Weight - Losing or Gaining - What is my Goal???

Soccermavrick

Well, I am down a little over twenty pounds. I feel good. And I have to admit I am getting some confidence in my own appearance at the gym. (Not that I am huge.) Now I feel like I am starting to hit the hard part. Not because it is harder than what I have been doing, but because it does not have a clear path.

In my mind I ideally feel that 220 is the weight that I want to be at. (But now that I am quickly approaching my goal weight, I am trying to adjust my goals.) My at home scale rates me with a 24 to 26% body fat (depending on day), but I feel like via a picture graph that I am closer to 20%. Here is the rub, I ideally think I want to be in the teens as far as Body Fat, but at 210 to 220 for weight. Hence, am I in the LOSING weight category, or the GAINING weight / muscle as my primary objectives? Should I be upping my calories, or keeping calories low while trying to eat more protein and less fat? I understand I want to lose fat while gaining lean muscle, but what is the answer as far as dieting and nutrition?

In my 20s I tended to average 180 pounds, but I have always felt like I was a skeleton at that age and weight, and did not like it, so while I am trying to gain lean muscle, what is the next step? Do I up calories, or continue to drop them through the process?

I have already started to play with Fat and Protein, not that I am being anywhere near successful. I am constantly off in those categories, and maybe that is part of my problem. (BTW - In case this makes a difference, I am what some people call a hard gainer. And I always hid my weight. At 6'1, I would weight 180, but most people would peg me at closer to 160.)

ellisbha

Neither! Choose the "maintain my current weight" option when you change your goals. Keep eating a good amount of protein (some people say 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, but that's far more than non-professional body builders need) and try to stay a little under the calorie goal each day! Also, keep up the good work at the gym I too am a 'hard gainer', keep in mind that our body type won't allow us to be as muscular (or even as overweight) as people who put on both muscle and fat easily; have realistic goals and expectations.
Good luck