I'm "skinny fat" how can i gain muscle but lose fat?

drew06

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

I found this girls story to be inspiring. I think all girls should take her advice!

MagdalenDreams

eat clean for abs, lift for arms, and squat for glory!

ndj1979

pretty much impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time..

I would say pick up a copy of starting strength and/or new rules of lifting for woman..
Build a program around heavy lifting using compound movements
calculate your maintenance calories and eat in like a 10% deficit…
set your macro % to 40 protein, 30 carbs, 30 fats….

ndj1979

eat clean for abs, lift for arms, and squat for glory!

eating clean has nothing to do with abs.

ndj1979

I'm confused about this not being able to build muscle while losing weight thing. I swear I continuously get better at all the exercises I do and can lift heavier dumbbells now way better than I could before (I have little to no muscle).

Am I confusing terms or something? Is it not that I'm building muscle? Isn't muscle what makes you stronger? I can't see a difference at all, but I know that I can do my routine a lot better and have made it harder. It would literally be like, nothing to most people, but I sat on my butt for the past 7 years so.. yeah.

Can someone help me out with this? I can't imagine that there is any way I am imagining a drastic change from the things I could do on day one to the things I can do now as far as toning exercises go. Is that different than building muscle? You can build strength without building muscle?

disclaimer: I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong at all. I'm seriously confused.

You can develop muscle and get stronger while in deficit.....to a point....I think.

What you will not got is size.

This^ …you are basically training your muscles to lift heavier things….but you are not actually building new muscle..

strength gain and muscle gain are not the same thing…

JoRocka

You cannot gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously.

Choose one.

The best you can do while losing fat is preserving as much muscle as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric deficit.

On the other end of the spectrum, the best you can do while aiming to gain muscle is to gain as little fat as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric surplus. That being said, it's impossible to gain absolutely no fat while eating in a surplus.

This is an interesting take… are you a personal trainer? I'm interested in learning more about your opinion, because I have always experienced the process simultaneously.

then you are a genetic freak of nature and should go have yourself checked out by a physician.

angel5561

You cannot gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously.

Choose one.

The best you can do while losing fat is preserving as much muscle as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric deficit.

On the other end of the spectrum, the best you can do while aiming to gain muscle is to gain as little fat as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric surplus. That being said, it's impossible to gain absolutely no fat while eating in a surplus.

This is an interesting take… are you a personal trainer? I'm interested in learning more about your opinion, because I have always experienced the process simultaneously.

You may make strength gains while in deficit.
You will not get mass while in deficit.....unless you are a "noob" to lifting.....
Then you get some initial gains there.....
But after you have been doing it for years, you will not see that anymore.

So take me for instance.
Since August of 2013 (I was 183).....I have been in a bit of a caloric deficit.
RIght now, I am 172
My lifts have not suffered, I have had some really good days where I went in and banged out some weight I have never done before.
But I don't look any bigger.....I have not went up in size.

Ok so if you have weight to lose do you lose that first then try to gain muscle and why am I fat and doing toning exercises if it won't build muscle since im eating at a deficit obviously to lose weight:noway:

Galatea_Stone

You cannot gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously.

Choose one.

The best you can do while losing fat is preserving as much muscle as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric deficit.

On the other end of the spectrum, the best you can do while aiming to gain muscle is to gain as little fat as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric surplus. That being said, it's impossible to gain absolutely no fat while eating in a surplus.

This is an interesting take… are you a personal trainer? I'm interested in learning more about your opinion, because I have always experienced the process simultaneously.

No you haven't. You think you have.

Getting stronger does not mean you are gaining muscle. Someone who is new to lifting may see some minimal noob gains but those are short live. While in caloric deficit and with proper training many people think they are building a bunch of new muscle based on what they see in the mirror when in reality it's that they are losing body fat revealing whatever muscle in underneath already giving the illusion that you are gaining muscle.

While in a caloric deficit and training in progressive overload the strength gains that we see are a result of CNS adaptation not the building of new muscle.

I really think would benefit from more clarification. You can't gain mass while eating at a deficit. There's no hypertrophy. You can actually gain muscle weight and lose fat weight. De-conditioned muscles are marbled like good beef. Those strength gains are hardening muscle, and they are technically "gains" within the muscle. They're just not extreme, and people will not gain anything on a measuring tape unless there has been serious atrophy (think medical causes). One is more likely to lose inches and stay the same weight. When that happens, it's because muscle takes up less space than fat at the same weight, and a person is gaining muscle weight while losing fat weight. It's a slow process, but it's body recomposition.

Newb gains can continue for a while, even 6 months, depending on the condition of the new lifter and efforts being made. "Minimal" is relative. For someone who has never lifted, feeling harder all over is a serious motivator.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

You cannot gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously.

Choose one.

The best you can do while losing fat is preserving as much muscle as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric deficit.

On the other end of the spectrum, the best you can do while aiming to gain muscle is to gain as little fat as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric surplus. That being said, it's impossible to gain absolutely no fat while eating in a surplus.

This is an interesting take… are you a personal trainer? I'm interested in learning more about your opinion, because I have always experienced the process simultaneously.

You may make strength gains while in deficit.
You will not get mass while in deficit.....unless you are a "noob" to lifting.....
Then you get some initial gains there.....
But after you have been doing it for years, you will not see that anymore.

So take me for instance.
Since August of 2013 (I was 183).....I have been in a bit of a caloric deficit.
RIght now, I am 172
My lifts have not suffered, I have had some really good days where I went in and banged out some weight I have never done before.
But I don't look any bigger.....I have not went up in size.

