Want to gain mass but lose belly fat

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CarbonIS
CarbonIS Posts: 76 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So this is my dilemma! I know you can't do both at the same time but I don't want to risk losing any mass by dieting or going too heavy on cardio. I've already gone from 160 to 147 (I'm a 32 y/o male, 5'7"). But I have about 5-10lbs of stubborn belly fat I can't seem to get rid of. Any suggestions?

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  • troyergun36
    troyergun36 Posts: 2 Member
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    You can do both, as adding muscle burns more calories at rest.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    Looks like you might want to look into recomp. Eat at maintenance or slightly below (around -10%) and stay on a progressive lifting program.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Start a progressive heavy lifting program while eating slightly above maintenance calories. You'll slowly add mass as muscle. You could also eat at maintenance while lifting for awhile and do a slow recomposition which will lower your body fat percentage. It takes longer that way but if you don't have a time goal I think it's the way to go.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    troyergun36 wrote: »
    You can do both, as adding muscle burns more calories at rest.

    Also, you don't burn as much as you think with increased muscle mass. So nothing to write home about or really consider in goals.

  • CarbonIS
    CarbonIS Posts: 76 Member
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    Thanks everyone. That basically what I've been doing. I guess it's just taking longer than I had envisioned. I'm definitely seeing gains in my arms and chest though. Just gotta lose this belly fat!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    CarbonIS wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. That basically what I've been doing. I guess it's just taking longer than I had envisioned. I'm definitely seeing gains in my arms and chest though. Just gotta lose this belly fat!

    That last stubborn area can take awhile. All you can do is keep plugging at it and lowering your overall body fat percentage. It'll flatten out eventually but it does take a lot of patience. It's why most of us despair at losing the last 5 pounds; it's harder than the first 50.
  • natekorpusik
    natekorpusik Posts: 176 Member
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    You cannot target fat loss. Not sure if that is part of what you are asking. And when you lift heavy you burn more calories for a 24 or 36 hour period after the workout as opposed to just cardio. There is a good combination. But too much cardio will eat into your gains and burn muscle. HIIT training is good to go with weight training. So the argument isn't so much that more muscle burns fat at rest, but after a weight training session you will burn more at rest after the workout is complete. As opposed to a cardio session where you are basically done after the session.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fat_loss_training_wars.htm
  • HamsterManV2
    HamsterManV2 Posts: 449 Member
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    Keep cutting, or eat at maintenance. If you cut, you WILL lose belly fat but you won't gain mass, though you might look leaner overall, giving you a 'fitter' appearance.

    Alternatively eat at maintenance - Weight will remain, but you will hopefully lose inches and gain width. It's a much slower process though, so be warned.

    Personally, I would commit to a cut until you have abs (TDEE-500 calories), then slow bulk (TDEE+250 calories).
  • CarbonIS
    CarbonIS Posts: 76 Member
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    I'm slowly coming to the realization that I'm going to have to go on a month long serious cut.
  • grob49
    grob49 Posts: 125 Member
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    You think you are having a hard time. You should try it at 65. I looking at a pound a week. Doing cardio twice a week. Backed off lifting heavy. Doing 3 sets of 10 to 12 last rep to failure. Working out 7 days. As long as I keep my protein intake up around 1 for 1 and carbs down I think it will work. I joined this site so I can track my calorie intake better
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,988 Member
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    Ever consider liposuction?

    At 5'7" & 147#, I can't imagine how you'd lose any more of your belly fat w/o drastically losing weight (both fat and muscle) doing so.

    It's often stated on MFP thay you can't spot reduce which is true in the context of a general diet and exercise BUT if you've got a localized deposit of belly fat that simply won't go away, liposuction is certainly an option.
  • jolive7
    jolive7 Posts: 283 Member
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    You definitely can. In my last check in my body fat went down 2% in 6 weeks but my weight has gone up 1kg. I am consistently dropping body fat and gaining lean mass by being in a slight calorie deficit, lifting heavy and 3 X HIT sessions a week. It is a slow process as opposed to how much mass you might put on eating a massive surplus but for me it's worth it to still drop bf%

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