So the idea is you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. you need to either eat more calories, or eat less cals, right?

I'm currently 153 (starting weight was 158) and I want to get down to 140 (unless I'm happy with my body before then). I want to lose weight, and gain some muscle definition, to get that lean, 'fit' look.

My current gym routine is about 3 times a week. about 50-60 mins of cardio, followed by about 30 mins about lifting.
is this okay as a routine? or become I'm generally trying to eat at a deficit, is this lifting pointless? I'm so confused.

Lifting is never pointless.

I've been in a 700-900 calorie deficit the whole time I've been lifting. Bodyfat down, strength up, measurements looking good.

That being said, I started off with plenty of tankass to burn (27% BF @ 245 lbs. 5'10" in the beginning).

I would flip-flop and do the lifting first, then the cardio. Get started with a full body routine focusing on compound lifts like Stronglifts 5x5, New Rules of Lifting, or Starting Strength. Set your deficit at TDEE-10% (15% max).

The lifting is most certainly NOT pointless- you don't need to build NEW muscle to get benefits. Most of the gains for months and months of a training routine come from what's called neuromuscular adaptations- which basically means training your CNS to actually use the muscle you have. Every untrained person has TONS of muscle fibers that the CNS has no idea how to fire up and use, so that's what training does. You will have all the benefits of building muscle- getting stronger, looking leaner, denser bones, better insulin response, feeling badass, looking "toned"- even if you don't add a single ounce for a long time.

Don't freak out if the scale doesn't move for a while- the muscle will hold fluid for a while once you start lifting which will mask your fat loss on the scale. Take measurements and pictures in a bathing suit ASAP to help you track your progress.

thanks guys! SUPER informative answers - both of you!

I haven't really developed an actual 'lifting routine' I've just kind of experimented with some machines and found a few different ones for all the major body parts that I like. I do those same ones every time, upping the weight little by little. eventually I suppose I'll look into an actual program .lol.

morebean: good point! as long as I work on the muscles I already have, and get those stronger I'm happy.
thanks again :)

First you gain definition from losing fat not by building muscle. You get that really defined look when you hit about 15% body fat. Also to much cardio it burns fat and mucle i genrally try to only stay around 30 min of cardio at a time. You could also look into circuit work outs they combine weight training and cardio(try looking into sparticus circuit ). On a diet weight training helps maintain muscle, and the whole cant gain muscle on a deficit is kind of up in the air ive read many different things

I don't have any scientific answers but I have been able to lose fat and gain my muscle doing circuit training and cardio, and eating at a deficit of 250-500 cals/day. I also changed my macro goals to include more protein.

If you haven't lifted consistently much you will definitely make gains in strength - you will hear lifters refer to it as newbie gains.

my only comment would be is that i prefer to do my cardio after lifts just cause they take a lot out of me, but to each their own

Yeah they did a study were one group ate the recommended .32 grams per pound and the second group ate .64 grams per pound the second group lost more wieght and maintained more muscle.

awesome thanks guys!
I'll make sure I'm getting enough protein then, and I'll look into some circuit workouts! Could I do those on my days between going to the gym?