Putting on weight (strictly muscle mass only) AND lose fat?

tnpride · February 2012

Hi everyone.

I currently weigh 68kg but trying to get up to 75kg without gaining any or minimal body fat in the process. I have been sticking to the calorie counter quite closely however I have noticed a gain in abdominal fat and body fat in general while gaining weight.

I go to the gym 4 times a week as my stimulus to put on muscle however I wish to lose the fat (especially abdominal fat) and not gain more body fat during my dieting phase to put on weight. I drink 100% whey protein powder as my source of protein during the week.

Any diet tips? What should I eat?
Should I do more cardio on top of my workout routine to lose the abdominal fat? (It's so hard to put on weight AND lose fat at the same time!)

Any tips or advice would be very much appreciated and will give me more motivation

dad106 · February 2012

"It's so hard to put on weight AND lose fat at the same time!"

That phrase right there is what should be flashing in your head. Only under specific circumstances can you gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Almost everyone who tries to put on muscle gains fat along with the muscle.

I suggest you "bulk"(IE gain muscle and fat) and then Cut(Lose the fat).

snookumss · February 2012

Yeah, pretty sure you really can't do both on the same time on purpose! If it happens, its accidentally and rarely.

If you are worried about it, track your body fat percentage then go on a cut diet for a few weeks or so to lose the fat again. There really isn't much in advice somebody could give you

jennalink807 · February 2012

I have no idea how much you're eating, but make sure you're only bulking at 10-15% of your TDEE. You will still gain some fat, but at least not as much as if you tried to do it quicker. Also make sure you're lifting heavy 3-5 times a week on a schedule that allows for muscle rest 2 days in between each workout. What you eat won't make much of a difference, other than the fact that you need a lot of protein for muscle building. If you're only drinking protein powder it will be difficult to get enough, you'd have to drink most of your calories (not necessarily a bad thing, but harder to hit macros). Try using nuts and beans (assuming you're a veg) as protein sources also.

Best of luck to you!

rochey1098 · February 2012

Unfortunately all the big guys and personal trainers on here say the same thing. You wont gain much muscle on a calorie defacit. As already mentioned, bulk up first then cut.

HeidiMightyRawr · February 2012

You can't really gain muscle without gaining some fat, apart from in exceptional circumstances.

I'd say, lift heavy, eat at a surplus (but not a too large one) and get enough protein. You could probably gain mostly muscle, but there will still be fat there alongside it. If you then find yourself having gained more fat than you would like, then you can start a cut, and concentrate on maintaining the muscle you built while losing fat

hongruss · February 2012

OP I feel ya! BUT although the replies may seem negative, that is because realism can be

Sadly what they are saying is true, now you can put on "pure" mass but it is practically impossible because you have to eat in a surplus for gain. Whatever the body doesn't use is stored as fat, you would have to be a nutritional scientist to now exactly how much to eat for gain but not store any excess.

So it ain't gonna happen! I have managed to get to 10% & would luv to go lower BUT hey I would like to put on some muscle inches, with that gain is going to come an increase in overall bodyfat levels, it really plays with my head, so I guess I am going to bite the bullet & fill out a little:sad:

Russ

TunaNuggets · February 2012

Although gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is fairly difficult (one requires a caloric excess, the other a caloric deficit), If you're relatively new to weight training, you should be able to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. If you want to gain 7 kg of muscle, try eating at a SLIGHT caloric excess (say 200-500 calories higher than your maintenance) and keep a moderate to high protein intake at around 2.2g protein per your body weight per day. So for you that would be around 165g of protein per day. This is to aid in muscle repair so that you can gain muscle.

Also, if you keep seeing fat increase in about a week or so, you can try to cut about 100-200 calories from your diet, then wait another week and repeat until fat gain slows (although there will probably still be some fat gain since you should still be eating at a caloric excess).

Good luck!

123fizz · February 2012

seeing as you have to gain the fat in order to turn it into muscle I would stop worrying and just concentrate on putting the weight on and doing the right exercise to tone up x

tnpride · February 2012

Yes, I am lifting heavy 4 times a week with sufficient rest. Any tips on foods to eat without gaining too much body fat?
Thank you everyone so much for such a rapid response!!

SHBoss1673 · February 2012

it takes meticulous control of your nutrient intake to gain muscle without any fat. By meticulous I mean, not only having a caloric surplus, but having that surplus be small enough that your body doesn't recognize it and store it as fat. That's near impossible for most people, and even a well controlled diet will result in a 10 to 15% increase coming from fat (I.E. if you do gain weight, 10 to 15% of that gain will be fat). It also means knowing your body, your needs, and exactly what you are taking in. You need to know not just how many calories you need, but the type of calories.

In this specific instance, you need to know exactly (or close to it) how many grams of protein you need daily. The only way to do that is by trial and error. Professional body builders spend years recording their intake, and exactly how long, how much weight, and how often they work out to calculate muscle needs, for the rest of us, the best thing to do is to keep your calorie surplus small, your protein intake between 1.2 and 1.8 grams per pound of lean mass, and keep your workouts hard and frequent. Monitor and record your results, analyze, and tweak. That's about it. and expect each pound of lean mass to take a month or so, even professional body builders can only gain about 2 lbs a month if they are very diligent. For the rest of us 1 to 1.5 lbs a month is a top end (unless you use performance enhancers).

Sidesteal · February 2012

Yes, I am lifting heavy 4 times a week with sufficient rest. Any tips on foods to eat without gaining too much body fat?
Thank you everyone so much for such a rapid response!!

It's not a function of individual foods outside of that foods contribution to your total daily intake.

Your focus should be on hitting your end of day nutritional targets and as far as food selection goes, choose foods you enjoy eating and ideally select mostly whole and nutrient dense foods.

For minimum intakes, I'd suggest setting the following and this is just a starting place:

10 to 20% above TDEE for kcals
1g/lb lean mass in protein
.5g/lb bodyweight in fat

You should be at or above those values. Carbs will default based on this.

Leisure reading:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

snookumss · February 2012

seeing as you have to gain the fat in order to turn it into muscle I would stop worrying and just concentrate on putting the weight on and doing the right exercise to tone up x

^^^^^ *sigh*

Rae6503 · February 2012

If you worry too much about gaining fat you'll gain nothing. It's okay to gain fat. Fat is easy to lose later. Muscle is REALLY hard to build.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html

Yanicka1 · February 2012

i know that some people do a 2weeks bulk, a 2weeks cut and one week maintenance but for me it didn´t do anything. I like doing long bulk and cut cycle. Good luck

Putting on weight (strictly muscle mass only) AND lose fat?

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