Building Muscle to loose fat...

convivialcoach

convivialcoach

New member
I was wondering is anyone else going through the issue of trying to loose weight with the process of lifting weights. I have found that though I feel good the weight will not drop.

Yes I know that muscle is heavier that fat, but I was wondering if anyone has some advice that I could build my everyday routine around.
 
I do strength training including pullups and pushups and some weights. It is certainly giving me more muscle definition.

If you want to lose weight you need cardio. I focus 80% of my time on cardio and 20% on strength.
 
I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I want to retain as much muscle as possible while losing weight. I do this by eating at LEAST 1g-1.5g of protein per pound of GOAL BODY WEIGHT. I want to get down to 180, so I'm eating about 180g a day. Aside from that, you should know the drill. Tons of veggies, healthy fats. You need carbs earlier in the day, but later in the day you need your fats. Adjust your meals accordingly.

My little drill is that when I wake up, I wait about 30 min or so so my body isn't in complete shock. Before I eat anything (but make sure you drink your water) I will do about 30 min of cardio. I'm not talking HIIT, gonna kill you cardio. Just a light jog. Or you can even walk at an incline? Ex. jog a light 5.5 mph or walk 3.5 mph on incline. I get back and drink a protein shake. This will help you burn energy aside from carbs cause you simply don't have any. After my protein shake, I'll eat again a 3-4 hours later. Brown rice, tons of veggies, and chicken. Rest a couple hours then hit the gym. Uhm..

My split is something like Mon: Chest, Tues: Back, Wed: Rest Thurs: Shoulders/Traps/Hamstrings, Fri: Bis/Tris. Cardio 5-6 days a week: you choose when and where and how. I don't do quads or calves because my choices of cardio are tennis and cycling. I'm quite proficient at tennis so my footwork puts a lot of work into my quads and calves. I'm a beginner cyclist, but I love it and go for 20-25 mile rides. Quads definitely get the burn. Also, if you've ever deadlifted, or done any trap exercises, you know your forearms get insanely beaten up anyways. Abs kind of get strong with exercies like barbell rows and front delt raises. I do planks in my room from time to time too.

Obviously, take your protein after you work out and then follow it with a quality meal an hr or two later with tons of veggies, protein, and healthy fats. =D

Make sure you're eating enough calories. I know that sounds counter-productive, but if you're working out hard, you have to eat hard (but smart). Good luck!



-edit-.. Don't expect weight to come off as quickly as someone who is just eating healthy and doing cardio. There are going to be some trade offs and the scale probably won't make you feel too good. The best way to track your progress if you do something like this is take pictures. The scale won't tell you how much fat you lost, but your waist, muscle size, and vascularity will.
 
Take measurements around your body as well. The scale just one of many tools to track weight loss. Esp. with building muscles your weight may not change at times and may change slowly so the scale wont help you much.
 
All these guys are on point!

Calisthenics and Plyometrics are also another great self resistance workouts that will increase your strength, endurance, and cardio.
 
convivialcoach said:
I was wondering is anyone else going through the issue of trying to loose weight with the process of lifting weights. I have found that though I feel good the weight will not drop.

Yes I know that muscle is heavier that fat, but I was wondering if anyone has some advice that I could build my everyday routine around.
Click to expand...

I am going through same thing right now. I have been doing a lot of work on my patio, lifting heavy stones and digging and I have stopped losing weight eventhough I am still dieting. So today I am going to take it easy just walk and swim and see if I can start losing again. I am stuck at 48 pounds lost and it is very frustrating.
 
Progress photos.

Set an interval. Take the same three photos at this interval. Typically Front, Side, and Back Views.
 
Free said:
I am going through same thing right now. I have been doing a lot of work on my patio, lifting heavy stones and digging and I have stopped losing weight eventhough I am still dieting. So today I am going to take it easy just walk and swim and see if I can start losing again. I am stuck at 48 pounds lost and it is very frustrating.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you need to shock your body. Different kind of work out and diet. Or just wait it out. I don't think the WALL of no fat loss will last forever. Even doing a different type of carido can make your body think twice about becoming complacient.
 
