maintaining weight while losing body fat percentage
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ketanYJ
Posts: 1 Member
I wanted to know if there was a way to lose body fat while simultaneously increasing hypertrophy and maintaining my weight?
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Replies
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This is a very rare phenomenon.
In order to build muscle while burning fat (which is essentially what most call a “body recomp”) comes with a very very special effort. This requires that everything (I mean everything is perfect with your numbers) including your DIET first and then with training.
If you want to lose fat, lose it first. If you want to gain mass, you have to eat at a surplus.. these are called cutting and bulking cylces.0 -
What you are talking about is called body recomposition, or recomp for short, and it is mostly accepted that it is possible, but it is a very slow process (slower than cycling cut/bulk phases), that requires some discipline. Search the forums for "body recomp" and such, and you should find plenty of opinions on whether it works or not, how it should be done, etc.0
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^ this. I am doing it, because I have health issues that cut/bulk cycles make worse; however, it's taken almost a year to lose 1.5% body fat. Everything has to be perfect and life almost never is. I've learned to be satisfied with functional strength gains and I only check the bf% every couple of months.0
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Yes, you need to eat at maintenance level, get on a structure lifting program, and pay strict attention to macros and micros. However, it is a slow process and can take six months to a year to see results….
what is your current strength training routine op?0 -
I'm not very well versed with the concept of body recomp, but the basics are to eat at maintenance and do a strength training program (preferably progressive overload).
I found this article a couple of days ago. Don't know how valid it is, but I guess the more knowledgeable people here would point out any fallacies in the article. It seems kind of solid apart from the supplementation part. Or maybe the guy is just trying to sell his books. Either way. Check it out if you want.
http://www.muscleforlife.com/build-muscle-lose-fat/0 -
It's the holy grail. You can't gain muscle mass without eating above maintenance and you can't lose fat without eating below maintenance. So you alternate between these two divergent goals, train for strength, and preserve muscle mass by increasing your protein intake whenever you eat below maintenance.0
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Recomp...........................but it takes a LONG LONG time to see significant results.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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A year into my recomp, I have seen pleasing results. I haven't been particularly 'exact' with my calories and it still worked for me. I felt the biggest struggle was having patience to wait for the results to show...but they did.0
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I tried a recomp at almost 30% body fat. It was probably working, but 3 after months there was no difference between my before and after pictures, and of course no change in weight.
I am realizing now that I get a lot of motivation from progress, and to not visually see any progress for 3 months was not sustainable for me. I had to switch to cutting.0 -
Yes, you need to eat at maintenance level, get on a structure lifting program, and pay strict attention to macros and micros. However, it is a slow process and can take six months to a year to see results….
what is your current strength training routine op?
This is correct - my PT said the same thing and gave me structured examples of this. He also said - "or just take athletic enhancing drugs" which is also "correct" but really not advisable. It's VERY hard - I was trying to do it recently for over a 6 month period and it just wasn't working. Now I am working on muscle building (God help me) and that requires eating appropriately.0 -
OP - i would also only suggest attempting a recomp if you are sub 15% body fat….0
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It requires patience. A "surplus" never worked for me. We are all different. For many of us it just requires patience, a slight and consistent calorie deficit over time. I still build muscle while on a calorie deficit. I also build muscle on a surplus, but gain fat at the same time.
For me, time and time again, it is only a calorie deficit what will get me to lose fat. The muscle comes from lifting heavy. Of course there is some overlap between diet and exercise, but if you separate those out you will WIN.
It's the same thing when you get to those last 10 pounds, it's just slower and requires more patience and more accuracy with the deficit. The smaller you are the more narrow the line between deficit and maintenance calories. You can't eat too low, and you can't eat too high. The difference between those can be merely a serving or two of food.
The less body fat you have the less stored fat your body has to draw upon, so the calorie deficit can't be too deep without crashing. You just have to find that fine line for yourself as you get leaner.
Keep working!
Roberta
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Recomp...........................but it takes a LONG LONG time to see significant results.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Generalisation!
It depends of your age, history and where you are now.
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I wanted to know if there was a way to lose body fat while simultaneously increasing hypertrophy and maintaining my weight?
