Entering the life of healthy eating

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Randy N

New member
I'm a 20 year old male, 5'9" and weigh about 200-205lbs. I've been reducing my food intake since about september(weighed about 215 in summer).At my heaviest i was about 230-235lbs. I've been fat pretty much all of my teenage years. My weight never fluctuated. I slowly started putting on pounds starting middle school. I would say every year i would gain a few more pounds until i started college i peaked in the 230's. Strangely(but thankfully) i lost 15 pounds since the beginning of college up till this summer without consciously changing any habits. That 15lbs loss is what gave me the motivation to start my wieght loss plan.

My goal is to be in the 160's, i think... I'm not sure how much i should weigh, ideally. I'm 5'9" male but i know under the fat i carry a small frame. I have skinny wrists and carry more of my weight below the waist. I struggle to avoid fast food given that i'm pretty much addicted to it and i struggle to avoid big proportions since "big" is "normal" for me.

Anyway i've been trying to eat between 1800-2000 calories a day and it seems to be working. I've lost about 10-15 lbs and i'm ecstatic (i'm about 200lbs). I have not started working out yet, but i do have a gym membership and will be working out soon.

What i do wanna know, is it possible to tone/build muscle while losing weight? I wanna build my upper body to help proportion myself since i have a slight pear shape. I want to learn about more healthy food choices . I also wanna build muscle to help increase my metabolism. In the end i'm here to be around people that are striving for the same life changes as i am, and to learn learn learn
 
What i do wanna know, is it possible to tone/build muscle while losing weight?
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Nope. Sorry, it takes a surplus of calories to build muscle, and lowering calories to lose fat. Gotta stick to one at a time.
 
dariqueen said:
Nope. Sorry, it takes a surplus of calories to build muscle, and lowering calories to lose fat. Gotta stick to one at a time.
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that's not entirely true...

When you're at a heavier weight you can build muscle and still lose weight at the same time.. eitehr that or i'm a genetic mutant
 
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your success so far.

It sounds like you're off to a great start, just make sure you follow through with that exercise bit. Losing weight is a lot different than changing your physique.

You asked if you can build muscle while you lose the fat.

In an ideal world, certainly.

In the real world, no so much.

That said, it's definitely not an impossibility. People who are carrying a good bit of fat and/or have never seriously lifted weights before CAN experience concurrent fat loss and muscle gain.

You just have to put yourself together a routine that is effective. There are some in the stickies here. Or you can ask some specific questions and there are many here that will happily reply.

While monitoring calories is definitely critical.... when it comes to changing your physique.... what you put in your mouth is critical too.
 
Yeah for now i'm mainly concerned with losing the fat anyway. What i do need help with is judging protion sizes. I need to know what X amount of calories of rice/chicken/pasta etc... "look like". I've been guestimating it so far, but i wanna be more accurate with my calorie counting
 
YES...you can build muscle and loose weight at the same time. You need to be toning anyways while your working out so you wont be flabby!!!! It might not show on the scales that your loosing if you are build lots of muscle since it weights more than fat, but you do need to start toning your body at the same time you are trying to lose!
 
Randy N said:
Yeah for now i'm mainly concerned with losing the fat anyway. What i do need help with is judging protion sizes. I need to know what X amount of calories of rice/chicken/pasta etc... "look like". I've been guestimating it so far, but i wanna be more accurate with my calorie counting
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Have you seen

If you want accuracy, you need to invest in a food scale and some measuring cups.
 
AmberNC said:
YES...you can build muscle and loose weight at the same time. You need to be toning anyways while your working out so you wont be flabby!!!! It might not show on the scales that your loosing if you are build lots of muscle since it weights more than fat, but you do need to start toning your body at the same time you are trying to lose!
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Not to blast you, but there is a lot of myth in what you say here.

1. What is toning?

2. You aren't going to build 'lots of muscle' while dieting, period.

3. Muscle is more dense than fat.... it does not weigh more.

Don't get me wrong.... I think lifting weights is an important component of any weight loss program. I just wanted to clear up some things.
 
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