So as you guys know, I have started losing my weight. I went from about 225 to around 205 now. But I wanted to ask you something. I want to make sure that I have some abs, muscles after I lose my weight. But I am concerned that if I start weightlifting right now, I might gain instead of losing. Should I wait till I reach a lower weight and then start? This is really confusing me. Are there any lifting exercises I can do to lose weight and build muscle at the same time? Please reply.

Spend some time reading the stickied threads in the exercise forum -

and on topic as well

Don't wait to to the strength training - do it now -and it will help in your fat loss quest.

I assume you want to lose fat and not weight -correct? part of weight is muscle mass as well... so you do want to do strength training...

I have been trying to lose weight for the past year and the bulk of it didn't start to come off until I began strength training. The impact on my weight loss efforts have been staggering. Even if I wasn't losing pounds, the shape of my body changed. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain rom starting it now.

Good Luck!

YES YES YES!!!

Worded perfectly. As someone on these boards told me very wisely, Thanks Steve, you aren't doing this dietary change for the scale. You're doing it to look GOOD for yourself. So don't worry if you ACTUALLY gain, do your clothes fit differently? Do you feel better about yourself? Do you feel healthier? Those are your REAL goals and questions you should ask yourself. I still weigh myself, but it isn't my indicator of success. My new indicator is now "Wow, I went from 2x shirts to wearing mediums!". Chew on that before you say weight training ISN'T the right way.

Besides, its kinda funny but even HARDCORE body builders who have caloric surpluses can really only gain 13 or so lbs a YEAR. You would still be in a deficit and thus not able to gain any appreciable muscle mass, just keep what you do have (and possible change the shape to look better on your body).

Would gaining weight for you be a bad thing if you were losing fat and gaining muscle?

I can't see how it would be unless you just wanted to be physically smaller.

I say if you want abs start with the crunches and throw in 1 minute of plancking before you stand up.

Sorry I know I dont have credentials here and Im not a professional as the forum topic implies I should be, but thats advice on core training from my boxing trainer and I think he classifies as a pro

Exactly - I stopped obsessing about that dang scale as soon as I saw that my body was changing regardless of what the actual number was. Plus there is a difference b/t strength training for fat loss (at least that is my perception) and strength training for muscle gain. As long as you have weight to lose it will be difficult to bulk up as you will still be eating in a deficit which is not conducive to increasing muscle mass. (This is me trying to apply what I have learned here, feel free to correct me if I messed it up )

Seeing the increase in your strength over time is a reward unto itself. I am amazing at what I can do now compared to a year ago. It was well worth the effort.