Can a person lose weight and build strength at the same time?

[DrPena1993]

I started a diet three weeks ago, and have lost 6 lbs and 2 inches off my waistline. I have been using measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a nutrition scale to track calories. I have been eating 2100 to 2300 calories a day of mostly vegetables, fruits, legumes, and lean proteins. I also ate a few cheat meals like a chicken cheesesteak with cheese fries, brownies, pasta, and ice cream. None of that mattered. I still managed to stay in a deficit and lose weight. My goal is to drop down to 200 lbs. 👍🏼

I have not been exercising, and I am interested in building strength. I want to be able to lift my bodyweight. I know that I have to lift weights and do calisthenics to build strength. That's not my question. I want to know about the diet portion of it. How many calories do I have to eat? How much protein, carbs, and fat? Please list out anything else that will make it easier to acheive my goal. I am 274 lbs, 6 feet 1 inch tall, 31 years old, and male.

I’m not a doctor nor qualified in any field to give a professional opinion but I would say yes, it’s quite possible, not guaranteed I say this because there is no magic wand to either weight loss or muscle gain it depends on so many factors not just what you eat don’t eat or how many times you go to the gym.
But you’re giving it go and that always a good start.
I have been eating healthy for 9 months now and going to the gym for 6 months, I’ve lost 4.5 stone and have just started seeing a bit of definition, although a don’t go heavy on the weighs just toning up exercise.
As for diet I can only tell you what I did. Cut out all processed food, next cut out at least 95% of your carbs this includes all sugars natural or otherwise, most important eat between 1 to 1.4 gram of protein for every pound of body weight.

I'm not sure Mumsnet is the best place for a 31yo male to get body-building advice. The vast majority of members have different bodies to yours. Good luck though

Yes you can. Try asking ChatGPT to develop a diet and fitness plan for you.

Yes, my PT coaches people through a joint diet and exercise plan.

As mentioned previously, try using AI for tailored advice eg. xAI Grok (twitter!!)
I've found it really helpful - start with a fairly open question then give more details about you and your targets.
Good luck 👍

lol I typed up health and fitness forums on Google and this website was the first result. Any forums you recommend for me?

lol I typed up health and fitness forums on Google and this website was the first result. Any forums you recommend for me?

Reddit would be a good resource I would say for this. Best of luck

My son is an elite judoka so my experience is based on my journey with him.
Muscle weighs more than fat so if you’re lifting weights then your muscle mass increases and you will weigh more, despite losing fat. If you’re aiming for fat loss then don’t weigh yourself if you start lifting.
In order to lose fat you need to reduce carbs and increase protein. Everybody burns fat at different speeds and everybody needs a certain amount of calories to gain, lose or maintain fat percentage.
I suggest you combine your fat loss with weight training but don’t weigh yourself. You can find a keto diet online which will provide you with optimal calories without gaining fat. Once you start weight training you will see a difference in your body and start to understand how your body reacts to nutrition and training. If you’ve joined a gym, I recommend asking them to support you as the staff are trained to be able to help you to reach your personal body goals.

Muscle does not weigh more than fat, a lb of muscle is the same as an lb of fat. Yes you can OP its called body recomp, a much slower way than the traditional calorie deficit/surplus method. I would suggest listening to a podcast called mind pump it has lots of useful information on strength training

Yes you can! Happened to me and I am a grumpy middle aged woman so it can definitely happen to a 31 yo male.

I lost weight really slowly and trained regularly, IMO the only way to build muscle is to use them (a lot). I didn’t go crazy with protein, I eat more or less up to 1.3g of protein per kilo of me, but I have days when I eat only 0.8g. It still works. I don’t look like a bodybuilder but I have visible, toned muscles.

Your diet seems sensible to me, I would just add exercise. My favourite place to exercise is Les Mills, I have a subscription and train at home as I live in the middle of nowhere and have small children so no time to waste for driving to the gym. One of the most effective programs they have is called Strength Development. The other one I love that also transformed my shape is called Shapes. You can find samples of those on YouTube, both are rather challenging.