How does losing weight while progressing at the gym actually work?

[dillinger]

38y/o male, 222lbs and recently did a DEXA scan. I want to lose weight, but also gain muscle at the same time if possible—recomposition. Looking at some body recomposition info, I should be eating 200g of protein per day.

Some more info:

• 35.2% body fat
• 1700 calories TDEE, not counting gym time and walking
• I fly a desk for a living, but consistently walk 7000-10,000 steps a day -Gym 3x a week. My (slightly abbreviated) workout last night was this:

1x5 bar weight warmup set squat set 3x8 squat, 65lbs 3x8 bench press, 55lbs 3x8 pec fly machine, 55lbs 3x8 overhead press, bar weight

3 minute rest between each set.

I usually also do RDLs and pull up machine into my workouts, but was short on time last night.

How would someone in my scenario approach weight loss while safely progressing at the gym and building muscle? I haven’t figured out how to eat 200g protein a day in a balanced diet with fruits and veggies, while keeping calories low enough to also be losing weight.

Also, what happens to people who don’t eat enough protein but are going to the gym and progressively adding weight? Wouldn’t muscle just dwindle away while lifting heavier and heavier? This seems like a recipe for disaster. How does anyone actually manage to do this and lose weight safely?

TL;DR: how does losing weight while progressing at the gym actually work? I feel like this is so basic, but I can't be overthinking this.

 

[anniereborn]

@dillinger

1700 calories TDEE, not counting gym time and walking

Then that isn’t your tdee. The T stands for Total so your TDEE should include all activity. How tall are you?

How would someone in my scenario approach weight loss while safely progressing at the gym and building muscle? I haven’t figured out how to eat 200g protein a day in a balanced diet with fruits and veggies, while keeping calories low enough to also be losing weight.

By eating in an appropriate deficit (estimated TDEE -500 calories or so is a decent start) and following a program. You don’t have to eat 200g of protein if that’s difficult. The recommended intake is a range and while higher protein is better during a cut to preserve muscle it doesn’t need to be that high to see results.

 

[dawn16]

@dillinger lifting weights builds muscles, Reducing calories loses fat, Doing this consistently equals good results.

Not meeting nutritional value such as protein will simply make progress slower, how much slower? depends on the person..maybe no reduction at all. 200g seems like overkill.

I recommend you just vaguely track your diet, in terms of macro nutrition at least at the beginning, the stress is probably negating the benefit anyways.

Losing weight is mega simple and virtually self explanatory and living a healthy lifestyle is too..If you overthink it you will probably have burnout and stop..

 

[lanman87]

@dillinger You have to understand that progress encompasses many different things that can change over time as you get more experience.

On a typical beginner strength program for example, your 65 pound squat, would increase 60 pounds in 4 weeks. Did your legs get twice as much muscle? No. It's more like your brain is lazy and only uses the muscle it thinks it has to, and gets better at using the muscle you already have.

Another element is improving technique, which applies to lifters of all levels.

And of course, you add muscle mass that your brain then uses.

To actually add muscle mass, I'd probably say stimulus, or lifting hard enough is #1, and then protein is #2. Also keep in mind that the guidelines for protein, are high enough so that most people would not leave much potential muscle gain on the table, but you are still able to add muscle at lower than recommended amounts. Where it probably gets more important is as you gain more muscle mass.

 

[dreamharp]

@dillinger 1700 calories is a deficit for me at 170 lbs. I would suggest increasing calories to prevent acceleration of muscle loss while trying to lose fat.

FYI, I started at 240Lbs and am currently about 170. What works for me is a calorie target of 8-12 calories per lb of body weight, and a protein target of 0.8+ grams per lb of body weight.

I would also forget about the dexa scans. I don’t believe they provide much valuable data for most people…Unless you’re getting them done for free.

 

[pianoismylife83]

@dreamharp Can’t speak to body comp concerns, but the bone density and visceral fat information is really helpful to have from a health perspective. Especially as we age.