I want to lose fats and build muscle at the same time

Rasvinder84

I am 35 years old and I have arthritis in my left knee from an old injury. I am trying to lose fats in my belly region and "love handles" but at the same time, I am looking to build more defined pecs. Please advise on how I can go about it in terms of exercise and diet.

magnusthenerd

What's your current height, weight? Do you have prior experience with weight training?
Depending on that you could be looking at a recomp (recomposition) or just a straight weight loss / deficit / cut. Recompositions are slow and involve gaining some muscle while staying near the same weight, so that lose weight is from fat.
If you have a fair amount to lose, you're probably best off doing a cut but still strength training to keep as much muscle as possible - possibly gain some if you're relatively new to lifting.

Either way you'll want to follow a good structured lifting program that incorporates progressive overload. You may need to look into substituting some exercises if your arthritis limits you from doing moves like a squat.

It doesn't seem that people can really lose weight from a specific spot like their belly, the fat tends to come off wherever your genetics and hormones take it from.

Roy1C

I've been on the KETO diet for about 7 weeks and have lost 15lbs, mostly from my stomach and love handles. You might consider it. I also strength train and do cardio on an elliptical 3-4 days a week. The elliptical is easier on my knees and legs than running. Best of luck with your plan! - Roy

kimny72

Rasvinder84 wrote: »

I am 35 years old and I have arthritis in my left knee from an old injury. I am trying to lose fats in my belly region and "love handles" but at the same time, I am looking to build more defined pecs. Please advise on how I can go about it in terms of exercise and diet.

As an addenda to Magnus' reply, these might help:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

MichaelGM1981

You MUST lift heavy while in a calorie deficit. Do not overdo the deficit. Think 500 calories under maintenance per day. That will lead to 1 lb of weight loss per week. Here’s the good news...as long as you body fat percentage is above 12%, you can gain muscle and lose weight at the same time. This is called body recomposition. It only works if you follow 4 basic rules 1) lift heavy and adhere to “progressive overload, 2) stay in a small calorie deficit to prevent catabolism of muscle tissue, 3) eat 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight, and 4) get 8 hours of sleep. Hope this helps. Be patient...slow progress leads to big gains over time. If you try to rush the fat loss, you will simply be a skinny guy and no one wants that. You wanna be a lean machine of a person.

psuLemon

Roy1C wrote: »

I've been on the KETO diet for about 7 weeks and have lost 15lbs, mostly from my stomach and love handles. You might consider it. I also strength train and do cardio on an elliptical 3-4 days a week. The elliptical is easier on my knees and legs than running. Best of luck with your plan! - Roy

Keto, even TKD, is less than optimal for gaining muscle. It's ok for the preservation of muscle mass during weight loss, but most studies do not see increases in muscle mass, like shown with higher carb based studies. But if one does want to do keto, it should be a TKD style diet where you consume 30g or more of fast acting carbs prior to your workout and maybe some protein. And then consume protein post workout.