Which road should I start with?

[FiveThunders]

Hello Everyone,

After doing some reading regarding the many posts concerned with starting your workout routine, I am at a loss as to what my goal should be regarding the best path to take. I understand the principals of losing and gaining weight (Deficit and surplus) and I am sure there are many workout plans here that are quite well written. However, I am not sure if I should start with a surplus or a deficit. Some of my basic stats are:

5 ft 7
158 Lbs
22% Body fat
Experience in bodybuilding: minimal to say the least

I am specifically concerned with my fat % and hence why I'm even considering a calorie deficit in my workout, but would it be wiser to focus solely on building muscle first?
I'm at a loss.

Thank you in advance

[MatthewCocking]

Hi There,

Its great to have you on the forum! i hope you find it of use.

I would personally suggest beginning with fat loss. The best BF% you can be at in terms of gaining muscle is roughly 9%-12% BF. At this point, your body has realised that its need for bodyfat is minimal. Therefore a better % of your weight gain will be muscle.

I have just mentioned both of these sources in another post, however i believe that once again they will add value. Check out both of the below by Googling them:

Anthony mychal
Fasting Twins

When it comes to loosing body fat, both of these sources should be of excellent use for you. They both are advocates of Intermitting Fasting, as am I. Its excellent for fat loss and will be an extremely efficient way of loosing fat while still enjoying your life.

I hope these sources are of assistance for you!

[FiveThunders]

Hi There,

Its great to have you on the forum! i hope you find it of use.

I would personally suggest beginning with fat loss. The best BF% you can be at in terms of gaining muscle is roughly 9%-12% BF. At this point, your body has realised that its need for bodyfat is minimal. Therefore a better % of your weight gain will be muscle.

I have just mentioned both of these sources in another post, however i believe that once again they will add value. Check out both of the below by Googling them:

Anthony mychal
Fasting Twins

When it comes to loosing body fat, both of these sources should be of excellent use for you. They both are advocates of Intermitting Fasting, as am I. Its excellent for fat loss and will be an extremely efficient way of loosing fat while still enjoying your life.

I hope these sources are of assistance for you!

Hey Mathew,

Thank you so much for your prompt reply! and I must say, I just took a look at the Anthony Mychal website and I believe his target audience fits my description perfectly. But I have to ask, is the method actually effective (The skinny fat solution that is) given that you're an advocate and all?

Thanks

[MatthewCocking]

Hi again mate,

I have personally expanded on the intermittent fasting routine that Anthony discusses. I personally do not split out the macros of fats and carbs. I believe that as long as I track calories and protein, then generally fats and carbs will naturally balance due to my cravings. I don't believe is "clean eating" just moderation.

I have had excellent results from intermittent fasting, as well as it offering a great, real life solution to dieting. Ive found that having 2 meals a day that are basically lunch and dinner fits into my life and routine a lit easier than the whole "6 small meals a day" and its a lot less antisocial.

My advice would be, as long as you are getting sufficient protein (between 0.8-1g per lb of bodyweight) and hitting your calorie intake on each day, you will get results whether you're cutting OR bulking.

When I say I am an advocate, I simply meant I agree and have found the methods to work, I do not promote for them I would simply advise trying it for yourself and seeing what you think!

Enjoy!

[SuffolkPunch]

I believe that as long as I track calories and protein, then generally fats and carbs will naturally balance due to my cravings.

This is sensible - so long as you can be sure you are getting sufficient essential fats - unless you actively choose low fat options all the time, this probably won't be a problem.

I like IF but you have to realise the only acknowledged benefit is that you don't feel hungry during the fast because of meal pattern entrainment, any other hinted-at benefits are speculative at best - and IF is certainly not optimal for when you go into a mass gain phase in the future. If you want to keep the meal timings in this case, a good way is to have a protein shake first thing in the am containing at least 30g of protein (don't mess with BCAAs, these are just more expensive and less complete than basic whey)

[MatthewCocking]

One more added benefit i have found from IF is the real life application. You never catch family complaining if you don't attend breakfast (Plus, who has a big family breakfast) whereas if you are continually missing out on evening meals because you've already had 5 of your 6 small meals, and you're saving the 6th for Pre-bed.. You get a lot more complaints! :P

[SuffolkPunch]

One more added benefit i have found from IF is the real life application. You never catch family complaining if you don't attend breakfast (Plus, who has a big family breakfast) whereas if you are continually missing out on evening meals because you've already had 5 of your 6 small meals, and you're saving the 6th for Pre-bed.. You get a lot more complaints! :P

But the 6 meal thing is not the only alternative to IF. You could also just eat like normal people and have breakfast, lunch and dinner. The results would be broadly the same. Some people feel terrible skipping breakfast and perform badly in the gym. The point is that those people don't need to feel like they are missing out on something because IF doesn't work for them.

[MatthewCocking]

Positives over Negatives my friend! Whatever works best in your life was exactly my point! Therefore if you want 3 meals go for it! I was simply saying there was another positive reason for IF Each to his own of course!

[addseo1118]

Great recommends, thanks for sharing. Have a good training.