Hello im interested in gaining some mass and strength without becoming fat. I was told i could do a re-composition but i have no idea how to go about it. I recently lost 30 lbs and i dont ever want to be fat again. I have gone from 206 lbs to 174 lbs.
I would like to continue to make gains while losing 4 pounds. I heard i can stay at the same weight while converting fat to muscle.
Your question is extremely vague. Bodybuilding is literally about making gains without becoming fat. You may as well have asked, “How do I Bodybuild?”
Increase protein intake, lift your ass off.
So you want to lose fat and gain strength? It might be possible, depending how advanced you currently are. How tall are you? How strong are you? What’s your training background/experience?
And before Chris Collucci asks, what exactly did you eat yesterday?
[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
I have gone from 206 lbs to 174 lbs.
I would like to continue to make gains while losing 4 pounds.[/quote]
If you want to lose 4 more pounds, keep doing whatever you’ve been doing the last few months. It’s apparently working, so 4 more pounds should be just another couple of weeks.
Fat is fat and muscle is muscle. They can each increase or decrease, but one doesn’t “convert” to the other like lead turning to gold. If everything’s dialed in (training, nutrition, and supplements all on point), you can burn fat and build muscle resulting in a “recomposition” where your physique changes and your bodyweight stays pretty much the same.
Can you toss up a pic to see where this 30+ pound weight loss has left you? That’d give a better idea of the best next step.
Even though you spelled my name wrong (I’m kinda used to it), I’m with Dt79. You’re growing on me. Ha.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Even though you spelled my name wrong (I’m kinda used to it), I’m with Dt79. You’re growing on me. Ha.[/quote]
My bad, I usually spell check before I press send. And thank you.
Alright so here are my two pictures First one is at 206 lbs second one is at 174 lbs
Im a little bit skinny fat and my concern going forward with training is becoming fat again. I put in 6 months and so much effort to un fat fuck myself it would be a tragedy to end up there again. At the same time i want to add some mass to help me look better but bulking is a scary concept for me right now as it makes me think ill be fat again. Cutting even more is also something i rather not do. What can i do? i have been looking stuff up and came up with a good 5x5 program. Im thinking of eating 50 to 100 calories above maintenance to keep fat at a minimal? I cant really give out what my maxes are as i dont know. I do know i can high bar squat around 300 to 305 lbs for one rep and bench 215 to 220 1RM on the bench, these numbers are based of my 5 rep maxes. As far as diet goes i only eat chicken steak rice fruits mashed potatoes and protein shakes. I have taken a break from eating this way and have been indulging a little bit mostly due to being tired of cutting. here is a link to jason blahas 5x5 (i have done 5x5 before and have been training for 3 years with little results)
Sounds like you have a problem. Not “getting fat” is a bigger priority to you than gaining strength.
You need to eat more. And hit the big compound lifts heavy. Squat, DL, OHP, Bench. That program you listed gets it. Starting Strength gets it. Stronglifts gets it. 5/3/1 gets it.
So what’s your priority? Let’s not get lost in the “how”. You need to focus on the “why”. And right now, your “why” is that you are afraid of fat more than you want strength. Which is OK. It’s your life, not mine.
But if you want to get stronger? I suggest you stop talking about “50 calories over maintenance”, start eating any, all, and as much meat as you can get your hands on, lift, and stop worrying about getting fat.
Or keep on as you are. Maybe 3 years from now you can say you’ve been “training” for 6 years with little results…
[quote]SevenDragons wrote:
But if you want to get stronger? I suggest you stop talking about “50 calories over maintenance”, start eating any, all, and as much meat as you can get your hands on, lift, and stop worrying about getting fat.
[/quote]
If the goal is to not put on much fat, I would include “vegetables” in the gameplan as well. It’s something I see a lot of lifters overlook, and generally notice that, when force feeding meats and veggies, there tends to be little room for junk.
I appreciate the feedback, i have no problem eating more id love to eat more, The question is how much calories do i need to put on more muscle than fat. I dont want to become a fat slob again, i want to be fit and athletic specially for college sports. Anyone able to help me with my caloric goals?
We can’t give you a number as it’s highly individual.
If you are that paranoid about it, start with what you have. Change up your food choices so they are better. Then increase your food slightly and leave it there until you stop progressing. Then bump it up slightly when you stall. Rinse, repeat.
When you get to know your body better, you can be more precise with your eating.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Even though you spelled my name wrong (I’m kinda used to it), I’m with Dt79. You’re growing on me. Ha.[/quote]
Do you find anyone ever answers the question?
i will answer what i ate
1st meal 2 chicken breast 1 cup of brown rice and 1 protein shake (1 scoop of whey 2 cups of milk)
2nd meal chicken breast mashed potatoes and protein shake same 1 scoop and milk
3rd meal chicken breast protein shake and 2 peaches and 1 apple.
i used my fitness pal and i ate 2300 calories
i eat the same stuff i have a limited budget so i cant buy much steak or seafood, Chicken is cheap and so is milk i am considering going up to 2500 as a starting point.
