Building muscle losing belly fat

Justice_1200
Justice_1200 Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Who has had the best success in this and how can I do the same?

Replies

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    you can not spot reduce fat.

    eat in a deficit and the fat will come off where it will come off. eventually it will come off from your stomach. it tends to come off from where we want it to come off the most ... last.

    you also can not build muscle while eating in a deficit. the two have opposite calorie goals.

    however, by losing the fat, the muscles you HAVE will appear larger or more defined (because there is less fat covering them) and if you incorporate a strength / weight program while you are losing, you will retain the muscle you have while positioning yourself nicely to be able TO build muscle mass later, if that is what you decide to do after you have reached your desired goal weight.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    I will say, my advice is very very generic. if you only have a very small amount of fat and it is only on your stomach , the advice may be different (though you still can not spot reduce and you still have to eat at a deficit which still is counterproductive to building muscle). There are certainly many other long timers who are far more knowledgeable regarding weight lifting than I.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    "you cannot spot reduce fat. "
    True.

    "you also can not build muscle while eating in a deficit."
    False. It may be generic advice but it's simply wrong to make such a sweeping and absolute statement when there are plenty of examples of people doing just that. MPS is running 24 x 7 and doesn't just stop if someone slips 1 calorie under maintenance. :smiley:

    A deficit is clearly not helpful to gaining muscle and a big deficit is REALLY unhelpful but plenty of people manage to gain some muscle while in a sensible calorie deficit. Especially those new or returning to exercise and having some fat to lose.



    OP - you really need to give people some context to go on, no-one knows anything about you and your situation. You could be 19 or 90, new to training or have decades of training behind you.......


  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    "you cannot spot reduce fat. "
    True.

    "you also can not build muscle while eating in a deficit."
    False. It may be generic advice but it's simply wrong to make such a sweeping and absolute statement when there are plenty of examples of people doing just that. MPS is running 24 x 7 and doesn't just stop if someone slips 1 calorie under maintenance. :smiley:

    A deficit is clearly not helpful to gaining muscle and a big deficit is REALLY unhelpful but plenty of people manage to gain some muscle while in a sensible calorie deficit. Especially those new or returning to exercise and having some fat to lose.



    OP - you really need to give people some context to go on, no-one knows anything about you and your situation. You could be 19 or 90, new to training or have decades of training behind you.......


    Thanks! I thought there was some variance on that but really wasn't positive, which is kind of why I added on my second comment there deferring to those who know a bit more in that realm than I do! :)
  • trevnessittnatree
    trevnessittnatree Posts: 44 Member
    Trying to do the same thing 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️
    Good luck 🍀

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