Getting bigger while cutting fat - possible? Also - diet

[Eurodriver]

I am an ectomorph. I’m currently at 13.8% body fat and I am achieving that on a diet of McDonalds, Burger King, and stuffed crust from Pizza Hut. I say this not to piss off all the big guys but just for informations sake.

I’d like to get that below 10%. Ideally 8. I know what kind of effort is required to get from 10 to 8, which is why my real goal is 10%. It’s a totally arbitrary number but I can get there and I want to be there.

However, I’d also like to grow. I have learned that nearly everything revolves around diet though. I am eating 3500 Cals a day (not hard when it’s McNuggets) based on my fitness pal and getting nowhere. Because it’s all junk.

I have no idea how to cook. I’ve had beer tonight so kinda drunk. But I’ve been working on this for a while and seen some progress but not as good as I should. So much misinformation.

I am good with working out. Let’s focus on diet.

Do I eat carbs? Stick to Paleo? Ketosis? Basically is my biggest question. How do I know what macros to follow or how many Calories to consume? I’m kind of shooting in the dark. The scale doesn’t help because if I’m gaining weight it could be muscle or fat.

My diet lately has consisted of:

Breakfast:
3 scrambled eggs
1 Apple & 2 Oranges & 1 Banana
2 sausage patties
6 sausage links (about 700 cals total)

10am Protein shake (24g w 110 cals) if I worked out that AM.

Lunch: grilled chicken or steak. Broccoli. Peas. Carrots. 500 cals. 54gr Protein. 15gr carbs.

Dinner: This is where I **** up. Usually 16-18oz of ground beef prepared as taco salad without taco shells. Maybe 600cals.

I eat the same meals every day except Saturday afternoons when I go get teriyaki chicken after Yoga.

[jpmuscle]

Bro.....


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[E_Johnson]

Following with interest as a fellow hummingbird metabolism club member.

[jpmuscle]

Following with interest as a fellow hummingbird metabolism club member.

It’s not super complicated. You need to eat more. After a point you’ll identify what your maintenance intake is. But you have to track calories and your workouts. From there it’s a matter of manipulating your macros.

Hard gainers like you guys have it a bit easier because imo since you have a bit more leeway with your consumption with respect to staying leaner.

But it all comes down to nutrition. You might need 3500 calories. You might need 4500 it just depends. Don’t bother stepping on a scale to track just keep tabs on what you see in the mirror and the plates on the bar.


As for burning fat and building muscle unless your some genetic freak of nature or on gear you can’t help but add fat as you increase muscle mass. Hence why folks bulk then cut.

All said and done though the answer to how much you need to eat is as much as it takes (clean food obviously). Past that follow a structured strength training program and mix in some HIIT and you’ll be GTG.


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[Diamondback]

Nothing to contribute, but tagged to subscribe on behalf of a friend with similar problems, and see if anything comes up than can be leveraged for my own oddball case. (Large bones of a meso, rounded/stocky soft tissue of an endo, generally hard to gain OR lose outside of a certain range, usually 10-20lb. from summer low to winter high.)

[BuzzinSATX]

Food-wise, I believe you would benefit much by eating more whole grains and legumes. Organic brown and wild rice, quinoa, steel cut oats, Black/kidney/garbanzo beans...also sweet and white potatoes (boiled/baked/grilled). Use lots of seasonings like the Ms Dash shakers, soy/worsteshire/hot sauces, and experiment with your favorite ethnic spices (I use a lot of Thai, Indian, and South American centric spices). Avoid much MSGs.

Buy a cheap rice cooker/steamer (makes cooking grains soooo easy!) and you are golden! They are all easy to cook and will add lots of fuel and fiber to your system.

Gaining weight-wise...I’m gonna ask “Why?” Brother, I’m an endomorph who wishes I was an echomorph!

If you can gain strength without gaining much mass, that’s the best! Look at Bruce Lee. He was an extreme example, but that guy was the strongest dude, pound for pound, of anyone I can think of. Check out videos of his famous “1 inch punch”, and look up the stuff Chuck Norris used to say about him and the heavy bags he used to hit.

Good luck!

[MegademiC]

Im going through this right now. Just “bulked” while eating “alright”. Im cleaning up my diet, using the “my fitness pal” app, and getting 1-1.5g protien per lb body weight, and around 2k calories.

As a datapoint, my friend was 290 and is now a much stronger, leaner 190. Hes an endomorph(was), and made huge fains while cutting, but it took a while. So far for us scrawny guys, it seems getting a lot of protien and creatine helps make gains while staying lean, but its a slow process in my experience. Im open to suggestions as well.

[usmcvet]

Nothing to contribute, but tagged to subscribe on behalf of a friend with similar problems, and see if anything comes up than can be leveraged for my own oddball case. (Large bones of a meso, rounded/stocky soft tissue of an endo, generally hard to gain OR lose outside of a certain range, usually 10-20lb. from summer low to winter high.)

This is an option too.


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[WillBrink]

I’d like to get that below 10%. Ideally 8. I know what kind of effort is required to get from 10 to 8, which is why my real goal is 10%. It’s a totally arbitrary number but I can get there and I want to be there.

However, I’d also like to grow. I have learned that nearly everything revolves around diet though. I am eating 3500 Cals a day (not hard when it’s McNuggets) based on my fitness pal and getting nowhere.
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Here's my take on the topic: Gaining Muscle & Losing Fat Simultaneously?

[panzerr]

So you want to anabolize while catabolizing? You can't have your cake and eat it too.

And FYI, having low body fat % does not by any means equate to health. Put some real food in your body and lay off the fast food. That shit is doing things to your liver and blood vessels that you won't know about for years.