Lose weight and build muscle same time?

Numannhaque

Was wondering if it is possible to lose weight and gain muscles at the same time.

I am planning on doing weights 3 times a week and cardio 2 days a week.

Intend to keep my calories slightly low to assist with weight loss but then drink protein drinks and take creatine to help with muscle growth.

Would that work?

SezxyStef

you are talking about body recomp.

Eating at maintenance or a slight deficet (5%) to lose fat and gain muscle.

It is a long hard road for most, but I will let others weigh in as I am not as familiar with it as I would like to be.

So in for responses

csuhar

What I've heard is that it's *theoretically* possible, but very hard to put into actual practice and it will take longer to accomplish your goals in either direction.

You should, in theory, be able to use some of your fat-stores to provide energy for building muscle as long as you're getting the other nutrients you need, thereby losing fat while adding lean mass, but it's difficult to manage and gauge progress. That's why most people do the traditional bulk / cut cycle, so that they have better awareness of the calorie surplus / defecit they're working with and so they're focusing only on adding muscle or losing fat at a given time.

Numannhaque

ok thanks.

If i was to do the bulk/cut cycle, how long should i do each for?

I want to improve muscle strength and size but need to lose weight on my stomach :-(

jwdieter

If you have significant fat and you're just starting to lift, you should be able to lose fat and build muscle for a few months, by eating at a slight deficit.

In any case, strength training + protein + calorie deficit to get rid of the belly.

petkostas

It is possible but it needs a very strict schedule regarding meals and nutrition. The fact (I am gonna put this as less detailed as I can since it is a rather big conversation) is that most people believe fat is the only energy source of the body, but this is wrong! The body attacks muscles as well which is an easier source of energy! So let's get some facts here, you need to follow your heart rates (as often mentioned) because based on your heart rates your body determines which energy source it will use up. That's why depending on your activity levels your body will respond differently.
The other major issue is to understand how your body responds to "starvation" and by that I don't mean not eating for a few days, but having a bad meal plan, if you are getting hungry your body responds to that feeling as it was constructed to do...what? store as much as it can to fat in order to overcome possible hard days (even if are not talking about hard days...but rather hours), keeping a balanced meal plan allows your body to never reach starvation levels thus metabolizing the foods as it should.
Now in order to loose fat and gain muscle, you need to workout on both categories, this means you need cardio to levels that will burn fat BUT also work on your muscles and FEED them, what feeds the muscle? Protein and amino acids are your friends, that's why most people involved who want to maintain muscles but also keep fat levels low, use a combination of carbs (they provide energy) and proteins (they provide the necessary nutrients to reconstruct muscles).
You can find more information by searching, you need to focus on your meals and nutrition BUT you also need to understand how your body reacts, an advanced athletes body will respond differently to nutrition and exercise because it has adapted to it and MAYBE because his body type (mind you, this is also vital) can adapt rather quickly.
Keep in mind also that your body metabolizes food differently during the day, this means that not all nutritions are metabolized the same in the morning and the evening, especially carbs and protein.

lindsey1979

It's possible, but very difficult to increase your actual LBM while in a caloric deficit (I think I've only seen two studies where it was done and one was with elite athletes and the other with obese people who were newbie lifters). However, it is possible to have regional increases, especially if you're a newbie to heavy lifting -- like increasing your muscle mass in your back or arms even though you may lose or maintain your overall LBM.

The two things that help the most with maintaining LBM while in a caloric deficit are (1) heavy lifting (3x5, strong lifts, etc.) and (2) sufficient protein intake (some debate on what that is, but I use 0.7 g per lb body weight). There is also persuasive evidence that once or twice weekly sprint sessions also help with this, especially for a newbie, due to the growth hormone response (similar to newbie gains in heavy lifting).

More than likely, you'll maintain or minimize your LBM loss while losing fat -- so your LBM percentage will actually increase and your body fat percentage will decrease. You're basic recomp if weight stays the same, but recomp can also happen as you lose weight if you're losing a greater proportion of fat vs. LBM.

Numannhaque

Thank You, Took a while to ready that but it helps a lot! I am Doing both my cardio and weights, will try it for a few weeks and see how it goes.