Best way to cut down fat while building muscle
 

ive been working out 3-4x a week for the past 3 months or so trying to bulk. my goal is around 200 pounds and i went from about 165-170 to 185. i gained both a lot of muscle and fat.

i think i have too much fat on my body and want to get rid of some of it without losing any muscle. i know it will definitely make it take way longer to get to 200 but im in no hurry at all as long as im making progress, as i understand things dont happen overnight.

Watch your fat intake and do plenty of cardio.

Bro.. honestly man... i'm telling you this as a friend... You should break up with your boyfriend.. cause i remember whenever i would hang out with you guys, he would always suggest places like mcdonalds and other fast food crap and you'd end up going with him just cause he wanted to go... and then you'd end up eating mcdonalds and shit too

thats not healthy man... either tell your bf that you are trying to lose weight and you need his support (which he should be giving you anyways, without your needing to ask since hes your partner) , or that he is not helping you reach your goals and you need to break it off


good luck bro

you're not dead yet? keep trying. let me give you some help:

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.xb...g-it-wrong.jpg

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

hahahah

beem... you're just mad that i didn't pull out

:1orglaugh

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle....icle=266seven2

hope that helps some. It's a leaning program so not sure how effective it will be for you.

...

beemk, the formula for losing fat and keeping the muscle that you recently gained is pretty specific in my experience. If you don't follow a strict regimen pretty exactingly you could end up losing too much hard earned muscle along with the fat or you will simply not lose as much fat as you could. It pays to do it the most efficient way otherwise it can be discouraging.

When cutting you basically need to lower your caloric intake to just below maintenance levels (which you have to figure out with a formula) while keeping up your 3-4 day per week intense weightlifting regimen and adding 2-3 days of cardio per week to burn fat. And most importantly you have to eat very cleanly. I try to have some very low carb days in a week on the days where I do just cardio alternating with some medium-low carb days on weightlifting days.

Try to eat nothing but low fat protein and green veggies in the evening with some small amount of good fats. No starchy carbs, grains or bread after dinertime, eat those in moderation earlier in the daytime if at all. I also enjoy hot tea with caffeine between meals to help keep my metabolism revving.

If you don't count your calories exactingly and just try to wing it with an estimate, it will be difficult to make progress or it can take a lot longer. It also helps if you take some BCAA pills after working out and after other meals, plus I like caesin protein before bed to make sure I have enough protein overall and stay in an anabolic state while sleeping.

How does one count calories anyway?

Lets say you have cereal for breakfast... so you measure out exactly a cup of milk, and half a cup of careal and eat exactly that much?

And for dinner, same idea? you measure out exactly half a cup of rice for example, and weigh the chicken breast you are eating to figure out how much calories it has?

The whole process seems like a huge pain in the ass... and then how do you go about figuring out how many calories you need?

I think eat lease of carbohydrates...

eat more protein and less carbs

less carbs. only green leafy, fibrous vegetables.

Don't drink cow's milk, ice cream, cheese, or any dairy products, if you can help it. Use soy milk instead of cow milk, 8th Continent is the best tasting brand. Drink Green Tea and/or White Tea everyday.

If you really want to gain some weight and be muscular.

Work out 24/7
Do pushups and run in place everytime you think about anything.
Not them sissy pushups either. Get off your knees and do them like a man.
If you think you want a snickersbar then EAT ONE! but give me 200 situps after.
If you think you want to fine ass women then grab her by the hair and whisper in her ear. "this is how you sister likes it" HOLD ON. its good exercise.
If you think you want a nice hard cock in your ass I can't really help you there.

eat lots of raw red meat.

drink raw eggs

stay away from things like
veggie diets
homosafe diets
prettyboy diets
imabout to have cardiac arrest diets

Hope this helps

Just eat donuts.

wow some cool answers here :)

It's not too terribly difficult.

Eat several smaller meals per day. You'll probably find yourself eating more volume but less calories overall if you dump all preprocessed food from your diet. Eat lean cuts of grilled/baked meat and veggies - simply steamed or fresh. Severely limit your intake of baked goods like bread and other foods such as pasta and what not. Eat a LOT of fruit and veggies. Some stupid diets tell you to lay off the fruits because of sugar, but they are stupid. You'd have a hard time to overeat on fruits n veggies.

Grill some tuna and asparagus and eat a salad with fat free, low carb dressing (something about 25 cals or less per tablespoon)... that's a great meal for me.

breakfast:

2 whole eggs
slice of low fat ham
low fat mozza
a little chopped onion, red pepper and mushrooms
sliced tomatoes

pan fry the meat and veggies, mix eggs in a bowl, pour into the pan, put a couple slices of tomato on top, put a small amount of cheese on the tomato, bake in the oven for about 10 mins at 400. Breakfast fritatta.

Snack:

Protein pudding - take some low fat jello pudding (1 serving is like 20 cals), mix in your favorite protein powder and some oatmeal, thin with a bit of skim milk or low fat sugar free yogurt... you want it to thicken up to regular pudding texture.. tastes good, very filling.

lunch:

bbq chicken breast
romaine lettuce or baby spinach
green and red peppers, red onions, steamed broccoli
flax seed oil and balsamic salad dressing

Slice chicken on top of salad, top with salad dressing

Snack:

Apple and some low fat cheese (mozza is my fave)

Dinner:

Grilled flank steak
Grilled asparagus, red pepper and zucchini
home made fruit salad for dessert (pineapple, strawberry, blueberry and fat free no sugar yogurt with a dash of vanilla and some sliced mint)

Snack:

Protein and fat shake... I like almond butter and chocolate whey powder mixed with a very small amount of water to give a really thick rich consistency...

