rate when liftting heavy as well but I lose inches like crazy. That matters to me more than the scale. I don't think it is neccesarily muscle gain, it takes LOTS of heavy lifting and a calorie surplus to gain new muscle. Most women that are trying to gain muscle are lucky to gain 1-2 lbs of pure muscle per month. I think it is more glucogen/water stores that the body needs to repair from being put under stress and the loss is slowed also because you are losing more pure fat and retaining existing muscle vs. losing fat and muscle without the weight training. Again where the inch loss comes in and is more important than the scale.
  • rcates2424
    rcates2424 Posts: 208
    Since I am lifting heavy about 5 days a week can I up my calories a little to help gain muscle and continue to lose fat?
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    Since I am lifting heavy about 5 days a week can I up my calories a little to help gain muscle and continue to lose fat?

    Probably. I should have looked at original post better lol I assumed you were female, sorry! But even then men gain muscle slowly in calorie deficit if at all, that works the same regardless of gender. As far as upping calories it depends on where you are now. I would go to fit2fatradio.com and find out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) take that number and subtract 20% aim to eat that number every day. Doing this, you would not eat back exercise cals as they are already calculated into your TDEE. From my experience and others I have seen doing it this way will increase fat loss and retain muscle mass, maybe some slight increases in muscle as long as you're lifting heavy.
  • Drastiic
    Drastiic Posts: 322 Member
    Since I am lifting heavy about 5 days a week can I up my calories a little to help gain muscle and continue to lose fat?

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html
  • rcates2424
    rcates2424 Posts: 208
    So dont eat back the cardio because that is already included in the TDEE? So if my number minus 20% is 2500 just stick to that.
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    So dont eat back the cardio because that is already included in the TDEE? So if my number minus 20% is 2500 just stick to that.

    Yep as long as you picked the correct activity level you should be good to go!
  • thistimeismytime
    thistimeismytime Posts: 711 Member
    Also, break out that measuring tape and camera!! :wink: Measurements and progress pics will keep you going when the scale stalls. Getting your body fat % measured is also helpful. The scale is okay, but it's just one tool, and not the best one--especially for those who lift.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    Also, break out that measuring tape and camera!! :wink: Measurements and progress pics will keep you going when the scale stalls. Getting your body fat % measured is also helpful. The scale is okay, but it's just one tool, and not the best one--especially for those who lift.

    ^^^^^^ this right here...

    I lift and strength train - the weight comes off but slowly...but there is a huge difference in my body shape...

    A lb of body fat takes up more space then a lb of muscle so you may only loose say 2-3 lbs in a month but that could have a big impact on loosing inches off your body.

    I have seen pictures where people wind up weighing 5-10 lbs more than when they start but look a whole lot better because they are leaner...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Since I am lifting heavy about 5 days a week can I up my calories a little to help gain muscle and continue to lose fat?

    That is very difficult to do. Check out this site: http://ca.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_900/988_body-recomposition.html usually with muscle gain, comes fat gain as you need a surplus to gain muscle.

    Most likely what you are seeing is a small amount of lean muscle gain since you are new to heavy lifting, but the majority of any gain in a caloric deficit would be water weight. Your muscles store water to protect them from the damage from exercise and to aid in recovery.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    So dont eat back the cardio because that is already included in the TDEE? So if my number minus 20% is 2500 just stick to that.

    If you included exercise into your TDEE then no don't eat the exercise calories back. If you are following MFP recommended intake, then yes eat them back as MFP does not included planned exercise when assigning caloires.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Keep plugging away at it, it will come in spurts. I fluttered around 209 for a while after losing 8lbs and then bam, hit 205. Weird. Take a look at your calories, maybe you need to adjust based on your 14lb loss.
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,446 Member
    Measure Measure Measure. I have been stuck on the scale for the past 3 weeks, but I have lost a few inches.
  • Woolooloo
    Woolooloo Posts: 82
    For my last 10 pounds, I wanted to try to get really lean and drop my body fat percentage to about 7%. I was on a 1700 calorie diet and was doing cardio 5 days a week and lifting heavy 4 times a week to try to maintain muscle or hopefully add some. I dropped my weight, but my body fat percentage did not drop as much as I hoped. What I found is that based on what my body fat percentage says my lean mass was before and is now, I lost almost as much lean mass as I did fat during that period. My feeling, at least for myself, is that it is extremely difficult to put on muscle while on a calorie deficit, I think you need to decide what you want to do, get lean or get muscular, and concentrate on one. Not that you can't do both, just do them in different stages. And not that you shouldn't continue to lift heavy while in a leaning stage - I hate to think how much muscle I would have lost if I hadn't been lifting heavy. Right now I'm working on upping calories to put on muscle.

    One note is that I did gain strength during that period, so even though I lost muscle mass, I was continually pushing heavier weights. I'm still a beginner so that might not be too surprising.

    Hmmm, another note is that I did a lot of running during that phase and since I had recently hurt my back, I was not doing any squats or deadlifts, I was solely working upper body. It is possible most of my muscle loss came from my legs. I'm just now starting to do squats again, I'm going to wait a while longer for deadlifts since that is how I hurt myself to begin with.
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    So I have been on a two month program of watching calories, lifting heavy, and cardio the last three weeks. I have lost a total of 14 pounds, but most of that was in the first 5 weeks. I have been stuck for the last couple of weeks. My question was, is it possible to gain enough muscle to offset the fat loss and thus yeild only small losses. I havent been keeping measurments, but it seems that i have gained some muscle and lost fat, is this typical? Trying not to get discouraged by the lack of scale progress.

    What it means is that you are eating close to your TDEE is what it means. You could be gaining a bit of muscle and losing a bit of fat. But you're not doing either very efficiently.
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