Gaining muscle but not losing fat problems
frantzcr
Posts: 129 Member
I'm frustrated my numbers aren't going how I'd like them. My muscle mass is going up which is great but since my %body fat is staying at the same level this change in muscle is causing my weight to go up several pounds. How do I continue to gain muscle but lose fat at the same time? I feel like the muscle is building up under the layer of fat so even with gaining muscle it's making my tummy look pudgier. And I know the increase is not due to water because my hydration level has been being the same. Thanks
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Replies
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Decrease your calories. It's not impossible to recomp (build muscle and lose fat simultaneously), but it can be difficult. Continue to lift heavy, but eat at maintenance or a slight deficit. If you're more concerned about losing fat than maintaining muscle mass, eat at a 500 - 1000 calorie per day deficit (depending on your current weight and calorie intake).1
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Decrease your calories. It's not impossible to recomp (build muscle and lose fat simultaneously), but it can be difficult. Continue to lift heavy, but eat at maintenance or a slight deficit. If you're more concerned about losing fat than maintaining muscle mass, eat at a 500 - 1000 calorie per day deficit (depending on your current weight and calorie intake).
Agree with the first part.
Building muscles AND losing fat is tricky and requires a lot of fine tuning and patience. Then some more patience. Most, though not all, are better served focusing on one at a time.0 -
I'm frustrated my numbers aren't going how I'd like them. My muscle mass is going up which is great but since my %body fat is staying at the same level this change in muscle is causing my weight to go up several pounds. How do I continue to gain muscle but lose fat at the same time? I feel like the muscle is building up under the layer of fat so even with gaining muscle it's making my tummy look pudgier. And I know the increase is not due to water because my hydration level has been being the same. Thanks
Make sure your on a calorie deficit and take Ephedrine- Caffeine.0 -
I'm frustrated my numbers aren't going how I'd like them. My muscle mass is going up which is great but since my %body fat is staying at the same level this change in muscle is causing my weight to go up several pounds. How do I continue to gain muscle but lose fat at the same time? I feel like the muscle is building up under the layer of fat so even with gaining muscle it's making my tummy look pudgier. And I know the increase is not due to water because my hydration level has been being the same. Thanks
How do you know that your bf% is staying the same?0 -
I was able to recomp using these macro calculations (although I was a newbie to weightlifting, which made recomp possible for me). Scroll down in the article and you'll see the calculator.
https://legionathletics.com/macronutrient-calculator/0 -
There is or will be a point in recomp for just about everyone that it is time for more body composition changes than what the recomp can do in the interim.. Recomp works great for people in maintenance, perhaps taking much needed diet breaks or not expecting gainz and just meandering around with lifting per se..
Might want to decide that a bulk/cut cycle is in order. Or cut/bulk depending if you are at the right body fat where you want to start (maybe time to cut calories..)
Are you sure the recomp is now failing now? If you are gaining muscle right now with no calories increase and no fat loss or fat gain, something seems off to me. This sounds like a perfect world to gain muscle, not really.. it not realistic this is happening..and weight gain can certainly always be water..or additional water and fat..0 -
I'm frustrated my numbers aren't going how I'd like them. My muscle mass is going up which is great but since my %body fat is staying at the same level this change in muscle is causing my weight to go up several pounds. How do I continue to gain muscle but lose fat at the same time? I feel like the muscle is building up under the layer of fat so even with gaining muscle it's making my tummy look pudgier. And I know the increase is not due to water because my hydration level has been being the same. Thanks
Make sure your on a calorie deficit and take Ephedrine- Caffeine.
Uh... no. You do not need any supplements - PERIOD - to achieve fat loss and muscle gain.
There is a great thread here already on recomposition, which is the process of losing fat and gaining muscle simultaneously. It is a notoriously long term endeavor, but it is either that or go through bulk and cut cycles to achieve the same end.
community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1
Its slow, takes trial and error, but you will get there.
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Gain muscle/lose fat. Choose one. Chasing both will leave you spinning your wheels.
Things that can affect your weight loss day to day and leave you scratching your head, inconsistent tracking, guessing at portion sizes, sodium intake. People like to call this water weight, but sodium can greatly affect your weight daily. Keep an eye on your sodium, I keep mine under 3000 a day and my weight doesn't fluctuate much at all. Drink lots of water, I personally drink a gallon a day, but I am a big guy.
I also wouldn't worry about BF percentages. The means in which people track them are highly inaccurate, unless you are going and having it measured by a professional and it is measured the same each time, it is not all that useful of information.
Take body measurements, watch the mirror. Don't get hung up on the 5 percent and become discouraged about things like BF percentages. Keep losing weight and you will uncover the muscle you have.
Good luck.1 -
If your weight is going up, you are eating at a surplus. Drop your calories to maintenance or slight or small deficit, get enough protein, lift heavy to recomp.0
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amyrebeccah wrote: »I'm frustrated my numbers aren't going how I'd like them. My muscle mass is going up which is great but since my %body fat is staying at the same level this change in muscle is causing my weight to go up several pounds. How do I continue to gain muscle but lose fat at the same time? I feel like the muscle is building up under the layer of fat so even with gaining muscle it's making my tummy look pudgier. And I know the increase is not due to water because my hydration level has been being the same. Thanks
Make sure your on a calorie deficit and take Ephedrine- Caffeine.
