Lose body fat only ?

[solrosenberg]

I am trying to gain weight, or stay at current 218, but only lose body fat. I am currently working out 5-6 days per week for around 45 mins, then 15 min of cardio after. Is it possible to lose body fat and gain muscle at the same time ? I have some pretty good muscle and don't want to lose any , but at the same time, I want to lose some belly fat. I don't need a 6 pack, just look respectable at my stomach. I am not a fatass at all, just need to lose probably 10 lbs of fat. Any suggestions ?

 

[Tristen79]

Well there are good news and bad news points to all of your questions so I'll try to answer in chronological order for you. It is very difficult to gain weight and lose body fat at the same time I would recommend trying to focus on cutting first or bulking then cutting as you will see more dramatic gains on either end of the spectrum if you focus on one or the other. The reason being if you are trying to cut down bodyfat you can still add muscle but the gains will be very minimal (as to cut you will be calorie depleting somewhat) and to add on the muscle you are hoping for you need enough calories and nutrients to help them grow as well.

The only bad news is you cannot necessarily "spot" train to target losing the fat in your belly and unfortunately this is the area where men tend to store the hardest to lose fat as women do in their thighs and ass.

So....just focus in on your diet and keep up the good workout routines (would also reccommend that you switch up your routine every other month or so) to target other muscle movements and you will see the results you want soon enough

 

[solrosenberg]

Thanks for the help. I am just trying to eat as clean as I can, lift heavy ass weights 5-6 times per week, do 15 mins of cardio after my w/o and hope for the best. I have come to the realization I will never have a 6 pack, and all I want is a somewhat flat stomach. I have pretty good muscle size, but I still want to get bigger. Hopefully my stomack will go down a little with a better diet. I have just recently added the 15 mins of cardio at the end. If I wasn't so tired in the morning, I would do 30 mins of cardio on an empty stomach, but that just isn't going to happen anytime soon. Maybe over the winter when work slows down.

 

[GUARDIAN]

u r not doing nearly enuf cardio to burn much fat. start with a separate am cardio session for 45-mins 5-7X ew.

 

[solrosenberg]

u r not doing nearly enuf cardio to burn much fat. start with a separate am cardio session for 45-mins 5-7X ew.

My weight training is very high intensity will very little rest between sets. Approx 2 minutes. 45 minutes of heavy weights with little rest followed by 15 mins of cardio = 60 mins of intensity, 5-6 times per week. That's about all I can do. I am hoping with that and a good diet will add more muscle and reduce my stomach. I will list a sample of my diet for a typical day

8:30 Muscle milk rtd
11:00 Turkey sammy on wheat with a little miracle whip light
2:00 tuna sammy on wheat with a little miracle whip light
4:00 w/o
5:30 protein shake 50+ grams of whey or eas 42 gram shake
7:00 chicken or some type of protein dinner
10:00 2 scoops of whey

This is about as good as I can eat. I have no idea how my protein / carb / fat ratio is , or the amount of calories I am taking in. I am going to buy a coffee grinder this weekend and start mixing in some flax seed to my protein shake. i have heard that it is good for you.

 

[GUARDIAN]

just a recommendation bro. i do high intensity in the gym as well with no more than 45 secs rest between sets. except for the most gifted metabolisms i think cardio is the way to go.

if u have no idea how many calories u r taking in u have no idea what adjusments u may need to make in your diet imo.

start a diet log u may be suprised. most of the stuff u have listed has caloric information on the back of it. u just have to be accurate with the actual serving sizes u truly ingest. u can estimate the remainder of your foods that don't have nutritional info with this site. http://www.thedailyplate.com/

as was said previously it is very hard to naturally add both muscle and lose fat at the same time. even under the right circumstances the results are mediocre at best. it would be better to choose one goal (diet or muscle) and go all out for that.

My weight training is very high intensity will very little rest between sets. Approx 2 minutes. 45 minutes of heavy weights with little rest followed by 15 mins of cardio = 60 mins of intensity, 5-6 times per week. That's about all I can do. I am hoping with that and a good diet will add more muscle and reduce my stomach. I will list a sample of my diet for a typical day

8:30 Muscle milk rtd
11:00 Turkey sammy on wheat with a little miracle whip light
2:00 tuna sammy on wheat with a little miracle whip light
4:00 w/o
5:30 protein shake 50+ grams of whey or eas 42 gram shake
7:00 chicken or some type of protein dinner
10:00 2 scoops of whey

This is about as good as I can eat. I have no idea how my protein / carb / fat ratio is , or the amount of calories I am taking in. I am going to buy a coffee grinder this weekend and start mixing in some flax seed to my protein shake. i have heard that it is good for you.

 

[solrosenberg]

Is the only way to lose belly fat is to burn more calories than you consume ? Or, as I have always read, muscle burns fat, even while you sleep . Does this mean the muscle is burning the fat that I have ate that day, or is it burning stored fat ? This is really confusing to me. I am hoping that with these new 45 min intense workouts with the added 15 mins of cardio at the end, my metabolism speeds up and starts burning stored fat. I have been lifting heavily for about 9 months ( after a few month layoff), and have seen some decent size added. I just don't want to lose any muscle.

 

[GUARDIAN]

Is the only way to lose belly fat is to burn more calories than you consume ? only way to lose weight. u dont get to choose where it comes off.

Or, as I have always read, muscle burns fat, even while you sleep . increased muscle mass needs more calories. it doesnt burn fat. u need more calories to support it.

Does this mean the muscle is burning the fat that I have ate that day, or is it burning stored fat ? u r a little confused on this point. muscles burn calories. whether those calories are from protein, fat, or carbs. though your body typically uses carbs first for energy. any excess calories u dont need get stored as fat (oversimplified here)

This is really confusing to me. I am hoping that with these new 45 min intense workouts with the added 15 mins of cardio at the end, my metabolism speeds up and starts burning stored fat. I have been lifting heavily for about 9 months ( after a few month layoff), and have seen some decent size added. I just don't want to lose any muscle. then make sure u keep the protein up.

bro u got a lot of studying to do. there is a good book out there called burn the fat feed the muscle i think????

 

[solrosenberg]

I guess I am a little confused. I want to lose some belly fat, but keep my muscle. I am hoping that with eating cleaner, and keeping the workouts intense , I will see some results. As I mentioned earliers, 45 mins of heavy, intense weights, followed by 15 mins of cardio 5-6 times per week is about all I can do.

 

[gjohnson5]

15 minute cardio session will not cut it in terms of oxidizing bodyfat. Increase that to 60-90 minutes @ 65% VO2MAX...

Secondly to conserve muscle while doing the above I would use some protein and/or amino acid drink mixed with a small amount of glucose/dextrose beforehand. Insulin will pretty much stop fat oxidation, but the first 15 minutes of cardio will probably not oxidize much if any fatty acids anyway..

Also don't do this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach....

I am trying to gain weight, or stay at current 218, but only lose body fat. I am currently working out 5-6 days per week for around 45 mins, then 15 min of cardio after. Is it possible to lose body fat and gain muscle at the same time ? I have some pretty good muscle and don't want to lose any , but at the same time, I want to lose some belly fat. I don't need a 6 pack, just look respectable at my stomach. I am not a fatass at all, just need to lose probably 10 lbs of fat. Any suggestions ?