It's not at all rare - it's what 95% of people used to do when I was starting out.
Eat the correct number of calories to maintain weight, train hard.
That's it, no hocus-pocus required, it's not at all complex.
There are complex protocols for people who are very advanced in their training and physique that involve calorie/nutrient cycling but that's not required for ordinary people, especially not for people your age unless you have been training hard for a few years and are pretty lean.
As a 22 year old male you are well placed to gain muscle far more easily than you ever will again. Would advise getting yourself on a properly structured program - concentrating on the big compound lifts and with progressive overload.0 -
I wanted to know if there was a way to lose body fat while simultaneously increasing hypertrophy and maintaining my weight?
It's not at all rare - it's what 95% of people used to do when I was starting out.
Eat the correct number of calories to maintain weight, train hard.
That's it, no hocus-pocus required, it's not at all complex.
There are complex protocols for people who are very advanced in their training and physique that involve calorie/nutrient cycling but that's not required for ordinary people, especially not for people your age unless you have been training hard for a few years and are pretty lean.
As a 22 year old male you are well placed to gain muscle far more easily than you ever will again. Would advise getting yourself on a properly structured program - concentrating on the big compound lifts and with progressive overload.
@sijomial @ninerbuff @ndj1979 question for you guys - so does an older age have a significant drawback in recomp? Are there other distinguishing factors? I know as part of the discussion I had with my PT and facility owner - the one thing that wasn't in my favor was my age. It was highly possible I just hit the wall and really the only way out of it was to just increase the calories through carbs (yes I am eating more carbs now) and volume of training to accommodate for the calorie increase - plus target specific lifts in a 5-3-1 format so I could build more muscle. Both hit the wall for me (losing fat and gaining muscle). I don't want to lose anymore weight - I am down to 165# and need to build muscle.
This was an ongoing discussion that lasted several months as I couldn't seem to move below 15% PBF or increase my lifts significantly for chest, back, and shoulders. I am naturally leggy - I have strong legs. All my measurements are good but PBF-wise it's been a huge stressor - and frankly now I am feeling more energized with the new diet regimen in my workouts as well.
I am just trying to get all the information possible so I have a good understanding of the relation to the OP's dilemma. This is a good topic since there's always more than one person who has this issue - the fact OP raised it is probably a sore spot for many people.0 -
tedboosalis7 wrote: »I wanted to know if there was a way to lose body fat while simultaneously increasing hypertrophy and maintaining my weight?
It's not at all rare - it's what 95% of people used to do when I was starting out.
Eat the correct number of calories to maintain weight, train hard.
That's it, no hocus-pocus required, it's not at all complex.
There are complex protocols for people who are very advanced in their training and physique that involve calorie/nutrient cycling but that's not required for ordinary people, especially not for people your age unless you have been training hard for a few years and are pretty lean.
As a 22 year old male you are well placed to gain muscle far more easily than you ever will again. Would advise getting yourself on a properly structured program - concentrating on the big compound lifts and with progressive overload.
@sijomial @ninerbuff @ndj1979 question for you guys - so does an older age have a significant drawback in recomp? Are there other distinguishing factors? I know as part of the discussion I had with my PT and facility owner - the one thing that wasn't in my favor was my age. It was highly possible I just hit the wall and really the only way out of it was to just increase the calories through carbs (yes I am eating more carbs now) and volume of training to accommodate for the calorie increase - plus target specific lifts in a 5-3-1 format so I could build more muscle. Both hit the wall for me (losing fat and gaining muscle). I don't want to lose anymore weight - I am down to 165# and need to build muscle.
This was an ongoing discussion that lasted several months as I couldn't seem to move below 15% PBF or increase my lifts significantly for chest, back, and shoulders. I am naturally leggy - I have strong legs. All my measurements are good but PBF-wise it's been a huge stressor - and frankly now I am feeling more energized with the new diet regimen in my workouts as well.
I am just trying to get all the information possible so I have a good understanding of the relation to the OP's dilemma. This is a good topic since there's always more than one person who has this issue - the fact OP raised it is probably a sore spot for many people.
Yes unfortunately both calendar years and training years have a big impact on the speed of recomp.