Ok so if you have weight to lose do you lose that first then try to gain muscle and why am I fat and doing toning exercises if it won't build muscle since im eating at a deficit obviously to lose weight:noway:

The main reason to lift while you eat a deficit is to maintain the muscle you have, not to build a bunch of new mass. You'll gain some (a few ounces for a woman) but not pounds worth. And your body fat percentage will go down because you'll be maintaining the muscle while you lose fat.

mycupyourcake

Heavy deadlifts are amazing using the stronglifts 5x5 program

Seriously, this! All the women I see posting before and after photos on here who do stronglifts or other compound lifts have pretty tight tummies. I plan on starting my lifting program this week.

angel5561

You cannot gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously.

Choose one.

The best you can do while losing fat is preserving as much muscle as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric deficit.

On the other end of the spectrum, the best you can do while aiming to gain muscle is to gain as little fat as possible--you do this by consistently eating in a moderate caloric surplus. That being said, it's impossible to gain absolutely no fat while eating in a surplus.

This is an interesting take… are you a personal trainer? I'm interested in learning more about your opinion, because I have always experienced the process simultaneously.

You may make strength gains while in deficit.
You will not get mass while in deficit.....unless you are a "noob" to lifting.....
Then you get some initial gains there.....
But after you have been doing it for years, you will not see that anymore.

So take me for instance.
Since August of 2013 (I was 183).....I have been in a bit of a caloric deficit.
RIght now, I am 172
My lifts have not suffered, I have had some really good days where I went in and banged out some weight I have never done before.
But I don't look any bigger.....I have not went up in size.

Ok so if you have weight to lose do you lose that first then try to gain muscle and why am I fat and doing toning exercises if it won't build muscle since im eating at a deficit obviously to lose weight:noway:

Yes. You lose the weight first. If you go and eat in a caloric surplus in order to gain muscle you will also be adding some fat along with that, that's basically inevitable. At a higher bf% you body is more susceptible to gaining fat at a higher unwanted rate as opposed to if you bulked while starting at a leaner bf%. Macronutrient partitioning is also better while starting out lean. Also, by bulking starting out at a higher bf% there is always the higher chance that you will just start feeling to fat and will abandon the mission.

There are no "toning" exercises. You lift heavy weights and consume adequate amounts of protein in order to maintain or minimize lbm loss while in a caloric deficit.

My head is spinning :laugh:

angel5561

So why do they say that when the weight fluctuates on the scale you probably gained muscle and what about the before and afters of people who say they lifted heavy they were fat before and skinny after how do you explain that were they eating at a surplus :sad:

RGv2

So why do they say that when the weight fluctuates on the scale you probably gained muscle and what about the before and afters of people who say they lifted heavy they were fat before and skinny after how do you explain that were they eating at a surplus :sad:

People who don't understand how the body works will say that. When you start a new workout regimen, or increase the intensity of your current one, the body will retain water for muscle repair. I have gained 6lbs overnight just from one heavy lifting session.

what about the before and afters of people who say they lifted heavy they were fat before and skinny after how do you explain that were they eating at a surplus :sad:

I'm not sure what this ^^^ even means?

geekyjock76

I'm confused about this not being able to build muscle while losing weight thing. I swear I continuously get better at all the exercises I do and can lift heavier dumbbells now way better than I could before (I have little to no muscle).

Am I confusing terms or something? Is it not that I'm building muscle? Isn't muscle what makes you stronger? I can't see a difference at all, but I know that I can do my routine a lot better and have made it harder. It would literally be like, nothing to most people, but I sat on my butt for the past 7 years so.. yeah.

Can someone help me out with this? I can't imagine that there is any way I am imagining a drastic change from the things I could do on day one to the things I can do now as far as toning exercises go. Is that different than building muscle? You can build strength without building muscle?

disclaimer: I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong at all. I'm seriously confused.

Very, very few people in fat loss studies actually increase lean mass at the end of six months (the typical term). Even those genetically gifted will gain 3-4 lbs at the end of the term and really rare [male endurance athletes] outliers with a 6-8 lb gain.

Strength gains result from neuromuscular adaptation. Basically, as a noob, your brain isn't efficient at estimating the weight of objects. So it first sends messages to very few muscle fibers. As you continue lifting heavier objects, your brain more accurately estimates the load thus sends signals to enough fibers to effectively get the job done.

waldo56

Back on topic, the most efficient skinnyfat solution is to first bulk then cut.

If you are not currently strength training, bulking shouldn't begin until you reach the point of strength gain stalling workout to workout, as you aren't yet using your existing muscles efficiently enough to bulk efficiently (too much fat will be gained).

Once you reach that point, bulk for a bit, then cut the new fat gain off plus a bit more, then repeat the process a time or two again and you'll be out of the skinnyfat zone.

Fair warning, losing 50 lbs is easier than getting out of the skinnyfat zone.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

So why do they say that when the weight fluctuates on the scale you probably gained muscle and what about the before and afters of people who say they lifted heavy they were fat before and skinny after how do you explain that were they eating at a surplus :sad:

Weight fluctuations can usually be attributed to glycogen/water retention or reduction and undigested food. People will say they are gaining muscle because that's just what they believe due to misinformation or not really understanding the process.

The people you see in the pictures who were fat then got skinny or lean with well defined muscle were not eating in a caloric surplus, they were in a caloric deficit.

Yup.