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I am a 77 kg guy. I used to be a scrawny 52 kg guy before I began 5x5 workout.

During the weight gain process, I didn't care much about the associated fat gain. I was getting stronger and looking better so I wasn't concerned.

However, now I would like to lose some of that fat but also continue to gain or at least maintain the muscle/strength I have. I want to stay at 75. I am looking at the calories and I am confused.

I suppose I am about 10% fat and supposing I maintain my workout intensity, please tell me which of the diet plans to adopt and why.

Diet A. Consume calories for 75 kg

Diet B. Consume calories for 65 kg ( rounding off lean body mass) , and recover the lost ground.

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The dilemma is that it's very hard to gain muscle and reduce fat at the same time. Most people choose to improve their body in cycles, gaining weight for a while, then cutting fat for a while, then starting over, and so on.

Personally I have found that high-intensity interval training is a great way to reduce fat while gaining muscle at the same time. It has been proven to be more effective for fat loss than moderate-intensity exercise (cardio), even though it burns fewer calories. There is no general consensus as to why this is the case, but it has been confirmed over and over. The difference in fat loss between cardio and HIIT is so dramatic that it makes you wonder how many people are wasting their time on treadmills at this very moment.

Anyway, if I were you, I'd try to continue eating as you did before (assuming your nutrition is well balanced), and start doing some HIIT between your workout sessions.

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Step 1: make sure you are still eating 1g protein per pound body weight. Without this, you won't be able to rebuild your muscles after lifting weights.

Step 2: take what you are currently doing and reduce the calories 10%. If you get no change after a week or two, reduce another 10%.

This focuses strictly on your diet, maintaining the protein you need and limiting the other macro nutrients as necessary.

Some people do well with intermittent fasting, which doesn't necessarily change the overall Calorie intake; but does change the feeding window. If you consume all your Calories in an 8 hour window, and fast for 16 hours, you will tend to burn more fat than spreading those calories throughout the day. Combined with a 10% reduction in Calories can also work wonders.

The idea is to focus on small changes to get the results you want. The same approach can be used to find the maintenance Calories you need, or bulking Calories. Simply make your adjustments to your diet in 10-15% increments, all the time maintaining your Protein intake.

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  • do you supplement to get 1g/lbs? I find it very difficult with "real" food.
    – michael
    Nov 1, 2011 at 21:06
  • I don't find it particularly hard to do that with food. Greek Yogurt is a high protein snack, chicken packs about 25g for every 4oz of meat, fish packs near 40g per 4oz of meat, etc. If you feel you need to supplement, it's an effective way to raise your protein with only a few Calories (make sure you don't have the bulking powders).
    – Berin Loritsch
    Nov 2, 2011 at 1:02

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