Lose weight, gain muscle.

[CokeBottle]

Hey guys.

Is it possible to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time, if your diet and exercise is in check?

Thanks guys.

[laurasaur]

Yes, especially for girls who are just setting out on this bodybuilding business. Happened to me, and plenty of other chicks I know.

[Luigi]

welcome back marosturdy

[GreekAdonis]

Are you talking about weight loss or fat loss?

[teamfatboy]

Yes - with a carefully calibrated diet and training plan, and listening carefully to advice from people, you can increase lean muscle mass, while burning bodyfat. It is possible to do both simultaneously, at a rate which has your overall mass decreasing.

[Chillicat]

I could also use some advice in this area, though I'm no longer interested in weight loss as I'm happy with my weight now - more fat loss. I understand the concepts of bulking and cutting, but I guess I would like advice that is more tailored to me specifically than to bodybuilding generally (might need to pay a PT for that, but hey, it's worth asking!!).

I tend to be a bit waffly, so I'll try to get to the point as quickly as possible

So I've mentioned before that I've lost about 6-7kg this year (now weigh between 59-60kg, 168cm), and at the same time I've been amping up my gymming, lifting more weights and feeling pleased with the progress I'm making - I can see changes in my muscles (I now have some!), and my strength has improved a huge amount when considering what I could lift in Feb and the weights I do now.

I want to continue to make improvements in the amount that I lift, and I want to see more changes in my body - I'm old and vain, and I want to be able to wear a singlet in summer and think I look hot :nod:

But I'm also conscious that my body fat is around the 28% mark (ok, that's on the Tanitas, not a proper test, but still...), so I do want to do some work on losing that.

I'm not (yet) considering competing anytime soon, so my aim isn't (necessarily) to build a huge amount of muscle at this stage, nor do I need to lost the fat quickly for a competition. I've been making steady gains in strength, and since I started keeping tabs on body fat, I've been making fairly steady losses.

So I guess my question is, am I doing the right thing? If I keep doing what I'm doing - eating as I'm eating and working out as I'm working out - can I expect to continue to see muscle gains and fat loss? My journal is up to date with my workouts (though I didn't really keep food updated last week - but it's fairly same old same old from day to day for the most part except dinner).

Typical food for a day is:

1. Oats, yogurt and protein powder

2. Yogurt and protein powder (usually an apple about now too)

3. Protein shake (pre-workout) (probably another apple)

4. Tuna and chickpeas in a mountain bread or tortilla wrap

5. More tuna and chickpeas in a wrap, or maybe another yogurt and PP

6. Dinner - normally something meaty with a little rice (maybe about 2 tablespoons) and spinach and other veges

7. Peanut butter wrap (mountain bread or tortilla)

Workout is usually:

Mon - chest and triceps

Tue - legs, glutes, calves

Wed - bit of cardio and abs

Thur - back and biceps

Fri - shoulders and abs

Sat - rest

Sun - recently I've been doing an extra back and biceps day, but I might start doing extra glutes and legs

Would really appreciate any thoughts on this being still pretty new to all this.

[poos_n_wees]

So I guess my question is, am I doing the right thing? If I keep doing what I'm doing - eating as I'm eating and working out as I'm working out - can I expect to continue to see muscle gains and fat loss?

Looks good to me :nod:

You were making steady progress from week to week up until that 4-day break aye? Imo, there's no need to make any changes unless progress stalls. And even then, it'd be your diet you look to first. Ideally, you want to eat as MUCH as you can while still losing fat.. and going by your journal, you seem to be on the right track.

Other than using the tanita scale to track progress (I doubt you're 28% btw!).. are you taking measurements as well?

[Chillicat]

So I guess my question is, am I doing the right thing? If I keep doing what I'm doing - eating as I'm eating and working out as I'm working out - can I expect to continue to see muscle gains and fat loss?

Looks good to me :nod:

You were making steady progress from week to week up until that 4-day break aye? Imo, there's no need to make any changes unless progress stalls. And even then, it'd be your diet you look to first. Ideally, you want to eat as MUCH as you can while still losing fat.. and going by your journal, you seem to be on the right track.

Other than using the tanita scale to track progress (I doubt you're 28% btw!).. are you taking measurements as well?

Yep, progress was great til I committed carbicide last weekend

And yep, I try to eat as much as I can, I don't count calories, but I do keep a good eye on the amount of protein that is going in and try to ensure that those levels are up as much as I can manage, with what I hope is a sensible level of carbs and good fats (mmm peanut butter!!). Try to ensure that every meal has a decent protein level.

Actually, I haven't taken measurements for a while, so should do that - thanks for reminding me!

[teamfatboy]

I'm with Poos on this one...your training plan looks solid, and your journal suggests you were hitting it regularly. One refinement you might wish to consider would be to add on maybe 20min or so of Hi-intensity intervals after a couple (not all) of your weights days, if your schedule allows.

Your diet...again, looks pretty solid to me, although I'm unconvinced that you'd need all that yoghurt, without looking real hard at it. Apart from you or your PT actually going over the macros (% Protein, Carbs, n fats) and calculating a calorie deficit based on what you need for your actual lean-muscle-mass (as determined from four-point skinfold measurements), i can't see a lot to tweak.

Bottom line - as you already know, what you've been doing is working for you, so don't necessarily mess with success

[Chillicat]

One refinement you might wish to consider would be to add on maybe 20min or so of Hi-intensity intervals after a couple (not all) of your weights days, if your schedule allows.

I agree that you are probably right about that. The reason why I don't right now is because I absolutely hate cardio with such a passion, you wouldn't believe it! I've tried so much to learn to like it, and even done spin classes which are OK (I guess!). It partially stems from a lung deficiency I have (pneumonia as a teeny tiny baby, which meant my lungs never fully recovered, and I find cardio way more difficult than most people and get very huffy and puffy way quicker than normal people), and also stems from being forced to go on runs at school in form 1 and 2 which I hated so much, it's scarred me for life with cardio!

But you're right, I need to do it. I can't really fit it in most gym days because I'm already taking an hour and a half (or more) for lunch, but there's no reason why I couldn't do it on a shoulders day when I have a bit more time than on a two-muscle group day and a Sunday when I have all the time in the world, as well as on my cardio day when I tend to just sit on a bike and cruise. Hmmm, there's a spin class at lunchtimes on a Wednesday, I really should start going again...

OK, consider my butt kicked! I'll start up with more cardio when I get back from my holiday (and maybe a wee bit this week too, if I must!). Actually, once I go boarding for a couple of weeks, I'll remember how much I need to do more cardio, as I tend to get knackered very quickly while boarding due to my cardio deficiencies!