Gain muscle lose fat ?

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cassycandy84
cassycandy84 Posts: 2 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hey my goal is to gain muscle and lose fat so I'm trying matience to see how that works I'm finding it difficult though so I'm thinking it would be helpful if I could follow some people on here doing the same thing to get a bit of guidance and see what there eating could you leave names if you don't mind me following you don't know how else to find people on this. Thankyou
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  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
    edited October 2015
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    My girlfriend and I have done that over the last 6 months and done really well. We follow a program put together by Mike Matthews. It's really common sense mostly. about a 20% calorie deficit, heavy protein, and heavy lifting. Unless you are an experienced lifter with considerable muscle you can do it.

    Take a look at this article on it.
    http://www.muscleforlife.com/build-muscle-lose-fat/
  • Steve4239
    Steve4239 Posts: 62 Member
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    sorry i have found no evidence that a maintenance will neither gain muscle or loose fat you are very likely to just stay the same

    you need to be in a calorific deficit to burn fat for energy canabolic state. body will consume energy .

    for muscle building you will need to eat at a small calorific surplus not too much or you are likely to gain fat rather than muscle.your body will then be in an anabolic state

    i wish you the best of journey in what you choose to do you will find your own research will prove this

    as for keeping in touch with people just add them as friends :)

  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    Here's at good thread on the subject of recomping.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

    Note to Mods: Can we make the recomp thread a sticky? The question about recomping comes up often here.
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
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    As far as I'm aware yes you can lose fat at maintenanace .. I know two people who have successfully stayed the same weight and dropped body fat by about 4% .. It was slow but it did happen. I think if your a newbie it makes it easier
  • jimskelton
    jimskelton Posts: 13 Member
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    I think it's important to be realistic about recomp goals. It takes understanding your natural composition and knowing your genetic shape and tendencies. I successfully recomped my upper body in my 40's so I could be a firefighter, and it took around 6 months to start seeing results, so patience is key. But I found out I'm not naturally big in my upper body so maintaining that took a lot of time at the gym. So now I'm trying for a more realistic maintenance plan which accommodates my cycling by reducing upper body weights (which will size down my upper body), and emphasizing legs. I think legs are a great place to start because the muscles are bigger, have the potential for burning more calories, drawing more calories out of fat stores to build more leg muscles.

    My goal is to recomp of some persistent fat around my back and put it into stronger legs, while slightly sizing down my upper body. The goals are small, but I know the final push is always the hardest, and it's really easy for the body to rebound in desperation to what it thinks is "normal".
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited October 2015
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    Utter twaddle from Steve4239 above, please ignore that classic piece of broscience.

    Fat is fuel, it's totally normal to be shuttling "calories" into and out of fat stores. That's happening all the time, multiple times a day.

    "What you are eating" is simply the food you enjoy, eat for long term health and enjoyment. There is no need for special foods or macros or eating patterns.

    Focus on your training not food. Assuming you have your maintenance calories nailed down it's the training you do that has the biggest impact.

    If you want advice let people know your goals, any restrictions (injury, time, equipment...) and current training regime.
  • Aani15
    Aani15 Posts: 172 Member
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    While losing weight (81.6 Kg to 74.5 Kg), my body fat % changed from 26.4 to 22.5 (a drop of almost 4%).
    But my measurements (chest, biceps) also dropped a little.
    It takes time for recomposition (change in muscle to fat ratio) and depends on many factors including the exercise regime and diet (good nutrition).
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    you can't lose anything unless u have a deficit
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    lemonychild wrote: »
    you can't lose anything unless u have a deficit

    Untrue!
    You can lose weight without deficit (dehydration).
    You can lose muscle (inactivity)
    You can lose fat by recomposition (simultaneous adding of LBM and reduction of fat).

