Lose Fat and Gain Muscle – Simultaneously?

Before reading this article, I never knew that anyone can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time! At least not that I know of. I would love to know the ways of achieving this.

You can, you just can’t do both at the same rate as focusing on one.

Cutting carbs and intense, short periods of exercise seem to be cutting my fat and maintaining muscle. I would like to learn how to build more muscle.

Yes, I would be very interested in how to lose fat and gain muscle, safely. I think it’s a very important subject. It does no good to lose fat if you don’t maintain your muscle. Looking forward to your post on Sunday, however, I am hoping that though it is a complex issue, somehow you have a plan that makes it comprehensible. Based on some of the comments on this page, and even your own comment, it sounds almost like an impossibility – or that only something that someone who dedicates his whole life to can achieve. I really hope that is not the case because if you have to work THAT hard and spend that much time on catering to building your muscle and losing fat that you practically let life pass you by, then that is not too great either.

I’d be interested in knowing the difference. If I need to lose the fat first, then I don’t really need to strength train until I’ve lost the fat? I know I need to exercise, but maybe I’m doing the wrong ones. Since I’m an “older” person, I really want to be sure I’m doing the best thing for me. BRING IT ON!!!

i eat low carb for a couple of days, than i overload on carbs the next day.

3 days low
1 day high

:D

OMG! This is exactly what I have been struggling with! How to loose fat and gain muscle. I get so excited every time I stick to a routine at the gym, weeks go by I feel better, my clothes feel better…but no fat loss…I mean it goes NOWHERE! I am 47 ….about 60 lbs overweight….PLEASE HELP! I love lifting …I love walking…guess what ….I love eating. HELP!

Vince Delmonte once said that a way that might help is to do a fat loss workout while having a weight gain nutrition plan.

I think it depends on where you are starting from. Take a young man or woman who is just a newbie and not very adaptive and you can see quick results with a clean diet and intense weightlifting; I’m 45 and have been lifting consistently for 10 years (female) and I find that whenever I try to lose fat I lose some muscle and I always have an extra 5-10lbs whenever I try to build muscle. The more intensely I work out whether for fat loss or muscle gain or both the more my appetite goes up and find it hard to lose fat. I do have 2 teenage children and find that there is often the wrong kind of foods around and I probably need to keep diet cleaner–VERY HARD!!!!

Yes, it can and has been done for many decades.

I put on a little over 12 lbs of muscle during a hard cutting program in which I lost 54 lbs of fat in a little over 3 months, so I know for sure that you can definitely do both at the same time. That’s not a balance, but gaining muscle wasn’t even my goal, I was only trying to lose as much fat as possible. But since weight training and a diet that was high protein/low carb were an integral part of my program, that muscle just came along as an added bonus.

If you’re a beginner or resuming exercise after a long break, then it’s entirely possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. But before long, the muscle gains will stop. While we all respond differently to nutrition and exercise, there are certain fundamental rules that apply to all of us. One is the law of calories balance. If you want to gain weight of any kind, you have to take in more calories than your burn. If you want to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in. You can personalize your nutrition and training, but there’s no way around this fundamental rule. With all of the misinformation about health and fitness, there’s one thing to always keep in mind. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I’m anxious to hear Joel has to say on this subject, but I’m already skeptical. And I still don’t agree with his argument against morning cardio. I’ve done it and lost a tremendous amount of fat while preserving muscle.

Someone earlier made an excellent point. You may be able to gain SOME muscle and lose SOME fat at the same time, but why not maximize one or the other. People are too impatient. They want it all now and aren’t willing to put in the time and effort. Sure it stinks to have to burn off fat, then gain muscle or gain a bunch of muscle and then burn off excess fat. But that’s life. Quit looking for shortcuts.

What the heck does it matter if we comment or not? If you really want to “inform your public” why not just post a great blog and get it over with? This is dumb!

This is the biggest thing I struggled with when I first began lifting: I wanted to gain muscle mass and lose fat. But, for some reason I couldn’t. So, I finally decided to take 6 months for a “bulking” phase (heavy lifting, consuming more calories…though, healthy calories), and then 6 months of a fat loss phase (more cardio, lighter weights, higher reps, less rest in between sets). And that seems to be working for me. When I strictly concentrated on gaining muscle, KNOWING that I would put on some unwanted weight, I FINALLY started to see the muscle gains that I’ve always strived for. Now, I’m about 2 months into the fat loss phase, and as I lose the weight, my now-bigger muscles are popping out even more. I think that bulking phase first and then fat loss phase is a good way to go. Just keep in mind that you might gain some unwanted fat during the bulking phase. It can be frustrating, but knowing that it’s part of the increased calorie consumption and ultimately part of gaining the muscle mass you want, you can get through it and really work hard to take it off when the fat loss phase comes.

My Life’s quest!!! I’m 6’3″ and hovering around 180 lbs. I know I’m getting scrawny because people keep making comments. It’s hard for me to believe them because I’ve spent most of my life over 250 lbs. Because I was so overweight for so long, I’m striving to strip every last little bit of fat off of me as possible before I try to gain some quality weight. The trouble is, I’m carrying those last ten pounds in a big saggy belt around my waist that will NOT go away! I can see my upper abs well, my seratus anteriors pop out, and you can even see the vascualature in my quads. So I must be at a relatively low BF% but this flab around my waste remains, hanging over my pants. I know some of it is just skin that will never “snap back” but not all. The skin is much thinner with little subcutaneous fat underneath. But the rest is much thicker when measured with a caliper telling me that there is still quite a bit of fat to burn off. That’s why I’m giving “Cheat your way thin” a chance. I’ve been on a low carb diet for several years now, but I can’t break this plateau. I’m hoping that the leptin stimulation from the cheat days will help get rid of this last “vanity” fat. And if I could strip that off AND build some muscle at the same time, then that’s just gravy!

Yeah only steroids can make you gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. (Well thats what your boy Vince Delmonte always says at least).

Losing fat requires a caloric deficit, and a hormonal environment that preserves muscle.

Gaining muscle requires protein intake and a hormonal environment conducive to gaining muscle.

So doing both together is possible, but requires some non-obvious (and possibly counterintuitive) techniques. (Or use of anabolic steroids and other such agents, of course.)

If it is truely possible and not just gym folklore I would love to find out more information on how eaxtactly to achieve that. After years in the gym and struggling with my own weight I finally decided to focus on my just my weight and lost just over 40lbs. I only have 10 or so more to go , so I think. I believe this would be the perfect opportunity to try and do both. Cant wait to hear about this!

All you have to do is look at any dvd extras footage of any major action movie to know it is possible. Most actors have between 3-6 months to train for a movie, and they see significant muscle gains along with their fat loss. Look at Jessica biel & Ryan Reynolds in Blade 3 (very lean muscular physique, good genetics play a part as well). It can be done, but it takes extreme dedication to diet.

I believe it has alot to do with how you exercise also.

I’m listening…

I seem to have more trouble losing the fat than gaining the muscle… and I keep hoping that my muscle will “magically” start burning the fat off.

Yeah, lose fat gain muscle – tell me how to do it!! Skeptical?? – It sounds a little bit like a buddy who tells me he can get “cut” on oreos!

I think a lot of people equate fat loss with weight loss. I don’t think they’re quite the same thing. Looking forward to hearing more on this topic. Thanks, Joel!

I tend to gain the muscle easier then losing then fat, and the unfortunate result is a bulkier appearance. As a result, I usually go for the fat loss first.

Please ….. I am at a plateau…. 49 yrs old….. & strive to be the fittest I can be!!