Need help with gaining muscle

zohabashirahmed · July 2018

Hey guys, I have always had a very love hate relationship with fitness. I would categorize myself as a tiny skinny fat person. I haven't ever been over weight but do have fat in my arms, abs, a little bit on the back and thighs. I'm 20 years old and have been working out on and off but my nutrition has been so *kitten* oh god. Firstly, I wouldn't eat enough and then whatever I'd eat would be junk. However, I properly started working out about a month and a half ago and I feel like I have gained some muscle. I adjusted my diet to avoiding junk and eating as much healthy as possible along with whey protein. Now the thing is, I am gaining fat around my abs which is annoying the hell out of me. And I'm guessing it is because I am not properly counting my macros so things are a little messy. I wasn't able to find the option for gaining less than 0.2 kg weight per week on my fitness pal. Moreover I don't really know if the estimates are correct. I just need a little guidance on how much should I be eating to gain lean muscle and how many times a week should I be doing cardio if my goal is to grow my booty, get abs and tone the rest of my body down.

livingleanlivingclean · July 2018

Perhaps look into recomp, especially if you don't want to gain fat. Recomp means you eat at maintenance and follow a lifting program - it's a slow process but doing this should allow you to gain muscle and lose fat. Your weight should stay stable but your body composition will improve.

Jasp03 · July 2018

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

Perhaps look into recomp, especially if you don't want to gain fat. Recomp means you eat at maintenance and follow a lifting program - it's a slow process but doing this should allow you to gain muscle and lose fat. Your weight should stay stable but your body composition will improve.

This is what I was going to suggest too, after reading your post OP. This is exactly what I’ve been doing for the past 6 months and the results are there. It’s true, you don’t see the scale move a lot, but physically you see a huge difference.

AnnPT77 · July 2018

Recomposition information, including detailed how-to, here:

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

sardelsa · July 2018

What are your stats OP? If you are gaining weight you will gain fat and muscle. You can minimize fat gains by keeping the surplus small and following proper programming. If you are underweight or very close to it then I would do that.

If you are at a healthy weight, as mentioned, recomp is a good option.

thaichilies · July 2018

Add me! I'm on that journey as well.

dasmyth · July 2018

I use this spreadsheet for tracking my weight and daily calorie intake: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EbfzFB0mBrMGJ6V2N5QWNfeTg/view

This will help you really dial in your TDEE so you have a much more accurate idea of what you should be eating over ( to gain ) or under ( to cut )

This and MFP I consider the best tools for controlling your weight and body fat levels.

What I would do is diligently track everything you put in your mouth, and weigh yourself naked every morning after you pee, and track this for two weeks in the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will tell you what your ACTUAL TDEE is. Based on your weight fluctuation and inputted calorie intake. Since it's based solely on your daily weight and actual calories you ate, it will reflect all of your activity naturally.

Then after two weeks you'll have a better idea what your TDEE is, and you can make a much better determination for how much you should or shouldn't be eating.

AnnPT77 · July 2018

dasmyth wrote: »

I use this spreadsheet for tracking my weight and daily calorie intake: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EbfzFB0mBrMGJ6V2N5QWNfeTg/view

This will help you really dial in your TDEE so you have a much more accurate idea of what you should be eating over ( to gain ) or under ( to cut )

This and MFP I consider the best tools for controlling your weight and body fat levels.

What I would do is diligently track everything you put in your mouth, and weigh yourself naked every morning after you pee, and track this for two weeks in the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will tell you what your ACTUAL TDEE is. Based on your weight fluctuation and inputted calorie intake. Since it's based solely on your daily weight and actual calories you ate, it will reflect all of your activity naturally.

Then after two weeks you'll have a better idea what your TDEE is, and you can make a much better determination for how much you should or shouldn't be eating.

The strategy you're suggesting is great, but many premenopausal women will need to collect data for at least one full menstrual cycle plus a bit, say 6 weeks total. For many, the hormonal fluctuations are enough to throw calculations off if the calcs use data from just the wrong spot in the cycle.

jessef593 · August 2018

Recomp and also get on a structured lifting program. By the sounds of your goals I'd suggest looking into strong curves. Its lower body centered.

I personally believe in bulking and taking the fat gain with a grain of salt. It's all only temporary if you plan to stick with fitness.

fb47 · August 2018

jessef593 wrote: »

Recomp and also get on a structured lifting program. By the sounds of your goals I'd suggest looking into strong curves. Its lower body centered.

I personally believe in bulking and taking the fat gain with a grain of salt. It's all only temporary if you plan to stick with fitness.

I agree and you see results faster than recomp especially later on when the muscle gains become slower and harder.

Need help with gaining muscle

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