Weight gain!

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi!
I’ve seen Mine Israetel talk about gaining weight when your pretty lean to start with compared when you carry some extra body fat. He mentions that people who start out already lean tend to gain more muscle in the long run. Is it true?

2

More muscle than who? Might there be some nuance here? :wink:

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3

More muscle than if you were to start a weight gaining phase already not being as lean as your other identical imaginary version.

4

Not enough nuance, Leon :slight_smile:

What if we’re comparing someone who is 11% body fat to the same person at 13%? That’s probably not going to make a big difference at all. That said, someone who is 12% compared to 20% is likely to gain a bit more muscle than the person at 20%, unless the person at 12% just recently finished losing weight. Fat mass is preferentially restored post weight loss.

-Jordan

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5

Thanks for the replies. Could you also answer my question on the Training Tab?! Thanks doc!

6

Can you elaborate on this?
What are some things to help mitigate fat gain when regaining weight?

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7

Sure. When losing weight, most of the time fat mass is reduced to a much greater extent than fat free mass. When regaining weight after weight loss, fat mass is preferentially restored.

Outside of training, maintaining weight loss for a period of time, and undergoing slow weight gain (when it is desired) are probably the best options for preventing rapid fat accumulation.

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8

Dr. J, if you don’t mind a couple follow up questions:

  1. Do the same recommendations for a post weight lost maintenance phase hold true regardless of the amount of fat lost? That is, would a 10lb fat loss phase in a trained male with a pre-fat-loss waist measurement of ~35” require the same maintenance phase as a 35lb fat loss phase in a relatively untrained male with a 43” waist?

  2. In either case above (yes or no), is there a way of approximating how long a maintenance phase should be before pursuing slow weight gain in order to gain additional muscle mass?

Thanks!

9

  1. I can’t say confidently one way or another, though my gestalt is that yes, similar approaches should be taken.

  2. Not really a general rule, no.

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10

If there’s no general rule, how about a specific case?

I’m cutting from 220/38” to a planned 34-35”. Currently at 36”, losing about 6lbs per inch.(74” tall if it matters)
How long should I maintain before bulking?
Thanks

11

I don’t now if you should maintain. If it’s taking you a long time, e.g. > 6 months, I think 4-6 weeks of maintenance is reasonable.

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12

Thanks for the response.
Happy New Year!