Gain Weight? Lose Fat? What am I doing

[alewisdvm]

Hello,
35 years old, male, 5'9" about 176 give or take a pound or two.
Body Fat %? Not sure. Guess around 25%

I am not really sure what to be training for...
My goal is to get some more mass on arms, but I do need to lose belly fat.

So, confused on whether I should be trying to lose weight based on current body weight, or if I should be bulking, despite the belly fat problem.

Currently, taking 5g creatine daily, krill oil twice daily, and trying to tolerate (plenty of gas) optimum nutrition gold whey (take 2 shakes a day) in addition to 3 healthy loaded protein meals.

Thanks for guidance.

[runner_79]

drop 1 of the shakes and add in some dense protein like tuna and some fat like olive oil

steps:
work at YOUR BMR. add 200-300 calories which is just above maintenance which will be slower at the start due to the lower calorie intake, but will minimise fat gain during a bulk.

are you active? the more aerobic you are, the more starchy carbs i.e sweet potato you will need.
If you plan on just getting bigger and not doing any intense running per se,
you can get away with eating only VEGGIES, LOTS OF PROTEIN AND FATS (OLIVE OIL AND COCONUT MILK/OIL)

ratios look like this 40-50% protein, 40% fats, 10% carbs
cyclic keto diet will work best for this goal.
look in wendler 5/3/1 and get your 8 hours sleep and some sunlight each day
any questions let me know

[alewisdvm]

Hello,
Thanks for the information.
Activity level: I try to go to the gym at least 3 days a week. I'll split chest/bi, back/tri, and shoulder and/or legs whenever I have the chance. I try to sneak in at least 20 minutes on the elliptical with focus on target HR @ 78% of max for cardio health.

I can't really say my bodyweight really changes at all. I'll have some swings because of the creatine, but that's about it.

My calorie intake...I guess I really need to start calculating it out.
A typical day meal would be:
Breakfast: Bowl of oatmeal with 2 eggs and orange juice. Sometimes an english muffin
11am: Shake
Lunch: A togo's turkey or chicken sandwich. Baked chips. Water. No soda
5pm: Shake
Dinner: A chicken meal, fish, pasta dish, etc...

I don't really think the calorie intake is that high to begin with. I think the fat % is probably quite low.

I think there is a key point or something I am missing from above?

[runner_79]

drop juices and chips.

staples:
whey
creatine
fish oils
vitamin d
magnesium

there isnt a lot of protein there man.

rule of thumb to gain mass without gaining too much fat.
1.2-1.5g per lb of body weight eg a 180lb male needs a minimum of 180g of protein but more desirable to have around 220-240g
keep carbs to whole grain sources for now and limit fruit intake due to excess being sent to liver and spilt over and converting to fat.
5-6 meals a day every say 2-3 hours.
train hard and heavy.
the carbs are best used pre and post workout only to maximise musle glycogen and replenishment.

eg. brekky 3 whole eggs and 6 egg whites and some veggies
snack- handful of mixed nuts and a shake
lunch- massive as$ salad with lots of protein and some olive oil
pre workout meal-1 hard boiled egg and small serve sweet potato
intra-workout - BCAAs
postworkout- coconut water with whey
dinner- huge piece of protein and lots of veggies and some olive oil or coconut oil

[Docmattic]

What runner is saying is good info. I wouldnt run a bulk at 25% bodyfat. Id look at trimming down.

If you want to drop fat make all your meals hight protien and only eat starchy carbs for breakfast, pre and post workout and make them low gi (wholemeal) unless post workout). Otherwise get them from fibrous vegetables. So if you dont lift, no need to eat starchy carbs other than something like oats for breakfast.

[alewisdvm]

Wow, that's a lot of protein.
I am currently using the optimum nutrition whey. I am fine with that (I'll tolerate the gas), but what else can I do to make getting sufficient protein daily easier?

Also, any particular vegetables preferred for training?

[runner_79]

Wow, that's a lot of protein.
I am currently using the optimum nutrition whey. I am fine with that (I'll tolerate the gas), but what else can I do to make getting sufficient protein daily easier?

Also, any particular vegetables preferred for training?

No preference.
Shakes do help. Make a small stew and shove a sh1t load of protein in it

[Docmattic]

Wow, that's a lot of protein.
I am currently using the optimum nutrition whey. I am fine with that (I'll tolerate the gas), but what else can I do to make getting sufficient protein daily easier?

