Beyond the basics

jakekubota17

So I've been weightlifting for approximately 6-8 months now and I have noticed some solid muscular gains. My goal was to build a better physique and improve my self confidence. I just turned 21, am 5'8 and have always been skinny since I was a soccer and basketball player. Now I am in college (junior) and have fallen in love with working out! Although this is great news, I know I need to improve my diet and increase the amount of cardio I do. I have gained weight but my biggest goal is to get better abdominal muscles and lower my body fat. I record what I eat and what I do when I work out, but I am not exactly 100% sure what my macro goals should be and what my calorie goals should be because I want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. I am making progress but I feel with more scientific calculations and strict dieting I could be gaining at a faster rate. Any advice?

jakekubota17

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Protranser

You may get more helpful replies from the exercise and fitness sub forum or the nutrition sub forum, My inexperienced guess : continue eating at a (small) deficit to make your body burn fat to fuel its repair efforts. The macro distribution is not important for that, but people here regularly suggest having .78-1.0 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass you have.

malibu927

It's very difficult to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Your best bet is probably to do a bulk/cut cycle, where you eat at a surplus to gain muscle, and you will gain fat at the same time, then eat at a deficit while continuing to lift to lose the fat. The gaining weight forum will help out as well, as many members who post in there are familiar with the cycles and nutritional needs during them.