First a little background. I am 27 years old 6’1" and weigh in at around 220. Now I am roughly about 20% body fat and carry it in my gut and lower back. Here is my dilema. I really want to cut and get around %10-%12 bf. However I am in serious need of muscle gain as well. If I go on a lean diet will my current body fat be used as energy before going into a catabolic state? Or do I need to gain the muscle I desire while on a mass diet before I consider cutting? TIA! Any help is greatly appreciated.
Cut down first then bulk up becuase studies that have been conducted that show that higher fat individuals gain a greater ratio of fat than lean muscle when overfeeding than leaner individuals hope that helps
Be prepared to pick a side when people answer. Some will probaby say bulk up then cut. Others will say BF is too high and you need to lean out a bit first. I think people might need photos for an assessment though.
Maybe just try eating clean for maintenence with Dr. Berardi’s 10 habits. While you do this include both heavy lifing and sprinting/intense cardio in your regimen. This way you will likely see a noticeable change in body comp until the point where you feel the need to bulk then cut. Get a base first to work off of.
If you are a beginner to lifting it is very possible for you to gain muscle and lose fat for a while starting out. That is as long as you are eating clean.
Pretty much a beginner. I lifted when I was in high school but didn’t have enough knowledge to make it very benificial. My diet has been very clean for the past 3 months. 1 Cheat meal a week. Diet mostly consists of Salmon, Chx, Steak, Beef Jerky (my fav), turkey, veggies, fruit, Steel cut oats and yogurt (plain organic). Before that my diet was horrible for around 26 3/4 years :-(. Thx to everyone for the advise and any more is greatly appreciated. One great thing is that I have never felt better or more motivated to get in shape.
I say dont do anything drastic diet wise Id adopt a T-dawg stayle diet The seven habits article above will help as well. dont lower the K/cals to much if it all from maint let the work and the clean foods do the body transition for a while. Bust ass in the gym eat smart and see where that gets you.
Thx for the links. Right now I am pretty much on the T-Dawn diet. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t compromising too much muscle loss for weight loss.