Intermittent fasting... muscle gains?

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So, I’m so lost as to what my goals should be here on Myfitnesspal. I want to lose the fat and gain mass... like at the same time if possible because I don’t want to lose the fat and then appear super skinny. I’m currently doing IF but trying to eat at a surplus within my eating window (which is difficult af btw). Also doing hiit and strength training 5 days a week. Should my goal be set as losing weight or gaining?

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  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    edited March 2018
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    If you've set your goal to gain weight, you are going to gain fat with the muscle rather than lose it. There's no way around that.

    My suggestion is if you want to lose weight and not just fat, set your goal to lose weight. There's a very slim chance you would gain muscle while losing, but strength training as you lose will help you maintain as much muscle as possible. If you're happy with where your weight is now, look into a body recomp and what that entails.
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited March 2018
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    So, I’m so lost as to what my goals should be here on Myfitnesspal. I want to lose the fat and gain mass... like at the same time if possible because I don’t want to lose the fat and then appear super skinny. I’m currently doing IF but trying to eat at a surplus within my eating window (which is difficult af btw). Also doing hiit and strength training 5 days a week. Should my goal be set as losing weight or gaining?
    One thing to remember, diets don't do anything, they are just tools. Only way to build muscles is being in a caloric surplus or on recomp....how you acheive that goal is up to you, if you prefer IF, do IF, as long as your in a caloric surplus or near maintenance and doing some heavy resistance training....that's what will make you build muscles.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    Let's start with your stats... height, weight, approx bodyfat%?

    If you are at a good weight for your height and want to lose a little here, add a little there, then you want to look into recomp... so eating at maintenance and lifting. If you still have weight to lose then you want to lose and maintain as much muscle as possible by lifting and getting adequate protein.

    If you are underweight or very lean, then you will want to eat in a surplus to gain. If you are bulking and IF is making it difficult, then open up your eating window.. no need to make things harder than they have to be.