If I am fat is it a good idea to start wanting to gain muscle to get toned and eventualy lose fat?

jjhall1990
jjhall1990 Posts: 29 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I am 6'4 and weigh around 220 pounds. I want to reduce my fat percentage and ultimately lose weight/inches from around my stomach.

I understand it is hard to say lose weight as if i build muscle etc i may stay the same but ultimately I want to know is it a good or bad idea for me to want to build muscle. I have decided that if i do this i will eat like i want to build muscle. So will be consuming maybe around 3000 calories a day of clean food, whilst weight lifting. I know this may cause my weight to go up but is it an effective way to lose fat and look trimmer or will it just hinder my weight loss ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :).

Many thanks

Jack

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Hi jack

    You're best to cut whilst lifting progressively to maintain as much LBM as possible

    Once you have reached a decent body fat level you can then go into a bulk cycle

    But no I wouldn't bulk on an already too high BF

    Clean eating means diddly-squat ...count your calories, meet minimum protein based on 0.8-1g protein per lb of LBM and fat at 0.35g per lb bodyweight and once that's sorted and you have a wide range of vegetables eat what you want for the rest
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    You won't lose fat if you're eating in a surplus. In fact you're probably put on a little more.

    Do you have an estimate of what your body fat percentage is right now?

    Based solely on what you said in your OP I would suggest cutting first for a little while...eat at a deficit (but definitely keep lifting to help preserve as much of your existing muscle mass as you can). Get your BF down to somewhere in the neighborhood of 15% and then start your bulk
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    If you're a newbie to weights, or a previous lifter who's just got out of shape you might get some gains whilst on a defecit
  • jjhall1990
    jjhall1990 Posts: 29 Member
    Hey guys thanks for your input :),

    So I see the general view is don't do what I wqs asking lol, which is fine :). Just wondering if I do eat a defect and do minimal cardiovascular but instead do weight training will this help/encourage the weight loss sufficiently ??
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    Eating at a deficit is what will encourage the weight (ie fat) loss. Cardio can help by giving you a slightly bigger deficit (and of course promotes heart health and the like).

    Lifting - even while in a deficit - is important to try to encourage your body to maintain the muscle mass you already have and burn fat instead. And, as rabbitjb said, if you're new-ish to lifting, you can usually make some small muscle gains even while eating at a deficit.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    As has been said, eat in a deficit, do your cardio if you like it, and start to lift. This may result in slower loss on the scale since you'll maintain muscle and more loss will be from fat, but you'll see results visually and in measurements, so definitely take pictures and measurements every couple of weeks as well as weighing in.
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    edited April 2015
    Personnally, I lose a good percentage of my fat first with cardio (aerobic exercise) and then I start lifting weights to build muscle mass. Over the years I have retained muscle mass that I built throughout the years and it helps me when I am trying to rid myself of fat.

    Many people do not agree with this.

    I do not wish to be attacked for my opinions and experience. Thank you.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Attacked for what? You didn't say anything
  • jjhall1990
    jjhall1990 Posts: 29 Member
    Okay good stuff, thanks everyone for your input. Will begin eating in a defect whilst doing mainly weight training with 1 or 2 cardiovascular sessions a week to further promote the fat loss and hopefully will be able to see a bit of a loss in body fat before trying to put the muscle on.

    from what has been said I'm guessing it's a contradiction to try and gain muscle whilst losing fat ?
  • HeySwoleSister
    HeySwoleSister Posts: 1,938 Member
    jjhall1990 wrote: »
    Okay good stuff, thanks everyone for your input. Will begin eating in a defect whilst doing mainly weight training with 1 or 2 cardiovascular sessions a week to further promote the fat loss and hopefully will be able to see a bit of a loss in body fat before trying to put the muscle on.

    from what has been said I'm guessing it's a contradiction to try and gain muscle whilst losing fat ?

    Generally, yes, but people who are new to weight lifting or who are very overweight can sometimes get some minor gains.

    As has been said before, "clean" eating won't get you anywhere that "dirty" eating wont. (unless you are being literal and talking about food safety and hygiene!) However, since you are particularly looking to keep/gain muscle mass, make sure you get enough protein every day. Protein+weights will help you to retain as much muscle as possible while losing fat.
  • amitkatz0
    amitkatz0 Posts: 61 Member
    Cut first. Don't bulk if you're already fat, because you WILL get more fat. I'm going through the same thing.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Many people at "maintenance" whilst weight training to recomp your body. You will make some muscular gains and consequently bodyfat percentage will be reduced.
  • shanny_xx_
    shanny_xx_ Posts: 26 Member
    I had the same question, thanks you guys
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    edited April 2015
    I went the the other way. Cut 54 pounds (204 to 150) and will now be trying to add lean muscle without adding fat. Hope to get to 170 to 175, eventually, and keep my 11% body fat. Passing through 175 last time (on the way down) I was over 20% fat. To high.

    Cutting the fat first seemed easier and more logical to me.
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