should i build muscle or continue to lose fat ? help

yassinelmeniawy

I have been losing fat for 3 weeks and i lost 15 pounds

yassinelmeniawy

psuLemon

At your current body fat range, keep cutting. Also, you don't want to aggressively lose weight as it can make it hard to get all the nutrients you need and will increase muscle loss.

BlueSkyShoal

Good job losing the 15 pounds!

I've been doing strength training and I've noticed my muscles growing while I've still been losing weight. I mean, I'm not getting a bodybuilder physique (nor am I trying to), but I definitely have modest but defined biceps where I had nothing before. My triceps are hidden under the dreaded underarm of fat, but I catch hints of them sometimes when I do certain exercises, lol.

Blubberbuster1

You are also maybe at a point where you can look into "body recomposition" probably.

JohnnyPenso

It's not really an either/or decision. Lifting weights while in a deficit will still build strength and help maintain the muscle you already have. Do both at the same time for your best overall results.

LucasWilland

I would cut until you are at least around 10 to 13% body fat. Why? It's quite simple: the leaner you are, the better your nutrient partitioning, the amount of nutrients you consume that go towards fat-free mass vs fat mass, will be.

When you do start a bulk, do not make the mistake of adding in huge amounts of calories under the impression that you will become like the Hulk. There is a limit to how much muscle you can partition from the extra calories until they get stored as fat. At best, with minimal training experience, you can expect to gain 2 pounds of muscle per month. Any more than that, and you will mostly be gaining fat.

Your best bet at your point is to continue to lift, eat at a calorie deficit, taking diet breaks and refeeds as needed, and perform minimal amounts of cardio, and then once you reach at least 13% body fat, you can go on a bulk.

Since you might be an out of shape beginner, your chances of building muscle while losing fat are higher than someone that has been training for several years. So continue to lift, get your protein and a proper calorie deficit, and let the rest take care of itself.

Generally, I would try to keep your body fat no higher than 15 to 16%, as it will make it far easier to cut when you decide to do so.

pepitorious

It really depends on your goal but if yours is as vain as mine (to look good)...

If you are not already doing it, start working out doing weight training or body weight training. Keep eating at a mild deficit 300-500 calories below maintenance and you will lose fat while gaining muscle.

I have found going with this approach is more manageable than trying to eat at a hard deficit to lose too much weight and then bulk to gain muscle. At least it worked best for me.

Good luck

trigden1991

Keep cutting! You want to be nice and lean before you start trying to build muscle to give you optional hormones and longest time before needing to cut again

dpwellman

"should i build muscle or continue to lose fat?"

Yes

sijomial

Without knowing your end goal or what is your immediate priority it's hard to answer the main question but your rapid rate of loss is concerning and probably not doing you any favours.

My best guess without knowing much about you would be go for a small deficit and train hard.

At your age you are primed for rapid muscle growth, optimise that with effective training - both while cutting and while building.