skinny-fat nutrition?

[theriftable]

basically i realized a few weeks ago i was getting a skinny-fat pot belly stomach so i decided to reduce calories from approx. 3000 cals a day down to 2700. as of today my stomach is pretty much back to normal and is pretty flat.

but now i wanna focus on gaining lean muscle mass, but at the same time stay lean in the midsection and not start to look semi-bloated again. i realize that in order to put on more muscle i will probably have to increase calories.

so how many calories should i be eating daily? and how much protein?

[TheDopz]

basically i realized a few weeks ago i was getting a skinny-fat pot belly stomach so i decided to reduce calories from approx. 3000 cals a day down to 2700. as of today my stomach is pretty much back to normal and is pretty flat.

but now i wanna focus on gaining lean muscle mass, but at the same time stay lean in the midsection and not start to look semi-bloated again. i realize that in order to put on more muscle i will probably have to increase calories.

so how many calories should i be eating daily? and how much protein?

Welcome to my life lol. But I'm confused about something. Are you saying you were bulking(overly, apparently) on 3,000 cals and you lost weight on 2700? It's possible that at 3k cals you were putting on water weight, and when you cut back a little bit, you dropped the water. If this is case you might be carb-sensitive, in which case I would add in calories with some healthy fats till you start gaining where you are happy. What are you macros like? I would shoot for about 200g of protein.

[rob440]

Once you are working out regularly you probably wont have a problem controlling your body fat. I have been skinny fat when young and plain fat as an adult and once I was exercising hard it just melts away. I would kick in a supportive diet and hit the gym hard but not restrict the calories too much. After a couple of months if you fat levels are not going down you could always adjust.Because you have the extra energy cushion (the fat around your waist) you can still put on some muscle without over eating.

You can figure out how many calories you need by how many you currently take in. Track it for at least a week and divide by however many days you kept a record. To gain add more to lose subtract. I would start with around 200 gms of quality(containing all the essential amino acids) protein. Thats only 800 calories from protein so you will have to play around with your carb protein ratio and find what works well for you.

[theriftable]

Welcome to my life lol. But I'm confused about something. Are you saying you were bulking(overly, apparently) on 3,000 cals and you lost weight on 2700? It's possible that at 3k cals you were putting on water weight, and when you cut back a little bit, you dropped the water. If this is case you might be carb-sensitive, in which case I would add in calories with some healthy fats till you start gaining where you are happy. What are you macros like? I would shoot for about 200g of protein.

well i think my metabolism might have changed (not sure) because my maintainance used to be 3000 cals and 3500 for bulking. but now it seems that 3000 cals makes me bloated, and feel better since reducing to 2700.

surprisingly though (or maybe not) my weight has not gone down but my stomach fat has reduced. not real sure what the reason for that is, but i didnt want to lose weight anyway because im already skinny, i just wanted to reduce body fat/ be leaner.

wondering what the best way to put on muscle while keeping the fat off and approximately how many cals i should be eating to do this. and yes, i dont think im eating enough protein

[Reidy]

well i think my metabolism might have changed (not sure) because my maintainance used to be 3000 cals and 3500 for bulking. but now it seems that 3000 cals makes me bloated, and feel better since reducing to 2700.

surprisingly though (or maybe not) my weight has not gone down but my stomach fat has reduced. not real sure what the reason for that is, but i didnt want to lose weight anyway because im already skinny, i just wanted to reduce body fat/ be leaner.

wondering what the best way to put on muscle while keeping the fat off and approximately how many cals i should be eating to do this. and yes, i dont think im eating enough protein

I really don't think there's a magic number in terms of calories or whatever since every body is different. As it is, I'm in a similar boat as you, and right now I'm experimenting with eating around 300-400 calories over maintenance while lifting as heavy as possible 4-5 days/week and doing METCON workouts on my off days. I've already noticed strength gains and the "mirror test" seems to be working as well, but my weight hasn't really changed.

My theory is, it's entirely possible for me (as well as you) to put on lean mass (read: muscle, not fat) eating slightly over maintenance while burning body fat. I haven't had my bodyfat tested, but I plan on measuring my waist, arms, chest, legs, etc. and getting a bf% test done soon. The long term goal is 10-15 lbs of lean muscle by March, but if I'm 195 by then and my bodyfat % has lowered significantly, I'll know I was successful.

Sorry if I rambled a bit there. Basically what I'm doing and what I think will work for you as well is to eat slightly over your maintenance while lifting hard and heavy and staying committed. Meet your macros (I'm getting around 300g of protein, 400g carbs, and 100g fat daily) on a consistent basis and I think you'll get the gains you're looking for.

Good luck.

[theriftable]

Once you are working out regularly you probably wont have a problem controlling your body fat. I have been skinny fat when young and plain fat as an adult and once I was exercising hard it just melts away. I would kick in a supportive diet and hit the gym hard but not restrict the calories too much. After a couple of months if you fat levels are not going down you could always adjust.Because you have the extra energy cushion (the fat around your waist) you can still put on some muscle without over eating.