Also, any particular vegetables preferred for training?

Dont get me wrong, i dont mean protien powder. It has its place and is very useful. But i mean more like Meat, and cottage cheese.

any vegtables are good except starchy vegetables like potato.

Its a little pricey, but if you can afford $42 look up 'the anabolic cookbook'
It has great recipes and meal plans that can get you kick started for fatloss and plans for when you want to bulk up. Its an e-book but in my opinion very good. It takes a lot of the guess work out. I wish id found it earlier.

[runner_79]

Dont get me wrong, i dont mean protien powder. It has its place and is very useful. But i mean more like Meat, and cottage cheese.

any vegtables are good except starchy vegetables like potato.

Its a little pricey, but if you can afford $42 look up 'the anabolic cookbook'
It has great recipes and meal plans that can get you kick started for fatloss and plans for when you want to bulk up. Its an e-book but in my opinion very good. It takes a lot of the guess work out. I wish id found it earlier.

I found mine for free bro.

[alewisdvm]

I think I have come to the conclusion I should't be so focused on bulking and arm size, and perhaps, really trying to shed some of the extra weight and the belly fat.

Trying to keep it as simple as possible...so I stick to it.....

Increase protein intake & got to burn calories. Right?

I like the elliptical trainer as it is easy for flat feet. I am sure I can do some jogging. Any other suggestions on not just weight loss, but to burn belly fat?

Thanks

[compudog]

I think I have come to the conclusion I should't be so focused on bulking and arm size, and perhaps, really trying to shed some of the extra weight and the belly fat.

Trying to keep it as simple as possible...so I stick to it.....

Increase protein intake & got to burn calories. Right?

I like the elliptical trainer as it is easy for flat feet. I am sure I can do some jogging. Any other suggestions on not just weight loss, but to burn belly fat?

Thanks

Hi, In order to drop fat you need to decrease your calories to less than maintenance. It's tricky, because if you go too low you'll get super hungry and eat everything and undo all your work. If you eat too much obviously it won't work at all. Aiming for just below maintenance is probably the best idea. No matter how you do it though, it will involve being hungry. Some have told me they can use a ketogenic diet (Atkins style) and lose weight without being hungry, I say they're fooling themselves. Others worry about losing muscle, but I don' think that's an issue either. A human body stores fat to use for energy later on. At the same time, a body builds muscle in order to cope with whatever work load is currently demanded from it. So, if you keep lifting the same weight while you're cutting you won't lose muscle, and if you go hungry for at least part of the time (i.e. intermittent fasting) you will lose fat. That's how it works, and it does work, the problem of course is being hungry. Good luck.

[alewisdvm]

Hypotheticially:
Let's say I eat roughly the same way. Perhaps replace some carb filled treats with more protein.
So, overall calorie intake stays the same.

But!
Right now, I do very little cardio. If I began running or doing elliptical everyday, and let's say burned an extra 300-400 calories a day, wouldn't that result in a few pounds off per month?

[yankinNcrankn]

Just keep it simple don't over think it. If you workout and give 100% each workout your body will change as a result (no brainer). Avoid a lot of simple sugars candy etc through out the day only exception would be right after a workout you could have simple sugars like candy or honey etc. Eat every 2-3 hours small servings from carbs, fat, and protein have your total daily calories at about 2300+ or -. Try to drink a gallon or more of water throughout the day. As you get the caloric intake down then you can play with vitamins and macros, I normally would try to get everything from food sources 1st then as you know more about your body go experiment with supplements, keep up with the creatine though that will definitely help you.

[bigdavid]

It would be best to focus on eating smaller meals throughout the day and making sure your carb sources are complex and lean protein sources with healthy fats like almonds but limit your fats in general.

Basically until you are around 10% body fat I think your focus should be on body fat reduction. You can still keep most of your mass if you space your meals well and eat just below maintenance.

Your body will actually be able to bulk better with lower body fat levels you will have better insulin sensitivity and your thyroid output should be better as well.

[alewisdvm]

Thank you.
I came to the same conclusion. I figured if bulking for the purpose of gaining muscle, I had no chance to strip away the belly fat.

I downloaded the myfitnesspal program to help count calories. Neat little program that predicts calorie intake, calories burned, to help figure out a expected weekly weight loss. I am just going to aim for 1 pound per week. At 175 currently. I'll keep working out (weight lifting 3x a week total body) and cardio 3-5x/week time permitting.
I'll re-evaluate body fat once I hit 168.