How can I at the same time gain muscle and lose fat?

annewagener

If I do too much cardio , I lose muscle and fat. If I straight weight train with eating plenty of protein I gain muscle and keep fat

Lietchi

annewagener wrote: »

If I straight weight train with eating plenty of protein I gain muscle and keep fat

You're eating too much then. If you want to do recomp (more likely to be successful if you're a relative newbie at strength training): eat a bit less so your total weight stays the same and fat loss and muscle gain can happen at the same time, and be patient because it's a slow process.

You can also do cardio, as long as you eat an appropriate number of calories to maintain your weight.

Retroguy2000

Cardio doesn't lose muscle. It's a large calorie deficit that will do that, especially if you don't do at least maintenance lifting volume and get plenty of protein.

What are your stats? M/F, age and weight, how many years lifting?

Because if you hope to recomp that will depend on these three things. The more boxes you tick, the more successful you may be:

1. New lifter, < 1 year experience.
2. Low or no calorie deficit.
3. Overweight, i.e. not close to lean. If you're obese you should focus on weight loss for now, but also do some lifting to help maintain the muscle you have.

nossmf

CAN you do both at once? Sure, but in my experience you'll get faster results if you focus on one first, then the other. And if you have to choose one to start with, I recommend losing the fat first, for a variety of reasons but also because by removing the fat which is hiding your existing muscle, you'll appear more muscular without actually gaining any muscle, simply because it's easier to see. The easiest way to gain an inch of muscle on your shoulders is to lose an inch of fat around the waist, which helps create the illusion of broader shoulders in comparison to your waist.

KickassAmazon76

I agree that you can't *really* do both (gain muscle and lose weight) at the same time. To lose weight requires a calorie deficit, to gain muscle requires enough energy to build them.

If you want to see a visible weight change, then you need a deficit. If you see the weight going up, it's likely you're consuming too many calories, as it's unlikely that much of those gains are muscle. (Sometimes it can be water weight and inflammation of recently worked muscles).

I tend to do a recomp... I sit just below my maintenance in calories and I push HARD at the gym lifting weights. My scale doesn't tend to move much in either direction, but my clothes fit differently. By sitting at maintenance (and that is WITH eating some of my exercise cals back), I force my body to fuel my workouts with some of my reserves.

You really DO need to track your food and be honest about your burns (i.e. using a tracker for guidance helps) in order for this approach to work. It can be discouraging because our brains want to see progress in a number on the scale. But the thing is... if you are getting progressively stronger while not gaining weight - that's a win!


btw... if you choose to pursue weight loss more aggressively, I still advocate strength training. Push your sets to failure. Work hard in the gym, and ensure you get enough protein and fuel (account for that in your calorie intake). You'll see results, you just may need to expand your evaluation to include measurements, strength, and what the mirror shows.

Hope that helps!