Best way to gain lean muscle and burn fat *READ THIS FIRST!*

[francci69]

I agree, of course supplements help... Who doesn't want to ripped physique sooner with the assistance of healthy supplementation???

but you cant say that supplemets do not help, just dont expect overnight miracles

[francci69]

Amen! Yes, it absolutely does matter what you eat ~ that is if you have a normal to low metabolism. It's all about your body type, study what works best for your body, then set goals, think positive & follow through!

[QUOTE=MsDesi;461114981]

It is not about 'what' you eat - it is about how much you eat. So my suggestions -
1. eat what she wants as long as it provides her the right calories, enough protein, and sufficient fats and fiber for health
2. eat as regularly as she wants as long as point 1. is reached.

QUOTE]

DISAGREE with pt. 1 you just contradicted yourself in this statement... if she WANTS to eat a big mack, it's not going to give her the sufficient nutrients.
This is what makes the difference between the cut, shapely person, versus the person who goes to the gym but still is chubby cause they aren't watching their food.

[flowerpower409]

LOL, yes there is! It's free and you probably have it lying around your house. It's either:
a) a picture of how you used to look that you desire to look like again
b) a picture of someone's body that you would like yours to resemble.

My willpower is how I currently look (not good at all) and my desire to never look like this again.

Yes, I *am* new here.

[LoraJR72]

My willpower is how I currently look (not good at all) and my desire to never look like this again.

Yes, I *am* new here.

I know you! Welcome and everyone is very helpful here.

[awhetstone]

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
train heavy with weights.
do a little cardio to keep healthy.
rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
train heavy with weights.
do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

Though fat-burners and high fiber foods also contribute to calorie deficit.

[kymkoren]

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
train heavy with weights.
do a little cardio to keep healthy.
rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
train heavy with weights.
do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

I have enjoyed reading this thread. I am a newbie and just found this website. BTW, I LOVE it. I am learning a ton on here but clearly I have much more to learn.

Emma-Leigh, my question to you and the group is....why is it one or the other? How do I achieve both at the same time? I want to build lean muscle WHILE dropping the body fat. So this leaves me confused, do I eat more or eat less? And do I increase cardio or do a less cadio?

I am 5'6", 125-128lbs, and skinny fat. A lot of fat & cellulite on my hips, legs and stomach. I am currently on week 2 of Jamie Eason's "12 week Tone & Define". Maybe I should have chose her "12week burning the fat program" instead? What do you guys think?

Thanks all!

[NothinButNat]

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
Train heavy with weights.
Do a little cardio to keep healthy.
Rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
Train heavy with weights.
Do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
Rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

so true!

[hammy21]

How do you eat more food and eat less food at the same time. Seems a bit contradicting...

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
train heavy with weights.
do a little cardio to keep healthy.
rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
train heavy with weights.
do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

[goalorientgirl]

How do you eat more food and eat less food at the same time. Seems a bit contradicting...

That's the whole point. With a few exceptions, most people have to pick one goal: gain muscle OR lose fat. Some people can do both at the same time (called a "recomp") and they do that by eating closer to their maintenance level of calories (ie. in the middle of what you'd aim for for either fat loss or muscle gain) but for most people it's one or the other.

[cvw010]

Thank You! I feel the same way...so yes you (we) can do this. Patients is willpower

[BrookeJohnson]

NO-Explode works wonders on keeping me focused in the gym, especially when I have no starchy carbs!

[BrookeJohnson]

With today's technology/research, whatever you want to call it, it would be silly to think supplements do nothing but waste money. They would be a waste of money if you didn't eat right and exercise. They don't replace bad habits, they just help when you are already doing what you should. Do a few no starchy carb days every week for 12 weeks, go the gym and lift with no supplements. Go to the gym and take something like NO-Explode and you will feel a difference. That focus and energy boost helps you workout harder/longer, which helps you burn fat/build muscle.

[AlexanderLin]

Thanks for such sharing and let's keep fit together.

[AlexanderLin]

It sounds great and I may have a try on it later.

[ShanWow]

With today's technology/research, whatever you want to call it, it would be silly to think supplements do nothing but waste money. They would be a waste of money if you didn't eat right and exercise. They don't replace bad habits, they just help when you are already doing what you should. Do a few no starchy carb days every week for 12 weeks, go the gym and lift with no supplements. Go to the gym and take something like NO-Explode and you will feel a difference. That focus and energy boost helps you workout harder/longer, which helps you burn fat/build muscle.

Agree 100% on the magic-ness that is N.O.Xplode!

[ameristar]

As a trained medical professional, I feel I may need to put in a word about eating what you want as long as it doesn't go over your daily limit of calories.

There is one slight problem that may effect your health. True, eating the right amount of calories is what will make you lose weight in the long run, but you need to think about your heart. If you eat pizza and unhealthy foods but exercise a lot, you might be thin, but your heart will actually become fatty. There are a lot of thin people walking around with fast metabolisms who eat very badly, and their hearts are fatty as all hell.

I don't know how many times I've had to pick up people who had a heart attack who actually weight less than I do. EAT HEALTHY FOODS!

[MrEx303]

very helpful stuff in here!

[cathy853]

Okay....

best way to lose fat:
East less food..... CHECK
Do more cardio.... CHECK
Rest.... CHECK
Train heavy.... NOT SO CHECK

If I do 20-30 minutes of cardio, 4-5x's per week, and lift heavy 5 days a week (split), but only doing 2-3 exercises for muscle group each week, will that work? Or am I going to have to do more than 2-3 exercises for each muscle group per week? Or switch to a 3-day split?

