Hello, my name is Rafael and this is my first post here, joined the forums after being subscribed to your channel for a little over a year and a half after watching your reply to Scooby's comment.

1. Age 24
   
2. Height 5'4
   
3. Weight 145lb
   
4. Bodyfat % not sure
   
5. Goal (Muscle Gain, Weight Loss, Strength Gain, etc)  Weight loss and muscle gain
   
6. How long you have been exercising  5 months straight, 1 month break, 2 months straight, 3 months break, back again currently.
   
7. Daily calories      I'm aiming at 1800
   
8. Daily macros in grams (protein, carbs, fat)      I don't really measure anymore since I eat lean protein only for the most part (Salmon, tuna, chicken breast and turkey) but I read I should get 1g/lb which I'm doing,  avoiding carbs and cooking with Olive oil for the fat portion.
   
9. Injuries or restrictions      None
   

 

 

I was wondering if losing my belly fat and love handles is possible while gaining mass at the same time. I wouldn't say I'm overweight but I just have a belly that pops out and I hate it.
Currenly I've been doing 5 min warmup on the elliptical machine, then  1 - 1.5 hours of weightlifting and then jumping on the threadmill for 15 minutes doing HIIT.

Would it be better to do 'normal' cardio in the mornings for 1 hour then weightlifting in the evenings and not doing cardio after my weightlifting session?
Or would it be better to continue with what I'm currently doing, lifting 5 times a week and doing HIIT for 15 minutes on the threadmill 3 times a week?

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can provide.

Since you cannot spot-reduce fat you need to lose overall bodyfat % to lose the love handles. If you are trying to gain mass, I asume you want both some fat and muscle, in this case reducing bodyfat % is close to impossible. I would focus on one goal at a time.

Thank you very much for your reply.

So it would be impossible to gain muscle and lose fat percentage at the same time by lifting weights and doing cardio every day? I did some more research and found a couple of websites that stated that in order to achieve what I want I should eat at a calorie surplus and that with time, this will be achieved. Is this true?

By gaining muscle I mean I want to be super fit, the last time I checked my fat percentage was at 22% and I had begun to lose my belly fat and I was starting to add more weight to all my lifts before I took a 3 month break.

I mean yes it is possible but you would have to have a damn near perfect mealplan and aswell as a workout plan. You would also need in depth knowledge about the body and how to adapt your body to the this style. There are exceptions tho, insane metabolism for instance. I suggest focusing on one goal at a time, since it is easier to live a normal life like that.

 

It is very good that you are losing fat and getting stronger ! It does not mean that you are gaining muscle tho. Adding 10 pounds on the deadlift doesnt automatically mean a bigger back.

 

Getting super fit is a good goal. Eat well and have a good plan. Use some of Scott's home workout videos on youtube with the fat burining aspect aswell as some weightlifting and cardio and you should be well on your way.

Thank you very much once again.

So should I stop lifting weights and just do cardio every day until I get to around 10-15% body fat and then just lift weights?

Hello, my name is Rafael and this is my first post here, joined the forums after being subscribed to your channel for a little over a year and a half after watching your reply to Scooby's comment.

1. Age 24
   
2. Height 5'4
   
3. Weight 145lb
   
4. Bodyfat % not sure
   
5. Goal (Muscle Gain, Weight Loss, Strength Gain, etc)  Weight loss and muscle gain
   
6. How long you have been exercising  5 months straight, 1 month break, 2 months straight, 3 months break, back again currently.
   
7. Daily calories      I'm aiming at 1800
   
8. Daily macros in grams (protein, carbs, fat)      I don't really measure anymore since I eat lean protein only for the most part (Salmon, tuna, chicken breast and turkey) but I read I should get 1g/lb which I'm doing,  avoiding carbs and cooking with Olive oil for the fat portion.
   
9. Injuries or restrictions      None
   

 

 

I was wondering if losing my belly fat and love handles is possible while gaining mass at the same time. I wouldn't say I'm overweight but I just have a belly that pops out and I hate it.
Currenly I've been doing 5 min warmup on the elliptical machine, then  1 - 1.5 hours of weightlifting and then jumping on the threadmill for 15 minutes doing HIIT.

Would it be better to do 'normal' cardio in the mornings for 1 hour then weightlifting in the evenings and not doing cardio after my weightlifting session?
Or would it be better to continue with what I'm currently doing, lifting 5 times a week and doing HIIT for 15 minutes on the threadmill 3 times a week?

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can provide.

If you want to lose fat and gain muscle.. you can do it as a beginner. After that if gets harder, but not impossible. It's about diet manipulation.

 

What are your current macros? Been to the @mealplan page to do some calculations about what you should be having?

 

The one thing I would say about your cardio and weightlifting is that yes, either do them separately (one in the morning and one at night), or you can just do cardio AFTER weight lifting. So that you have maximum energy for your weight training.

Since I have someone that cooks for me I just tell that person what I want to eat and makes it for me.

I eat a lot of Salmon, canned tuna, turkey and chicken breast. What I did at the beggining was weight what I'm eating, for example:
150g of Salmon which would equal to 30g of protein and different source of carbohydrates but never surpsassing the amount of protein that I'm eating, usually rice or tortillas.
200g of eggs which would equal to 26g of protein with a couple of slices of bread with peanut butter.

I went to the meal planner on the website and I went with 1.5g of protein and gives me a 163g of protein diet. Does this mean I have to eat 150g of salmon 5 times a day since 150g of salmon equals to 30g of protein which would total to 150g of lean protein? If this is the case maybe I should buy protein powder because I don't think I can eat this much hahahaha

I'll go ahead and do cardio in the morning and weightlifting in the evening, I had been doing cardio after my weightlifting but I find it more comfortable to go 2 times to the gym per day.

Thank you very much Scott for answering :)

You don't need to stick to just one source of food for your protein. You don't need to eat an entire salom to get your protein lol. Eat a variety of foods, get protein from different sources - fish, chicken, beef, eggs, milk, cheese, beans etc. Even something like pasta will help you towards your protein goal.

 

If you have a hard time getting enough protein from whole food, then yes it might be a good idea to look into a supplement.

 

Sounds like a good plan with the cardio and weight lifting :-)

Thank you very much for your help Scott. Yes I do eat protein from different sources I was just trying to determine if every site I've read meant the grams of protein per day as in 150g of chicken breast = 150g of protein, which is not the case.

What I think I'll do is eat 5 boiled eggs between my main meals, that way I can achieve the ~160g of protein per day.

Once again, words can't express my most sincere gratitude for your help.