I'm 24 years old and I weigh 215 lbs, and I'm 6,2. I think I have a skinny fat body with a lot of belly fat and 41 41-inch waist size. I have been trying to build muscles while losing fat but I'm getting confused because on one side I'm building muscles which requires calories but also trying to lose fat which is mostly belly fat and that requires a calorie deficit. Also, what could I best do to lose belly fat and gain muscles. I'm not sure what I should do, and I would appreciate any advice.
1 Answer
Firstly, to answer the question in the title, to avoid negative health outcomes, most health authorities recommend that men aim to keep their waist circumference below 40".1 So attempting to reduce that via a caloric deficit would definitely be advisable in your case.
I have been trying to build muscles while losing fat but I'm getting confused because on one side I'm building muscles which requires calories but also trying to lose fat which is mostly belly fat and that requires a calorie deficit.
Building muscle requires calories, but doesn't require a caloric surplus. The two are not the same. You've got plenty of calories in your body, stored as body fat, so you're really not likely to need to focus on consuming excess calories from food in order to promote muscle growth. Your body will still have enough calories to build muscle even when you're in a caloric deficit.
Also, what could I best do to lose belly fat and gain muscles.
Engage in progressively-loaded resistance training, and consume sufficient protein while eating in an overall mild caloric deficit.
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"You've got plenty of calories in your body..." so you're recommending a recomp? Later: "mild caloric deficit" but isn't that a cut?– LucianoCommented Feb 5 at 16:18
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2@Luciano kind of, but not really. A cut usually involves losing muscle and fat, usually follows a bulk, and in some cases is more extreme than just a mild caloric deficit. Building muscle only requires enough protein consumed for protein synthesis to occur in the body. 1g of protein per kg of bodyweight is far more than enough to build muscle and activate protein synthesis in the body. You really just have to make sure you’re eating enough carbs/fats (calories) so your body doesn’t have to use that protein as energy instead of muscle building. Source: my brother is a Nutrition major– jdweeCommented Feb 5 at 18:07
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@jdwee A cut won't incur muscle loss if enough protein is consumed, enough muscle stimulus is applied and the duration of the cut is (inverse proportional to the caloric deficit). So a prolonged cut with a small caloric deficit or a short but aggressive deficit should both avoid lean tissue loss. Downside is that a 4-8 weeks cut can only produce so much fat loss.– LucianoCommented Feb 7 at 14:46