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
train heavy with weights.
do a little cardio to keep healthy.
rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
train heavy with weights.
do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

[kelkelcol]

My name is Kel and I am very new to all the bodybuilding stuff, however I am not new to working out. I am 103.6 lbs. and my body fat is at 16% and I am about 5ft 1. I am trying to get very lean, but I don't wanna lose muscle just body fat. I have been lifting, but decreased cardio...do I need to increase cardio? My diet is pretty strict, however I am sure it could use some tweaking as well. Anyone got any ideas? Thanks.

[chrisbinder1]

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
train heavy with weights.
do a little cardio to keep healthy.
rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
train heavy with weights.
do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

Nice suggestions...I will definately try to walk on your suggested way to loose weight.

[NatK]

How do you eat more food and eat less food at the same time. Seems a bit contradicting...

Reread - She didn't say to do both - you can't do both at the same time.

[kimm4]

My name is Kel and I am very new to all the bodybuilding stuff, however I am not new to working out. I am 103.6 lbs. and my body fat is at 16% and I am about 5ft 1. I am trying to get very lean, but I don't wanna lose muscle just body fat. I have been lifting, but decreased cardio...do I need to increase cardio? My diet is pretty strict, however I am sure it could use some tweaking as well. Anyone got any ideas? Thanks.

You're underweight for your height, so it's easy guess you don't carry much overall muscle at all. Trying to get leaner when you're underweight makes no sense...unless you're goal is to become emaciated. Your focus should be building, not cutting, you're going backwards...

[Emma-Leigh]

You're underweight for your height, so it's easy guess you don't carry much overall muscle at all. Trying to get leaner when you're underweight makes no sense...unless you're goal is to become emaciated. Your focus should be building, not cutting, you're going backwards...

Great suggestions as always, Kimm.

Okay....

best way to lose fat:
East less food..... CHECK
Do more cardio.... CHECK
Rest.... CHECK
Train heavy.... NOT SO CHECK

If I do 20-30 minutes of cardio, 4-5x's per week, and lift heavy 5 days a week (split), but only doing 2-3 exercises for muscle group each week, will that work? Or am I going to have to do more than 2-3 exercises for each muscle group per week? Or switch to a 3-day split?

These sorts of programs might work for the elite bodybuilder, but doing a 5 day split, for the other 98% of the population, is not necessary nor effective - they are not optimal for recovery, frequency, intensity or maintainability!

You are better off to pull back to a 3-4 x a week training program that incorporates more muscle groups per workout, allows you to hit each muscle every 3-5 days, and gives you more time to recover between sessions.

[100pursegirl]

[QUOTE=MT-mtn_girl;457915651]LOL, yes there is! It's free and you probably have it lying around your house. It's either:
a) a picture of how you used to look that you desire to look like again
b) a picture of someone's body that you would like yours to resemble.


Great advice! Watching the biggest loser also helps- hearing Jillian work out the contestants gets me to do an extra workout!

[beccbecc]

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
train heavy with weights.
do a little cardio to keep healthy.
rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
train heavy with weights.
do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

Sorry I'm still working out my fat loss nutrition so I might be a bit off the mark. I'm assuming then you are referring to (dreamer?) bulking & cutting.

With that how do you know when you are "ready" to cut?

A friend of mine mentioned lean bulking. Does this lie somewhere between the two?

[alexisdoles]

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
train heavy with weights.
do a little cardio to keep healthy.
rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
train heavy with weights.
do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

TOTALLY agree about the supplements. I recently weaned myself off of OxyElite, and before that NoExplode. Now I'm just natural, eating well and sleeping right.

Basically though I wanted to lose fat and I am already fit. Low body fat percentage, good muscle tone. In the past two weeks I lost about 6lbs which is DIFFICULT for me because I dont have *much* to lose, just in a few spots, and I build muscle quickly.

I did it by cutting calories, eating very lean foods, drinking more water, adding more leg work outs and doing more cardio.

Been taking naps every day...I feel great.

[lillfish]

My willpower is how I currently look (not good at all) and my desire to never look like this again.

Yes, I *am* new here.

that's a good way of saying it. I feel like I don't give as much effort as I could, but I sure as hell desire to be a lot leaner. I guess it's a matter of putting those two together.

[aereo41]

best way to gain lean muscle:
eat more food.
train heavy with weights.
do a little cardio to keep healthy.
rest enough.


best way to lose fat:
eat less food.
train heavy with weights.
do more cardio to add to calorie deficit.
rest enough.


best way to waste money:
buy lots of useless supplements thinking they will help magically with the above.

It's more about the effort you put in the gym, not the supplements you take.

[ItaLiCs]

It's more about the effort you put in the gym, not the supplements you take.

Trying to lose fat & gain muscle is hard. But I agree with the before mentioned; you have to have a balance of what you eat & cardio to accomplish both!

[diannagail]

Emma-Leigh has it right... for diet I follow the one Christina prepares for her husband Matt Dugdale... the one with no special considerations for a competition time line.... her videos are great... she has videos on Bodybuilding.com under Cooking With Christina.... great stuff to check out.... I use just basic, easy to prepare, inexpensive good ingredients and it works great for me.
For lifting I go for the big basic, compound movements and stay away from simple, isolated ones. The big basic lifts work the whole body in combination, so each lift works more muscles at a time and I get more all over fitness. I lift heavy but only up the point of needing a belt. I usually do three to four sets of 10 down to 4 reps. Increasing the weight and dropping the reps with each set. The 10 to 4 is for mass which is my objective at this time.