Lose Fat and Gain Muscle – Simultaneously?

So how do we get muscles and loose fat all together.. What kind of workouts and diet do we have to follow

I would honestly like to know if I can lose fat and gain muscle. I weight train 4 days a week with 3 days a week of Muay Thai training.

I’ve been told that its harder for women to lose fat and to gain muscle (not necessarily at the same time). If that is indeed the case, can you give specific advice for women to follow, as I’m sure most techniques probably do not work the same for men and women.

So there is more to it than 6 small meals (incl a complex carb, protein & fat at each meal), HITT and weight training. I want to know like everyone else – BUT how to incorporate all the info – as radically different as it all is – and still live life, take care of family, work etc. etc.

Karen

Hi Joel,

Please share more on the muscle and fat loss tips.

Cheers

I have been working out for years and have gained muscle while loosing fat. It takes total commitment and the biggest contributor is DIET, DIET, DIET. I would love to hear your approach to this topic.

Thanks Joel, would love to hear more! Also have a few questions that bubbled up since the wonderful webcast Q and A session. Shall I send these to the support email address?

Cheers

To lose weight you need to consume less calories and fat ( I am always hungry). When you are weight training and building muscle ( I seem to eat more), you have to eat more or your body will attack the muscle you are trying to build. I have always been confused on how to balance the two out.

If you get hungry after a workout, eat the right food. Try this and it will fill you up and take away your hunger. Buy a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Steel cut oat and eat it. It will take away your hunger. You can buy this at Raley’s. E-mail me and let me know if it works.

Tom

If there is such a prgoram to allow you to loose fat and gain muscle at the same time, I would like to know about it. Is that where you do high intensity work outs mixed with weight training and cut carbs?

I got my weight measurements done in january and april this year. i lost 1kg of fat mass and gained 2.1kgs of fat free mass. i strongly believe you can do both at the same time.

I’ve my fair share of this experience myself. To me.. yes you CAN lose weight and build muscles at the same time!! it’s no secret – i’ve shared it on my blog

I believe you can lose a LOT of fat and build a LITTLE muscle while doing it and that’s about it for me when talking about dong both things in the same time. You will definitely do better if you just choose one for a period of time and then completely focus on the other.

This is is HUGE. MORE DETAILS POR FAVOR

hey joel,
I really cant wait till sunday for part duex of this quite very interesting topic.
I tried so hard in the past to lose fat AND gain muscle…and not to say that it was easy..cuz it really wasnt, but it isnt impossible (just as you said). I used to weigh 242 lbs with a body fat % of 25….and with a little dieting and hard intensity excersise…i lost just a pound of overall body weight but dropped my body fat percentage down to 21%…so i’m assuming that i lost a heck of a lot of fat weight but replaced it with muscle weight….i know my success story isnt big and that i still have a long way ahead of me….but i would very much so be thankfull and interested in knowing your own method of how to acheive both fat loss and muscle gain.
Sal

Hi Joel,

I gained back a lot of weight, even more than my original weight, after i suffered an injury (avulsion of my left fibula), which made me averse to exercise, as I have a loose ankle which I dare not aggravate.

Now i’m at a dilemma because I don’t have an exercise regimen, and i have no idea whether to lose fat or gain muscle first, or how.

I’ll be so excited to see you share this concept of losing fat and gaining muscle so I can really improve on my body.

Cheers.

I am a meso/endo type body and gain muscle and power quickly with hard training. However I also tend to add fat at the same time. I would be happy to lose fat and not lose muscle at the same time, I always seem to lose power and muscle even when I increase my protein. Any ideas?

yah i’d love to know more bout this

Like all the comments above I would like details. My muscle mass is pretty good (actually damn good I’m told for a 50+ year old) but I need to lose fat. Can I lose the fat and at least KEEP the muscle? Even better, tell me how, at my age I can gain muscle and lose fat!

I don’t think one needs to consume more calories in order to build muscle. One needs to work the muscle harder (more weight, more stress on muscle). I can reduce my calories to reduce body fat, and at the same time increase muscle stress and gain muscle. Losing some weight and gaining some muscle at same time. This is what has been going on for me this past two months. Have lost six pounds but see more muscle definition in arms and legs (and increased my dumbbells from the 5 lb to 10 lb!). I’ve cut out a lot of bad carbs and started eating lots more fruit and vegetables, plus drinking more water. Slow progress but hopefully sure.

Hi Joel,

Everybody wants to know and wants to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Tom Venuto said “burn the fat, feed the muscle”. Vince Delmonte said “it will be like trying to date Jessica Alba and Eva at the same time” ( or something along the line.)

So, I would love to hear what your take is.

Here is what I think:

If you want to be really bulk up ( gain muscle) – go ahead, don’t worry about increasing fat clinging to you.

If you are going to cut ( lose fat ) – don’t freak out if you have no muscle added or lose some muscle at the same time

But I believe you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time – with counting calories, carb cycling etc. But it will be at slower rate ( which some people may deem inefficient ).

Human beings, by nature, like to have instant gratifications. So, that route ( trying to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time ) might not be for everyone. But for people with patient and practical expectations, it should be the way to go ( IMHO ).

So, I think anyone who want to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time need to ask themselves this:

1. Do you want to gain muscle in insane speed ? ( like 5 to 10 lbs and above per month ? – I’m not talking about dry muscle mass. A lot of that will be water weight.)

2. Do you want to lose fat in alarming rate ? ( like 8lbs to 12 lbs a month minimum weight loss )

3. Or do you want to stay in the same weight ( give or take 2lbs or 3 lbs + or – ) ? ( Your bodyweight might be the same but you might be a little bit muscular ( hence gain muscle ) and lean out at the same time ( hence lose fat)

Or … drum rolls please

4. Do you want to gain 25lbs or more of muscle and want to lose 20lbs or more of fat in a month??

If you choose option 4, welcome to the Dreamland of B.S and Marketing Hype.

Hi Joel. I think I’m living proof that a restricted calorie diet and weight training don’t work. I’ve given up trying to do both. I’m focusing on losing the fat for now, and then I’ll look at some reasonable bulking up afterwards.

But, if you know a secret, I’d love to hear it!

I would definitely like to know more. As someone who has the extra fat to lose but dooes not want to give up muscle gains, this sounds great.

more details please!

Well, heres my take. To reduce body fat, you must lower your caloric intake or increase the expenditure. You have got to use cardio and diet for this. But, you want to preserve or gain lean muscle mass. You will look much more muscular with less body fat. If you stick to a controlled diet with enough protein, good carbohydrate and fat, you can reduce weight and preserve what you have. And that is the body you will be after.
Go at it Joel. We all want this.