Gain muscle or lose fat? Unsure what I should be doing

[MarcoPolo]

Hey all. New here. Found Andy's site a while back and have since lost a decent amount of weight. I've not really been working out during this time and did it all with diet and walking. I'm getting to the point now though where I'm not sure if it would be best to continue to lose fat, try and gain muscle or both. (And is it even possible to do both?). Does it just come down to preference? Also should I be incorporating weight training if my primary goal is to lose fat? Sorry there's so many questions I'm just not sure which direction I should be going with this right now. Thanks.

 

[Zug]

Yes. You should be doing weight training year round, regardless of what your goals happen to be at the time. It should be a lifestyle, not a temporary prescription. At least that's my opinion. You can try to lose some weight or maintain while you start. In the immediate short term, it would be better to lose now than lose later. If you stretch out the time frame to 12 months from now, it probably makes no difference as long as you actually make weight training a lifestyle.

 

[Squilliam]

Check this out:

https://killyourinnerloser.com/tinder-guide/#24-lose-fat-low-bodyfat-makes-the-most-difference

Read section 2.5 also

 

[MarcoPolo]

Yes. You should be doing weight training year round, regardless of what your goals happen to be at the time. It should be a lifestyle, not a temporary prescription. At least that's my opinion. You can try to lose some weight or maintain while you start. In the immediate short term, it would be better to lose now than lose later. If you stretch out the time frame to 12 months from now, it probably makes no difference as long as you actually make weight training a lifestyle.

Thanks man. From my understanding doing weight training whilst focusing on losing fat won't result in me gaining muscle but maintaining what I already have. (Because I'd be eating in a caloric deficit) Is that correct? So I guess my diet should be as high as possible in protein whilst also maintaining a caloric deficit in order to do that?

Edit: Nevermind Squilliam's link has helped a tonne on this. Cheers guys.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Check this out:

https://killyourinnerloser.com/tinder-guide/#24-lose-fat-low-bodyfat-makes-the-most-difference

Read section 2.5 also

Thank you! That's pretty much answered all my questions.

 

[nipple-flip]

you are so untrained that you'll still gain muscle while eating in a deficit or at maintenance and training hard. i started out with your physique, maybe a bit chubbier, and i cut first and didn't regret it. that would be my recommendation too

eventually you'll have to eat in an honest surplus and put on some serious muscle, but starting out from scrawny/lean is so much better than starting out from skinny-fat.

 

[pancakemouse]

Yes. You should be doing weight training year round, regardless of what your goals happen to be at the time. It should be a lifestyle, not a temporary prescription. At least that's my opinion. You can try to lose some weight or maintain while you start. In the immediate short term, it would be better to lose now than lose later. If you stretch out the time frame to 12 months from now, it probably makes no difference as long as you actually make weight training a lifestyle.

Thanks man. From my understanding doing weight training whilst focusing on losing fat won't result in me gaining muscle but maintaining what I already have. (Because I'd be eating in a caloric deficit) Is that correct?

This is a myth. Jay Vincent gives a great explanation of why you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PpOBfMTDTs

 

[Zealhouse07]

You should be doing weight training year round,

Agree you should always do resistance training.

This is a myth. Jay Vincent gives a great explanation of why you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time here:

Tend to agree with pancakemouse, and I'm trying to do both myself right now. Here's what Scooby says:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi-jnsG0Z7Y

Assuming it's not possible to do both, where you're at right now, I would say focus on gaining muscle. The reason is because muscle raises your metabolism, so you'll be able to lose weight easier later on. In addition, since your metabolism is increased, you can eat more, and preventing hunger is key to not overeating. Either way, don't dirty bulk, you'll mostly just gain fat.

I'm not sure how much ROI you'd be getting from losing fat when it comes to looks given you're already decently lean. Measure your body fat percentage with the 3 point caliper method to see. You want to hover around 10 - 15% BF. I'd estimate you around 15%. If you don't have or want to get a caliper, use the Navy method.

https://www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html

I currently follow all of scooby1961s advice.

Never forget, fitness and health is a lifestyle and you should aim for the long term when doing stuff like this. cutting weight in order to lose weight super fast at the expense of your health won't do you good. pushing heavier weight than you can will just get you to injury. overeating to gain muscle will make you fat. It should be part of your new identity.