At a crossroads... page

[haydenwest]

Hey guys. I've been following all aspects of the PB plan for the past month and have definitely noticed great results so far. I started at 153 lbs, dipped down to about 147, and now I'm back to 150 (hoping it's muscle gain, which appears to be noticeable; been dedicated to lifting heavy 3x a week and all lifts have been steadily increasing). Like everyone else, I want to gain lean muscle while dropping body fat. There's this pesky little bit of fat on my lower abdomen that I want to get rid of, but I can't decide whether I should incorporate more IF to aid my fat loss, or eat A LOT to aid muscle gain. Are both simultaneously possible?

[Chris_H]

Building muscle and cutting fat at the same time is really, really difficult. Larger folks (read fat people, such as myself) have an easier time of it but it is still not easy. How strong do you feel? Can you dead lift more than your body weight? Can you do pullups? Are you close to your "ideal" weight? Lots of questions that you must answer for yourself.

Personally, I love IFing. I feel much more focused throughout the day.

[haydenwest]

I can definitely feel myself getting stronger. For 5x5's, my squats have gone from 135 to 215, and my deadlifts 135 to 185. As far as an "ideal" weight, I don't have a specific number in mind. I don't mind gaining a lot more as long as it's from lean muscle, but at the same time, I want to get rid of this last little bit of body fat.

[Damiana]

Abdominal fat is ridiculously hard to lose. I lost mine IFing and doing a lot of cardio. It's going to be harder for us because we're female and our bodies like to cling onto that last bit of fat. As far as my experiences go though, I could only lose stomach fat through eating less.

[namelesswonder]

I would suggest you keep doing what you're doing for longer. If you've only been doing this a month, it may take longer for the "pesky" bits to reduce. Usually people with less to lose have a harder time losing it.

[feren6]

I would suggest you keep doing what you're doing for longer. If you've only been doing this a month, it may take longer for the "pesky" bits to reduce. Usually people with less to lose have a harder time losing it.

This. Give it another month or two, and then if you're still not at your goals, then re-evaluate.

But yes, it's possible to gain weight and lose fat at the same time..It'll just take a lot longer than choosing one or the other. Look into a LeanGains recomp if you're serious about it (Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health), and search this site for more info about it. It's kind of hard to assimilate, but there's a lot of info out there on it. RippedBody.jp | Intermittent Fasting guide & Training guide to your dream body. is also a great resource, and much easier to read.

[haydenwest]

This. Give it another month or two, and then if you're still not at your goals, then re-evaluate.

But yes, it's possible to gain weight and lose fat at the same time..It'll just take a lot longer than choosing one or the other. Look into a LeanGains recomp if you're serious about it (Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health), and search this site for more info about it. It's kind of hard to assimilate, but there's a lot of info out there on it. RippedBody.jp | Intermittent Fasting guide & Training guide to your dream body. is also a great resource, and much easier to read.

Yeah, I think I might do that. I haven't really had a set "plan" as far as eating goes, but I've started to notice that it's getting more and more common for me to completely forget about eating (accidentally fasting) until later in the day, simply because I don't feel nearly as hungry anymore. I'm a little bit afraid to go too far into one direction as far as eating less or eating more, because I don't want one to inhibit the other. Would it be advisable to eat more than usual on the days that I lift, and then resume my normal "accidental fasting" habits on all other days?

[feren6]

Yeah, I think I might do that. I haven't really had a set "plan" as far as eating goes, but I've started to notice that it's getting more and more common for me to completely forget about eating (accidentally fasting) until later in the day, simply because I don't feel nearly as hungry anymore. I'm a little bit afraid to go too far into one direction as far as eating less or eating more, because I don't want one to inhibit the other. Would it be advisable to eat more than usual on the days that I lift, and then resume my normal "accidental fasting" habits on all other days?

Sure. That's basically what I do, except I fast on both days just cause it's convenient for me. Treat it like an experiment..just remember to keep track and reassess after a couple of months.