Building Muscle Without Fat & Calorie Counting?

Diet and Nutrition
1

Hi,

Can you build muscle (1) without gaining body fat and (2) without counting calories?

I was overweight and spent ages shedding body fat. Now I am lifting weights and I want to build lean muscle.

I know that if you measure it (whatever it is you’re doing) you’re more likely to succeed. I did count calories when I was trying to lose fat. But I hated it. Really don’t like having to track and log everything I eat.

Grateful for views

2

if you hate counting calories. Try focusing on timing your macros and micros. Edit but it’s up to you what you feel comfortable doing. You are in charge of what goes in and what goes out. A log helps you keep accountable for a lot of people.

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Never counted a calorie in my life. Never needed to.

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The answer to both of your questions is yes. Your genetics will dictate how hard it is for you to do. Some people can stay lean and build muscle eating like shit, the rest of us are not so lucky.

Obviously the better your food choices are, the less likely you’ll overeat. If you ate nothing but white rice, lean meats, green veg, oily fish, potatoes and fruit, you’d find it very hard to gain a lot of fat (again, depending on genetics) and you’d be a lean, muscular, sexy motherfucker.

If you decide to count calories, it really only takes a second if you’re smart. Buy a measuring cup for your carbs, measuring spoons for your fats and then read the packet of meat to see how much it weighs.

There you go! It’s the easiest thing in the world.

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5

Just think back to all those times you measured. Then REMEMBER it. If you already measured it, you should not have to measure it again. The food didn’t change.

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I was always able to stay relatively lean without counting off season, but I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t get contest winning shredded without knowing exactly what the details were of my daily nutrition day by day, week by week, right up to the day of every show I ever did.

Haphazard and ballpark efforts will give you haphazard and park results IMO.

S

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I used to do negative calories…:cry:.

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@T3hPwnisher - so what do you do? Just focus on eating clean all the time?

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I eat more food when I want to gain weight and less when I want to lose it. I eat in a way that promotes health and performance.

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Sounds like a good plan to me :+1:

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What do you want more? Results or not doing something you don’t like?

If you know counting calories is more likely to produce success and have done it before (successfully, at least by what your statement implies) why are you trying to get someone else to justify not doing it?

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It makes people feel better. I don’t know about the OP, but look at the people who follow youtube folks who preach mediocrity. Having someone who you’ve convinced yourself knows more than you (they made a video, or they wrote an article - who knows what they’re actually accomplished?) tell you what you want to hear is comforting.

S

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@MarkKO there’s always more than one road to succes. And if there is a simpler option, why do more than you need to?

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@The_Mighty_Stu that certainly happens in many cases. But I’m all for efficiency and effectiveness. And remember goals are different. Someone of your calibre who is training for bigger goals needs to up their game. I just want to look a little better than I do now. So choosing the simplest and least onerous option is sensible - not lazy.

If I went to seriously up my game then I’ll need a far more disciplined approach.

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What’s with the not counting calories thing? There’s a thread in supps & nut. asking if its useless.

Did some goof write an article about this or something?

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I must admit, I tend to chuckle when I hear folks saying I stalled so had to re-jig my macros. I upped my protein by 7 grams and lowered fat by 2 and the progress started again. Maybe I’m being naive as I’ve never competed but it sounds ludicrous.

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After counting and being Meticulous for a period of time, whether it’s a contest prep or just being committed for a month or so, it becomes much easier to eyeball foods and portions.

Of coure the bottom line being that all food has calories, it won’t matter how you split your macros, what time you restrict your eating to, or any other nonsense that sells ebooks, if you eat more than you need, you won’t be lean.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

It’s not simply that I had higher aspirations, it’s that every really successful person does almost the exact same things.

S

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Yeah, I chuckle at that type of nonsense too. It’s really not that complicated as some folks would have you believe.

S