I basically have a lot of fat to loose and a lot of muscle to gain. I weight about 222 with 19% body fat. It is fairly easy for me to put on muscle, but I always have a hard time losing fat. Since muscle speeds up your metabolism and that seems to be my problem, shouldn’t I focus on builing about 10-15 lbs first and then trim dowmnto make it much easier for me? The only thing is I hate having a flabby chest and a stomach and I want the quickest results, but it always seems like I am dieting and not getting anywhere. Any advice would be appreciated.
-Mark
Lets put it this way: if you trim down and there is no muscle under there, what are you gonna look like “trimmed down”?
Read this:
Question three will answer this for you. Lose the fat first.
A good article for you to read would be John Berardi’s Appetite for Construction in Issue # 167. The third question (about 2/3 down the article) discusses this topic. From the article I would say to that you should focus more on losing fat first (maybe until you get to about 12% or so), and then go from there to see what direction you want to go. The problem that you’re having right now might be the diet that you’re choosing to use. You might not be eating enough calories, you might eating too much, you might be spiking your insulin level at the wrong times. There are many factors. I would look into the massive eating diet as well as the other diets that have been discussed on T-mag. If you just click on FAQ on this week’s or any other week’s issue you should find a description of these different types of diets. Good luck with your training and your goals. Mike
Mark: If you look at the multitude of advice that’s given on this Forum and in T-Mag, I would guess that much of it is directed at that elusive goal of losing fat and gaining lean body mass at the same time (while limiting the former as much as possible). I firmly believe that “Testosterone” and it’s contributors are at the forefront in terms of their knowledge about nutrition and its effect on achieving what to some is an impossible gaol. It’s not. Yes…when gaining muscle, you will gain some fat…but it doesn’t have to be to the rediculous extremes you often see. My advice? 1)“Don’t Diet” protocol and increased cardio and 2) Decrease carbs by 150-200 cals per day IF fat loss is not at least 1-2 pounds per week. 3)INTENSITY in your workouts in order to build muscle. Hope this helps.
I think John M. Berardi covered this in the last Appetite for Construction column, last week, I believe. He ran counter to conventional wisdom by favoring weightloss first and has some research to back him up. Very interesting stuff.
Getting lean is a real bitch for some people (including me.) You may have a lot of muscle to build but you also have a lot of fat to lose and if you gain muscle you will likely add even more fat. Get cut & get it over with. I am positive you will be happier at 200lbs 9% bodyfat than you will be 235-240lbs 17-22%BF.
YES, if you put on about 15lbs of muscle your body fat will be just over 10% at your current wt. if you have not had a problem putting on muscle in the past take 2-3 months and go all out, work out HARD, rest ALOT, etc. it will probably be easier than trying to drop 20lbs of fat, especialy if you have been dieting recently. good luck peace
I think it was John Beradi who covered this a couple of weeks ago and suggested better to lose the fat then bulk up.
Mark, I went through a similar dilemma, and there are different schools of thought … I think the most prominent is put on muscle first, then lose fat. Afterall, the more muscle you have, the more fat you’ll burn when it’s time for that. However, I don’t necessarily subscribe to the fact that you can’t gain and lose at the same time. If you keep to a moderate-gaining diet, and are very strict about what you eat (like massive eating guidelines) and do the right kind of routine (German Body Comp) I think you can achieve both goals. However, I just started a renegade training-type routine … max days, dynamic days, and GPP days … and I can tell that I’m both gaining LBM and losing fat at the same time. Read the Renegade Training article … I think a few days of GPP stuff mixed in with a few days of weight training will do you wonders, and get you into killer shape.
One last thing … if you do go on a cutting diet … supplement with a T booster like Tribex or Vitex. Your libido will thank you.
Lose the fat first. Even if you gain 15 lbs of muscle and maintain the same amount of fat, you will still be 17.8% fat at a body weight of 237. According to John’s article, your initial BF determines to a large degree what sort of gains and losses will occur. In other words, if you tried to gain weight right now, it is more likely that it will be more fat gains. On the other hand, if you tried to lose weight right now, most of the losses will be in fat.
try some massive eating (with a little surplus) for a little while. If you think your bodyfat is increasing while you do this, then its time to diet.