How do I lose fat and gain muscle?

01/29/25 2:14pm

Hi everyone. I’m a 17-year-old guy and I’m just getting started on my fitness journey. I don’t have much experience lifting or working out, but I really want to lose some weight and bulk up. I don’t even want to be huge like a body builder, I just want to feel good about myself. Basically, I guess my question is can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? I don’t know if I’m supposed to focus on losing weight before I put muscle on or vice versa and Google is kind of giving me confusing answers. Any guidance here?

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Brendon Rearick
Personal Trainer & Strength Coach

01/30/25 5:52pm

You can lose weight and build muscle at the same time. Here’s how to do it. So, number one, you need to lift heavy. And when I say heavy, I mean heavy with good form. Do 8-12 reps for each exercise. That’s where you’re going to get the most hypertrophy, which is just a fancy word for muscle building. If 8-12 reps is too tough, you know you’re using too much weight. So that's number one, the rep range you need to stay in is 8-12 and you want to focus on heavy lifting exercises.

Number two is going to be the tools that you use or the equipment. Use a mixture of kettlebells, barbells, and dumbbells to ensure you aren’t specializing in one particular movement or type of exercise.

Last is nutrition. You want to eat a healthy diet and run a caloric deficit while you’re losing weight. Once you start bulking up and building bigger muscles, you can adjust your diet until you’re at a healthy weight where you’re happy with how you look.

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WikiSealHugger953

01/31/25 11:25am

To lose weight and gain muscle you need to be in a calorie deficit and consume protein. You achieve a calorie deficit by burning more calories than you consume, which you can do by exercising more or changing your diet. I did a combination of both. I incorporated more cardio and weight training into my routine to burn more calories and cut out some calories (I had a sweet tooth). My proteins of choice were chicken breast and ground turkey.

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WikiFlamingoChaser192

02/01/25 8:03am

A mistake a lot of beginners make when they're eager to build muscle is working out too much. Your muscles need time to grow after you exercise, so make sure to take a rest day or two between your workouts. Make sure you listen to your body and push yourself enough to challenge and grow your muscles, but not so much that you injure yourself. A calorie tracking app can be helpful for keeping track of what you eat so you can figure out a calorie intake that allows you to lose weight and build muscle.

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Symphonie Traylor

02/11/25 5:23pm

This process is called body recomposition. It requires you to be in a slight calorie deficit (200-300 calories below maintenance) while eating 0.8-1g of protein per pound of goal bodyweight. Heavy lifting with progressive overload (increasing reps and/or weight over time) is apart of the process as well.

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