How to Eat for Fat Loss and Muscle Gain?

tyildirim

My problem is, I have no idea where to start in gaining muscle. So far on my journey I've lost 40+ pounds and that's great and I'm happy, BUT with the last 10 pounds or so I've noticed I'm starting to look gaunt. I'm 5'9'', 163 pounds so I'm by no means skinny but my neck, chest and face are looking painfully thin. I've realized I need to stop "losing weight" and start trying to gain some muscle and get strong, otherwise the next 10 pounds gone will have me looking skeletal

I've got strong legs but my upper body and back are very weak. I'm currently doing week 2 of Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 and I think it's smart to continue with that but what about my diet? I know I need a calorie deficit to lose weight but how do I eat to gain muscle? Weight loss at this point isn't my priority, breaking even but with a lower body fat percentage would be wonderful! Any advice will be so helpful!

ME0172

usually protein is where people are deficient. Try using this tool to see about your macronutrients. http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ You can modify the numbers MFP defaults to if you want to use the macros from there. I have. I'm 5"10 and 155 and stopped trying to lose weight and just maintain. I found I wasn't eating enough protein to stop the muscle loss. So do strength training and probably up your protein, while remaining within your calorie limit.

mortuseon

Pick one, doing both simultaneously is a challenge (which is why people 'bulk and cut').

You can maintain more of your muscle mass by reducing the size of your deficit to 10-20% (loss may be slower), eating sufficient protein (I've heard a lot of people say 0.8-1g per lb of mass) and regular resistance training. This will mean you look more 'toned' when the fat comes off which is what I guess you want?

If you want to gain muscle you will gain fat as well. This is bulking. Eat a small surplus (usually people say 300 over maintenance but there are better-informed people on here who can tell you), enough protein as above + lift heavy. You can 'cut' i.e. slowly diet the fat off and minimise muscle loss as above later if you use this route.

PikaKnight

Could look into aiming for around 1g per LBM for your protein. Here's a link that helps you figure out your macros and how to set them in MFP.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

I'd also suggest including strength/resistance training into your weekly routine. Ripped in 30 is more cardio and not a good substitute for it.


As for the fat loss and gaining muscle, here are a few links to read as well as additional links in regards to strength training

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

http://body-improvements.com/2013/09/04/can-you-build-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/

http://body-improvements.com/2012/08/22/qa-how-can-i-go-about-building-some-muscle/

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/850719-strength-training-the-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/902569-barbell-routines-when-you-only-have-dumbbells

BiggyFuzz

it's nearly impossible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

Gaining muscle means gaining weight....fat burning is lowering calories meaning losing weight.

If i were you i would continue to do your regular exercise but as ME1072 pointed out protein is key.

I would consider in investing in protein shakes and have a shake a day. In terms of adding muscle, PUSHUPS is where you should start. Pushups use about 65,70% of your body weight and you can get seriously toned up just doing that.

do your Jillian Michaels but on a daily basis but NO MATTER WHAT do about 50-100 push ups daily (not all at one, break it down to sets/reps ie: 10 sets of 10 reps). Honesttly 100 pushups takes about 7-10 minutes of your time.

good luck and also GREAT job losing 40+ lbs...keep it up

DianeinCA

As you'll read time and again on these boards... you can't gain muscle when you're losing fat. (If you want the math, I'm happy to do it for you, but the short version is: when you're taking in fewer calories than your total daily requirement, your body's going to use every calorie it's got to operate the place, not to build new muscle.)

That said...weight lifting is one of the BEST things you can do for your body as you take weight off. You get those muscles working harder (and burning more calories throughout the day). Over in the Success forum, there's a topic called "Halp! Lifting weights made me supah bulky!" or something like that, and it's for showing the results of lifting weights. (Hint: you don't get super bulky from them.) http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1096001-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky

And congrats on losing 40 pounds! That is spectacular and you should congratulate yourself on your hard work.

Topsking2010

Bump

rileysowner

Pick one, doing both simultaneously is a challenge (which is why people 'bulk and cut').

You can maintain more of your muscle mass by reducing the size of your deficit to 10-20% (loss may be slower), eating sufficient protein (I've heard a lot of people say 0.8-1g per lb of mass) and regular resistance training. This will mean you look more 'toned' when the fat comes off which is what I guess you want?

If you want to gain muscle you will gain fat as well. This is bulking. Eat a small surplus (usually people say 300 over maintenance but there are better-informed people on here who can tell you), enough protein as above + lift heavy. You can 'cut' i.e. slowly diet the fat off and minimise muscle loss as above later if you use this route.

This is pretty much true if you are looking for the fastest muscle gain you can have. There is a problem, especially for those who have lost a lot of weight in that in a bulk they often put on not just a little fat, but a lot of fat and very little muscle. I remember reading a thread about this a while back. It is possible to do a recomp where I believe a person eats around their maintenance while lifting heavy weights. It is very slow, but can result in increase in muscle with a decrease in fat assuming I am understanding the things I have read. Again, this is slow. A bulk cut cycle will for most people be faster, but not for all.

mortuseon

Pick one, doing both simultaneously is a challenge (which is why people 'bulk and cut').

You can maintain more of your muscle mass by reducing the size of your deficit to 10-20% (loss may be slower), eating sufficient protein (I've heard a lot of people say 0.8-1g per lb of mass) and regular resistance training. This will mean you look more 'toned' when the fat comes off which is what I guess you want?

If you want to gain muscle you will gain fat as well. This is bulking. Eat a small surplus (usually people say 300 over maintenance but there are better-informed people on here who can tell you), enough protein as above + lift heavy. You can 'cut' i.e. slowly diet the fat off and minimise muscle loss as above later if you use this route.

This is pretty much true if you are looking for the fastest muscle gain you can have. There is a problem, especially for those who have lost a lot of weight in that in a bulk they often put on not just a little fat, but a lot of fat and very little muscle. I remember reading a thread about this a while back. It is possible to do a recomp where I believe a person eats around their maintenance while lifting heavy weights. It is very slow, but can result in increase in muscle with a decrease in fat assuming I am understanding the things I have read. Again, this is slow. A bulk cut cycle will for most people be faster, but not for all.

The above is true but when we say slow we're talking YEARS.
A smaller surplus and a longer bulk usually = more success as you don't just end up getting fat. Bulks will take months. Also, newbies to weight training usually gain muscle more quickly (then it tapers off with experience). Females will have more trouble bulking than males, due to lower testosterone levels, so it could be a longer process. Usually people say women should aim for 0.5lb muscle gain per week.