I think it's difficult to simultaneously lose weight and build muscle. It requires careful balancing of your diet. Personally, I first focussed on losing weight (while lifting weights to improve muscle endurance). In Feb, I slowly started building muscle and since than I gained 3 kg in muscle mass - same weight - but I look very different. Now - as of next week - I'm going to focus on building muscle and that means that I'm going to eat slightly more and relatively more protein.
 
I think it's very difficult to simultaneously lose weight and build muscle. It requires careful balancing of your diet. Personally, I first focussed on losing weight (while lifting weights to improve muscle endurance). In Feb, I slowly started building muscle and since than I gained 3 kg in muscle mass - same weight. Now - as of next week - I'm going to focus on building muscle and that means that I'm going to eat slightly more and relatively more protein.
 
You could try different routines as Radioactive suggested, hit the nail on the head there. You could try a period of only cardio, which combined with a low fat diet will help you see the difference on the scale. Then, for example, after two weeks, you could do cardio with weights. Wait a few weeks, then do only cardio. Etc etc.

Its very difficult to put on the muscle and shed the fat simultaneously. I lost 100lbs over 2 years by using this method. I used to change my routine every 4 weeks, and it worked pretty well.

I know some people who spend a solid year doing only cardio, who shed enormous amounts of weight, and then, and only then, did they start their strength training. They are now happily putting on lean muscle and not missing the cardio, to be honest! :)

Try to figure out a routine that fits you best and most importantly, that you enjoy. Keep it diverse, variety is the spice of life, and with perseverance and determination, you will reach your goal.
 
convivialcoach said:
I was wondering is anyone else going through the issue of trying to loose weight with the process of lifting weights. I have found that though I feel good the weight will not drop.

Yes I know that muscle is heavier that fat, but I was wondering if anyone has some advice that I could build my everyday routine around.
Click to expand...



Just want to make a few points here because this thread topic is an area I enjoy learning about. Some things I would like to mention/point out:

1/ It is possible to burn fat and build muscle at the same time. There are power lifters and strongman competitors that stay lean year round as well as bodybuilders who stay lean in their off-season. All those examples are people who need their muscles to keep building. I wouldn't be inclined to say it is "very difficult" either; it's a matter of knowledge. When you know the science behind nutrition nothing is impossible in terms of modifying your body composition (body comp. being the ratio of muscle:fat:everything else that makes up your weight).

2/The 1.0 - 1.5gram(s) of protein per pound of body weight is somewhat of a guideline to give you numbers to work with but you have to know it isn't a precise science. With abs I'd weigh-in at about 230-240 but do you think I go around eating 230 - 350grams of protein per day? Not at all. That's too much. Your body can only process so much "per lot" so that's where good ol' meal frequency comes in to help. You can constantly supply it with high meal frequency but to reach 300grams @ 6 meals/day I would need 50g per meals. That's a lot! Just showing you that a rule of thumb like that isn't universal and will not work for everyone.

3/ I don't think it would be easy to maintain a specific weight while reducing fat AND building muscle. It may be a little slow, or even end up higher than expected after leaning out, but staying at a same number and doing a body re-composition would be insane. You'd have to build muscle at the same rate you're reducing fat which is tough. If you're a regular Joe doing this naturally you're lucky to put on several pounds of pure muscle in a productive year.
 
convivialcoach said:
I was wondering is anyone else going through the issue of trying to loose weight with the process of lifting weights. I have found that though I feel good the weight will not drop.

Yes I know that muscle is heavier that fat, but I was wondering if anyone has some advice that I could build my everyday routine around.
Click to expand...

Weight lifting is great but losing fat is all about diet. Newbies can lose fat and build some muscle at the same time, but to lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficit.

You didn't give your stats, but generally people lifting weights should get 1-1.5g of protein per lb of lean body mass, depending on how lean (or not) you are now.

You didn't mention anything about your eating plan and that's what needs to be addressed for fat loss.
 
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