Lose Fat and Gain Muscle – Simultaneously?

yeah for sure this is my biggest problem

Actually, losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is doable, I’ve done it, several times, and I’ve been at it for a couple of weeks now,
My diet consists of mainly shakes of 5 raw eggs blended with some cocoa powder, 4 times a day, once in the morning, one at noon, and before and after my workout, adding to that are some carbs in the form of any food, plus 7 peices of dates prior to working out, 9 peices of dates on heavy days,
Thanks to Allah, this has all worked out pretty well, I’ve improved my lifts, got leaner, and bulked up some more,
@ 94 kilos =D

I would love to. I have gained muscle but there is still a layer of fat over the top and it seems the more you diet the more of the muscle you loose. The fat stays put.

Well after all the stuff I tried, I found best way to keep muscle and still stay lean is getting carbs and high calorie fruits (bananas!) at breakfast and as post-workout meal. Using heavy weights and bodyweight for training 3 times a week, with high intensity to create an oxygen debt… and doing 3 20 min interval sprints for days in between workouts, resting on sundays. I m also having 1-2 cheat meals a week at same day for my cravings and for my leptin levels which I read from Joel’s post, thanks for all the valuable info btw :)

you just got me excited for next week sort of like watching a “to be continued” espisode! I’m currently shedding body fat doinf circuit training but doing it with heavy weights so I don’t think I’ll lose any muscle doing so. MY diet is great, natural whole foods all the way, raw nuts, veggies and fruits 6-7 meals a day AND im losing body fat! But would love to know if i can GAIN muscle while doing that!
Great stuff Joel!

I’ve been following Jon Bensons Every Other Day Diet whilst also following his 7 Minute Muscle programme. I’ve increased my muscle mass due to the intensity of the programme whilst also dropping 3 inches off my waist.

I can’t tell you the percentages of fat loss to muscle gains, as I have no idea how to calculate that, but between what I see in the mirror and the comments I get from the wife (all good, by the way); I am gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.

It’s a slow process, but it is possible.

If there’s another way; I’d be interested in learning that so I can keep shocking my body into further development and not get stale with the same diet and routine, but it would have to be as easy as EODD and as convenient as 7MM, which are both perfect for my busy routine.

Thanks for the encouragement. Keep the blogs coming!

Hi Joel

glad u enjoyed the fight! Well I have tried to lose fat first with diet and cardio. then I tried to lose fat with diet (clean eating and low cal) plus cardio AND weights – still have the flab despite all my hard work (I am 57) H E L P

Any NEW IDEAS gratefully received as I am so motivated I do not want to lose my strong mind focus!

Thanks for your continued posts and advice ALWAYS
best wishes
Vee

Hey Joel,

I tried and failed miserably. Your thoughts on it would really be appreciated :)

I have tried real hard with a low cal low fat diet, plus weight training AND cardio. I am still not losing the fat! OMG I do NOT want to have fat4ever.

I would definetly love to hear your advice here, of course i want to burn fat and build muscle!

As I learned from Charles Poliquin’s Biosignature you surely can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Itr did cost me about 500 euro’s per month for all the supplements I needed, but that can be different for everybody. You hormonal imbalances dictate how much and which supplements you need. There are also guidelines for the right amount of training and diet etc.
Can you achieve this in a cheaper way ?

I would like to hear more about this possibility, it has always seemed a bit chicken and egg to me.

Hi
Yes it can be done quite easily but only up to a point, for example if you are carring 15% bf and wish to drop to 8 % then useing the correct training approach much of the fat can be used to fuel the workouts and assist in adding a few pound of new muscle ( in reality the fat you have on your body is just a portable larder and the contents are available to be used for any activity at any time) this does work ok if you are not intending to inrease your weight above your staring point, for example if you weigh 200lbs with 15 % bf you will not be able to build up to 230lbs with 8% bf at the same time, unless you have super powers that allow you to train in such a way that your body is so freaked out with the intensity of your training that it goes into a panic mode and grants your every wish , unlikely!

As burn the fat author Tom Venuto quotes “he who chases two rabbits at the same time catches neither”!

Bottom line is if you just want to lose a few pound of fat and add a few pounds of muscle It’s easy peasy,
On the other hand if you are serious and need to lose a lot of fat, dropping right down to single digits do not expect to add much muscle at the same time a few pounds at most will be added.
like wise if you intend to add a decent amount of muscle 25-50lbs on to an allready lean frame you are very unlikely to do so without adding some extra fat at the same time,

Both goals conflick with each other and appart from minor variations from person to person most should focus on lean as possible muscle growth or fat loss only whilst preserving muscle mass.

There is of coarse the method of calories cycling from week to week where it allows most to achieve a slight net gain in muscle and a slight reduction of fat every 4 weeks or so, but this is not the same as building muscle and loseing fat at the same time because each cycle is not happening at the same time they are each 2 weeks or so long, high calories 2 wks / low calories 2 weeks keep repeating or any other time period you chose to implement , 5 days high / 5 days low keep repeating.

This is not the same as building muscle and loseing fat at the same time, it is a structured approach to burn fat for a period and then to build muscle for a chosen period you would actualy be focusing on one goal at a time all beit for very short periods at a time, as apposed to aiming for both goals at the exact same time.

unless you just want to stay average you need to focus on one goal at a time
I tried for over 20 years to stay lean with visable abs and build decent mass at the same time –waste of time, I hardly changed in all that time, Then I decided to focus on mass only for 2 years and added loads 170-240lbs, Then cut. 221lbs 7%bf easy .

