Isn't that the golden goose.
Everyone wants to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. As fast as possible. Yesterday even.
Even if you start off thinking you don't want to build muscle, you soon realise it's muscle that gives you that slim, 'toned' shape.
If you've worked with Science & Art you'll know we're not about quick fixes - so you might be surprised to see this topic from us.
We'll tell you slower is usually faster.
However, you'll also know we ARE about education, and giving you the information that will help you make your own decisions. This post is a taster to help with that.
So without further ado, here's how to find the best way to lose fat and build muscle for you.
It's pretty long, but you can just scroll to the bits that apply to you!
There are four key points to consider:
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How fat you are now?
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How long you have been training for
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How you want to look
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How fat you're happy to get
Basically, if you want to lose fat and build muscle, you have two choices. You can either do designated building and dieting phases, or you can eat to maintain your weight over time, while your body composition slowly changes. Which one is 'harder' or 'faster' will depend on the individual.
For example, if you really hate dieting...
Or you've recovered from previous disordered eating...
Or you just know you have a lot of weddings and birthdays coming up…
trying to diet and then build and then diet again may actually be slower for you.
But if you have a lot of time on your hands to dedicate to training and nutrition, it might be faster.
1. So, how fat are you?
We want to start off by saying that you should never feel shamed into changing your body. But you also shouldn't feel shamed into not changing your body, if that's something that you want to do! So that question is a purely an analytical one.
a. If you are overweight (and especially if you are new to resistance training)
We recommend that you get back at least into a 'healthy' weight range before you do anything else. You should focus on fat loss, and getting your blood-markets back in order first. You can ask your GP to test your blood markers - and chances are if you're overweight, they will be more than happy to oblige. If not, find a new GP.
The reason we say this to focus on fat loss is three fold:
First of all, research has shown us time (Welsh et al 2016) and time (Neeland et al 2019) and time (Norton & Baker) again that losing excess fat is the best way to improve countless health markers. Science & Art would also add that the fastest way to get to your aesthetic goals is to stay healthy and uninjured.
Second, without getting too science-y (though we're happy to get science-y if you drop us a comment), when your hormonal markers improve, your body becomes more efficient at 'doing all the things'. And one of those things is using the food you eat to build muscle. Third, for you, losing weight will lead to the biggest visual changes. You might actually have a decent amount of muscle already - but the only way to show it is to lose the fat that is on top of, in between, around, and underneath that muscle!
b. If you're pretty lean but you've got a bit of padding
If this is you - the world is your oyster. It depends on how you answer the other questions - how long have you been training for, how fat are you willing to get, and what you want to look like?
So read those sections!
c. If you're very 'skinny'
We would suggest that you bump up your food a little, mostly with carbohydrates. You should be gaining weight very slowly, at around 200-300 grams per week. And get training!
If you're very lean you have a good buffer to gain a small amount of fat over time while maximising the muscle building process. If you find you stop gaining weight for over a month, just add a bit more food again.
A common question is: 'well, what body fat percentage is 'lean' and what body fat percentage is 'leeeeaaan'".
You may have even heard some coaches say women need to be 18 per cent body fat before they can do a build (and men at 10 per cent). We don't really think there is a number.
Partly, because it's about how you feel...
Partly, because it's actually really hard to measure body fat percentage accurately...
But MOSTLY IMPORTANTLY, because if you've just started resistance training, you may have so little muscle that 18 per cent body fat is just not healthy or attainable for you.
Why is this?
Well, percentages are PARTS OF A WHOLE. This means that a woman who has trained for many years may have 17 per cent body fat, and be perfectly healthy, sitting with around 11 total kilos of fat. But for a woman who has never trained, 11 kilos of fat may mean she is 22 per cent body fat. Getting that woman who has never trained down to this 'magical' 18 per cent would mean getting her down to only 9 kilos of fat, which is not enough for some women to have a healthy menstrual cycle. It would not be enough for her to be healthy.
2. How long have you been training for?
This is question number two.
By this we mean resistance, or weight training; not cardio, yoga, pilates, or group exercises classes.
The longer you have been training, the slower the muscle building process will be, and you will need to be more deliberate with it.
Conversely, if you are a beginner, we would recommend you get lean first. Sounds counterintuitive right? Hear us out.
When you first start resistance training, your body is so keen to get stronger and put on muscle, that a lot of people can even put on muscle WHILE THEY DIET. This might not sound too crazy, fitness is fitness right?
WRONG. It's actually physiologically AMAZING. Your body, deciding to compile NEW TISSUE when there are not enough building blocks (food) to stay as you are is ABSOLTLEY BONKERS. But it happens. So make the most of it! Just make sure you're eating enough protein, which we wrote all about here.
As you get more experienced, your body's assessment of the muscle building trade-off will change. If there is not enough food, it's more likely to say "you know what, we're not gonna spend this precious energy on building more muscle, we have enough for now".
Therefore, as you get more experienced, if you want to build muscle, you need to answer the other two questions: What do I want to look like, and how fat am I willing to get?
If your answer was 'I don't do resistance training' - that's cool. But if you want to build muscle, you should probably start! The gym floor can be a scary place - but you can reach out here, and we can put you in touch with one of our network of world-class trainers (you don't have to be a Science & Art client).
3. How do you want to look?
Do you want to look like Ronaldo, or Arnie? Figure, or bikini?
First of all we're gonna tell you that's a bit of a loaded question, because you should never aspire to look like any kind of bodybuilder. Those people look like that for ONE DAY A YEAR, not all the time.
Basically, we're asking how much muscle you want to build.
The more muscle you want to build, the more likely dedicated building and dieting phases are going to be right for you. While body recomposition without gaining weight is possible, and we would argue preferable for a lot of people, it's not the way to become Bruce Banner.
On the other hand, if you're a pretty comfortable weight and just want to tighten up, we'd suggest you just keep eating roughly the same amount of food, and investing in a good exercise regimen for the long haul. Perhaps you could book in for a one off Q&A session with us, but generally keep doing what you're doing!
4. How fat are you willing to get?
Some people don't feel too comfortable putting on weight. And that is totally fair enough. It's annoying to have to buy new clothes all the time, and sometimes you just don't feel yourself carrying a bit of extra squish. We get it. It doesn't mean you have an eating disorder, it just doesn't feel nice for some people.
The truth is, most people will start to feel this way about fat gain after a while. It's just that for some people, the threshold is 4 kilos, and for others it's 10, or 15 kilos before they start to feel something is a bit off.
It’s important to know what your threshold is, because building muscle takes time.
If your threshold is more in the 4 kilos camp - then it makes sense for you to just keep eating the same amount of food, investing in a good training programme, and being patient.
If you're happy to carry some winter padding (or summer padding!) then you'll put on muscle faster by eating a little more than you need to make sure you put on as much muscle as possible. Remember, you shouldn't gain more than 300 grams per week.
Also remember that the fatter you get, the longer you'll have to diet later - and you probably won't be building any muscle in that dieting phase because you're not a beginner any more.
TMI! What are you telling me!?
We'd like to round off this extremely involved question by saying that this is usually why people hire coaches. There are just too many variables to cover off in one post. Generally speaking, if you're overweight, focus on getting into a healthy weight range. If you're normal weight, just keep doing what you're doing, train hard, the muscle will come if your nutrition and training are high quality. If you're really small, or want to get REALLY BIG, building and dieting cycles may be the fastest and easiest way to get to where you want to go.
If you have any follow-up questions, please drop us a comment below!
Alternatively, if you're ready to take the next step on your body composition journey, click here to book in for a no-obligation consultation today!