Huge dilemma. Need help!

[nol3afclover]

K...

So this crossed my mind today...

There's no way to burn fat, and build muscle at the same time. To burn fat you need to be in a calorie deficit, while to build muscle, you'd need to be in a calorie surplus. That would be like trying to sit and stand at the same time, it's physically impossible. I need to lose weight, but I dont just wanna lose the weight and be shapeless. I mean I am pretty darn muscular but with some fat on top of it....So since you cant do both at the same time..what do I do? Do I do strict cardio with a good diet and shed the weight and then hit the weights? Or do i say bull with the weight and just do weights? Right now I run/bike 4 days per week, and i hit the weights 3 days per week, but whats the point if i cant build muscle in calorie deficit? I eat ALOT of protein every day...prolly round 240g....i got my breakdown at around 45% prot, 35% carb, 20% fat.....but only amounts to about 2000 cals, I never feel hungry or anything and I eat every 3 hrs...But back to the main issue...why even weight train if i cant lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?

 

[roo]

no it is not pysically impossible.

although I have heard it is difficult to do. Try to limit your cardio, as you lose muscle through that, and focus on diet and weight training.

Tom Venuto has a really really helpful e-book called "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" And he has lots of info on it there. Body Builders need to lose fat and gain muscle, and he tells you how to do it.

 

[nol3afclover]

no it is not pysically impossible.

although I have heard it is difficult to do. Try to limit your cardio, as you lose muscle through that, and focus on diet and weight training.

Tom Venuto has a really really helpful e-book called "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" And he has lots of info on it there. Body Builders need to lose fat and gain muscle, and he tells you how to do it.

I believe bodybuilders go through phases. They 'bulk up' (High calorie, weight train) for a period, and then they go 'cutting' (lower calorie fat burn) for another period. Im pretty sure that you cant lose fat AND build muscle ALL at the same time...Now I've heard you can sustain muscle and maintain what you've already got, and you can still get stronger, but you wont bulk up if you dont eat more calories than you need.

 

[Steve]

This is not a huge dilemma. It's very common and it's a normal part of dieting. Whenever someone wants to lose weight, their goal should be to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining as much muscle as possible.

Body recomposition (gaining muscle while losing fat) is possible. Probable? Most likely not. The more *trained* you are, the less likely it's going to happen. The *newer* you are to weight training, the more likely some body recomposition will take place. There are some other parameters that come into play too. In a nutshell though, it's simply not something you should *bank* on happening.

In order to lose fat and maintain muscle, you need to do the right things while dieting. For starters, depending on how much extra fat you are carrying, losing a significant amount of muscle may not be too much an issue. The fatter you are, the less likely your body will catabolize muscle.

That said, assuming you are in a state where losing muscle without the proper variables in place, you should be weight training and eating adequate protein. I was going to get into specifics, but before I do, I highly suggest reading the "words of wisdom" stickie here. If you still have questions, feel free to ask.