Looking for some feedback

D2244

Here is some history: 41 yr old male 5ft 7 155lbs 17BF. Recently lost 25lbs but still have belly fat but want to start gaining muscle. I am trying to reduce the BF down to 12-15 and gain muscle at the same time. I am eating 40 Carb, 35 Protein and 25 fat (1,800 cal on non lift days and 2,200 on lift days). I try to lift at least twice a week and cardio 1-2 x's a week. I've been doing this for a few months and seem to have hit a plateau. No reduction in BF and I don't see much muscle mass but have gained some strength and have been able to increase # of pullups and bench press weight etc.

Should I just be patient and stay with the program or should I just pick one like reduce cals/focus on reduction of BF or should I focus on just lifting and gaining the muscle and not worry about the extra belly fat?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Helloitsdan

Stop cardio.
If you need cardiovascular work, dropset on squats to 40-50% 1RM and pop out 20reps for your last set (Widowmaker).
That gets the heart pumping.

Game8

Although the processes of gaining muscle and oxidizing fat are two separate and independent processes, practically it's very difficult (one can say almost impossible) to achieve both to any significant degree at the same time, unless your a complete beginner. In order to gain muscle, you have to be at a caloric surplus, which will result in some fat gain whether you like it or not. And in order to lose fat, you have to be at a caloric deficit, and you can't build new muscle at a caloric deficit. People struggle with muscle retention when they're at a deficit, so it's hard to imagine one gaining new muscle mass.

If you try to do both at once, you will end up going no where. So here's what you need to do: focus on one thing at a time, and stick with it until you make significant progress. You can build muscle while minimizing fat gain. Make that your goal. Eat a consistent number of calories (whether you workout or not doesn't matter) and make sure that number is above your maintenance level. Ideally you can increase your maintenance by 100-500 calories depending on the size of surplus you want. If you wanna make your bulk as clean as possible I would recommend 200-300 calorie surplus.


After you've made some serious gains (bulk cycles usually take 6-12 months, depending on how patient you are), you can SLOWLY transition into a caloric deficit. You can start decreasing your calories by 100 cals a week until you're at a deficit. Keep going until you're at a maximum of 500 cal deficit and the fat will start melting off and you can show off all the muscles you've built.

For me personally, I like to stay lean all year round. So I diet until I'm at 8% body fat, then I start a very clean bulk until I reach 10% body fat (takes about 6 months) after which I take a few weeks of diet to go down again to 8. Then I repeat this cycle.