You can figure out how many calories you need by how many you currently take in. Track it for at least a week and divide by however many days you kept a record. To gain add more to lose subtract. I would start with around 200 gms of quality(containing all the essential amino acids) protein. Thats only 800 calories from protein so you will have to play around with your carb protein ratio and find what works well for you.

thanks, so what type of brand of protein shakes would you use? i just have some Powebar type protein that only has 20g per scoop and i think its crap. i used to drink the muscle milk/muscle juice crap with a bunch of sugar but stopped taking it because i think its garbage.

and how many grams are should come from shakes and hw much from regular food? for example if i just drink 80 g of protein through protein shakes,and then eat normally for the rest of the day that should probably cover the 200 g right? and is it even possible for the body to digest 80 g at one time if i make an 80 g protein shake?

[TheDopz]

thanks, so what type of brand of protein shakes would you use? i just have some Powebar type protein that only has 20g per scoop and i think its crap. i used to drink the muscle milk/muscle juice crap with a bunch of sugar but stopped taking it because i think its garbage.

and how many grams are should come from shakes and hw much from regular food? for example if i just drink 80 g of protein through protein shakes,and then eat normally for the rest of the day that should probably cover the 200 g right? and is it even possible for the body to digest 80 g at one time if i make an 80 g protein shake?

While there's a lot of broscience about the body "only being able to digest X amount of protein at a time", 80 grams is a lot at once lol, your tummy probably won't be too happy with you, especially from a shake. What I would do(and what I actually do) is I have a protein blend(I use trutein) with oats ~1 hour before my workout, and a whey shake post(Xtreme Formulations Whey)with a whole food meal about an hour after that. Both shakes are around 40g of protein, so there would be your 80g from shakes, and you can get the rest from your normal meals.

[Reidy]

thanks, so what type of brand of protein shakes would you use? i just have some Powebar type protein that only has 20g per scoop and i think its crap. i used to drink the muscle milk/muscle juice crap with a bunch of sugar but stopped taking it because i think its garbage.

and how many grams are should come from shakes and hw much from regular food? for example if i just drink 80 g of protein through protein shakes,and then eat normally for the rest of the day that should probably cover the 200 g right? and is it even possible for the body to digest 80 g at one time if i make an 80 g protein shake?

I use Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard protein post-workout and BSN Syntha-6 w/ milk before bed. Both taste real good, although you probably get more bang for your buck with ON's products.

As for the shakes vs. regular food, I don't think it really matters as long as you're meeting your daily macros. Same for the meal timing thing. I know there's some people who think the body can only digest X amount of protein at a time, or you need to eat X amount of protein after your workout and whatever else, but from what I can gather there's not much scientific evidence to back that up.

Honestly man, I wouldn't worry about the numbers and everything too much. Your main focus should be on eating enough at the end of the day where you're getting enough protein, carbs, and fat. As far as I can tell it doesn't really matter where these sources come from or at what times you eat them, so long as you do. Further, make sure you're exercising consistently. If you couple the two together over time, gains are inevitable.

At least that's how I'm approaching things.

[theriftable]

While there's a lot of broscience about the body "only being able to digest X amount of protein at a time", 80 grams is a lot at once lol, your tummy probably won't be too happy with you, especially from a shake. What I would do(and what I actually do) is I have a protein blend(I use trutein) with oats ~1 hour before my workout, and a whey shake post(Xtreme Formulations Whey)with a whole food meal about an hour after that. Both shakes are around 40g of protein, so there would be your 80g from shakes, and you can get the rest from your normal meals.

ok thanks, and would you suggest drinking protein shakes on non-workout days too? im guessing that would help with muscle building while helping to minimize fat gains but im not sure.

[rob440]

Meat eggs poultry and seafood will give you a good start. Have a little of one of those things in each of your meals. Depending on how many times you eat this should get you pretty close. I would get used to measuring out the portions for a while to get the hang of what nutrients you are getting from just your diet. I would try to get most of it from food but if needed a shake or 2 during the day is fine. I like to use unflavored whey isolate or concentrate but any good brand will do fine. I like to space my meals out largely because I eat a fairly large amount of food in a day and i would feel awful if I tried to eat in in huge portions.You could try that and see if you like it but you will likely have to do whatever your schedule allows. Be sure to have some vegetables and maybe some rice potatoes or something of that nature with your meals as well. then you will have to tweak things as you grow and change or if the results arent in line with your goals.

80 grams? It went from 35gms to 50 to 80 but The current research says there is no limit to how much protein can be digested but its irrelevant for me due to my meal spacing anyway so right or wrong I dont sweat it. I wonder sometimes if the supplement companies pay for these studies in an effort to sell more product?

[TheDopz]

ok thanks, and would you suggest drinking protein shakes on non-workout days too? im guessing that would help with muscle building while helping to minimize fat gains but im not sure.

. I would try to get most of it from food but if needed a shake or 2 during the day is fine.

Agree, shakes are great if you're having trouble hitting your protein goals, but it can't replace food.

80 grams? It went from 35gms to 50 to 80 but The current research says there is no limit to how much protein can be digested but its irrelevant for me due to my meal spacing anyway so right or wrong I dont sweat it. I wonder sometimes if the supplement companies pay for these studies in an effort to sell more product?

Lol, probably. I still think 80g from a shake, especially with lactose, will give you an upset stomache though. Good reads below for anyone who still thinks you can only digest X grams at a time

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-n...a-single-meal/