So at 55 with almost 40 years in the gym I'm not going to get spectacular results whatever I do.
The other big factor is how close you are to your training peak. Three years ago I was making fast progress but now I'm close to lifetime bests for some lifts and progress is slow.
But with age the ability to effectively use a calorie surplus is also diminished - a bulk for me would most likely just make me fat.
IMHO a recomp is suitable at both ends of the spectrum, young beginners and older lifters. In the middle is where bulk/cut cycles are probably the better option (dependant on goals of course).0 -
tedboosalis7 wrote: »I wanted to know if there was a way to lose body fat while simultaneously increasing hypertrophy and maintaining my weight?
It's not at all rare - it's what 95% of people used to do when I was starting out.
Eat the correct number of calories to maintain weight, train hard.
That's it, no hocus-pocus required, it's not at all complex.
There are complex protocols for people who are very advanced in their training and physique that involve calorie/nutrient cycling but that's not required for ordinary people, especially not for people your age unless you have been training hard for a few years and are pretty lean.
As a 22 year old male you are well placed to gain muscle far more easily than you ever will again. Would advise getting yourself on a properly structured program - concentrating on the big compound lifts and with progressive overload.
@sijomial @ninerbuff @ndj1979 question for you guys - so does an older age have a significant drawback in recomp? Are there other distinguishing factors? I know as part of the discussion I had with my PT and facility owner - the one thing that wasn't in my favor was my age. It was highly possible I just hit the wall and really the only way out of it was to just increase the calories through carbs (yes I am eating more carbs now) and volume of training to accommodate for the calorie increase - plus target specific lifts in a 5-3-1 format so I could build more muscle. Both hit the wall for me (losing fat and gaining muscle). I don't want to lose anymore weight - I am down to 165# and need to build muscle.
This was an ongoing discussion that lasted several months as I couldn't seem to move below 15% PBF or increase my lifts significantly for chest, back, and shoulders. I am naturally leggy - I have strong legs. All my measurements are good but PBF-wise it's been a huge stressor - and frankly now I am feeling more energized with the new diet regimen in my workouts as well.
I am just trying to get all the information possible so I have a good understanding of the relation to the OP's dilemma. This is a good topic since there's always more than one person who has this issue - the fact OP raised it is probably a sore spot for many people.
Yes unfortunately both calendar years and training years have a big impact on the speed of recomp.
So at 55 with almost 40 years in the gym I'm not going to get spectacular results whatever I do.
The other big factor is how close you are to your training peak. Three years ago I was making fast progress but now I'm close to lifetime bests for some lifts and progress is slow.
But with age the ability to effectively use a calorie surplus is also diminished - a bulk for me would most likely just make me fat.
IMHO a recomp is suitable at both ends of the spectrum, young beginners and older lifters. In the middle is where bulk/cut cycles are probably the better option (dependant on goals of course).
I appreciate the response - TY - much of the same discussion I had with PT facility. Great validation. TY @sijomial0 -
Recomp...........................but it takes a LONG LONG time to see significant results.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Generalisation!
It depends of your age, history and where you are now.
I love how you always make me feel better about my recomp choice ha.0 -
Agreed. I was once a low BF percentage and used to power until I went into the Army; then, in the infantry I grew to enjoy endurance events and ran 1/2 marathons. Now, after coming back from injury, by bodyfat is 24%: way to high for me. Now, I am quickly dropping the fat off, again, without losing lean muscle. I lift everyday in the 12-15 rep range and follow up with daily 40 minute steady state cardio at about 70-75% effort (except Saturdays I do a long 90 minute cardio session on the stairs for 980 calories burned according to the machine - at 70% effort- aerobic). My strength has not suffered: bench is 12 reps @ 315, Squat is 315 @ 10 reps.
I have not been good about weighing my food, lately, but I am carrying a deficit since I am losing about 3 lbs a week. I have just been listening to my body. I eat lots of vegetables, protein from fish, usually, protein powder. Today is my daughter's Birthday, so I had a piece of pizza.
I am not losing muscle and have been burning just fat. Perhaps, at a lower BF %, the challenge not to lose muscle will increase.0
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