    Read the recomp thread posted above for all the people successfully recomping.
  • wannabf1t
    wannabf1t Posts: 94 Member
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    I'm interested in this as well, I think I'm recomp but not entirely sure. I've upped in the beginning of August, I might even be eating slightly over maintenance. My weight as gone up a little 3-4lbs but measurements have stayed the same with the exception of my hips and my under belly have gone up but not much. I can see some minor changes in my legs and upper body since I dropped all cardio and focused on lifting heavy. I don't think my fat is going down though. I have to say my eating has been very careless lots of carbs and well good stuff but trying to stay within cals. I would like some advise on this too. It is a very mental process and some days I question wth am I doing.
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
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    I
    wannabf1t wrote: »
    I'm interested in this as well, I think I'm recomp but not entirely sure. I've upped in the beginning of August, I might even be eating slightly over maintenance. My weight as gone up a little 3-4lbs but measurements have stayed the same with the exception of my hips and my under belly have gone up but not much. I can see some minor changes in my legs and upper body since I dropped all cardio and focused on lifting heavy. I don't think my fat is going down though. I have to say my eating has been very careless lots of carbs and well good stuff but trying to stay within cals. I would like some advise on this too. It is a very mental process and some days I question wth am I doing.

    I agree I'm working my way up to maintenance and wondered if you really can lose fat and stay the same weight or gain a little muscle. A lot of people keep telling me forget the scale go by how you look but I'm down to 120lbs and simply don't want to lose anymore weight but I don't want to lose more fat .. I was going to bulk them cut but plenty advised on a recomp but not sure what to do and I also question what I'm doing at times too
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    wannabf1t wrote: »
    I'm interested in this as well, I think I'm recomp but not entirely sure. I've upped in the beginning of August, I might even be eating slightly over maintenance. My weight as gone up a little 3-4lbs but measurements have stayed the same with the exception of my hips and my under belly have gone up but not much. I can see some minor changes in my legs and upper body since I dropped all cardio and focused on lifting heavy. I don't think my fat is going down though. I have to say my eating has been very careless lots of carbs and well good stuff but trying to stay within cals. I would like some advise on this too. It is a very mental process and some days I question wth am I doing.

    Hmmm - not much to go on!
    Measurements can confirm how recomp is progressing (e.g. bicep and quad measurements go up and waist go down). But yours don't really show that.

    You aren't tracking bodyfat percentage (not that most methods are that reliable anyway!)

    Your weight has gone up so you are definitely eating very slightly over maintenance. That doesn't preclude recomp though.

    Carbs aren't bad!

    Visual changes are a clue and small changes in fat or muscle when you are at or near goal weight are far more significant.

    My best guess (just a guess) is that you are doing a very, very slow bulk and have added some muscle and some fat.

    Suggest you cut calories very slightly.
  • wannabf1t
    wannabf1t Posts: 94 Member
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    @Samm471: I was 120 at the beginning of the summer( I got there doing paleo, but I just can't deal with restricting food groups)I did look leaner, but hardly any muscle. I started this maintenance process at 122 and my measurements have stayed relatively the same from when I started only now I'm between 125-126.5lbs. I feel a little fluffier for sure. I do try not to let the scale affect me, but there are days that it makes me question the process.

    @sijomial : I didn't measure my biceps or quads... I should have. My natural waist has stayed the same as when I was 120-122lbs, my chest has gone down 1.5'', my hips and thighs went up .5'' and underway my belly button went up 1''.

    I'm not tracking BF because I know most methods are inaccurate. I had a trainer friend measured me with calipers and I was at almost 22%. In reality, I think I'm more around 25+%. My initial plan was to bulk, but decided against it because I read that it was best to have a lower BF. Instead I focused on upping my cals to maintenance ( went from 1300 to 2000), dropping cardio and focusing on lifting. The last 2-3 weeks I have been eating 1850-1950, because my average burns are around that number. I hardly hit 2000's since I stopped cardio.

