I'm "skinny fat" how can i gain muscle but lose fat?

I'm in the same sort of situation, but luckily my body seems to lose weight all over at the same time so my stomach is fairly flat.

I just started up doing yoga for 15 minutes a day and I can't recommend that enough - it's simple and calming and for me it's working wonders at toning all over. My whole body is firming and it's only been a week!

Definitely recommend if you aren't a fan of higher impact workouts.

You can absolutely gain muscle while losing fat.

The body is quite dynamic and can respond to the stimulus of exercise with muscle hypertrophy, even while total body weight and fat percentage decreases. It may just be more difficult to do so.

really?

four pages of people saying you can't do this- but yet you have found a way.

You'll make millions with this information my friend.

You can do this by reducing caloric consumption/increasing energy expenditure while doing weight-resistance training and eating adequate protein.

Just do a PubMed search - there are plenty of trials that measure lean body mass during dieting and weight loss.

For example, read the following meta-analysis of RCTs:

Int J Obes (Lond). 2012 Dec;36(12):1485-93. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2011.269. Epub 2012 Jan 17.
Effect of dairy consumption on weight and body composition in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials.
Abargouei AS1, Janghorbani M, Salehi-Marzijarani M, Esmaillzadeh A.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Although several observational and experimental studies have investigated the effect of dairy consumption on weight and body composition, results are inconsistent.
OBJECTIVE:
This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the published evidence from randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) regarding the effect of dairy consumption on weight, body fat mass, lean mass and waist circumference (WC) in adults.
DESIGN:
PubMed, ISI Web of Science, SCOPUS, Science Direct and EMBASE were searched from January 1960 to October 2011 for relevant English and non-English publications. Sixteen studies were selected for the systematic review and fourteen studies were included in meta-analysis.
RESULTS:
Our search led to 14, 12, 6 and 8 eligible RCTs that had data on weight, body fat mass, lean mass and WC, respectively. Overall, mean difference for the effect of dairy on body weight was -0.61 kg (95% confidence interval (CI): -1.29, 0.07, P=0.08). Increased dairy intake resulted in 0.72 kg (95% CI: -1.29, -0.14, P=0.01) greater reduction in fat mass, 0.58 kg (95% CI: 0.18, 0.99, P<0.01) gain in lean mass and 2.19 cm (95% CI: -3.42, -0.96, P-value <0.001) further reduction in WC than that in controls. Subgroup analysis revealed that increasing dairy intake without energy restriction in both intervention and control groups does not significantly affect weight, body fat mass, lean mass and WC; consumption of high-dairy weight loss diets led to 1.29 kg (95% CI: -1.98, -0.6, P<0.001) greater weight loss, 1.11 kg (95% CI: -1.75, -0.47, P=0.001) greater reduction in body fat mass, 0.72 kg (95% CI: 0.12, 1.32, P=0.02) gain in body lean mass and 2.43 cm (95% CI: -3.42, -1.44, P<0.001) additional reduction in WC compared with controls.
CONCLUSION:
Increased dairy consumption without energy restriction might not lead to a significant change in weight or body composition; whereas inclusion of dairy products in energy-restricted weight loss diets significantly affects weight, body fat mass, lean mass and WC compared with that in the usual weight loss diets.


These subjects gained muscle while losing fat. I'm surprised you really believe something like this is impossible!

I'm quite sure I won't make a penny from this "news," let alone millions.

I think that second study showed a gain of LBM as expressed as a percentage of overall body composition, not total pounds of LBM; am I reading that correctly? At least, based on the Abstract he posted?

I had decent success with a recomp but I wasn't 100% satisfied and I didn't feel like I hit my potential.

Now I'm doing a mini bulk and hoping for the best! I've been a lifter for 5+ years now and it's time to kick it in high gear because I am feeling my body is stagnant or even that my metabolism has slowed considerably (getting old I guess). Anyway a bulk is not easy mentally but I can always lose weight, kwim?

I've seen girls that have had GREAT results with bulking.

Posting two studies where the objective is not even what we are discussing and saying that's solid evidence. Nice try.

How many studies do you need? How about you post your studies that refute these?
I'm not saying weight loss is optimal for muscle gain, just that it doesn't preclude it.

How about one with muscle gain? Lean mass gain is everything besides fat. Bone density, blood volume, glycogen, and yes, muscle...these are all part of lean mass gains. Lean mass is not just muscle. It's called "lean mass" because it isn't "fat mass."

ETA: with respect to the study, an increase in percentage of lean mass as a percent of overall mass is not necessarily an increase in volume. One can lose lean mass and still have an increased percentage of lean mass. One must merely have a greater decrease in fat mass. It's what we all strive for in a cut.

Check with your Dr for possible food allergies/intolerance.

I've been working like mad with my stomach not budging for over a year. Then I go off dairy and BAM! down 2 inches on my stomach measurement. I went back on dairy- Inches instantly came back. I'm off again and waiting for confirmation from my Dr if I have a dairy allergy or lactose intolerance.

I did not change calorie consumption or exercise routine- just dairy.

People have lots of sensitivities: Egg, soy, wheat, dairy. Dairy issues run in my family so that's why I chose to cut it out first.

Good luck!

That's bloating, not fat. I'd just cut out dairy if it makes you bloat.

Here's another nice study showing muscle gain during weight loss:

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011 Apr;21(2):97-104.
Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes.
Garthe I1, Raastad T, Refsnes PE, Koivisto A, Sundgot-Borgen J.
Author information
Abstract
When weight loss (WL) is necessary, athletes are advised to accomplish it gradually, at a rate of 0.5-1 kg/wk. However, it is possible that losing 0.5 kg/wk is better than 1 kg/wk in terms of preserving lean body mass (LBM) and performance. The aim of this study was to compare changes in body composition, strength, and power during a weekly body-weight (BW) loss of 0.7% slow reduction (SR) vs. 1.4% fast reduction (FR). We hypothesized that the faster WL regimen would result in more detrimental effects on both LBM and strength-related performance. Twenty-four athletes were randomized to SR (n = 13, 24 ± 3 yr, 71.9 ± 12.7 kg) or FR (n = 11, 22 ± 5 yr, 74.8 ± 11.7 kg). They followed energy-restricted diets promoting the predetermined weekly WL. All athletes included 4 resistance-training sessions/wk in their usual training regimen. The mean times spent in intervention for SR and FR were 8.5 ± 2.2 and 5.3 ± 0.9 wk, respectively (p < .001). BW, body composition (DEXA), 1-repetition-maximum (1RM) tests, 40-m sprint, and countermovement jump were measured before and after intervention. Energy intake was reduced by 19% ± 2% and 30% ± 4% in SR and FR, respectively (p = .003). BW and fat mass decreased in both SR and FR by 5.6% ± 0.8% and 5.5% ± 0.7% (0.7% ± 0.8% vs. 1.0% ± 0.4%/wk) and 31% ± 3% and 21 ± 4%, respectively. LBM increased in SR by 2.1% ± 0.4% (p < .001), whereas it was unchanged in FR (-0.2% ± 0.7%), with significant differences between groups (p < .01). In conclusion, data from this study suggest that athletes who want to gain LBM and increase 1RM strength during a WL period combined with strength training should aim for a weekly BW loss of 0.7%.

nvmnd