Male, 24, 5'9
My highest weight was 263 lbs. Lost 80 lbs just by eating less, was sedentary for most of that weight loss. Started walking and jogging a few weeks ago. Right now I'm about 180 lbs.
I have a feeling that I've lost a considerable amount of muscle due to my weight loss, and my metabolism is probably quite lower now. Despite still eating at a deficit and going on walks and runs, I'm losing weight pretty slowly now, whereas the first 60 lbs practically melted off me while I sat on my ass and played Elden Ring (I walked at work and carried some things but it was mostly diet). I think my lowered metabolism is making me lose weight much slower. My understanding is that this is pretty common with weight loss. It's possible there's other factors I'm not aware of. I've had others explain to me that the last couple lbs of weight loss are the hardest because the body seems to desperately try to hold onto fat as a survival mechanism. I don't know how to overcome that, because I'm definitely still in a deficit considering how little I eat most days.
I'm 180 lbs and still have a decent amount of body fat. Based on my height and waist circumference, my body fat is somewhere between 24% and 27%. I'm still visibly fat around my midsection and little bit under my chin.
I'm considering hitting the gym to put on muscle, but I have some questions:
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Is it possible to lose fat and gain muscle if you lift while eating at a calorie deficit? (Let's include the calories burned from weightlifting itself into a deficit equation, so for example eating 2000 calories a day while burning 300 at the gym). Let's say I lift while eating 1500 a day, maybe 1700 or 1800 a day, or 2000 but burning 300 at the gym. Would you lose fat while gaining muscle? I've seen people say that if you're kinda fat and lift weights on a calorie deficit, you'll lose fat because your body is using its fat reserves to make up the difference. However, I've also seen people say that you can't put on muscle on a calorie deficit, and that you need to eat at a calorie surplus to put on muscle, because your muscles will consume themselves for energy on a calorie deficit.
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Does weightlifting substantially cause more hunger? If so, is this an issue of calories, or an issue of adequate protein? Let's say I lifted while eating 1500 to 1800 calories a day, would I be able to curb hunger just by eating enough protein? I lifted for a bit in high school and it made me so hungry that I ended up eating so much more and I got substantially fatter. However, that was during puberty so maybe I was just a hungry mfer generally and things would be different now as an adult. I also didn't bother to track my calories or portion sizes back then, but now I do.
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What's the ideal amount of protein, carbs, and dietary fat needed to build muscle, or to at least not get tired or slow during workouts? I know it's recommended to eat 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass (that would be about 137g for me), but is there a number for carbs and fat?
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Do you have to lift to absolute failure to build muscle? Or do you just have to lift until you're pretty sore, and that's enough to build muscle? Or is it just about going a bit heavier slowly over time?
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Will doing cardio (such as jogging) impede muscle growth? I've read something about running being catabolic and that it breaks down muscle, leading to muscle loss. What would the limit on my cardio need to be? Right now I walk for 3 to 4 hours a day (I'm currently underemployed lmao) while I jog for maybe 30 minutes every other day.
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