Hey everyone,

I encountered an issue with my body this morning when I stepped on the scale for my first time in a few months.

In December I decided to stop eating at school and stick to a clean diet in order to gain lean muscle with a goal of 150lbs. I weighed 143lbs when I made my meal plan, and my macros have been 70 fat, 220 protein, and 250 carbs in a calorie surplus of around 250-300. This morning, I weighed 137lbs.

Am I losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time? I honestly thought I was getting heavier, so this didn't make any sense to me. I still have some fat on my lower stomach and I have felt fine in my lifts. I have even made strength progress.

I get my MuscleGenes report back within the next couple weeks so hopefully that will help.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Ben

^

After thinking about it for a while, I'm pretty sure it's because I have an extremely fast metabolism. I've been told that since I was really young. I used to eat 3000 calories, but it wasn't as clean as I eat now, so I put on some fat. Maybe if I incorporate my clean eating into a high calorie diet like that, it would be better?

I'm kind of curious what the experts have to say about this, too. I've been on a surplus diet for quite some time now as well. It's even a bigger surplus than you mentioned. I'm just eating throughout the day. Like all the time. It's obvious that I've developed muscle over the past year. It's visible and I don't fit in the training shirt I started working out in any more. Still, my weight is pretty much stable.

Putting on weight is not a goal per se to me. As long as my muscles are developing, it's fine by me. I just don't get how can barely put on weight (around 3 lbs sinds november 2014), while being on a calory surplus and developing muscles.

Not trying to steal your topic here. Just saying I have kind of the same thing.

Hope your MuscleGenes report will be of help!

Ben,

When you eat clean and train hard, you will lose fat and your weight will go down. As long as you keep your protein high, you won't lose any muscle. I started at 188Lbs and about 18% bodyfat. I am now down to 168Lbs-170Lbs and 10% body fat with no muscle loss. I know this because my measurements have stayed the same and my strength has stayed consistent. These are good barometers for whether you are losing fat and gaining muscle. You may see youe weight go up a bit aftwerwards but typically fat loss is faster than muscle gain.

John

Thanks for the reply Menno,

It's good to know that someone can relate to my issue. How big of a calorie surplus are you in? With my current weight at 137, I'm may be raising my calories from 2550 to 3000 - or even more - depending on what I learn in the next couple days. I ate 300 calories more today and I felt better mentally and physically. Maybe people like us - who probably have fast metabolisms - need to eat more than the normal person trying to gain lean weight?

Ben

Hey John,

Thanks for the information. I knew that fat loss was faster than muscle gain which is why I assumed I was losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time. I just never thought I ever had 6lbs of fat to lose and I am so uncertain whether or not I have made size progress. I know I haven't made "big gains"... I have noticed when I play soccer recently, I'd get extremely cold on the field - more than normal. I'm now assuming this is due to my body fat percentage going down? (I should really start measuring that periodically) Also, when you lost your weight, were you in a calorie surplus?

Ben

Hey @England11!

Yeah I would say the way to tell if you are losing fat but gaining muscle is to check things like your measurements. Just looking in the mirror will give you a fair idea as to whether or not you have lost any muscle.

With around 220g protein, you shouldn't have lost any muscle. Another thing to look for is your weights in the gym - you say you're stronger, and lifting more, so you've for sure put on muscle and lost fat.

I would stay in the surplus then. If you want to gain muscle, you certainly want to, IMO, stay in a surplus if you can and just keep the carbs relatively low. If you are making the gains you want to see with your current macros, there is no need to change them. When you start maintianing or gaining fat, then you might need to re-think things.

Jordan

Hey Jordan,

Thanks for the reply! My problem is that when I look in the mirror, I honestly can't tell a difference in my fat levels. ..As dumb as that sounds. I should have weighed myself more often than once in four months and I realize that now. But I do know that I haven't increased a noticeable amount in muscle size - which is my ultimate goal.

Also, I should have clarified in my initial thread that I switched from high volume to lower repetitions so that is probably why I seemed stronger. I felt good in my lifts because high volume was too much for my muscles and lower reps felt better. I didn't even put that together until now. What are your thoughts after telling you that?

Ben

Ben,

Yeah, loss of body fat will make you feel a chill more easily :-)

I was in a calorie deficit and I pumped up my training volume immensely. After doing that, the weight and body fat came down much quicker.

John

Well, it's often hard to tell yourself whether you have put on muscle or not. You see yourself everyday, so it is hard for you, and anyone, to actually see noticeable changes in their physique.

How much cardio are you doing along with your split? I mean, you may have lost fat and maintained, but not gained muscle. The indicators I would use are - Body Measurements, The Mirror, and Whether or not you are lifting more weight - although that would have worked better if you weren't strictly doing strength work haha :)

Also get friends to see what they think. Don't forget also, that losing fat may make your muscles look smaller, because any layer of fat that was over them before may now be gone. That doesn't mean they haven't actually grown though. Remember muscle weighs more than fat, so 5lbs of muscle is a lot smaller than 5lbs of fat.

Jordan