Can I lose 45 lbs of fat and gain 13 lbs of muscle in 9 months?

[onequestion123]

I am currently 212 lbs with a 40 inch waist and 28 percent body fat. That means I have 60 lbs of fat on me and 152 lbs of lean mass. I want to reduce my body fat to 15 lbs while weighing 180 lbs. That means I need my lean mass to get to 165 lbs.

I have been in better shape before but only a little better. Back in 2013 I had a 38 inch waist at the same weight I am at now, so obviously I had more muscle. I know the Hodgetwins say that it takes 1 month to gain 1 lb of muscle but if I had more muscle before, is it easier to gain it back?

I do not have a gym membership but I know advanced calisthenic workouts for all 4 of my muscle groups. I also like to run but haven't been able to these past 4 years because of a respiratory condition. But if I am able to run, do I still have to restrict my carbs? I am perfectly willing to give up fried foods, sugary foods and other junk food. I already don't drink sugared drinks. But I want to be able to get in way better shape in 9 months without having to restrict my carbs/starch in general.

[Tommy W.]

Probably not with your knowledge base.

[Redfish225]

Probably not with your knowledge base.

I see what you did there bub, lol.

[onequestion123]

Probably not with your knowledge base.

What do you mean?

[Tommy W.]

It takes someone with a good understanding of diet and fitness to come close to those numbers and you are not in that category. It's best to be realistic on these things rather than blowing smoke.

[onequestion123]

It takes someone with a good understanding of diet and fitness to come close to those numbers and you are not in that category. It's best to be realistic on these things rather than blowing smoke.

How long do you think it will take realistically for me to achieve my goal if 9 months isn't realistic?

[rhadam]

Couple years.

[Tommy W.]

How long do you think it will take realistically for me to achieve my goal if 9 months isn't realistic?

id start by consciously taking in fewer calories and spending time reading the stickies on these forums. 2-3 years will do it if you do things right.

[royalmike]

Your Canadian you can do anything


realistically though if you had Nutrition and work outs one hundred percent optimized probably, but as mentioned above your first serious cut very unlikely.
Read the stickies and then consistency determination will get you there but probably one to two years.
Good Luck keep us updated.

[Gayle1]

Only one way to find out

[rdown76]

I think you can lose the weight if you track what you eat and limit your calories. You will need to lift heavy to keep your mass. Read Bigger Leaner Stronger and see his plan. You can have good carbs and all.

[davisj3537]

9 months is one hell of an aggressive goal for someone that is an expert at this stuff. Doing with no nutritional background and with calisthenics is impossible. Read the stickies in this section and get on a good weight lifting program from the workout program section stickies. Adjust your goal to 2 years and reassess every few months.

[Luclin999]

1. You probably have more fat and less lean mass on your frame than you think that you do. Almost everyone overestimates the amount of muscle they have under their fat and based upon the fact that you don't lift weights, you probably don't have as much developed muscle as you think that you do. A realistic guess would be that you have something like 10 more pounds of fat and ten less pounds of muscle than you think that you do.

2. Losing 60 (probably closer to 70) pounds of fat in nine months is possible but very difficult unless you have you diet dialed in perfectly and based upon your desire to not have to "limit carbs/starches" that isn't going to be the case. So probably more like 12-24 months just to lose the fat.

3. Gaining 13 (again, more likely 23+ pounds of muscle) is going to take another 1-2 years of very hard work (or never happen at all if you only want to do calisthenics and running for exercise).

So overall you are looking at two and a half years minimum to get close to where you want to be.

[onequestion123]

1. You probably have more fat and less lean mass on your frame than you think that you do. Almost everyone overestimates the amount of muscle they have under their fat and based upon the fact that you don't lift weights, you probably don't have as much developed muscle as you think that you do. A realistic guess would be that you have something like 10 more pounds of fat and ten less pounds of muscle than you think that you do.

2. Losing 60 (probably closer to 70) pounds of fat in nine months is possible but very difficult unless you have you diet dialed in perfectly and based upon your desire to not have to "limit carbs/starches" that isn't going to be the case. So probably more like 12-24 months just to lose the fat.

3. Gaining 13 (again, more likely 23+ pounds of muscle) is going to take another 1-2 years of very hard work (or never happen at all if you only want to do calisthenics and running for exercise).

So overall you are looking at two and a half years minimum to get close to where you want to be.

