Should I start with gaining muscle or losing fat?

crawfv
crawfv Posts: 8 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5’4 and 140 pounds. My BMI is normal but my body fat percentage is 37%. i dont look fat or even overweight. I dont have a lot of muscle mass but im not weak. Should i be eating more and gaining muscle or should i be cutting my calories and strength training with mild cardio

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,436 Member
    What device did you use to get your BF %?

    Are you comfortable posting a picture to give people an idea how you look currently?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,864 Member
    crawfv wrote: »
    I am 5’4 and 140 pounds. My BMI is normal but my body fat percentage is 37%. i dont look fat or even overweight. I dont have a lot of muscle mass but im not weak. Should i be eating more and gaining muscle or should i be cutting my calories and strength training with mild cardio

    Being at the higher end of a normal BMI, I find it hard to believe you would be 37% BF...how are you arriving at that number? At 37%, you wouldn't look hugely fat or anything, but you'd definitely be noticeably "fluffy."

    At any rate, I'd likely just eat maintenance and get on a good lifting program and re-comp (ie get in shape). I certainly wouldn't do a bulk...if you wanted to bulk, you'd want to start at a pretty low BF%...like no higher than 20%.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
    At 5'4" and 140 lbs, I am guessing you are overestimating your body fat percentage. I second posting a picture, as there are people here who are fairly good at estimating body fat percentage.

    That said, for women it is suggested to cut if you have a body fat percentage over 25%. So my suggestion based on the information given would be to start a good strength training program with eating at a calorie deficit. If you truly are at 37% BF, then it is likely you haven't done strength training before and you should be able to get "newbie gains" even while in a slight calorie deficit.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    If you aren't in a hurry, then maintaining calories and progressive strength training to recomp is my suggestion.
  • crawfv
    crawfv Posts: 8 Member
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    here are photos of me. i got my body fat percentage calculated at a machine done at a hospital. It could have been wrong, its the only time ive ever gotten it done
  • crawfv
    crawfv Posts: 8 Member
    thanks so much this helped a lot everyone i really appreciate it
  • lin_be
    lin_be Posts: 392 Member
    Man, if you’re 37% I must be 50%!
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member
    crawfv wrote: »

    here are photos of me. i got my body fat percentage calculated at a machine done at a hospital. It could have been wrong, its the only time ive ever gotten it done
    What kind of machine? Some hospitals may use a body impedance device that you just hold with hands or as a scale you step on and those have poor accuracy and precision. They would usually just give a number on a display.
    Something like a DEXA scan is usually very accurate with print outs that specify details about distribution of fat. They still can be wrong.
  • crawfv
    crawfv Posts: 8 Member
    edited February 2019
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    crawfv wrote: »

    here are photos of me. i got my body fat percentage calculated at a machine done at a hospital. It could have been wrong, its the only time ive ever gotten it done
    What kind of machine? Some hospitals may use a body impedance device that you just hold with hands or as a scale you step on and those have poor accuracy and precision. They would usually just give a number on a display.
    Something like a DEXA scan is usually very accurate with print outs that specify details about distribution of fat. They still can be wrong.

    Im not sure of the name of it, but i just had to stand on it and hold the bars on it. It printed me out a sheet of where I hold my fat and how much lean mass I have, Visceral fat, etc.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,808 Member
    crawfv wrote: »
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    crawfv wrote: »

    here are photos of me. i got my body fat percentage calculated at a machine done at a hospital. It could have been wrong, its the only time ive ever gotten it done
    What kind of machine? Some hospitals may use a body impedance device that you just hold with hands or as a scale you step on and those have poor accuracy and precision. They would usually just give a number on a display.
    Something like a DEXA scan is usually very accurate with print outs that specify details about distribution of fat. They still can be wrong.

    Im not sure of the name of it, but i just had to stand on it and hold the bars on it. It printed me out a sheet of where I hold my fat and how much lean mass I have, Visceral fat, etc.

    That's a BIA device which works by sending a tiny electrical current through your body and guesstimating your composition.
    Going by your pictures it is a remarkably poor estimate.

    A hospital should have told you how to use it to (perhaps) get a reasonable trend over time. You really can't just rock up and use it and expect anything except a pretty random number.

    To answer your original questions....
    If you want to lose some weight, eat at a small deficit and start strength training.
    (Your body composition will improve fairly quickly.)

    If you want to stay the same weight, eat at maintenance calories and start strength training.
    (Your body composition will improve but only at the rate at which you can gain muscle, which is slow.)

    If you want to gain weight (only some of which will be muscle) eat at a small surplus and start strength training.
    (In the short term your body composition will probably get worse.)

    BTW - cardio whether "mild" or not is for fitness and health it's not specifically for fat loss.
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