When I am trying to stay healthy, I eat like this every day and workout 3-4 a week with heavy ass weights and skip cardio almost entirely. Maybe I'll throw in a couple low intensity early morning cardio sessions... no pop, no sugary drinks, no fruit juice, black coffee and lots of water...

It's not that hard and you are always full. You just have to plan your meals in advance.

Good luck.

This is a great workout program for building your frame / putting on mass

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=720275

As far as diet is concerned, you're going to need a LOT of protein & low-gi carbs (brown rice, oatmeal, pastas, etc). Keep it clean.

pasta is a low gi carb?

i actually checked that out a while back, it doesnt seem like it gives your muscles enough time to rest, isnt that a recipe for injury?

Go vegan... since making the plunge 3 weeks ago... fat is melting away for me.

To lose fat you have to eat just under your maintenence level. That means if your body needs 2500 calories a day to function, you eat 2000 calories a day. It should account for a pound of fat a week. You'll want to eat a lot of protien (lean meats, egg whites, whole wheat bread/pasta) and mix it with some veggies.

You can't really gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. To lose fat, you have to cut calories. If you cut too much, your body starves itself and starts eating muscle. It's a delicate balance that is tough to hit. You will need to cut for a couple weeks, then bulk for a couple weeks. On and off again until you cut as much fat as possible and only leave muscle.

I'll also add that I'm not a huge fan of basic cardio for cutting fat and not muscle. You need to do cardio exercises that encompass strength training. Instead of running a few miles, run wind sprints or do stairs. You can also go to a gym and cycle through the machines at low intensities that keeps your heart rate high while working out your major muscle groups. Simple cardio like bike riding and jogging will burn muscle as well as fat.

not at all, i've been doing it for about 9 weeks now & am going to switch up to the 5x5 next week

went from 182 to about 195-197 & i'm super lean

trust me it works, it seems real easy when you're starting... like "that can't be it... what about targeting arms, abs, etc?" but it works... its great for building a solid frame ALL OVER that you can target define later

my arms grew, my legs are massive, upper body is solid and im a lot stronger than i was...

my numbers aren't THAT impressive but i'm barbell squatting about 330 & flat benching around 240 for the reps in this program... which is a lot more than i was able to do before

i wish i wouldn't have shrugged this off years ago & went for it then

my goal is to be about 200-205

good luck man, i seriously suggest you give this a shot! i just keep the diet fairly clean & i've had no problem with the fatty weight...

to be honest it is somewhat difficult to bulk & stay lean at the same time because in order to grow you need a lot of extra calories... sure its possible but the overall goal would take a lot longer

What works for others may not work for you. You need to find out what type of workout and diet works for your specific body type. Find a trainer or organization that can do a body blueprint for you then take it from there.

wtf :helpme

eat 70% of your daily food intake as fresh fruits and veggies and no fast food or crappy food.

"i need protein, like real protein.... you know, from the flesh of slaughtered animals"

yo!!

... stop supersizing it

sex...... start doing the work, it'll work out your abs :D

Steroids, lifting, light cardio (walking) and diet

Just read through most of the advice given, but I do not see anything that will really help you or answer your question.

So here I go...
First, take a look at my diet
http://www.landofvenus.com/diet.html

It was made for me by a professional bodybuilder, one who had been to the Ms Olympia 7 times. This was made specifically for me, but it will give you an idea on what to do. This is a diet designed to get me down to 6% BF in 14 weeks.

Next, cardio will eat away at your muscle, do not do cardio, If you work up a sweat your working to hard. The best way is, first thing in the morning, BEFORE breakfast, walk on the treadmill for 60 minutes, not a real fast walk, just a normal one. you want to get your heart rate up a little, but not so much where you sweat or get tired. This will burn off fat fast and limit the amount of muscle you burn.

why on earth would you gauge your results by your weight? Are you trying to be a boxer, wrestler, or some sort of fighter with weight classes?

well i just wanted to gain muscle and get low body fat. the best way to accomplish things is to set goals for yourself, so i set a goal of 200 pounds. im sure i will change my mind and want to look different once i reach the goal.

"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination."

Check the Adkins diet....low carb and very tasty.

Actually there was a lot of good info interspersed in the thread above. You are the one giving bad advice if by "Eat ALL protein" you mean eat nothing but protein (no carbs or fat at all). Total nonsense. No one "rips up quick." Your half assed way-too-short explanation is very poor even if you had a valid point. The subject is too complex for that.

Steroids work amazingly.

gotta agree with steroids too hehe

take the plunge, cross over to the dark side

I'm definitely no expert, but there are many foods high in protein that are low in fat and have no carbs, if your diet contains a lot of these foods and you are working out you should still be able to add mass while adjusting the proportions of protein vs. fat in your body :2 cents:

Some examples (of foods even I can find in Costa Rican grocery stores hehe):

- Low fat cottage cheese
- Egg supplement
- Ground beef for vegetarians (it's like ALL protein and fibre, not much carbs/fat)
- Low fat Tuna in water
- etc...

I'm sure where you live you can find tons more.

It's almost insane how well they work .. the new batch especially.