Help, body composition, resistance training? Its all new to me

quackers82

As I'm close to the lower end of my BMI its has been suggested by others in another thread that i should do some resistance / weight training type of stuff instead of doing just cardio to get a better body. Ive still got the spare tyre around my stomach (although no where near the size it use to be), and I'm still a 34" waist, so the first place it comes on, and last place it will go seems to be my stomach and *kitten*. Ideally i want to be no bigger than 32" waist. I have over the last few years dropped from 250lbs/18 stone , 42" waist down to what i am now 174lbs/12 stone 6lbs (79kg), 34" waist.

Somebody helped me and pointed me to 0.8g of protein per lb of body weight, which means i need to be eating almost 140g of protein a day for me thats a lot, as some days i don't even hit 70g. That may be a struggle, but will see.

So some of the questions i have are

How many times a week should i do resistance training?
Should i still do cardio? and if so should i do it on days I'm not training?
I don't know what kind of reps to aim for

I'm also confused because i thought you could not lose weight and built muscle at the same time? As when you create a calorie deficit it does not just use fat, it uses some of your muscle too.

I did do a brief google for info but i soon got lost in world of body building with all this talk of bulking/cutting, and i just feel confused on the whole subject.

I suppose what I'm really scared of is undoing any work i have done to get to where i am now.

This is what my body is down too now, so just that stomach fat i want rid of really and more definition.



I really hate the big muscle look, so slim toned is what i want to achieve, just no idea what to do to get there.

Where do i start?

IsaackGMOON

Start a bulk (gain muscle with a caloric surplus) , and then cut (lose fat with a caloric deficit). You look a little skinny fat to me, I'm not entirely sure.

AsISmile

Well, your first step should be a progressive overload beginners lifting program:
- stronglifts 5x5
- Starting strength
- New rules of lifting

They can tell you how often and what type of training you should be doing, with what weights and how many reps.

Second thing, assuming you want to do recomposition, eat at maintenance. So not a defecit.
This is my theory, don't know if it's true, but the way I see it, the lifting stimulates the muscles to grow by creating a surplus. Since you eat at maintenance, the surplus comes from burning fat. That to me is the logical explanation why recomposition seems to work.

You can always try protein shakes if you really struggle getting enough protein. But there's plenty of other options. Eggs as a snack for example, or yoghurt for breakfast, etc.

You won't get the really big muscular look before getting the fit lean look. You can adjust how you work out when you get there.
As for the cardio, you don't need to for recomp. Do if you enjoy it, and preferably not on lifting days. If you do it on the same day either do one in the morning and the other in the evening. If that's not an option, do strength first.

AsISmile

And in case you haven't read this yet:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat