Lose Weight/Build Muscle?

I have been counting calories since January, but only started working out regularly the past couple of weeks. Only cardio- I want to incorporate some lifting into my routine and I want to build muscle AND lose fat, but I am confused.  It is my understanding that you need to eat more to gain muscle and less to lose fat. How can I do both?

 

Note: Also, I have just become a lacto-ovo vegetarian. 

Well, if you're new to weight training you are going to build a little muscle. You have to eat a lot to be able to get any sort of bulk on you at all. If you're a woman, 99% of the time you can forget bulk at all unless you're a devoted body builder.

If you're working at a caloric deficit; weight lifting will help you keep the muscle you have. If you're just doing diet and cardio, you're losing muscle. I guarantee it.

I definitely don't want to lose any muscle. I would actually like to gain quite a bit of strength. I want to be healthy and strong! :D    Does this mean I should just plan on retaining muscle until I reach my goal and am able to eat more?

good topic....one I'd like clarification on....I've seen posts that say you can't build muscle and lose fat at the same time (calorie deficit).  Is it possible to build strength/endurance without actually building muscle.  As a woman, I don't want bulk, but I do want strength.  Over the last couple of months I've found that I've build strength, but I don't think I've built a lot of muscle.   I've lost 15 pounds very slowly over the last 6 months, I'm on the 'life-style change' plan rather than a 'diet'.  Assuming the BF% measurement on my scale is consistant even if not accurate, my lose has been entirely fat, with 1-2 pounds of muscle added. 

Is that possible?

rfenwick, it is a tough thing you are trying to do. it is very difficult to build strength with no muscle mass coming with it. now if you did power lifting moves like cleans, jerks, and dead lifts, you will get stronger as long as your form holds true. if you do a typical strength training routine 5-8 reps muscle size will come. since you are a woman it won't be a huge amount but it might seem like a lot to you. the other problem is if you are losing weight which means you are restricting calories and in your case just cleaning things up a bit you might not be getting enough nutrients to support strength gains. You could try increasing your protein intake to support the muscle recovery. But you have to figure out what works for your body

Great post guys!

lunamud, here's a brief article you should choose to believe (because while you can find a million more words on the topic, you won't find much more truth).  If you want to pursue the slower-than-optimal "zig zag" approach mentioned there, here's one way to do so.  While "slower than optimal", it may be easier to live with, since flipping between mild calorie deficits and surpluses may be psychologically easier to stick with than larger ones maintained over long times; OTOH, slower progress may be too frustrating (depending on how impatient you are).  Bodybuilders generally alternate between "bulking up" and "cutting fat" phases, because that takes less time overall.

rfenwick, it's certainly possible that you lost 15 lbs of fat and gained a pound or two of muscle over 6 months.  The articles above will tell you more about that.  Especially in a newcomer to strength training, it's not at all unheard of to gain some muscle while losing much more fat.

Strength is partly mysterious ;-), and a lot more goes into it than just muscle size.  Examples of things strength-training will improve besides just muscle size (and these aren't all entirely distinct):  coordination between muscle groups (very important to increasing loads on compound lifts); number of muscle fibers your brain can convince to contract; intensity of contractions; and decreasing contraction inhibition.

For example, when you lift a teacup, your brain, nerves and muscles have learned to inhibit contraction of most muscle fibers, else the teacup would go flying over your head ;-)  They've also learned to contract "gently", and so on.  Very few movements in "real life" require all-out muscular efforts, and your brain, nerves and muscles have to learn to work harder, regardless of muscle size.

Improving these neurological factors is probably why it helps to concentrate hard while lifting, visualizing the muscle along the way, and deliberately squeezing it at the end of the concentric part of the movement.  "Feel the muscle, not the weight."

In fact, some fascinating studies showed strength increases in people who merely imagined doing strength-training, without actually lifting a thing.  Although I don't recommend that as your primary workout ;-)

Thanks tgpish! Those were some interesting articles and it helped me understand how muscle and fat a little better. I may try the zig zag method. It isn't too far off from what I'm doing now.

lunamud...I have lost 38 lbs and about 43 inches since 1/2/07 and have lost very little muscle...I lift 5 nights a week....In the beginning I did alot of cardio along with lifting, trying to jumpstart losing some fat....I did maintain a high level of protein so as not to sacrifice too much muscle in the process...And it has worked!  Have I lost some muscle, undoubtably, but it can be re-built with hard work...Have I lost strength?  Absolutely not!  I'm stronger now than I was 7 months ago...I'm lifting alot heavier than I have in 20 years....and even though I've cut way back on cardio, I'm still losing, althoug very slowly now...If I can do it, anybody can....good luck :)

take 150 grams of protein a day, dont eat over 1500-2000 calories (depends on your work out). hit the weights and cardio and you'll end up with a lean shreded body.