Actually I got tested at a naturopathic clinic and they said I have 60 lbs of body fat and 152 lbs of lean mass. I measured in at 28.3 percent bodyfat but I thought I had around 25 percent body fat at first.

[xsquid99]

Actually I got tested at a naturopathic clinic and they said I have 60 lbs of body fat and 152 lbs of lean mass. I measured in at 28.3 percent bodyfat but I thought I had around 25 percent body fat at first.

What you got measured with was nothing more than an expensive machine "gimmick" and the numbers they gave you have no real value.

[Luclin999]

What you got measured with was nothing more than an expensive machine "gimmick" and the numbers they gave you have no real value.

Yep. the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis machines those places use are an utter waste of time and money.

I've had them tell me that I was "16.1%" When I was definitely over 18% and then had the exact same machine say that I was 13% less than an hour later.

Might as well have consulted a Ouija board for answers.

So like I said, your BF and lean mass estimates are probably off by a fair bit.

[Tommy W.]

OP how tall are you?

[WizzyL]

I am currently 212 lbs with a 40 inch waist and 28 percent body fat. That means I have 60 lbs of fat on me and 152 lbs of lean mass. I want to reduce my body fat to 15 lbs while weighing 180 lbs. That means I need my lean mass to get to 165 lbs.

I have been in better shape before but only a little better. Back in 2013 I had a 38 inch waist at the same weight I am at now, so obviously I had more muscle. I know the Hodgetwins say that it takes 1 month to gain 1 lb of muscle but if I had more muscle before, is it easier to gain it back?

I do not have a gym membership but I know advanced calisthenic workouts for all 4 of my muscle groups. I also like to run but haven't been able to these past 4 years because of a respiratory condition. But if I am able to run, do I still have to restrict my carbs? I am perfectly willing to give up fried foods, sugary foods and other junk food. I already don't drink sugared drinks. But I want to be able to get in way better shape in 9 months without having to restrict my carbs/starch in general.

I pretty much did that to a lesser extent (20lbs fat off 20lbs muscle on) as an end result of a cut/bulk which really was a recomp, over the course of a year but I'm 18 and mainly focused on progressive overload in the 5 rep range, sleeping 9 hours a day and being very *n*l about my macros. Can be done but read the stickies and work out your macros.

[GettinThere1983]

It’s possible but probably not likely. I had a dexa done before and after starting a training program. This was done a couple years ago after getting Back into training to asses body comp to help in forming realistic goals. In 2 months I lost 8 pounds of fat and gained 5 pounds of muscle. Which is what I thought was happening and why I got the dexa, since I was frustrated by what the scale was saying. The first scan was after I had been lifting for 2 months follwing a 2 year non exercise non dieting period. I wish I would have gotten the first scan earlier to include the full 4 month period, since that’s when I was experiencing the most muscle gain vs fat loss results.

Also keep in mind about 10 years ago in my mid 20’s I had trained for about 10 consecutive years and got pretty close to what I feel is my genenetic natural potential. Then stopped training after I got into the corporate world. Maybe averaging 2 months or less train a year. Wrote that I was an exercise science major and personal trainer, and when starting a program I knew exactly what intensity and volume to hit to maximize my training. So it makes it a lot easier when you have to re gain muscle you have had and previously lost then gaining the muscle for the first time ever. Also of course the knowledge. Looking at your picture I think your lean mass estimaes are off by 5-10 pounds. To give you a comparison, when in had my first dexa and was 155 lean mass I was doing 3 sets of 10 with 110 dumbbells. Not sure what your current lifts are, but looks a lot less than that. I’m 6’2 for additional reference

[onequestion123]

OP how tall are you?

I'm around 6 ft.

[Luclin999]

I pretty much did that to a lesser extent (20lbs fat off 20lbs muscle on) as an end result of a cut/bulk which really was a recomp, over the course of a year but I'm 18 and mainly focused on progressive overload in the 5 rep range, sleeping 9 hours a day and being very *n*l about my macros. Can be done but read the stickies and work out your macros.

Unfortunately, what works for a teenager, with teenager hormone levels generally doesn't work as well for older people.

[Wlindqu1]

Nope

[Burgerbuger]

Why don't you stick to one goal and focus on it entirely? That goal is for you to lose 45 lbs in under 9 months. I personally think 45 lbs is possible in 9 months if you really want it bad enough to work for it. Any muscle you gain during this time is a bonus .