[Nacho1545]

Well here is my question... If I am trying to lose fat and gain muscle, how should I go about doing that?
Right now I am 5' 10" 171, 9.4% body fat. I want to keep the fat off but gain muscle...

Current supps:
Cellucor M5
Cellucor D4 Thermal Shock
BCAAs
Beta-Alanine
Test booster
Mutli Vitamins + Omega 3

Now, I think I want to stop the D4 cause I think I lost enough fat\weight, but I don't want to gain any fat... What do you guys think? Stop the D4 from now or finish up the 2 1/2 weeks that I have left... Or save it for when I want to cut before the beach?

[Nacho1545]

To add to the above.. I just read that its impossible to do both at the same time.. How can I gain muscle without getting fatter? Its summer... I want to get big but look ripped...

[Jim Mills]

Well get this.... I was around 185lbs @ 13-14% bf @ 5'7" My arms were 17.25" flexed and I never did a clean bulk, ate everything but the kitchen sink and worked out hard for 5 years...As of today about 4 months later, I'm down to 168 lbs abound 9-10% bf and my arms flexed are 17" and the best thing, all my lifts are the same except my bench (down 20lbs)... When I started my cut all my lifts went down a little, but soon enough all came back......... I say it was my diet... I stuck to chicken, fish, steak and veggies for my main meals and eggs, whey, Natty BB, almonds and a few other things for my in between meals... I always switched my workout plan every 8 weeks after a one week rest.... Funny thing, after working out hard for 4-5 years, I just "finally" found my way
Diet, diet, diet... Lift and rest.... Man it's great to be 43 and still put on muscle.

[calidood]

I guess it depends on who you are. But I'm sure you've heard that and are tired of hearing it. Seems like everyone says that, so I'm gonna tell you what helped me to lose fat while actually still putting on muscle. Sounds dumb and it's not hard at all....I ate 5-6 small meals a day. Didn't even eat that clean at all to be honest. Still had chips and stuff every few days. But I never did cardio before that. I started trying it after working out but didn't seem like it did much. Then, I started doing just about 20 minutes of cardio BEFORE I lifted. It made my lifts a little weaker because I was winded before I got started, but it really made a difference. My arms and chest got more vascular, you could see my abs better, my legs were more cut. It really helped out. I've read that doing your cardio before lifting helps build up your testosterone because you are working your legs, which tells the body to build more test. I don't know if it would work for you, but give it a shot. You may know all of this already, and if so, I'm sorry I wasted your time. But it really helped me.

[sreed11]

I'd stay stick with the d4, try and cut that bodyfat a little lower but really focus on diet. It's not impossible to lose fat and gain muscle. When Average Joe first starts working out for a few months he's upset because his weight on the scale hasn't gone down at all but everybody keeps telling him he's looking a lot better... It's because he's losing fat and gaining muscle. It's very typical actually. I say you can do the same. I've cut down 1% bodyfat since the summer started and haven't lost a pound. I've simply done this by switching my red meat with chicken and adding in cardio.

EDIT: i know nothing about d4... i just said stick with it cause you made it seem like that had been what's helping you.

[SureShot]

A ketogenic diet plus cardio is what is working for me right now. My lifts keep going up and I am at my leanest in 4 years.

[Nacho1545]

Thanks for all the info guys!! I didn't think I was going to get this much feed back... I decided to stop the D4 for now so I can see how my body reacts (I lost more weight before I started on a fat burner). Plus I was at the same body fat % for over a week with crash diets.. I'll see what happens for now.. My supps are all done in about 2-3 weeks so I will cycle for 2 weeks and see what happens...

Jim, you said that you take a week off every once and awhile??? I just take off from the gym if its closed (I have one at the office and is closed on weekends) or when I am on vacation...

Calidood, my buddy at work told me to run first then lift too.. I think I may try that...

PS. What should I do about my supp list? Anything to remove or add? I don't want any bloating.. I was thinking of going with Sizeon and Super pump after all this stuff finishes..

