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don't know how to lose fat and gain muscle

shawnstevennelson1988
shawnstevennelson1988 Posts: 31 Member
edited February 8 in Health and Weight Loss
I lost 35 pounds, started lifting, and gave up my fitness pal because I figured that I would lose fat and gain muscle. I gained 8 pounds back. I feel like I have enough body fat left where I should still be losing weight. It's very difficult because I want to gain muscle and lose fat but don't know how to use my fitness pal to lose weight when I have these goals in mind. Any advice?

Replies

  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
    Im not a expert by far but my understanding is you cannot lose fat and gain muscle what you can do is gain muscle and fat then during your cutting phase try to loose more fat than muscle. Again there are a few experts on this site on this and I am not one of them. In order to build muscle you must eat at a calorie surplus your body needs those extra caloires to build the muscle.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    It's difficult to do both at the same time. You generally need to eat more than you burn to gain muscle and less than you burn to lose fat. You can do a recomp, but it is a long, slow process. This is why most serious bodybuilders go through bulk/cut cycles. Pick which goal you're more interested in. Personally, if I felt I had more body fat than I wanted, I'd cut. Lift heavy, eat at a moderate deficit, do some cardio. This will help you maintain muscle while losing fat. Once you get to a place where you're comfortable weight/body fat/size wise, slowly up your intake, cut back on cardio, LIFT and gain a bit, which will hopefully be mostly muscle, although some fat is inevitable. You can also eat just under maintenance, lift and do cardio to try to go for the recomp.
  • vanessaenlow
    vanessaenlow Posts: 6 Member
    This has been confusing for me too. One of my gym's tried to sell me on buying sessions with a personal trainer and gave me a free hour. When I saw the trainer he tried to convince me that it's more important to build up strength and do weight training then cardio. I'm HUGE. I was thinking I'd do both, since I can tone and not have fabby skin. Is it better to gain musle while trying to lose weight?
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    Eat just a little below your TDEE and get plenty of protein. Try this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
  • BITEME_GRRR
    BITEME_GRRR Posts: 150 Member
    Guys, To burn fat you need to lose weight. Cardio is good for the heart and is necessary but to lose weight you have to lift and lift heavy as well as watch your intake.
  • BITEME_GRRR
    BITEME_GRRR Posts: 150 Member
    LIFT WEIGHT not Lose weight lol ^^
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    You can't gain appreciable muscle mass while you're losing weight (i.e., eating at a deficit). New or untrained lifters might gain a small amount of "newbie" muscle mass, but only a lb or two. It is very possible to gain strength while at a deficit - it's basically neurological adaptation. The main reason you want to lift weights while still trying to reduce body fat is to RETAIN, not build, lean body mass. It's much easier to just maintain muscle while dropping body fat, rather than lose a bunch of muscle along with the fat, and then have to bulk to build it back up. So, long story short, you can either a) lose fat or b) gain muscle, but you can't do both. If you've reached a low enough bf%, go ahead and start eating over maintenance to gain muscle (OP, it sounds like this is what you're doing). You'll gain a bit of fat too, but you lose that when you go back to a cut cycle.
  • GymTennis
    GymTennis Posts: 133 Member
    Yes.. Generally speaking, to build muscle you have to be in a caloric surplus, however it doesn't necessarily apply for lifting newbies and overweight people who wish to cut down their body fat.. Being a newbie, most likely your muscles will respond due to weight lifting stimulation... True, you can't build much but you can at least maintain the muscle you already have, which is hard to be seen at higher body fat percentages.... So, this is exactly what i would do in your place,,

    First off, determine your TDEE to maintain your current weight at your current activity level, then cut back your calories for about 400-500, build a caloric deficit to be more exact..Keep your protein intake sufficient... Follow a sound weight lifting program, throw in a couple of days of cardio, 20,30 minutes long.. Stay injury free, track your calories daily, stay consistent, drink a lot of water.. In 3-6 months from now, you'll be surprised with the results and the way you look.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    this is pretty much the same question as asking how to build a perpetual machine......
  • CMB1979
    CMB1979 Posts: 588 Member
    Eat just a little below your TDEE and get plenty of protein. Try this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    Do this ^^ to lose fat. This however will do NOTHING for adding muscle. To put on muscle, you must lift heavy weights and eat ABOVE your TDEE. If you do that, you'll put on muscle and in turn that muscle will burn more calories and help you lose fat but while you are eating enough to put on muscle, you'll also gain a little fat in the process.
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