Mark

I would definitely love to hear more, as I am getting so confused, HIIT – calorie shifting; circuits v- cardio; cardio waste of time (generally) and low cal lowfat diets do not work aarrgghhhh

High protein low cal diets; clean eating; eat just below your resting BMR and on and on ad nauseum :0(

I am a beginner too. so it is NOT much fun and it is hard knowing what to do for the BEST and QUICKEST results.

Hey Joel, I personally believe it would depend on your metabolism and weather you are an Ectomorph, Endomorph,mesomorph body type. I am personally a mesomorph with a high metabolism and can put away a lot of food and also adapt to any kind of training and do well with it. I think the trick to keeping your fat down and gaining muscle is knowing your body, the right diet, And intense interval training with weights.

Kevin

Totally would love to know how to do both at the same time. I’m trying both at the same time. I’m seeing progress, but very little in a span of 2 months. I’ve just been thinking of focusing on the fat loss first, but if there is an effective way to get both results simultaniously, then i’m down.

Thanks Joel!

Sorry Joel. Like someone else commented I too never got the email with the post on Stevia and Agave. As for todays topic that has always been the confusing one. So many programs advertise doing both when they want you to buy the program but the ‘experts’ all seem to say one or the other but not both. I do know when you look around the gym the skinny guys who bulk up seem to carry a better phisique than the beefy guys who are trying to slim down so it always made more sense to me to try to cycle. Get some key fat off and then put on some muscle. I think getting the fat off and then adding on the muscle feeds into a better self image faster and so is a better motivator

Hey Joel,

I follow your program, that is, I follow your eating guidelines, I did not start the exercise part. Why? I can’t decide whether I want to do exercises only to lose fat or that I just should try to combine your ‘diet’ with another exercise program to build (some) muscle.
I’m very interested to hear more about you theory as this could be the answer to my doubts.

Walter

Hey Joel, I’d realy like to hear some of he key components on how to lose body fat and gain muscle simultaneously, thats exactly what Im trying to do right now.

Interested in learning more about it.

Hey Joel + everyone.

I had to learn this the hard way.. It didn’t bother me as I love the gym, but I’m sure I could have gotten much quicker results had I put muscle on.. then cut the fat.
I was at about 16% body fat, I’m now under 10%. I was hitting a 220 bench, now I’m doing 396. I have definatly gained strenth and size.. while doing alot of muscle building exercise’s and maintaining a strict protien intake of approx 30grms protein every 3hrs and body weight in carbs straight after training.
Plenty of interval sprints, and metabolic endurance or what Vince Del Monte calls Turbulance training.

So it is possible.. however takes alot longer if you have written goals WITH dates.

cheers, Nick

I’m also into week 4 of CYWT and although I have dropped weight and a lot of inches my BF% actually increased slightly, and I do only mean slightly, but enough to make me go “What the….?” At any rate, I’ll take any improvement after years and years of losing 4 lbs. the first week, then flat lining everywhere. I am all for more bang for your buck and that goes for simultaneous muscle growth and fat loss.

I would love to hear more of your opinion on this as well!

I have been trying that for a few yrs and I have lost weight and gained some muscle . But haven’t done the best of both.

Ori Hoffmeckler’s “Warrior Diet” certainly seems to work for me. The general premise is that you under eat during the day and then have one over-eating meal in the late evening, ideally after you train. In this meal, green veg and protein consumed first, carbs only if still hungry (to limit carb intake) and then when full or feeling thirsty, switch to water. Protein shake last thing at night. It’s like having a cheat day EVERY day and you always go to bed satisfied and guilt-free (plus there’s no counting calories).

According to the author, if you eat several meals throughout the day, this confuses the opposing sympathetic/parasympathetic parts of the autonomous nervous system and they cancel out. If you stick to his regimen, then you minimize insulin spikes during the day which prevents the body laying down excess fat. When you’re adapted to this way (the first week is hell), your body starts “Glycogen Stretching” and if your main meal is after your workout, you look very pumped as the body is replenishing the glycogen lost from the muscles during the daytime controlled fast.

Now, I don’t know whether I’ve put on muscle for definite in the 2 weeks I’ve been following this, but my waist has gone down over an inch, I’m able to increase reps/sets in my kettlebell training (Mike Mahler’s system) every time I train, with less fatigue but most interestingly my actual weight has dropped 4lb. For the record, I was always a “beanpole” until I hit 25 and the only fat I’m carrying is pretty much the stubborn belly fat. I’m confident that on this regimen I can keep insulin low and glucagon high and shift it.

Now if muscle is more dense than fat is, I feel/am stronger and my weight has gone down (it’s not dehydration loss as I’m drinking 3 litres a day) then they only way this can happen is for me to have lost fat and put on muscle.

Note that I am a customer of Joel’s and I don’t disagree with his program, but unfortunately unless I prepare my own food every day and leave my gf to her own, I couldn’t possibly follow it as she’s on a misguided low fat high carb “diet” from her slimming class. On Ori’s system, as long as I eat the carbs last in my evening meal and supplement with EFAs, flax etc, I can fit in with her misguidedness.