Using heavy lifting to lose fat?

[Manc33]

Most people probably envisage losing fat as doing hours of cardio a day and eating a caloric deficit.

Indeed, whether you're eating junk food or the cleanest diet in the universe, too many cals and you'll gain fat, too little and you'll lose fat. Even exercise doesn't come into it. If you need 1200 cals a day because all you do is sit on your a55 all day, eating 1000 cals a day you'd lose fat.

That might be true, but what about this - if you lifted heavy weights as if you were bulking, but ate at maintenance level? What happens? Are your muscles sore for say 5 days instead of 2 or 3 but they eventually go back to normal again and don't shrink?

I read some study that said you have to push yourself vastly more than what most people think, when losing muscle. That is, you'll lose all your fat before you even start to lose muscle. The subjects in this study were going to absolutely insane lengths like eating just 800 cals a day with extreme sleep deprivation having 3 hours sleep and walking 50 miles the next day. All through the study it kept stressing how you shouldn't do this at home lol, I think it almost killed some of the participants.

Are most people just exaggerating about losing muscle then? Don't you have to push yourself so hard that most people would never even get close to losing muscle? Wouldn't you have to do back to back marathons?

Lets say I bulk on 2500 cals a day. What happens if I keep my lifting the same but "get by" on only 2000 calories? I would be creating a 500 calorie a day deficit, which adds up to about a pound's worth of fat calories (3600) per week.

It sure does seem a lot easier than running around like a headless chicken trying to lose fat.

Thing is would this work? Its fair enough to say "Eventually, like after 3 weeks, you'd collapse, your CNS cannot tolerate this" but you'd just ease off if you were feeling that run down.

The caloric deficit is the key factor here, not cardio, is my point. Whether you do cardio or not, you need the caloric deficit! That comes BEFORE exercise.

To be honest I struggle to eat enough to bulk and losing fat this way would be perfect. I have got to the point where I think "If I don't eat this next meal, if I skip it, which I could do, it will take me 7 years to get to X weight as opposed to 4 or 5 years" and I literally see it that way, I know what overeating is and know I have to do that to gain, but its just hard, for me anyway.

Its easier to just lift heavy and have a caloric deficit, than it is to do hours of cardio a day eating more but still in a deficit. Why even do the cardio! You're just "getting fitter" not necessarily losing fat.

I know, I have got a lot to learn, I know that.

[kingesco]

Idk even know what your asking really? Look i lost 30 pounds bein in a a caloric deficit and i only lifted weights intensely, i lifted hard and heavy. i had cut on about 1900-2200 cals, i didnt cut out carbs neither! what I noticed was my recovery was slow, and feeling fatigued somedays. I adjusted accordingly.. Idk if this helps I'm just giving you my perspective, because your post really confused me. if you have any questions ask? Ill give you my 2�

[unleashthelion]

In the process of losing fat, you will undoubtedly lose some lean body mass; however, this doesn't mean you will necessarily lose actual muscle mass (you can just lose the connective tissue that held together the fat). As for the obese, they will lose muscle mass - without question; but this isn't good mass that would be functional at a lower body weight (it only helped to support the dozens of extra pounds of fat and will atrophy once the weight is gone). Now, this doesn't mean you can't also be putting on good, functional muscle while taking off that obese-dependent weight.

There's a lot to this and most just have misconceptions about this due to broscience; a little bit of logic goes a long way in understanding this phenomenon.

[JB1Million]

Muscle is built because your body needs to adapt to being under the stress of weights. You eat a lot and you get bigger and lift heavier. You stop lifting heavy and go on a diet, that muscle is going to go away because your body doesn't need it any more. Lift heavy, eat a lot to bulk and change your diet to lose weight, but don't stop lifting heavy. I don't care what anybody says about "High rep, light weight when cutting". I'm 6 and a half feet tall, so when I cut, I can't afford to lose any muscle. It's hard enough putting it on. I recommend HIIT over cardio for fat loss though. Sprint running, tire flipping, ect. I called a local tire shop and got a damaged farm tractor tire for free from them to flip in my back yard. Somebody is going to say I'm wrong, but I've tried many different ways of doing everything, and that's what works for me.

[darfnate]

Mike O'hearn lifts heavy even when he is cutting and he is huge and shredded as faurk. Look up some of his videos on youtube

[LighthorseLee]

Lifting Heavy weights is the best way to retain LBM during a caloric deficit. Lyle Mcdonald and Eric Helms have articles and videos about this subject.

[MookyStick]

Like I always tell people...Go heavy or go home

[Manc33]

I agree that as long as you at least "nearly maintain" and lift heavy, you shouldn't lose muscle, but you must lose fat because of the caloric deficit - after all it is lifting that STOPS you losing muscle, like JB1Million says above "don't stop lifting heavy".

Then even if you do lose a bit of muscle (from lifting and not quite eating enough calories) you have muscle memory because you've always been lifting heavy all along. Conversely, six months of no lifting and all cardio... you would surely lose way more muscle and strength. I just always thought of bulking and cutting as two totally different things where to bulk you lift heavy and to cut you do hours of cardio a day, but I guess not.

[Lintford]

When cutting I lift just as heavy but usually reduce overall sets by about 20%

I feel really lethargic and 'overtrained' if I do the exact same training on a deficit

[armyguy29]

I would imagine the majority of people on this forum lift heavy when they're cutting. The amount of people here in this forum who do mostly lots of cardio is probably a very small minority.

[JB1Million]

Glad I'm not the only one. I'm about to start a cut Monday, and I'm not looking forward to it. I love eating too much, but it needs to happen.

[AAOBob]

Heavy lifting to get strong.
Calorie deficit to lose weight.
Cardio to build endurance/burn more calories.

[mudkipez]

Glad I'm not the only one. I'm about to start a cut Monday, and I'm not looking forward to it. I love eating too much, but it needs to happen.

Feels bad brah