Should I lose weight, gain muscle, or both?

Bramsey89

I want to do both, but I read that it's impossible and I should just stick to one, and then do the other.

What would make me look better?

Me:

Heather75

Are you in a public bathroom?

Heather75

Oh, and I think you should work on muscle.

You can do both, sort of. I will let a clever poster explain.

ll31tCH

Are you in a public bathroom?

i seriously thought this same thing!!!!

nurse_chris

What may be impossible is a common misconception that fat can be turned into muscle....

Increasing your muscle mass will burn fat (fat is just storage of potential energy for the body). If muscle is what you chose, just monitor your caloric intake and watch both goals come to fruition.

Good luck

misskelly121

Muscle helps to burn fat. So go for the muscle!

rileysowner

You weight looks pretty good. You need re-sculpting so I would suggest to start eat at your BMR and do Metabolic Resistance Training and normal weight training. Best book on MRT I have read so far is "Cardio Resistance Training"

Athena413

You don't really look very overweight, so I would probably focus on weight/strength training a little more than losing weight. You may initially gain a little weight because muscle is more dense than fat, but if you increase muscle mass, you're naturally going to burn off excess fat and be more toned. Maybe check out Bill Philips Body for Life program...he has a lot of good weight training tips that helps to shed excess fat while gaining muscle.

believetoachieve

It's definitely not impossible - I'm doing it right now! Do both - it's healthy and good for your body. You look great already, but muscle never hurt anyone!

Dreamerlove

Are you in a public bathroom?

bahaha too funny! What if someone walked in..or better was already in, lol

And I say muscle. Don't lose weight.

JennLifts

Muscle

cacrat

Body recomposition, adding muscle while burning fat, is not impossible. It just takes a VERY meticulous diet and workout regimen. However, to answer your question, I'd say to gain some muscle, which will carry with it some fat too. Right now it looks as though your fat is fairly low.

color_me_skinny

Are you in a public bathroom?

i seriously thought this same thing!!!!

what does it matter?

and i think you can do both.

believetoachieve

However, to answer your question, I'd say to gain some muscle, which will carry with it some fat too. Right now it looks as though your fat is fairly low.

I don't think muscle gain necessarily adds fat. It just adds weight sometimes because muscle weighs more. Is that what you meant? I think with a careful diet, you can add muscle but avoid fat. (at least, I hope so!). :bigsmile:

Bramsey89

It's the bathroom at my gym! And I locked it! Stop laughing at meeeee =P

But thank you for the advice guys!

cacrat

However, to answer your question, I'd say to gain some muscle, which will carry with it some fat too. Right now it looks as though your fat is fairly low.

I don't think muscle gain necessarily adds fat. It just adds weight sometimes because muscle weighs more. Is that what you meant? I think with a careful diet, you can add muscle but avoid fat. (at least, I hope so!). :bigsmile:

No. There's only one way to build muscle, generally, and that's eat more calories than you burn. The excess calories will turn into fat. Now depending on the person and their insulin sensitivity, metabolic rate, testosterone levels, and such, they may gain a pound of fat per 2 pounds of muscle. This would be what may be called a bulking phase. Then the person would burn off the excess fat with a negative caloric balance. They may burn 2 pounds of fat but lose a pound of muscle. This would be the cutting phase.

You are right, however, in that there is another way, through a careful diet. I mentioned it above in my previous post and like I said it takes a VERY careful diet, sufficient cardio, and a weight program to match. And it would involve a cyclical type diet, usually through carbs, but may be done with calories in general. These methods are most often too much for the typical dieter to deal with, so they go through the bulking/cutting cycles.

You are also right that muscle weighs more than fat, but that's not what I was alluding to.

Newfiedan

impossible? well i guess I am impossible then, living proof that both can be achieved. The key is diet, you must must must have a good diet. Did I say must? lol. Point being that you will need to make sure that you are eating clean and getting good protein intake and good workouts. Look into kettlebell workouts, metabolic resistance training and make sure you follow good common sense. To gain muscle you need to feed the machine, the muscle gain will burn the fat more effectively throughout the day than cardio. Cardio has its place but weight training will burn fat faster and give you a better burn over the run of the day.

chrisdavey

However, to answer your question, I'd say to gain some muscle, which will carry with it some fat too. Right now it looks as though your fat is fairly low.

I don't think muscle gain necessarily adds fat. It just adds weight sometimes because muscle weighs more. Is that what you meant? I think with a careful diet, you can add muscle but avoid fat. (at least, I hope so!). :bigsmile:

No. There's only one way to build muscle, generally, and that's eat more calories than you burn. The excess calories will turn into fat. Now depending on the person and their insulin sensitivity, metabolic rate, testosterone levels, and such, they may gain a pound of fat per 2 pounds of muscle. This would be what may be called a bulking phase. Then the person would burn off the excess fat with a negative caloric balance. They may burn 2 pounds of fat but lose a pound of muscle. This would be the cutting phase.

You are right, however, in that there is another way, through a careful diet. I mentioned it above in my previous post and like I said it takes a VERY careful diet, sufficient cardio, and a weight program to match. And it would involve a cyclical type diet, usually through carbs, but may be done with calories in general. These methods are most often too much for the typical dieter to deal with, so they go through the bulking/cutting cycles.

You are also right that muscle weighs more than fat, but that's not what I was alluding to.

agree with this Unless you're on the juice haha.

What is your current workout regime? WHat is your current diet? Have you just been losing weight/gaining/maintaining lately?

I would be focussing on gaining strength and eating at slightly above maintenance. Monitor weight changes per week, as well as BF% (or skinfold mm's is best for at home IMO) and adjust calorie intake if required. Focus on big compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, chins and dips.

Heather75

It's the bathroom at my gym! And I locked it! Stop laughing at meeeee =P

But thank you for the advice guys!

Oh, good. I was...confused.

Newfiedan

I am not on the "juice" I have managed to gain muscle, mostly lean muscle. If you want to gain a lot of muscle then yes you do need a caloric surplus, but to maintain or gain a moderate amount it is quite possible to do so while being on a lower caloric intake.

TAWoody

You look like me. We don't have a ton of weight we could lose which means it's that much quicker for us to get lean. I'm working on a bowflex muscle toning routine and it's burning off all my weight for me. I haven't even done a day of cardio but do 3 days of general body fitness workouts and have been dropping 1-2 pounds a week with the myfitnesspal app. I'd rather have a low bodyfat % and some muscle than have a little more muscle but more bodyfat.