How to go about gaining weight but losing fat?

Hey all,

I had a hard time gaining weight my whole life so I had to go dirty bulk to get any meat on me. Now I run into the problem of I have a higher body fat percentage than I’d like (13-15% I think) and I want to bring it down but don’t want to lose the weight I’ve gained. How do I go about this? I’m also in a plateau in the gym and it is really driving me nuts right now to the point I don’t even want to go to the gym but I still go. Any tips any one has will be greatly appreciated!

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You will need to make a choice: are you wanting to lose fat, which will mean weighing less, or are you wanting to weigh the same?

Is there a reason you are attached to this particular bodyweight? Do you compete in a weight class based sport? Otherwise, put another way: if you weighed 20lbs less than you do now, but looked bigger AND leaner, would that be acceptable?

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If I looked bigger I wouldn’t mind because that’s what I want but I want to be as lean as possible

It sounds more like you want to just lose fat, and that the actual bodyweight doesn’t matter.

In that case, a dedicated fat loss phase sounds like the solution.

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There is only 3 cases when one can loose fat and gain muscle from my experice.

  1. Being in a beginners stage.( if your carrying a significant amount of fat)
  2. Coming back from a extended layoff as a experience lifter.( mostly in the form of regaining established muscle mass lost from atrophy from inactivity)
  3. Darksiding it.

In your case id 2nd advice of @T3hPwnisher .

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Even doing this it’s not an easy feat. You def need to know how to bulk/cut/train properly for your goals. Recomping most times turns into a bulk.
I would also tend to agree with @T3hPwnisher. a dedicated fat loss phase keeping proteins high and eating just under maintenance should allow him to get the fire going and burn off some fat while retaining muscle. I think the key here will be to go slow.
Once he drops fat he can bring the cals back up and smash his lifting plateau.

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Thats actually not a bad bf%.

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Oh i never said it was easy.

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Depends how tall you are and how your fat distribution is.

Yeah i know… also how much overall muscle mass one is carrying.

Which reminds me…

@Reider
Whats your height ?
Weight?
How long have you currently been lifting?

6’
190-195 is the range. I take weight morning and night and average it over the week. Last week I avg. 193.4
Short torso
Long legs
Long arms
Arms and legs are thin
Butt of a woman which really sucks
My fat sits in my torso mostly

Been training since I was 14 with hockey but strictly lifting and not playing about 3 years

Also, it’s the internet. So most likely ~20%.

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How diligent are you with tracking calories and macros? This is key to your goal. It is doable, but you have to be pretty close to insane with diet management. You also will need to be extremely patient. Like being ok with it taking 1-2 years to hit your desired leanness.

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Diet is def the biggest factor in recomp. It took me a few tries to get it right. Really gotta stay dialed in.

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I used calipers and if I used them right it put me just below 12% so I’m guessing I’m a little off. But what type of diet do you suggest? I don’t track it at all honestly. I’m hungry I eat. And I eat relatively healthy with some not so healthy stuff mixed in still

Gotcha. Then I would 2nd @T3hPwnisher suggestion and focus on cutting. I would not recommend a recomp.

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can’t make a suggestion without a picture.

If you are out of shape you are better off restricting calories.

If you aren’t far away I would eat to fuel my performance and let the rest sort itself out.

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This is pretty vague. Can you clarify what you mean?

Chicken and rice make a big part of my dinners. Sandwiches or more chicken are typical lunches. I eat bread and tortillas, fruit for breakfast with granola. I eat chips and dessert regularly still and that is the first thing I’m cutting out since I’m guessing that’s a big culprit

Not a ton of vegetables and not for any other reason than I’m lazy about making them