Looking to gain muscle, and lose fat. Questions about both!

faster_than_flash
faster_than_flash Posts: 114 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all,

I am looking to gain some muscle (somewhere between 10-25 lbs) and burn off some fat. I'm a pretty thin guy so I don't have too much fat on me, but there is some.

My question is:
- How should I diet to accomplish this?

Should I try to eat low calorie/healthy food to get rid of that excess fat (and run for exercise), or should I do a high protien diet and lift, with some running on the side?

Suggestions (and past experiences) are welcome!

Thanks

Jim

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Hey all,

    I am looking to gain some muscle (somewhere between 10-25 lbs) and burn off some fat. I'm a pretty thin guy so I don't have too much fat on me, but there is some.

    My question is:
    - How should I diet to accomplish this?

    Should I try to eat low calorie/healthy food to get rid of that excess fat (and run for exercise), or should I do a high protien diet and lift, with some running on the side?

    Suggestions (and past experiences) are welcome!

    Thanks

    Jim

    Pick 1 goal and strive for that rather then trying to do both. 10-25lbs of muscle will take a while
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Hey all,

    I am looking to gain some muscle (somewhere between 10-25 lbs) and burn off some fat. I'm a pretty thin guy so I don't have too much fat on me, but there is some.

    My question is:
    - How should I diet to accomplish this?

    I would eat at a small caloric surplus while lifting. Plan on eating at about 10-15% above TDEE.

    See here for calorie and macronutrient recommendations:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
    Should I try to eat low calorie/healthy food to get rid of that excess fat (and run for exercise), or should I do a high protien diet and lift, with some running on the side?

    I would choose mostly whole and nutrient dense foods and I would leave a little room for "whatever the @#$! you want to eat" as a small part of your total intake. Since you'll be eating at a surplus of calories and gaining weight, satiety won't be as big of an issue.

    I am recommending that you gain weight now because you mention yourself that you don't have much fat on you and you're relatively thin. Bulk now, add on some quality muscle mass in the next 6 months, then reassess. You will reach a point where you'll go the other direction and diet down, losing the fat and ideally keeping the muscle mass you gained in the next months.

    NOTE: You are not going to lose fat with this approach. You are doing this to gain muscle mass and you will then cut fat later.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Do you know your BF% currently? Do you lift currently?



    Edited as I initially did not spot that you say you are thin already - so bulking now probably makes sense. However, if you have not lifted before, you can probably eat at maintenance and get the benefit of some newbie gains as well as strength gains before bulking.
  • faster_than_flash
    faster_than_flash Posts: 114 Member
    Wow - thanks guys for the instant response. I wish there was a "rep" or "star" button which let's me say Thanks for helping =)
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Hey all,

    I am looking to gain some muscle (somewhere between 10-25 lbs) and burn off some fat. I'm a pretty thin guy so I don't have too much fat on me, but there is some.

    My question is:
    - How should I diet to accomplish this?

    Should I try to eat low calorie/healthy food to get rid of that excess fat (and run for exercise), or should I do a high protien diet and lift, with some running on the side?

    Suggestions (and past experiences) are welcome!

    Thanks

    Jim

    Pick 1 goal and strive for that rather then trying to do both. 10-25lbs of muscle will take a while

    Agreed. Bulk for a while, then cut for a while, then repeat until goals are met.
  • wadedawg
    wadedawg Posts: 315
    Add lean muscle mass now, and don't worry about burning off fat. Adding lean muscle mass will burn off the fat for you. 10-25 pounds of lean muscle is a serious goal to accomplish. You have to eat big to get big. You'll never add the mass you want by reducing your caloric intake in an attempt to burn fat, you'll merely tone what you have now.
  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    If you've not got much fat to lose I would bulk as gaining the extra muscle will lower your BF % over time because you will gain lean mass.
  • faster_than_flash
    faster_than_flash Posts: 114 Member
    Ahhh good advice guys and girls. I'm not familiar with calculating BF%. I did a quick google and there's a few "tools" out there which can be used to measure it.

    I'm a bit confused on the methodology though. What happens if you have excess skin on your sides - does that get misrepresented as BF? Or is it considered body fat?

    Also - is there a way to tighten skin?
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Ahhh good advice guys and girls. I'm not familiar with calculating BF%. I did a quick google and there's a few "tools" out there which can be used to measure it.

    I'm a bit confused on the methodology though. What happens if you have excess skin on your sides - does that get misrepresented as BF? Or is it considered body fat?

    Also - is there a way to tighten skin?

    Are you sure it is skin and not fat? If it is skin then it will be very thin. Did you lose a lot of weight? Or lose weight quickly?

    There is no very accurate way of estimating your body fat - they all have their flaws. The best way however is to have a hydrostatic test or a DEXA scan done. However, the best cheapest way is probably calipers and eyeballing.
  • faster_than_flash
    faster_than_flash Posts: 114 Member
    Are you sure it is skin and not fat? If it is skin then it will be very thin. Did you lose a lot of weight? Or lose weight quickly?

    There is no very accurate way of estimating your body fat - they all have their flaws. The best way however is to have a hydrostatic test or a DEXA scan done. However, the best cheapest way is probably calipers and eyeballing.

    Ah it could be!

    Yes - I lost a lot of weight quickly (after joining a soccer team - go figure). But it could be fat - I don't really know the difference. I'm going to go to a gym today (Retro Fitness) to sign up since the gym in my building only has tredmills. Hopefully someone there can eyeball it or just give me some good advice.

    The advice everyone gave here seemed very sound - and thanks to the link - I have some ideas of the type of foods I need to eat. I think I'll go with the bulking up approach. I'm hoping that running won't interfere with that too much.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    You may want to start here, as I shamelessly plug our group:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress

    If you upload pics into the bf estimation thread we may be able to get you rough estimate and at the very least, a more definite recommendation as to whether or not you should bulk/cut/recomp
  • kuntry_navy
    kuntry_navy Posts: 677 Member
    since you're thin, you should try to bulk first.
  • faster_than_flash
    faster_than_flash Posts: 114 Member
    You may want to start here, as I shamelessly plug our group:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress

    If you upload pics into the bf estimation thread we may be able to get you rough estimate and at the very least, a more definite recommendation as to whether or not you should bulk/cut/recomp

    Thanks for the help - I'll favorite this group

Categories