LOSING IT WHILE GAINING IT- Fat and Muscle.... My truth

For all of you trying to lost body fat while gaining muscle mass, stop!
Stop killing yourself, stop the frustration and take a moment to understand the functions of the body.

The body is very inefficient at doing both actions simultaneously. The only time that this is feasible is with a 'newbie', someone brand new to the sport of weight lifting.  The new stress is enough of a stimulus that the body will react quickly and efficiently. The same is said for someone who has stepped out of the weight lifting world for a significant period of time and has re started his or her routine.
The more regularly you train, the more you need to separate your focus into mass building and fat loss.

Now for us regular folk, lets break it down.

One recommendation is  gaining the size before shedding down body fat levels,
 This approach is taken  because in order to gain 1 pound of lean muscle your body will naturally gain approximately 0.2 pounds of body fat. The reason for this is that when on a calorie surplus (more calories than burned) some calories will be stored as fat. However by focusing on smart nutritious food choices, you will minimize the fat gain and maximize the muscle gain.
You  might as well bulk up, build the strong mass and then focus on using the leanness to "kick out" the fat.

However if you aim to lose body fat first and then build the mass, you may have more luck.
When trying to lose body fat you are restricting your calories while doing a fair bit of cardio, ideally HIIT style cardio.
When it comes to the bulking phase of your training, your body will act much like a sponge and soak up the added calories. The focus will shift from cardiovascular driven workouts to heavy resistance training and minimal cardio.
WHY minimal cardio???
Cardio, yes great for stamina and endurance, will begin to burn through your muscle glycogen when its energy sources run out. This is a heart breaker, as you have at this point worked so hard in the gym for this exact muscle that is now being 'burned'.
Proper nutrition is really the MOST important focus during both phases.
Find out your personal daily requirements ( there are many great websites for this, or ask a fitness professional to calculate yours for you)
To lose body fat you will be decreasing your daily requirements by 250-500 per day, and while gaining mass you will be adding to your requirements by about the same.

Although each macro nutrient is obviously very important in a balanced nutrition plan, when it comes to building muscle mass your protein requirements are of particular importance. They will be raised to 1.5 per pound of body weight.
For a man weighing 150 pounds his protein intake will be 225 g per day.

Carbohydrates are an important macro to understand a bit more also.
First- they are not all created equally, there are 'good' and 'bad' ones.
Carbohydrates are our bodies number ONE source of energy. A lack of, will cause the body to 'make do' with what it has, and what it has is muscle tissue.
When you are leaning out and primarily focusing on cardio, you wont need quite as many carbohydrates as you will when you are in your heavy training phase. You still want to include about 40-50 % of your total calories from a complex carbohydrate source.  No white anything! No sugar, no crackers, no white breads, pastas, rices etc.....
When it comes to building mass you can play with the ratios a bit but they will likely look something like 50% carb 40% pro and 10% fats.

So like I have said in past blogs, body transformation of any type takes time, it takes trial and error, as what works for one person may not work for someone else.
You will need dedication, will power and drive.
One thing at a time my friend, one thing at a time....
~Ky