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does adding muscle = losing fat to lower bf%

emmab

New member
I have posted this on the training board too. I am 5'5", 114lbs and 22% bf. Before anyone else tells me I am fat, I AM NOT. Most people tell me I am too thin. I used to be anorexic and think I probably lost lots of muscle, so would building up muscle lower my bf levels. As my BMI is 18, I don't really think I need to lose 8 or so pounds of fat to get to about 15%, so would gaining muscle have the same effect?!?!?! I am after the lean defined look, not bulking up too much. Any advice would be great!!!
 
YOu're pregnant, right? I wouldn't worry too much about getting lean and defined until after the baby, personally. You can gain muscle, but your body will grab the nutrients for the developing fetus first.

In answer--if you gain muscle, you'll gain a tich of fat with it--in my experience it's nearly impossible to make any significant gains without a small amount of fat. Hence, cutting and bulking cycles.

But, you can build muscle, which will increase your metabolic rate, and thus, help you burn fat. Say, you made impressive upper body gains, you could still have appreciable body fat on your midsection and thighs, for example.
That's why the calipers test is done at different body areas (and why the waist to butt ratios on the internet BF calculators are sort of misleading.
 
22% is not fat at all. Remember women have about 10% more than men anyway so in reality you are the same as a man at 12%, which is very low. When people on here say they are less they are full of shit unless they are in the final few days of cometing for a bodybuilding show. Lowering your bodyfat too much lower during pregnancy can be dangerous to the baby and yourself, please be careful.
 
fear not...I am NOT thinking of dieting now. Just for future reference and it has been on my mind for a while.
 
I'm not really sure what you are asking, but i'll try to answer it from what I think you are asking. If you have a guy who is .....lets say 200 pounds, and he has 30 pounds of fat on him, it looks like this:

30 pounds of fat
200 pounds of wt. X 100 = 15% bodyfat

Now, if he wanted to get a bodyfat reading of 10%, he could either diet down or gain 100 pounds of muscle (with no fat gain). It would look like this:



30 pounds of fat
300 pounds of weight X 100 = 10% bodyfat

Alright, I now this is impossible, and you all are probably laughing your asses off, but I did it! LOL, JOKE, I am just trying to make a point here.

Now, as you can see, although no fat was lost, because you gained muscle mass and increased your total bodyweight, your percentages got lower. This does not necessarily mean you are leaner. My advice, AFTER YOU PREGNANCY, is to decide whether or not you want to lean-up, or add muscle. Don't try and do both at the same time. I'm gonna stop here just in case I totally missed your question and am typing irrelevant crap.
MR. BMJ
 
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