Should I lose weight first?

Should I lose weight first?

  • Yes, slim down and then build muscle

    Votes: 25 65.8%

  • No, add lean mass and then lose the fat

    Votes: 13 34.2%
  • Total voters
    38
S

spurlin9

0
I am about 30 pounds overweight, and I am serious about changing things. I am confronted with conflicting goals: losing weight (which will require a calorie deficit) and gaining muscle (necessitating a calorie surplus). It seems I have two options: I could lose weight and then pack on the muscle, or I could build muscle and then attempt to lose weight. Which route should I take?

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
a pic would be nice, but if you are very overweight, id say drop some fat first, but do resistance training. When you are a beginner to weight training its possible to loose fat and gain a bit of muscle at the same time.
 
I am 5'8" and 208lbs. I've been lifting 3-4 times per week for the past month, and I have noticed significant strength increases (probably just a result of new neurological connections). I’ve been eating just 1,500 calories per day over the past month, and I’ve lost some weight. I know I need to lose weight, and I know I need to build muscle—I just can’t decide in which order I want to attack the problem.
 
I am not sure if I am doing this right (or if this answers your question) concerning calories:

RMR = 1.3*Fat Free Mass (in kg) * 24
RMR = 2208 Calories per day.

This does not include exercise. I do resistance training 3-4 times per week and 40 minutes of cardio each day I am not lifting. If we figure that to be about 250 calories burned per day, I should need about 2450 calories per day --- which means I am currently operating at a 950 calorie deficit daily.
 
thats a bit of a big deflict, you could go into starvation modus, which is not good. What is often recommended is about 500 cals or substracting 10-20% of you're maintence level.
 
My opinion:

You're in a position to take care of both simultaneously.

One common old-school body-building practice was to "bulk-up & then train-down." You've already bulked-up... all you need to do now is train-down while eating NUTRITIOUS foods* & getting sufficient exercise & rest.

Don't skimp too much on the eating, but do skimp a little... & the exercise will do the rest. Around a year from now (give-or-take) you'll most-likely be at your target/desired-weight... then you can increase your food intake a bit, so that it's at a maintenence level.

If you stop training for any reason (or when you hit about age 50), then cut back on the food intake some to adjust for less activity (or changing metabolism).

Until you reach around age 50, EAT 6-to-7 (SMALL-to-MODERATE) MEALS EACH DAY; after 50, cut back a meal or two (or 3 if you've stopped being active for some reason).

* You'll need to do your homework to learn what foods, specific ingredients, & food-preparations are bad & which are good. Adjust your eating-habits as you learn. An occassional visit to a physician might be helpful -- especially if you tell your doc that you want to learn about nutrition rather than pop pills (as docs tend to prescribe pills because most folks won't follow good nutritional advice -- they want their hot-dogs, pizza, doughnuts, etc... often)
 
Cut out all junk food and drink plenty of water. Get some Weightlifing and Cardio in you. Start on a high protein diet. Thats the simplest but most effective advice I can give you.
 
Karky said:
When you are a beginner to weight training its possible to loose fat and gain a bit of muscle at the same time.
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It's possible to do that at any time. The theory that you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time is a big myth and you're probably just going by what other people have said on here without actually getting evidence that you can't do it.
 
Streamline said:
It's possible to do that at any time. The theory that you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time is a big myth and you're probably just going by what other people have said on here without actually getting evidence that you can't do it.
Click to expand...

Well no, i know its kind of a myth. i guess what i meant to say is that its hard once you're past the beginner stage, and it requieres alot of knowledge. when he gets to the advanced level he might be able to do it if his diet, training and recovery is flawless.
Dont be so harsh.

besides, its not always a good idea to tell the whole truth to a beginner, because a newbie might not see the whole context.
 
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This is a good post. I am currently in the same position as the original poster! So, im in your boat buddy! I am 6'3 and 200lbs, which I guess is normal? Now you guys are saying to build muscle, but I still have a nice size stomach. Should I try to lose that as well first, or lift now and hope that takes care of it? BTW: I don't drink beer so its not a beer belly...I was once 300lbs!
 
Yes, I am also in this position. It is interesting to hear different people say that you should lose weight first and then do weights training, but some people say both at the same time is fine. What is the answer then? :D

Also, on the days that I do strictly cardio I dousually about 45 minutes, is it a good or bad thing to do this much after a weights session, or will it cause some damage?
 
I am 6'4'', and I weighed about 214 when I first starting lifting seriously back in November. I needed to lose weight, yes, but I had many people telling me to just spend a few weeks packing on muscle, and it would be easier to burn the fat later. I did that, and saw excellent results, even though I wasn't even eating enough. Your body will take some time to adjust and it'll be painful, but once you get through the break in, you will just eat it up.

I'm now in the fat burning phase, and I gotta say its going quite well. My weight was at 208, and I'm down 14 pounds so far. It's nice to see my form just starting to come in, something I have not seen in my life, ever...
 
R.Lewis said:
Focus on weight training with a propper diet and the fat will melt away without you even thinking about it.
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I agree, weight training with compound movements act as a cardio workout as well as a muscle building workout too. That's a 2 in 1 deal right there!:p I said this on other threads but I will say it again: For every pound of muscle you gain, you will burn a certain amount of calories daily for just that one pound of muscle. So it's probably better to gain muscle.:)
 
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