[Guejsn]

Originally Posted by Nacho1545

Well here is my question... If I am trying to lose fat and gain muscle, how should I go about doing that?
Right now I am 5' 10" 171, 9.4% body fat. I want to keep the fat off but gain muscle...

Hiya. Like someone already mentioned, it's completely POSSIBLE to lose fat AND gain muscle simultaneously! Some people will disagree, since the diet required for each are technically at opposite ends of the calorie spectrum...Personally I find that my body LOSES BF best when I cheat 3-4 days a week, with calories as high as 8000/day; with the rest of the week at 500 calories below my 'Maintenance' calories...The most important kind of training to be doing is resistance training (I do this 4 x a week for ~40 minutes a session, weights as heavy as possible, with minimal recovery). Cardio is NOT essential, but helps to keep the metabolism up and 'lets' you eat MORE (even though I do cardio 6-7 x a week, it is SHORT in duration, usually only ever 20-30 minutes; but of very high intensity, usually >80% HRmax)...In the last 7 weeks I have only lost 1kg (i.e. 2.2 pounds), but have lost 4.5% BF. My strength and power have both increased as well...However, everyone is different and will react differently to different diet and exercise regimes than someone else, so you need to experiment a little, and find what works for you.

P.S. A couple of supplements that have helped me big time in doing what I have managed are AN's IGF-2 and NeoVar, a stack that I highly recommend for Recomping (which sounds like what you want to do).

[Jim Mills]

Originally Posted by Nacho1545

Jim, you said that you take a week off every once and awhile??? I just take off from the gym if its closed (I have one at the office and is closed on weekends) or when I am on vacation...

Yup, some may disagree, but I think a week off every 8-10 weeks is good for you... Not only are you putting your body through total recovery, you'll also feel much better once you start up again... Also during that start up week, you'll feel you've had a great workout.

[DreamOfWeight]

i lost about 8-10%body fat and gained around 4-5 lbs on my total weight... get ur diet/staples right, and u can achieve anything... Lift hard!/Run long!/ and eat frequently! goodluck! and dont forget ur ultrapeptide2.0!

[EasyEJL]

its not impossible to do both at once, however it is easier and generally more effective to do one then the other. if you can gain 2lbs of lean mass in a month, or loose 4lbs of fat in a month, you will get better results doing that separately over 2 months (mass gain first, fat loss second), than trying to both at the same time.

[Jim Mills]

Originally Posted by EasyEJL

its not impossible to do both at once, however it is easier and generally more effective to do one then the other. if you can gain 2lbs of lean mass in a month, or loose 4lbs of fat in a month, you will get better results doing that separately over 2 months (mass gain first, fat loss second), than trying to both at the same time.

Rep for that post ^^^... EasyEJL, that has to be the best avatar on this forum.

[EasyEJL]

I have a ton of nightmare before christmas stuff in the house, coffee mugs, shirts, etc. i dress as jack for halloween every year

[sreed11]

Originally Posted by EasyEJL

I have a ton of nightmare before christmas stuff in the house, coffee mugs, shirts, etc. i dress as jack for halloween every year

That show gives me nightmares to this day... more than anything. Exorcist... you name it. Nothing creepier than an evil looking cartoon stick figure.

[Jim Mills]

Originally Posted by sreed11

That show gives me nightmares to this day... more than anything. Exorcist... you name it. Nothing creepier than an evil looking cartoon stick figure.

Awww man, Jacks my favorite pumpkin king.

[Nacho1545]

Originally Posted by Jim Mills

Yup, some may disagree, but I think a week off every 8-10 weeks is good for you... Not only are you putting your body through total recovery, you'll also feel much better once you start up again... Also during that start up week, you'll feel you've had a great workout.

During that one week, are you still taking supps or should I do this during my 2 week cycle and don't take anything? (what about protein supp)?

You guys ever here about eating white bread after working out with some protein?? Or what about drinking Gatorade with protein?