There's absolutely no reason for the OP to do that if all she needs is a calorie adjustment.
OP, how are you calculating this increase in muscle mass? Just because your hydration level is the same doesn't mean your body isn't retaining more fluid (for instance, to help with muscle repair).
Ephedrine helps maintain and even build muscle while on a calorie deficit. Thats why!0 -
brian_gunther wrote: »I'm frustrated my numbers aren't going how I'd like them. My muscle mass is going up which is great but since my %body fat is staying at the same level this change in muscle is causing my weight to go up several pounds. How do I continue to gain muscle but lose fat at the same time? I feel like the muscle is building up under the layer of fat so even with gaining muscle it's making my tummy look pudgier. And I know the increase is not due to water because my hydration level has been being the same. Thanks
Make sure your on a calorie deficit and take Ephedrine- Caffeine.
Uh... no. You do not need any supplements - PERIOD - to achieve fat loss and muscle gain.
There is a great thread here already on recomposition, which is the process of losing fat and gaining muscle simultaneously. It is a notoriously long term endeavor, but it is either that or go through bulk and cut cycles to achieve the same end.
community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1
Its slow, takes trial and error, but you will get there.
Your a believe everything you hear kind of guy. I've had great results with it.0 -
A calories deficit first and foremost.
Also, make sure you get plenty of protein. I'd suggest starting with 0.8 grams per pound of body weight or 1 gram per pound of your goal weight.
And yes, you can recomp.0 -
amyrebeccah wrote: »I'm frustrated my numbers aren't going how I'd like them. My muscle mass is going up which is great but since my %body fat is staying at the same level this change in muscle is causing my weight to go up several pounds. How do I continue to gain muscle but lose fat at the same time? I feel like the muscle is building up under the layer of fat so even with gaining muscle it's making my tummy look pudgier. And I know the increase is not due to water because my hydration level has been being the same. Thanks
Make sure your on a calorie deficit and take Ephedrine- Caffeine.
There's absolutely no reason for the OP to do that if all she needs is a calorie adjustment.
OP, how are you calculating this increase in muscle mass? Just because your hydration level is the same doesn't mean your body isn't retaining more fluid (for instance, to help with muscle repair).
Ephedrine helps maintain and even build muscle while on a calorie deficit. Thats why!
No, proper diet does. Fat burners used to be mostly ephedrine. Troops in the sand box would use them, to help them stay awake. Not to mention, some people are very sensitive to stimulants.1 -
Blanket statements aside. Everyone is different. I gained muscle while on a deficit. Will it work as well for the next person, maybe not. As individuals, we have to find what works best for us to reach out goals.0
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Blanket statements aside. Everyone is different. I gained muscle while on a deficit. Will it work as well for the next person, maybe not. As individuals, we have to find what works best for us to reach out goals.
Muscle is an expensive resource for the body. When you eat in a deficit you are not gaining any appreciable muscle mass.
For the first 3 - 6 months of training, if eating in a deficit and lifting weights, most of your perceived muscle gain is simply the fact that you are training again.
The 4 biggest things that make people think they are gaining muscle are:
CNS adaptations that improve and get all your muscles firing again to move the weights that you are intending to move through practice. By the CNS adapting, you start to become stronger as a result.
Muscles coming out of atrophy that haven't been worked in a long time, this also brings on strength gains as well as the muscles becoming more full because you are actually working them again.
Form changes through practice on the compound lifts. Again, more strength gains.
And the final thing, of course is the weight loss that uncovers the muscle that is there. The perceived, I can see my muscles now, I must have gained muscles.
None of which means you actually have gained any appreciable muscle mass.3 -
brian_gunther wrote: »I'm frustrated my numbers aren't going how I'd like them. My muscle mass is going up which is great but since my %body fat is staying at the same level this change in muscle is causing my weight to go up several pounds. How do I continue to gain muscle but lose fat at the same time? I feel like the muscle is building up under the layer of fat so even with gaining muscle it's making my tummy look pudgier. And I know the increase is not due to water because my hydration level has been being the same. Thanks
Make sure your on a calorie deficit and take Ephedrine- Caffeine.
Uh... no. You do not need any supplements - PERIOD - to achieve fat loss and muscle gain.
There is a great thread here already on recomposition, which is the process of losing fat and gaining muscle simultaneously. It is a notoriously long term endeavor, but it is either that or go through bulk and cut cycles to achieve the same end.
community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1
Its slow, takes trial and error, but you will get there.
Your a believe everything you hear kind of guy. I've had great results with it.
Exactly the opposite. I believe in what I've seen and experienced. You worded your statement to imply that OP needs to take it to achieve the results, which is just not true. If you've experienced positive results from it, then state it that way. But to assert that OP has to "make sure" they take it is just plain incorrect. You can burn fat AND build muscle without it. I know many people, including myself, who have done it or are currently doing it.
I guess you're a "my way is the only way" kind of guy...
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