Bulk while loosing body fat? Help please

[anthony0204]

Hi I am a new starter at my gym and honestly still have no idea what I'm doing with regards to routine or diet.

What I'm wanting to know is how to loose body fat and gain muscle.

I'm sat arround 25-30 percent body fat with hardly any muscle mass at the moment

Obviously I don't want a caloric deficit because I want to gain. But also don't want a surplus because I want to loose fat

So it feels like I'm at a cross roads

[BS57]

Start by backing-up a page, going to the top of this forum, and reading the stickies. Ditto for the Workout Programs forum.

[spradish]

I'll second the advice to look at the Don't Look Past The Basics post that is at the top of the thread.

At your current body fat level, your primary focus should be fat loss. Once you're down to 10-15% (can vary by individual) you'll switch to primarily focusing on muscle gain. While losing, though, you need to lift in order to retain the muscle you have. Beginners can add some muscle while in a deficit but it won't be as much as at maintenance or above and should be seen as a nice bonus, not your primary focus, at your starting point.

[SuffolkPunch]

You may gain some muscle if you lose fat slowly (i.e. in a small caloric deficit) - but you will not lose any fat in a surplus. Don't assume that a surplus is required to gain muscle, especially if you have plenty of bodyfat to draw energy reserves from.

Therefore I'd recommend dieting slowly at first and hopefully you can make steady progress with your lifting at the same time. Use a well known routine which forces progressive overload - Fierce 5 for example.

[Tommy W.]

You should be focused on fatloss. Any muscle gain at this point will be very minor at best especially with your lack of a knowledge base. Read the Fat Loss stickies and get on a good weightlifting program. Reduce your body fat to an acceptable level then go into a slight calorie surplus while continuing on your training program to start adding muscle. I think the others have stressed the same so it's obvious that this will be your best approach.

[Nanashi]

Hi I am a new starter at my gym and honestly still have no idea what I'm doing with regards to routine or diet.

What I'm wanting to know is how to loose body fat and gain muscle.

I'm sat arround 25-30 percent body fat with hardly any muscle mass at the moment

Obviously I don't want a caloric deficit because I want to gain. But also don't want a surplus because I want to loose fat

So it feels like I'm at a cross roads

If your at 25-30% , just under obese but clearly overweight. Truly a beginner. Just eat properly for maintaining body weight. Try to make sure you get 1 gram protein per pound of body weight. Then pick one of the beginner routines. (Starting Strength, Fierce 5, Grey Skull, Strong Lifts). Then don't read anything for the next three months. I personally used strong lifts, which has a nice app. Follow the program strictly. If you do this correctly you should basically find in 3-6 months you'll have gained 10-15 pounds of muscle and cut 10% body fat. I personally like SL or Starting Strength because they make you raise weight every workout which is something you'll only manage as a beginner. In the early days when the benefits aren't visible in the mirror they will be visible in the gym.

[Tommy W.]

If you do this correctly you should basically find in 3-6 months you'll have gained 10-15 pounds of muscle and cut 10% body fat.

Doubtful

[pondman]

If you do this correctly you should basically find in 3-6 months you'll have gained 10-15 pounds of muscle and cut 10% body fat.

It's possible to drop the body fat % that rapidly, but in the process you will lose any muscle that you have. I'd start lifting now-- heavy-- build the muscle mass slow. And be more reasonable with your diet. Cut the big excesses-- such as the pizza binges and excessive booze. You'll never be able to drop body fat, and build muscle at the same time. It's best to try and hold one of these goals constant. Don't cut or bulk too quickly.

[Nanashi]

Doubtful

I may be over estimating the numbers, but my own experience has been close. Generally first year you can expect to put on 20-25 pounds of muscle and over weight guys can recomp.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-lo...g-fat-qa.html/

[Luclin999]

Hi I am a new starter at my gym and honestly still have no idea what I'm doing with regards to routine or diet.

What I'm wanting to know is how to loose body fat and gain muscle.

I'm sat arround 25-30 percent body fat with hardly any muscle mass at the moment

Obviously I don't want a caloric deficit because I want to gain. But also don't want a surplus because I want to loose fat

So it feels like I'm at a cross roads

If you are at 25-30% BF" then you need to focus on losing the fat, which means being in a deficit, probably for many, many months before you are in any position to work on gaining muscle.

[Luclin999]

I may be over estimating the numbers, but my own experience has been close. Generally first year you can expect to put on 20-25 pounds of muscle and over weight guys can recomp.

Gain 20-25 pounds of muscle...in a year while at maintenance...?

Yeah...not going to happen.

[Tommy W.]

I may be over estimating the numbers, but my own experience has been close. Generally first year you can expect to put on 20-25 pounds of muscle and over weight guys can recomp.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-lo...g-fat-qa.html/

Not gonna happen

[k41m]

Recomping is too slow to even bother with, i've tried and i'm still fixing the mess.

Best option if you want "fast" results (not a good word in this world) is to cut reasonably at a 4 lb/month rate, until 12% bf or so , then clean bulk real slow about 1 or 2 lb max a month. Plus you need to lift a lot.