Appear fatter?

There is no way you can see a gain or loss of 2-4 pounds, unless you are 3 months old. Maybe you are just a little bloated.

My tummy often appears bigger after doing abs work - it settles down again

But how will I lose the fat by eating at maintenance? Also, my BMI is 23.41, quite close to 25 which is overweight. I heard the only way to expose abs is by removing the fat covering them? Whilst we're on the subject, as someone said before that 4lbs is unnoticeable, how much in my case will be? Can someone advise me how much to lose?

BMI is not a good indication of health. body builder's BMIs put them into the obese category but they aren't obese! Lifting heavy raises your metabolism and helps you burn fat better than cardio, eating at or above maintenance helps you to build muscle

unless you've been doing 400 crunches a day, you're just a bit bloated.

I understand but my point is wouldn't it be better if I lost excess fat before muscle gain? Otherwise, the fat would just cover any muscle I gain. My body fat percentage is 19.8%.

no, you should start lifting as soon as possible. strength training will help you burn a lot of fat. i totally understand wanting to lose weight and then build muscle, because i used to think the same way. and the great thing is that you can do both at the same time. not only that, it's a little easier to get strong in the beginning if your body has all those fat reserves to tap.

Really? I thought only cardio is better for fat burn than weight lifting. It was also my understanding that gaining muscle and losing fat can't occur simultaneously as one requires a caloric deficit whilst the other needs a caloric surplus? Forgive me for my naïveté if I'm incorrect.

you are sort of correct. if you strength train while eating at a slight deficit you can and will get stronger. your body will fuel itself with food and fat stored up. also, you will have something called newbie gains. they're awesome. for the first few months and even a year you can and will just keep getting stronger. you'll be setting personal records every week.

but at one point your gains will slow down. you might struggle to go up 5 pounds on squats. you'll fail a rep or two. at that moment is when you start to look at your diet. and remember, this can take a really long time, almost a whole year. it can even be minimized if you make sure to eat plenty of protein while on a deficit.


also, to get the very large muscles, you will need to be on a deficit. and you build muscle, while also putting on some fat. then you do a calorie deficit while cutting back on the weight lifting and doing some extra cardio. this is what is commonly known as "bulk and cut."

So in my case, should I carry on my diet but also strength train too? Also, would 10lbs be sufficient of weight loss. I get what you're saying but i want to lose weight first to give me the motivation. I hope you understand what I mean? For someone of my physique would 10lbs be noticeable. Most of my fat is on my abdomen with the remainder on my chest and to a lesser extent on other places.

dude, i have no idea what you look like. i have no idea what your ideal body is. you say 5'8" and 154lbs, and you're just at the cusp on having an overweight BMI. that all means nothing to me.

i'm 6'3" and 235 lbs. according to my BMI i'm overweight. i don't care. i compete in triathlons in the clydesdale division and usually come out in the top half of it, and have even won first place. i also carry most of my weight in my stomach. it's common, and the last place you lose weight from.

if dropping the number on the scale motivates you, thats great. you know what motivates me? lifting something up that last week was too heavy. running a distance that last week was too far. finishing a race that last year i completed much slower.

So in my case, should I carry on my diet but also strength train too? Also, would 10lbs be sufficient of weight loss. I get what you're saying but i want to lose weight first to give me the motivation. I hope you understand what I mean? For someone of my physique would 10lbs be noticeable. Most of my fat is on my abdomen with the remainder on my chest and to a lesser extent on other places.

dude, i have no idea what you look like. i have no idea what your ideal body is. you say 5'8" and 154lbs, and you're just at the cusp on having an overweight BMI. that all means nothing to me.

i'm 6'3" and 235 lbs. according to my BMI i'm overweight. i don't care. i compete in triathlons in the clydesdale division and usually come out in the top half of it, and have even won first place. i also carry most of my weight in my stomach. it's common, and the last place you lose weight from.

if dropping the number on the scale motivates you, thats great. you know what motivates me? lifting something up that last week was too heavy. running a distance that last week was too far. finishing a race that last year i completed much slower.

My BF is 19.8% if that helps?

it doesn't.

but if you think you want to lose 10-15 pounds, go for it. but i'm telling you that you will see the best results from a slight deficit; a strength training routine consisting of predominantly barbell movements like squats, deadlifts, overhead press, and bench press; a reasonable amount of cardio-conditioning; and adequate rest.

So in my case, should I carry on my diet but also strength train too? Also, would 10lbs be sufficient of weight loss. I get what you're saying but i want to lose weight first to give me the motivation. I hope you understand what I mean? For someone of my physique would 10lbs be noticeable. Most of my fat is on my abdomen with the remainder on my chest and to a lesser extent on other places.

dude, i have no idea what you look like. i have no idea what your ideal body is. you say 5'8" and 154lbs, and you're just at the cusp on having an overweight BMI. that all means nothing to me.

i'm 6'3" and 235 lbs. according to my BMI i'm overweight. i don't care. i compete in triathlons in the clydesdale division and usually come out in the top half of it, and have even won first place. i also carry most of my weight in my stomach. it's common, and the last place you lose weight from.

if dropping the number on the scale motivates you, thats great. you know what motivates me? lifting something up that last week was too heavy. running a distance that last week was too far. finishing a race that last year i completed much slower.

My BF is 19.8% if that helps?

it doesn't.

but if you think you want to lose 10-15 pounds, go for it. but i'm telling you that you will see the best results from a slight deficit; a strength training routine consisting of predominantly barbell movements like squats, deadlifts, overhead press, and bench press; a reasonable amount of cardio-conditioning; and adequate rest.

The good captain knows his stuff...

So in my case, should I carry on my diet but also strength train too? Also, would 10lbs be sufficient of weight loss. I get what you're saying but i want to lose weight first to give me the motivation. I hope you understand what I mean? For someone of my physique would 10lbs be noticeable. Most of my fat is on my abdomen with the remainder on my chest and to a lesser extent on other places.

dude, i have no idea what you look like. i have no idea what your ideal body is. you say 5'8" and 154lbs, and you're just at the cusp on having an overweight BMI. that all means nothing to me.

i'm 6'3" and 235 lbs. according to my BMI i'm overweight. i don't care. i compete in triathlons in the clydesdale division and usually come out in the top half of it, and have even won first place. i also carry most of my weight in my stomach. it's common, and the last place you lose weight from.

if dropping the number on the scale motivates you, thats great. you know what motivates me? lifting something up that last week was too heavy. running a distance that last week was too far. finishing a race that last year i completed much slower.

That was beautiful

Oh now you had to go start the 1200 calorie thing. An 18 year old should NOT be eating that little. You are still growing, many men grow in height and size through about 22. Please see a professional to help you find a good nutritional plan.

My stomach appears more noticeable lately but I figure it's because there's less fat around it. But at 2-4lbs lost, I would say bloating and normal body fluctuations. Some days my stomach looks a lot bigger than others.

I eat at 1200(ish) calories (though I'm slowly upping them week by week) and I do think 1200 for a 5' 8'' 18 year old male is way too little. If you're not even overweight, you could really do with taking your weight loss slowly and focusing more on strength and fitness.