What to eat?

[anonymous12345]

170 cm, 64.1 kg, athletic. I have a low BMI, and fat percentage is going down (even more), soon accentuated abs. With my workout regime I try to gain muscle mass. I want a diet that supports muscle gain but doesn't prevent the current decreasing in fat.

I got access to a good cantina: regular dishes and a superb, varied salad bar. I eat vegetables and meat currently, and it seems to give results. I eat until my hunger is pleased, though it is primarily vegetables then. Questions:

1. How much should I eat? More than to please hunger/more calories? Won't I gain fat then?
2. What shall I eat? Continue with current approach?

 

[DonJuanjr]

I want a diet that supports muscle gain but doesn't prevent the current decreasing in fat.

Not possible unless you hop on the juice.

 

[anonymous12345]

Not possible unless you hop on the juice.

What the heck does that mean, my friend.

 

[DonJuanjr]

It means, that unless you are overweight and completely new to weight lifting, that you can't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Unless you decide to do steroids. Which will allow you to be in a steep caloric deficit while preserving, or gaining muscle. Depending on which steroid you choose to use, while having diet, training, and recovery dialed in.

 

[anonymous12345]

It means, that unless you are overweight and completely new to weight lifting, that you can't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

Will I gain fat while gaining muscles?

I'm at a commercial gym this week (different city), and there was about 40 guys. I had probably the least fat, but some had more muscles than me. Do they have a higher fat percentage because they eat in order to gain muscles?

The thing is, some are ripped, i.e. they manage to have muscles while being low fat too. How is that achieved?

Unless you decide to do steroids. Which will allow you to be in a steep caloric deficit while preserving, or gaining muscle. Depending on which steroid you choose to use, while having diet, training, and recovery dialed in.

Steroids is not an option. Protein shakes maybe, but I'm not yet sure whether they're bs.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

The thing is, some are ripped, i.e. they manage to have muscles while being low fat too. How is that achieved?

Lucky genetics or juicing.

I'd guess less than 10%, maybe even 5% of the guys you see like that are so purely as a result of hard work and their diet/exercise regiments. Fact of the matter is, hormones (and by extension genetics, which determine hormones) ultimately determine this.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Easiest way is to consume carbs in accordance to activity level. If you want to gain muscle, I’d drop most cardio for 4-6 months and do a program like Stronglifts or Starting Strength. Then you can add cardio back in and do a cut.

Meat and veggies are good. Fish and eggs is even better, so add those in. Carb sources are oats, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.

 

[DonJuanjr]

The thing is, some are ripped, i.e. they manage to have muscles while being low fat too. How is that achieved?

Like flexpert said... They're on steroids. It is way more common than you think. Like @EyeBRollin says:
A. Big
B. Lean
C. Natural
You can only pick two.

 

[anonymous12345]

Like flexpert said... They're on steroids. It is way more common than you think. Like @EyeBRollin says:
A. Big
B. Lean
C. Natural
You can only pick two.

What does Natural mean in this context? I'd say one of my best cards is lean and athletic build, so maybe I'll have to skip A. Big. I don't know if I want to risk my leanness for getting more muscles. On other hand, hardly a point with gym if the food isn't there for supporting growth.

Also, how much should I eat? I eat "when I'm hungry" though much of it is fiber. Should I literally shove more calories even if I don't feel like it?

 

[DonJuanjr]

What does Natural mean in this context?

Not on steroids. Like you said earlier, you seen guys in the gym that are big and lean. That's why I said they're on steroids. You can be big and natural(but not lean), or you can be natural and lean(but not big). You can't be natural, big and lean.

 

[Zimbabwe]

Meat and veggies are good. Fish and eggs is even better, so add those in. Carb sources are oats, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.

Perfect list here, don't forget to also get Broccoli and Kiwi in your diet, both are full of nutrients.

 

[DEEZEDBRAH]

170 cm, 64.1 kg, athletic. I have a low BMI, and fat percentage is going down (even more), soon accentuated abs. With my workout regime I try to gain muscle mass. I want a diet that supports muscle gain but doesn't prevent the current decreasing in fat.

I got access to a good cantina: regular dishes and a superb, varied salad bar. I eat vegetables and meat currently, and it seems to give results. I eat until my hunger is pleased, though it is primarily vegetables then. Questions:

1. How much should I eat? More than to please hunger/more calories? Won't I gain fat then?
2. What shall I eat? Continue with current approach?

What are your goals? Go 6 weeks just chicken breasts and broccoli. Combine the following with intermittent fasting and you will be shredded.

 

[anonymous12345]

My goals are to gain muscles on upper body while retaining (whose current state I can accept) or reducing fat percentage. I eat vegetables and meat essentially, workout 4-5 days a week, of which one is running (maybe 12 km or so). I think it gives results actually, upper body gains.

I do at least two workouts per week for upper body, which currently is: push ups (50x4), pull ups (12x4), bench (8x4@52.5 kg), over the shoulder (20x4@10 kg).

I do one/two stomach workouts: plank (60s x3), grounded Russian twist (60x3@10kg), mountain climber (60s x3), leg raise (60x3), bicycle crunch (60s x 3).

 

[TonyJ78]

My goals are to gain muscles on upper body while retaining (whose current state I can accept) or reducing fat percentage. I eat vegetables and meat essentially, workout 4-5 days a week, of which one is running (maybe 12 km or so). I think it gives results actually, upper body gains.

I do at least two workouts per week for upper body, which currently is: push ups (50x4), pull ups (12x4), bench (8x4@52.5 kg), over the shoulder (20x4@10 kg).

I do one/two stomach workouts: plank (60s x3), grounded Russian twist (60x3@10kg), mountain climber (60s x3), leg raise (60x3), bicycle crunch (60s x 3).

If you're trying to gain muscle, I'd recommend getting on a more structured routine for starters that hits each muscle group 1-2 times per week. I just switched to GST (Growth Stimulus Training) last month from a different split routine I'd been doing for awhile and I love it. Also endless abdominal exercises are great but you probably know they aren't going to really help you get that six-pack, as that will come primarily from your diet. Depending on what your bodyfat percentage is now, you could just do a recomp, by which I mean eating just enough calories to maintain the weight you're at, which will allow you to slowly lose fat while slowly gaining muscle. Read: SLOOOOOOWLY. Building muscle takes time, and if you've been on any kind of strength training program for more than a few months you've probably already gotten some initial gains, which will come slower and slower. If you eat in a calorie surplus, you may gain muscle a little faster but there's almost always going to be at least a little fat accompanying it. If you do a cut, you could lose fat more quickly but if you drop calories too low you may be losing muscle, too, which is not what you want. Generally you don't want to go more than 500 calories above or below your maintenance, depending on your goals, or you start to experience undesirable effects. Doing a ton of cardio to try to bring your calorie deficit even lower will have the same effect, so keep that in mind.

So to sum it up I'd say cycling from bulking to cutting and then back again is probably the way you'll see the most results. But even then it takes time, patience and consistency. Hope some of that helps.