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My long term goal would be to lose about 10 kg of fat, but I would also like to gain more muscle mass. I am about to begin a training program.

I have seen on this forum that it is difficult to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time.

In light of this, do you think I should focus on first losing the 10kg of fat, followed by gaining muscle mass, or instead focus on gaining muscle mass, and then lose the 10kg of fat?

Some of you might be critical that these two suggestions are too simplistic, and if you would prefer a more complicated mixture of the two, I welcome those suggestions as well.

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  • I had a little bit of fat before I started weight training. After changing my eating habits to suit the weight training and general health goals, I found the fat gradually went away anyway, without needing to do any specific weight loss stuff. Sure, I'm not extremely low body fat and ripped but I'm definitely a healthy weight.
    – Marty
    Apr 26, 2013 at 7:13
  • Getting the muscle first will help with losing the fat later (muscle tends to use a lot of energy); and you might even lose it all on the way.
    – VPeric
    Apr 26, 2013 at 8:35

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I think that the main focus should be diet - its the base of weight loss. To it, you could add some form of strength training, best barbells, but not necessairly.

When in caloric deficit due to your diet, you will not gain much muscle mass, but the training combined with high protein intake will limit your muscle mass loss. It willmake you lose mainly fat.

A long time ago I went through a severe calorie restriction diet and lost a lot of eight, but im sure a lot of it was muscle. I was weak, tired all the time, and soon after completing the diet i bounced back with my weight. This time, I dont restrict myself so harshly, but I changed my eating habits and did some strength training. I lost 17kg and around 12kg of that was fat. That does not mean i lost whole 5kg of muscle - I probably lost some connective tissue too.

While doing cardio workouts, you wont be stimulating your muscles to grow/remain in their current state, so on a diet theyre more likelyto break down.

Also, doing a strength program is likely to increase your strength, even if you dont gain muscle - strength is a neural thing, and by training you increase your brains capability to use your muscles potential.

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  • So you suggest to start with weight loss? Why not bulking first and cutting later?
    – zero-divisor
    Apr 26, 2013 at 15:50
  • Im suggesting quite the opposite - do strength TRAINING, but eat less/better. What I am saying is that a caloric deficit combined with lots of aerobes is not good. And if your goal is a toned, pleasing physique, doing bulking then cutting is a way around, not straight to the point.
    – K.L.
    Apr 27, 2013 at 0:20
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The 1st step is actually to eat right to loose weight and pracctice after that you lost a little bit of weight.

Why ?

Because your heart will suffer if you start to run/exercice with your actual weight.

The muscle gain will come naturally when you'll start to pracctice sport.

But the most important thing i can say is : EAT RIGHT, TRAIN DIRTY ! =)

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  • We would his heart suffer when exercising with his actual weight? I think that strength training is good at any weight. Running could be dangerous for joints for obese people, but if his goal is to lose 10kg, the poster is probably not obese.
    – zero-divisor
    Apr 26, 2013 at 15:45
  • @zero-divisor, i don't know he didn't write his actual weight. So i prefere to say something general than "go man, lift heavy as hell br0."
    – e1che
    Apr 26, 2013 at 18:12

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