    Maybe you are right, and I was slowly bulking which I'm ok with. My main concern is looking exactly the same if I decide to cut in the future.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    wannabf1t wrote: »
    @Samm471: My main concern is looking exactly the same if I decide to cut in the future.
    @wannabf1t
    Maximising fat loss and minimising muscle loss in a cut can be really simple - small deficit, adequate protein, resistance training. You will be fine, take away the fluffiness and reveal the new muscle definition!
  • Samm471
    Samm471 Posts: 432 Member
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    wannabf1t wrote: »
    @Samm471: I was 120 at the beginning of the summer( I got there doing paleo, but I just can't deal with restricting food groups)I did look leaner, but hardly any muscle. I started this maintenance process at 122 and my measurements have stayed relatively the same from when I started only now I'm between 125-126.5lbs. I feel a little fluffier for sure. I do try not to let the scale affect me, but there are days that it makes me question the process.

    @sijomial : I didn't measure my biceps or quads... I should have. My natural waist has stayed the same as when I was 120-122lbs, my chest has gone down 1.5'', my hips and thighs went up .5'' and underway my belly button went up 1''.

    I'm not tracking BF because I know most methods are inaccurate. I had a trainer friend measured me with calipers and I was at almost 22%. In reality, I think I'm more around 25+%. My initial plan was to bulk, but decided against it because I read that it was best to have a lower BF. Instead I focused on upping my cals to maintenance ( went from 1300 to 2000), dropping cardio and focusing on lifting. The last 2-3 weeks I have been eating 1850-1950, because my average burns are around that number. I hardly hit 2000's since I stopped cardio.

    Maybe you are right, and I was slowly bulking which I'm ok with. My main concern is looking exactly the same if I decide to cut in the future.

    I am the same I don't have a lot of muscle but being honest doing this 5x5 over the past 7 weeks I've seen a massive difference in strength and I'm
    Not sure wether it's muscle gain or wether I've dropped more fat but my legs and arms are gaining muscle really well. my problem area is my tummy I can feel abs but showing them is so damn hard. If I pull my skin tight I can see the top 4 just slightly but I can't afford to keep cutting anymore I'm gonna look well .. Not good .. I just hope the recomp works
  • BrentJulius
    BrentJulius Posts: 89 Member
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    Somedays I eat above maintanence cals, like heavy leg days, others I eat below. High protein, fibrous carbs (except after workouts) and healthy fats. I've found training fasted in the morning. I went from 190 lb and 22% BF to 190 lb and 10% BF
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    You don't lose fat. Your fat cells can shrink, but they don't go away. You can, on the other hand build new muscle.
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
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    Steve4239 wrote: »
    sorry i have found no evidence that a maintenance will neither gain muscle or loose fat you are very likely to just stay the same

    you need to be in a calorific deficit to burn fat for energy canabolic state. body will consume energy .

    for muscle building you will need to eat at a small calorific surplus not too much or you are likely to gain fat rather than muscle.your body will then be in an anabolic state

    i wish you the best of journey in what you choose to do you will find your own research will prove this

    as for keeping in touch with people just add them as friends :)

    I've definitely put on muscle (pretty sure not just tone but actually built muscle) in my arms and legs on a caloric deficit as well as by burning fat (83 lbs worth of fat) in the past 16 months . Yes, you'll burn fat (hence the loss) but your body will literally burn more fat to create energy needed to build muscle.
  • wannabf1t
    wannabf1t Posts: 94 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    wannabf1t wrote: »
    @Samm471: My main concern is looking exactly the same if I decide to cut in the future.
    @wannabf1t
    Maximising fat loss and minimising muscle loss in a cut can be really simple - small deficit, adequate protein, resistance training. You will be fine, take away the fluffiness and reveal the new muscle definition!

    Thanks. I will lower my cals a little bit below maintenance which I think it is somewhere around 1850, and see what happens.
  • lbaxandall
    lbaxandall Posts: 62 Member
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    Zig-zag method... alternate days of deficit and surplus! So don't worry if you over eat some day, or under eat other day... it'll work itself out, and hopefully in your favor! Eat well & train!

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