Muscles and size loss

X

Xenia

0
The member here "tic" wrote in another thread that it may be impossible to gain muscle while losing weight.

From my amateur research this makes some sense to me. Although it is disappointing news.

I have been reading and it seems to me that having more muscle makes it possible to burn more calories just living, even more calories while typing on a message board :)

Do you need to eat above maintenance in order to build muscle? I need to lose a lot of weight but I want to get stronger and I really did think more muscles was the key.

Seems to me that if I can't build muscles while losing weight that it doesn't make much sense to do resistance or body weight training. Which frustrates me because I abhor cardio and I actually like strength training.
 
Unless you're a beginner, you'll have to choose between fat loss and muscle gain. The thing to look for is a calorie deficit (for fat loss) and a calorie surplus (for muscle gain). Strength training is important when going for fat loss as it preserves the muscle you already have. (When the body needs energy, it breaks down fat and muscle to supply it - as I understand it, strength training helps push that ratio in your favor (that more fat than muscle is used).
 
Oh Xenia, I didn't mean to discourage you. Sorry about that.

From the looks of thing, I am going to assume that you are starting to workout or returning back to working out after a prolong break and does NOT want to waste time doing things aimlessly. If this assumption is correct, then there are a bunch of good news for you.

1) You can Gain Strength while losing fat. I can testify to this as I increased my bench press (and overall everything) from 225 to 300 lbs while going down from 188 lbs to 165 lbs. How is this possible? Well, a few things: 1) you are re-learning muscle memory, 2) Synchronization of muscle firing 3) Recruiting more muscle while lifting.

2) If you incorporate Weight training into your cardio, you will burn more calories and fat while you "rest." I am not sure on the exact # of calories but if you lift weights, your body will burn about 20-30 more calories per hour at rest for the next 5-8 hours. Even though you are not building more muscle, lifting will increase your BMR (basic metobolic rate).

3) When you lift, you will deplete more muscle glycogen which means less work that you have to do in your cardio session.

In conclusion, I think most will not debate this; INCORPORATING WEIGHT TRAINING WHILE DOING CARDIO IS THE MOST IDEAL WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT. It is much better than just doing cardio alone.

Sorry for the confusion before. Btw, prove me wrong about my original statement. Maybe you CAN gain muscle while losing fat. Shoot that I thought I was doing that before while everything that I read said against it. In term of weight loss, as long as you are in calorie deficit of 500+ calories a day, you should lose about 1 lbs a week. If you are losing weight, pat yourself on the back and keep going. Forget what I say as everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you.

Good Luck and keep on trucking!!!
--Tic
 
Stay positive!!! It's the diet / excercise that is playing trick on your mind. Don't give up. You are NOT a quiter.

When Life (in this case your diet) beats you down, get back up and show it who is boss (for your diet, eat more veggie and less carbs). When you get frustrated, get on that threadmill (or ellyptical or whatever your poison is) and work it off.
 
I also have a question about diet. At one point I went on a year long vegan diet. I am now wondering how much muscle mass did I lose during that time because I did not work out at all.
 
tic said:
Oh Xenia, I didn't mean to discourage you. Sorry about that.

From the looks of thing, I am going to assume that you are starting to workout or returning back to working out after a prolong break and does NOT want to waste time doing things aimlessly. If this assumption is correct, then there are a bunch of good news for you.

1) You can Gain Strength while losing fat. I can testify to this as I increased my bench press (and overall everything) from 225 to 300 lbs while going down from 188 lbs to 165 lbs. How is this possible? Well, a few things: 1) you are re-learning muscle memory, 2) Synchronization of muscle firing 3) Recruiting more muscle while lifting.

2) If you incorporate Weight training into your cardio, you will burn more calories and fat while you "rest." I am not sure on the exact # of calories but if you lift weights, your body will burn about 20-30 more calories per hour at rest for the next 5-8 hours. Even though you are not building more muscle, lifting will increase your BMR (basic metobolic rate).

3) When you lift, you will deplete more muscle glycogen which means less work that you have to do in your cardio session.

In conclusion, I think most will not debate this; INCORPORATING WEIGHT TRAINING WHILE DOING CARDIO IS THE MOST IDEAL WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT. It is much better than just doing cardio alone.

Sorry for the confusion before. Btw, prove me wrong about my original statement. Maybe you CAN gain muscle while losing fat. Shoot that I thought I was doing that before while everything that I read said against it. In term of weight loss, as long as you are in calorie deficit of 500+ calories a day, you should lose about 1 lbs a week. If you are losing weight, pat yourself on the back and keep going. Forget what I say as everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you.

Good Luck and keep on trucking!!!
--Tic
Click to expand...
Great advice tic :cool2:

Although I've only been working out for a few months now, I've noticed that I've lost a small amount of belly fat while gaining muscle and a even a couple extra pounds. I just started going to a gym about a week ago (was using freeweights at home before) and doing cardio 4-5 days a week as well. My assumption was exactly what you stated, you can lose weight while building muscle, and fortunately it works for me anyway :)

I was also confused about how many calories I was s'posed to be taking in today. I've tried a few different BMR's and always got different results. I'm doing my best to stick to a good diet and doing some sort of exercise every day, unless it's a rest day. Also upped my protein intake even more from what it was. So far, so good :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top