Building muscle while losing bodyfat?

TigerBoston

I have been training for years however due to shoulder injuries,I had to stay away from gym and gained some extra weight last year.
This month I started to work out again and based on my workout plan I have been doing great so far however I'm concerned about not gaining enough muscle since I try to cut down my calorie intake in order to lose bodyfat.I have lost 10lbs already in 2 weeks.i make my own work out schedule and 6 days a week heavy lifting and one day rest.I do cardio 3 times a week besides lifting.
Do I have to eat over 2000cals to keep my muscle gains or can I still gain muscle while having 1600cal intake on daily base.(I consume at least 150 grams of protein everyday.)
I'm 217.5lbs 5'11 BF 20-22%

abadvat

Set your goals straight as a start - you want to loose weight or build muscles. Can't do both all at once unless you find your maintenance and you are ready to have a slow but steady progress heading both directions.
Very rough estimates your maintenance should sit at approx 2600 cal - with the current calories you are taking in you can aim at loosing fat but you are not eating enough to substantiate muscle growth.... not even close to it.

TigerBoston

Thank your for reply.
I am my familiar with my body and I do my meal plan daily so I can add more calories easily however I just don't know that going above 2000cal will be helpful to cut down Bodyfat as fast as I want.I know that muscle mass is important to burn more calories in daily process.so I just can't decide should I keep eating below 2000cal and drop 15-20lbs in a month, or just go with 2500 and go with slower process of losing bodyfat.
Long story short-
I just don't know which one is gonna take me longer -burning fat or gaining Muscle.
If burning fat takes longer then I will cut down more,if gaining muscle then I will not cut down and add more muscles now on to spread my plan for long term.

slacker80

easier and faster to burn fat and lean out. If you say you're exercising than I would at least stay at a maintenance. It completely sucks trying to get a good pump at the gym while in a serious calorie deficit.

abadvat

You are loosing 15/20 pounds a month but you are not loosing 15/20 pounds of fat a month.... far from it.
As mentioned in my first post - up to you to set your goals first but if you want to build muscles then you have to add calories as you are not eating enough to substantiate growth.

sijomial

You can gain some muscle at a slight deficit - being someone who is returning to training will give you an advantage in that regard.
However, your deficit is far too aggressive for that to happen.

Your strength will definitely improve quicker than someone just starting out though - but as you know that's not an indication of actual muscle gain.

So you have a choice between slow weight loss to maintain muscle (and possibly add/regain some) or fast weight loss and accept you will lose some.

Scamd83

One target at a time, you just need to maintain muscle mass whilst cutting.

TigerBoston

Thank you everyone for all opinions.
I think I will go with burning and then adding muscle up.im sure I'm gonna lose muscle mass to little bit but I also believe body can maintain balance in muscle mass too if I take enough protein.
Let's see how the journey goes.

maxit

TigerBoston wrote: »

Thank you everyone for all opinions.
I think I will go with burning and then adding muscle up.im sure I'm gonna lose muscle mass to little bit but I also believe body can maintain balance in muscle mass too if I take enough protein.
Let's see how the journey goes.

Take enough protein and also continue lifting to maintain

Longevity100

What does a typical day of eating look like for you TigerBoston?

Yi5hedr3

Not going to gain muscle and lose fat at same time. Best will be to minimize muscle loss while cutting fat.
Set macros 15c/20p/65f.