surplus or defecit? help!

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karlav390
karlav390 Posts: 6
in Getting Started
hey everybody im super new to this and i wanted to know if anyone can help me on this i want to loose belly fat and build muscle at the same time...when setting up my goals do i say i want to loose weight or gain it? ive read that in order to build musle u have to be at a surplus but i also need to get rid of some fat...somebody please help me with this lol

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  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Hi and welcome!! read this to get you started

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    If you need to lose fat you need to eat at a deficit. You aren't going to be able to lose fat and build appreciable muscle at the same time...they are conflicting goals...you can't be both catabolic and anabolic at the same time.
  • karlav390
    karlav390 Posts: 6
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    what if your doin squats deadlifts etc...im only 5 0 130lbs most of my fat is in my gut lol
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    are you new to lifting?

    IF yes, you can get newbies gains…

    OR

    you can eat at maintenance level and do what is called a "recomp" where you slowly lose fat and add some muscle, but it is a slow process that takes about a year to a year and a half.

    you would be better off cutting down to sub 15% body fat and doing a bulk ..IMO ...
  • Metazoick
    Metazoick Posts: 96 Member
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    It's technically possible to do both at the same time if you're new to lifting, but it's a damn tight rope to walk and it probably isn't worth getting hung up over. If you eat at a smallish deficit and work out you'll probably still gain strength, especially if you're new, and if you eat at a surplus you'll find it much easier to work out and gain muscle, but you'll also get some fat along with it 99% of the time. To start with I'd lose the fat. Work out at the same time to try and build up some strength and keep the muscle you have (and maybe build a little more if you're new), and once you've shed some of the weight you can swap to a surplus to build the muscle you want, then just shed off the fat again and boom, you'll have hit both goals.
  • karlav390
    karlav390 Posts: 6
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    Yes I'm very new to this really just trying to figure out how to do everything correctly man this is so hard but thanks for the input! Any other tips would b greatly appreciated :)

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