Struggling to achieve my body fat goal

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l4zl0w
l4zl0w Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m 38, male, 174cm tall and weighing just under 65kg.

I started iifym diet back in May when I was 75kg. I lost 10 kg, went down 4 inches on waist which is good but I’m still not at the body fat level I originally wanted to be. My goal was to get a six pack, I almost have a four pack.

Problem is I’m now very skinny. I don’t want to lose more weight.

I’m eating 1811 calories a day (184g carbs 145g protein 55g fat), I haven’t changed this for a while and I’m still losing.

I exercise 4-5 times a week mostly cardio, some strengths based but mostly at home with body weight.

I now want to put on a few kgs of muscle before I finally get my six pack. Question is how to put on muscle without gaining fat? Which diet should I use and what sort of exercises should I do?

Replies

  • pdmatthews
    pdmatthews Posts: 37 Member
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    You’ve done really well at losing 4 inches. Well done.

    I was in a very similar mindset to you when I got very lean and I decided I’d come so far I would finish job whatever. I stayed in a deficit and lifted heavy - in my experience 4 pack to 6 pack doesn’t lose you that much muscle mass. That was last Xmas.

    But once I got down to 1700 cals I changed my approach and added 50-100 cals per day every 1-2 weeks. That meant by August I was still very lean and had built back up to around 2400 cals per day. That was still a deficit so I wasn’t building any muscle to speak of. I have now transitioned to small surplus at 2500 and hope to gain around 5-10lbs over next 12 months.

    For me this worked as the leaner you get the slower you want to go and it does take a lot of time.

    It might not work for you but I would:
    Get to a gym and start lifting
    Slowly, really slowly, bring cals up
    Get good amount of protein and veggies
    Keep protein and fats level and use extra carbs to bring up cals

    Good luck and stop being negative and saying you’re skinny !! Be positive you’ve lost 4 inches that’s awesome 😎

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    l4zl0w wrote: »
    I’m 38, male, 174cm tall and weighing just under 65kg.

    I started iifym diet back in May when I was 75kg. I lost 10 kg, went down 4 inches on waist which is good but I’m still not at the body fat level I originally wanted to be. My goal was to get a six pack, I almost have a four pack.

    Problem is I’m now very skinny. I don’t want to lose more weight.

    I’m eating 1811 calories a day (184g carbs 145g protein 55g fat), I haven’t changed this for a while and I’m still losing.

    I exercise 4-5 times a week mostly cardio, some strengths based but mostly at home with body weight.

    I now want to put on a few kgs of muscle before I finally get my six pack. Question is how to put on muscle without gaining fat? Which diet should I use and what sort of exercises should I do?

    I agree with the above poster who said, "It's time to review your exercise priorities as that's what drives muscle gain, diet merely supports it."

    It's much easier to create a progressive overload with weight weights rather than body weight. There are many programs that can accomplish this. Your best bet is to join a gym and speak with a trainer.

    All the gyms I've ever joined have given me 1-3 sessions with a trainer for free, plus many have had small group classes for free or very cheap.
  • sarko15
    sarko15 Posts: 330 Member
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    How are you measuring your body fat, using percentages or based on how your abs look? Because (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) six packs are just not possible for some people depending on genetics and where your fat tends to collect.

    I don't see any mention of body fat % in your post. I think that will be the best way to track changes in body composition, not necessarily based on one body part.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    l4zl0w wrote: »
    I now want to put on a few kgs of muscle before I finally get my six pack. Question is how to put on muscle without gaining fat? Which diet should I use and what sort of exercises should I do?

    It's not so much "which diet" as what calorie balance.
    For your goal either recomp for a while (eating at maintenance) or go for a very tiny surplus with intention of cutting again later.

    But your exercise routine "I exercise 4-5 times a week mostly cardio, some strengths based but mostly at home with body weight" doesn't match your new goal of building muscle.

    It's time to review your exercise priorities as that's what drives muscle gain, diet merely supports it.

    exactly this advice here ^^

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