How tall are you?
Describe your daily activity levels, specifically:
–How many times/week you lift weights, how long the sessions last, and how long do you rest between sets
–How much cardio you do–days/week, time/session, intensity
–How much non-weightlifting/non-cardio exercise you get (eg, playing sports)
–Whether you have a physically demanding job
How long were you on your cut, and what was your average/typical daily caloric intake throughout?
How long have you been on your recent ‘break’ from cutting?
If you had to pick one, which weightlifting goal would you say is more important to you right now–getting stronger, or getting more muscular?
Im 5’8 174 or 177 lbs scale changes slightly sometimes. I work out 3 days per week and i was doing 5/3/1 and before that stronglifts 3x5, sessions typically run for an hour. I work 8 to 10 hours per day sometimes 6x a week i also study and go to school.
My job is not labor intensive but i work in a factory so i constantly have to walk around the plant the entire day checking products. I would say i light walk around my job for a good portion of the day. I havent been consistent with my diet for at least a month i have grown tired of dieting and i have lost motivation even though i look better i dont look as good and as muscular as someone who has been lifting 3 years should look.
Im not even close but that is the past and im starting new. I would like to look good and muscular but i did find a 5x5 that has some bodybuilding elements to it it can give me strength and size i believe.
[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
Im 5’8 174 or 177 lbs scale changes slightly sometimes. I work out 3 days per week and i was doing 5/3/1 and before that stronglifts 3x5, sessions typically run for an hour. I work 8 to 10 hours per day sometimes 6x a week i also study and go to school.
My job is not labor intensive but i work in a factory so i constantly have to walk around the plant the entire day checking products. I would say i light walk around my job for a good portion of the day.
[/quote]
Based on your stats, I estimate (via an online site I trust) your avg daily cal expenditure at 3100. Because you’ve lost close to 20% of your BW recently, you’ve probably experienced a bit of a metabolic slowdown. Estimating the slowdown at 10% puts your current avg caloric expenditure at about 2800/d. That’s your starting point.
That’s OK; you’ve been dieting a long time, and taking a break was very likely a good thing from a metabolic (and mental) health perspective.
But break time is over–you are still carrying a lot of fat, and need to get back to eating properly. You will not look significantly more muscular without dropping a lot more BF. In terms of your appearance, BF loss will have a much greater impact than will adding more muscle mass, especially in the short term (ie, 6-12 months).
That’s because your training style is suboptimal with respect to hypertrophy. (More below.)
Here’s the thing. Any non-idiotic training regimen is going to make you both bigger and stronger. (Likewise, any non-idiotic diet regimen will result in fat loss, so long as a caloric deficit is achieved.) That said, a lifting regimen can be tailored to emphasize strength development (eg, 5/3/1, SS, etc), or to emphasize hypertrophy (eg, John Meadows’-type programming). Based on what you’ve written, my impression is your dissatisfaction stems mainly from your appearance–you don’t look as muscular as you’d like. If this is the case, you need to radically change your approach to lifting.
In this regard, my advice would be to read every training article on TN written by Meadows, and set up your training accordingly. Try to train 5-6 days a week if possible. Intensity is the key–train like a maniac. Set your cals at 2800/d, monitor your bodyweight, and adjust cals as needed to drop about 1 lb/week. If you do this, I guarantee you will look radically different 6 months’ hence. Good luck.
[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
i will answer what i ate
1st meal 2 chicken breast 1 cup of brown rice and 1 protein shake (1 scoop of whey 2 cups of milk)
2nd meal chicken breast mashed potatoes and protein shake same 1 scoop and milk
3rd meal chicken breast protein shake and 2 peaches and 1 apple.
i used my fitness pal and i ate 2300 calories[/quote]
Eyedentist has provided some awesome advice, but I am going to contribute my observation that you are eating ZERO vegetables everyday. I would personally fix that were I in your situation, sticking with greens primarily, like broccoli or a mixed greens salad.
I never really seem to need a intentional carbohydrate source with my meals (rice, potatoes, etc.) I seem to get enough from milk, fruits and veggies. Might be something to consider.
Hold me accountable i will start my program tomorrow and eat clean i will report in 3 months with progress pictures.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
[quote]marvin1993 wrote:
i will answer what i ate
1st meal 2 chicken breast 1 cup of brown rice and 1 protein shake (1 scoop of whey 2 cups of milk)
2nd meal chicken breast mashed potatoes and protein shake same 1 scoop and milk
3rd meal chicken breast protein shake and 2 peaches and 1 apple.
i used my fitness pal and i ate 2300 calories[/quote]
Eyedentist has provided some awesome advice, but I am going to contribute my observation that you are eating ZERO vegetables everyday. I would personally fix that were I in your situation, sticking with greens primarily, like broccoli or a mixed greens salad.
I never really seem to need a intentional carbohydrate source with my meals (rice, potatoes, etc.) I seem to get enough from milk, fruits and veggies. Might be something to consider.[/quote]
This is the first thing that occurred to me reading this as well.
