Eating for Muscle Gain But Still Have Fat to Lose page

[Buzz71]

Hey all I posted this inside another thread but that thread headed in a different direction so lll post as a standalone:

Hi everyone ...

So I went to the doctor yesterday for a regular checkup ... 3 months after trying to lose some weight, and the majority of that primal .. say since November, I've managed to drop from 86kg down to 70kg. That's as low as I want to go, I'm happy with that in my healthy weight range. Problem is I'm still carrying a fair bit around the waist area ... I certainly don't think I pass the LGN test yet

So I really want to try and lose that fat and transfer it to muscle, especially in the upper body region. I have been doing mixed cardio/strength at the gym with a personal trainer, and made some gains, although I think more weight loss than strength. However for financial reasons I'm not in a position to continue that in 2012. So I've decided to follow the Primal Fitness Blueprint religiously, with the aim of building strength, starting tomorrow doing the assessment.

My question though surrounds primal food input, related to the advice to eat more in this thread. As stated, I don't want to lose any more weight but I definitely still have kilos of fat to lose. My muscle tone must be pretty weak - understandable, I've been desk bound and no exercise for years up until the last few months. Up until now I've been pretty much IF 6pm-midday the next day then eating lunch and dinner, but really low carb, I'm certain I'd be in ketosis.

So assuming I am full on PBF, lots of slow movement (1000km this year), sprints once a week, body resistance lift heavy things 3 times a week ... how much should I ramp up the eating? I'm worried if I dial it back up I won't lose the roll of fat around the waist that is my number one target to get rid of.

Thoughts?

[rayout]

Stuff around the waist takes FOREVER to go away. My arms are getting nice and toned yet still have a gut :P

That said, I've only been doing primal movements twice a week and during the winter I haven't been doing much else. Still losing fat and gaining muscle (my weight stays the same). Just eat when you are hungry.

I still keep carbs down below 100 grams so I don't see huge gains in muscle but it works for me. I am not trying to get ripped, but have noticed gradual build up in my muscles (or at least bulgy veins).

[Primalest]

The full on PBF sounds good. I would try not to think too much about what you're eating. Just eat as much broccoli and other low cal veggies as you can with meat on top, to satiety, and you'll be okay. Eat when you're hungry and stop when you aren't. If you have had such success with weight loss, it sounds like you know how to eat a solid healthy paleo diet. It takes a long time to lean out, and muscle building is slow too. You're in the grind, and you just got to keep working at it. If you try too hard to eat big or anything, I think you'll just cause some problems.
Over time your body will balance things out depending on the foods you eat and the workouts you do. If those are both in check, you'll be fine.

[Buzz71]

Thanks.... I've been IF most days, I think I'll cut back on that for starters as well.

[otzi]

I've been at it for a full year. I've gotten really good about eating right and rarely eat anything that's un-primal. When I started, I had a 42" waist (measured around the belly). I now have a 34" waist. I went from wearing size 36 jeans to 32, and they are very loose. I can still grab a handful of flab in my belly.

I tried unsuccesfully to up my calories and increase lifting in the hopes I would gain tremendous muscle and lose fat faster--didn't work. I'm sure I got stronger, but I also got fatter. My focus lately has been to eat well, around 1500-2500 cals most days, carbs under 50, and do strenuous body weight exercises M thru F and nothing on the weekend. I sprint once a week, and do heavy, weighted squats once or twice. This keeps my arms and core in good shape w/o a pretense of bulking up. At this rate, when spring rolls arounds I should be at a happy body fat and I will increase carbs and strength training.

I also think I will try an Anabolic Diet approach to carb cycling--low carb M-F and high carb/low fat on the weekends. Also, I IF daily 6pm-noon, that seems to work very well for me.

[Buzz71]

6pm-noon was my IF approach also.

Seems like that last roll around the waist is damn near impossible to shake!

[tradawg]

You could try eating a little over maintenance/higher carb on your more intense w/o days, and going a little under maintenance/low carb on your non-workout days. Sometimes cycling things helps.

[Misabi]

Concentrate on eating right and getting stronger. You'll put on muscle and the fat will go, but as others have said, for some people that last 10 - 20 lbs takes the longest to get rid of.

Aim for 1 - 1.5 grams of protein per lb of body weight, 70 to 100 g of carbs ( at first and then adjust from here, you may need less, you may need more..days when you lht may require more carbs than other days, we're all different).

As for firing and firming muscles, I think that's crap personally. It comes down to building muscle and the amount of fat covering it.
If you have a skinny person with small muscles, the may have a higher ratio of fat covering their arms for instance. As they build muscle, the ratio changes (though the actual amount of fat may stay the same) and the muscle becomes more visible/defined looking more "toned", even more so when body fat is also reduced. Same goes for abs, you don't get a six pack by "toning" your abs, you either make your ab muscles bigger/stronger, lose fat covering them, or a combination of all three. Just my opinion though

[Buzz71]

So basically just go with the program and let nature take its course Sounds good to me!

[Tone]

I relate to this thread totally and keep seeing this same issue everywhere. Getting lean is easy. Getting RIPPED is near impossible for some people. I think the idea of letting go of the outcome but taking correct action is a good long term strategy.

I''ve been primal for 12 months and have had almost the same weight loss - going from 85 to 70 kg (187lb to 154lb). But the fat around the lower abs just won't budge.
I started at 35' waist, and after initially dropping to 33' very quickly, now hover 31.5" to 32". I seem to lose half an inch every 2-3 months. But am losing muscle as well.

Nothing I've tried with getting ultra strict and ultra clean with the diet seems to make any discernible difference.

I'll be giving IF more attention from now on too, as to this point I've only dabbled in it.