Lose fat or gain muscle first?
 

OK, so I'm about 5'10 and 160lbs. I'm fairly thin, but I'm packing a bit of extra "insulation" round my waist. I reckon I'm probably about 14% bf. I want to put on quite a bit of muscle (like 20lbs in the long term) but I also want to get the bf % down. I know I can't do both at the same time so my question is should I lose the fat first before starting the weight gain process (seeing as how I'll probably put on even more fat while gaining muscle) or should I gain the muscle first, and then lose weight?

Do a bulk (muscle and fat gains), then a cut (lose fat, maintain muscle size).

Thats what most bodybuilders around the do, gaining muscle during a bulk (for instance over the winter), then cutting down in the spring to be ready for summer.

You will inevitably gain a little bit of fat on a bulk, it can't be avoided. Eat foods with less fat and processed sugars while bulking to try and keep fat gains down.

So why can't you lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? I always had the understanding that you could. But if you can't then I don't know what you would do first.

You can. However, an aggressive weight loss session will decrease your strength as your body begins to consume muscle fibers. Generally you cant lose more than 2 pounds a week withought affecting muscle mass.

Losing fat doesn't neccesarily mean shedding pounds. If you're gaining muscle and losing fat at once, your weight on the scale probably won't go down that much because muscle weighs more than fat.

I always thought you could do it at the same time too...but I guess if you want to do things really fast and if intense muscle building will require lots of food...then do that first.

You can do both at the same time. I've lost about 60 pounds, and I'm lifting quite a bit heavier then when I started. As sailor said, you can't loose too much in a week without losing muscle mass, but more than 2 pounds in a week is unhealthy anyway. Just take it slow and steady.

If you don't have that much to loose. Gaining more muscle mass by lifting heavier will be a cardio workout aswell.
Gainging lean muscle mass will help burn those unessacary extra pounds but becareful to refuel you system with the proper nutrition.

There's a couple misconceptions out there:

1. weight- quit worrying about how much you weigh and instead worry about how you look and feel. are you in shape? If you go from 160 to 180 instead of to 150, but it's mostly muscle then you're better off.

2. If you're really working out you will lose fat faster then you can gain muscle weight (until you get to around 8% body fat or less then your body really tries to hang on to that fat) yes muscle weighs more, but it takes longer to pack on a pound of muscle than drop a pound of fat. Plus the muscle will help you burn calories every hour of every day.

Lift weights, work out, get strong, don't worry about how much you weigh.

what is your goal? if you think you could stand to lose some fat then do it...if not then bulk. just do which ever one will make you feel better about yourself.

i was 230lbs of fat and slimmed down to 175lbs and still had fat. i looked skinny but i also looked like i didnt have any muscle....i was skinny fat :) ...now im 195lbs around 10% bodyfat and look a million times better then when i was 175lbs. so dont worry about the scale, just focus on the weight you are lifting and your body measurements to track your progress.

if your just starting off lifting and chaning your diet as well you will lose weight and gain muscle since you will see beginner gains. i would focus on bulking now since summer is on the way out, your body fat isnt that high, and since your starting new you will see gains in muscle and fatloss.

If you are a novice, you can lose fat and gain muscle. For experienced lifters, this is much harder. For you, go lift weights, get stronger, the body will take care of itself.

I was going to start another thread about this, but I figured this fits in nicely with this thread.

Since the beginning of June, I've been running 3 to 5 miles a day, five days a week. I've cut-out in between foods and have been eating three solid meals a day. I've lost about 20 pounds since I've started this diet and workout routine.

Here's my dilemma: when I was at 235lbs, I had 24% body fat; now, I'm at 215lbs. and still have 24% body fat. Does this mean I've lost 20 lbs. of muscle? I'm not sure I understand the whole body fat thing. Also, I've been measuring my body fat on a scale that I bought, which can somehow read it through sensors when I step on the scale. Any thoughts?

dylan,
multiply your weight by your body fat % to determine the amount of fat weight you have. you'll notice you've lost about 5 lbs of fat. the rest of the weight loss is probably a mixture of water and lean mass then.

the scale tells you your body fat by sending an electrical impluse through you and receiving it back. based on the amount of time it takes, it can figure out your body fat. most scales have somewhere around a 5% error swing though, so it's possible that it hasn't been super accurate when determining your bf%.

skin fold calipers, if done by someone properly trained to use them, can be much more accurate and they're cheap.

Cool man, thanks for the clarification and info. :thumbsup:

I used to get the skin fold thing done when I was in high school and I remember it being very accurate.

Alright, I have the following to say on this topic (aren't I always just so opinionated?):


1) As was mentioned earlier, weight is not as important as bodyfat count and appearance/feeling. I weigh about 215# and am only 5'7" or so. I have very broad shoulders and a larger build. I'm not fat, though i could stand to lose a few pounds. I've not weighed less than 190# as far as I can remember, not even right out of Basic Training.

2) It is not considered ideal to try to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time. While a little of both can occur at the same time, it's best to decide what is more important to you. Heavy cardio will get rid of fat faster, but it will almost certainly (depending slightly on your own metabolism) burn some muscle as well. Muscle is a better source of energy for your body than fat, so it'll pull form both at the same time. Conversely, the calories needed to "bulk up" will also increase your fat mass. It's virtually impossible to take in EXACTLY the amount of protein and calories that will allow muscle to build without putting on some fat. Remember that ALL (or as much as your metabolism will allow) sugars (carbs) and proteins that are left over from muscle-building will be stored as fat.

3) Advice is great, but everyone's body works differently. Some people just cannot bulk up, try as they may. You need to try different things and find what works for you.

So does that mean that you should only consume a certain amount of protien each at a time? For example, would 25 grams be better than 40 grams at one time?

:thumbsup:

Good lord...so much misinformation and so little time. TTFN... :)

They both go hand-in-hand. Build the muscle and burn up more fat just maintaining your muscles! Then, burn more with cardio.

On protein, your body can only process about 25 grams max at a time. I buy the Myoplex envelopes and split them in half, 1/2 cup per serving. Some fruit, ice, milk or yougert, a little malt powder.... bam!