I can't decide whether to lose weight or not

[Mr Anonymous]

Ok, so this has really been bothering me for quite some time now. I really can't decide whether to diet and lose weight first or to get some muscle first. It's a bit more complicated with me than a typical fat guy trying to get in shape. Thing is I am pretty fat but don't really look fat with clothes on. So if I'm stood there with my clothes on I look like an average sized guy but without clothes on I look pretty bad

Long term my goal is to lose 25lbs of fat and gain 25lbs or muscle but I've never really been able to build muscle because I have IBD and am very sceptical as to whether I can get enough nutrition to be able to do it. Then again I'm moderately active and eat 500-600 calories below my maintenance intake and never lose any weight so maybe it would work out.

Now if I went for fat loss first then I might start to look a bit scrawny again like I was before I gained all the weight because I'd just burn all the bulk off myself and go down to this thin frame with very little muscle on it.

Sooo... if you were in this situation what would you do to get in shape? I'm not planning on being a bodybuilder, I just want to look decent with or without clothes

Btw I'm about 200lbs with 21% BF at 5ft8 but if I asked people to guess my weight they would probably say about 160-170 and they usually guess my height at no more than 5ft6. So I already look smaller than I am and that's why I'm worried about fat loss.

Thanks

 

[jiggagold]

Eat clean and lift hard. Focus on multi joint exercises. Results will come if you have a plan and stick to it.

 

[Discreet User]

id get ur bf% down, 21% i pretty high

i personly would never bulk if i was that high in bf%

u better off looking abit scrawny, then bulking and hitting higher then 21%bf

+1

Make your health the number one priority

 

[Mr Anonymous]

To be honest I'd rather be unhealthy than have to live a life with people taking the piss out of me for being small.

Ok I think I've decided to get down to 185lbs for now then I think I am going to start a bulking plan but with trying to make sure I don't get any fatter. Weighing below 185lbs just seems a bit... I dunno... small =P

Then once I'm back up to 200lbs I'll try to cut away another 15lbs, then put it back on in muscle. Will probably take a couple of years till I look and feel good but I'm only 19, I got plenty of time

200lbs with 12-14% BF would probably be ideal for me.

 

[Discreet User]

To be honest I'd rather be unhealthy than have to live a life with people taking the piss out of me for being small.

Ok I think I've decided to get down to 185lbs for now then I think I am going to start a bulking plan but with trying to make sure I don't get any fatter. Weighing below 185lbs just seems a bit... I dunno... small =P

Then once I'm back up to 200lbs I'll try to cut away another 15lbs, then put it back on in muscle. Will probably take a couple of years till I look and feel good but I'm only 19, I got plenty of time

200lbs with 12-14% BF would probably be ideal for me.

I understand how you feel and quite honestly this is part of the reason why the consideration of Anabolic Steroids should be put off until at least the age of 21.

Unless something out of the ordinary happens, life is a very long adventure. At 19 years old today you may very well have 80+ years ahead of you!
You don't want to be looking back years from now and regret having made poor health decisions as a teenager.

Put your health first. This will increase your confidence, mood, libido, mental acuity, get you more girls, etc...

Once you are in great shape you can truly begin considering your muscle building options as you now have a good foundation.

I am formally trained in nutrition and exercise science. Feel free to PM me at any time with questions.

Good luck!

 

[Mr Anonymous]

I understand how you feel and quite honestly this is part of the reason why the consideration of Anabolic Steroids should be put off until at least the age of 21.

Unless something out of the ordinary happens, life is a very long adventure. At 19 years old today you may very well have 80+ years ahead of you!
You don't want to be looking back years from now and regret having made poor health decisions as a teenager.

Put your health first. This will increase your confidence, mood, libido, mental acuity, get you more girls, etc...

Once you are in great shape you can truly begin considering your muscle building options as you now have a good foundation.

I am formally trained in nutrition and exercise science. Feel free to PM me at any time with questions.

Good luck!

Well I had quite a bad experience with steroids, got a lot of the negative sides and none of the positive ones because I didn't know what I was doing. But... live and learn!

And yes getting girls is one of the reasons I do all this I can't win though. If I lose the weight I probably could be attractive to girls but if I'm overweight then guys won't push me around because I look bulky...

I think all I can do is slowly try replace the fat with muscle and hope I'm fit in a couple of years.

 

[Discreet User]

Well I had quite a bad experience with steroids, got a lot of the negative sides and none of the positive ones because I didn't know what I was doing. But... live and learn!

And yes getting girls is one of the reasons I do all this I can't win though. If I lose the weight I probably could be attractive to girls but if I'm overweight then guys won't push me around because I look bulky...

I think all I can do is slowly try replace the fat with muscle and hope I'm fit in a couple of years.

You can do it bro.

If you're sleeping, eating and training properly (of course abstaining from alcohol & recreational drugs), then the results won't take years. When I was a teenager I could almost see improvement daily. Just stay focused and remember that there is a wealth of knowledge to tap into here at EF.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

You can do it bro.

If you're sleeping, eating and training properly (of course abstaining from alcohol & recreational drugs), then the results won't take years. When I was a teenager I could almost see improvement daily. Just stay focused and remember that there is a wealth of knowledge to tap into here at EF.

I was told that a realistic gain was 5lbs of muscle per year... or is more possible?

 

[Discreet User]

I was told that a realistic gain was 5lbs of muscle per year... or is more possible?

I started formal weight training at your age, 19. For the first year I feel I gained about 1 pound of quality mass per month.

I was skinny and did not need to lose weight. However, my experience with overweight individuals has been that if someone has really got quite a bit to lose, then 10 pounds weight loss per month is the average.

Each individual body is different and it will take a bit of trial and error to find what works best for you.

What sort of digestive issues/food allergies do you have?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

I started formal weight training at your age, 19. For the first year I feel I gained about 1 pound of quality mass per month.

I was skinny and did not need to lose weight. However, my experience with overweight individuals has been that if someone has really got quite a bit to lose, then 10 pounds weight loss per month is the average.

Each individual body is different and it will take a bit of trial and error to find what works best for you.

What sort of digestive issues/food allergies do you have?

I'm lactose intolerant so I avoid anything with milk.
Red meat is definitely a no.
I have to avoid high fibre foods as well.
I also struggle to take in large amounts of food.

There's no way I take in my daily maintenance amount of calories and I never lose any weight so I disagree that you can put set number of calories somebody should take in depending on their weight. Anyway I think with smaller spaced out portions of the right food I should be ok. I did make a diet plan but I'm going to have to post it somewhere to get more experienced people than me to check it.

I still feel like it's going to be a couple of years before I look in good shape. I don't think fat loss will be too difficult, just building muscle will.

I decided I'm definitely going to lose 20lbs first though so... what's the best exercise for weight loss?