Previously skinny-fat guys, what made the biggest difference in getting a toned, muscular physique?

[thisoldtown1978]

I know there's no silver bullet, but if you feel there was something that made a key difference, I'd love to hear it. Carb intake? Addition of aerobic exercise? Acid base balance?

I've struggled for years to build muscle and tone up. Whenever I try to increase calories or increase protein or increase workload, the negatives always outweight the positives. I'm trying to rack my brains to see if I'm missing something.

 

[Hans]

I know there's no silver bullet, but if you feel there was something that made a key difference, I'd love to hear it. Carb intake? Addition of aerobic exercise? Acid base balance?

I've struggled for years to build muscle and tone up. Whenever I try to increase calories or increase protein or increase workload, the negatives always outweight the positives. I'm trying to rack my brains to see if I'm missing something.

What kind of negatives? It's always about the basics. If you can't eat enough calories, testosterone will likely be suboptimal and you'll struggle to build muscle. If protein is too low, then muscle growth will also be suboptimal.

Figure out why you can't eat enough and how to fix it.

 

[looking2grow96]

I know there's no silver bullet, but if you feel there was something that made a key difference, I'd love to hear it. Carb intake? Addition of aerobic exercise? Acid base balance?

I've struggled for years to build muscle and tone up. Whenever I try to increase calories or increase protein or increase workload, the negatives always outweight the positives. I'm trying to rack my brains to see if I'm missing something.

Gotta tell us what you experience as negatives before any of us can give you useful advice.

 

[Hayley]

I’m a previously skinny fat woman, who is now pretty muscular. Biggest thing I did was commit to gaining weight and lifting heavy for literally years before I ever tried to lean out. I stopped doing cardio for exercise and made sure not to overtrain. It worked.

 

[methylenewhite]

Gear + high protein diet. Keto for shredding.

 

[thisoldtown1978]

What kind of negatives? It's always about the basics. If you can't eat enough calories, testosterone will likely be suboptimal and you'll struggle to build muscle. If protein is too low, then muscle growth will also be suboptimal.

Figure out why you can't eat enough and how to fix it.

I basically end up looking like crap. When I eat too much I get bloated, any weight goes right onto my hips, I look pale and my face looks chubby. Especially when I start eating more protein. I've stuck through it before and worked out heavier and heavier, and I barely put on muscle. And I lose any tiny gains incredibly quickly. And besides that, on the flip side to gaining weight, I'm convinced I could starve myself and never get any definition. I never seem to be able to shift this layer of spongy undefined fat. Sorry, I think I'm in a negative mood! Just venting a bit. But the above is true.

 

[brix]

Sounds like hormonal issues. You have any labs?

 

[Hayley]

I basically end up looking like crap. When I eat too much I get bloated, any weight goes right onto my hips, I look pale and my face looks chubby. Especially when I start eating more protein. I've stuck through it before and worked out heavier and heavier, and I barely put on muscle. And I lose any tiny gains incredibly quickly. And besides that, on the flip side to gaining weight, I'm convinced I could starve myself and never get any definition. I never seem to be able to shift this layer of spongy undefined fat. Sorry, I think I'm in a negative mood! Just venting a bit. But the above is true.

Looking like crap when bulking is normal. You have to stick with it. What time frames are you talking about? How long have you tried to gain weight for before giving up?

 

[thisoldtown1978]

Sounds like hormonal issues. You have any labs?

About 8 years ago, when I first found Peat, I got labs that showed my cortisol and prolactin off the charts, as I suspected based on my symptoms. About 4 years ago I retested and cortisol was within range, and prolactin within range but still a bit high. I've trusted since then that I've been on the right path. I try not to stress myself with following a Peat diet too dogmatically, but I avoid PUFA, get enough carbs, avoid hard to digest things etc.

However, I come from a very high stress family, conditioned to be stressed about the most insignificant things, so I believe my cortisol / prolactin response is incredibly sensitive.

I wouldn't say I've developed like most males. I still have very skinny wrists and small slender hands even in my mid 30s. Slender neck. But then tummy fat and love handles.

 

[thisoldtown1978]

Looking like crap when bulking is normal. You have to stick with it. What time frames are you talking about? How long have you tried to gain weight for before giving up?

I'm not sure, probably about 6 months? I really don't take extra weight on my face well haha, it really ruins my looks, as I have small features anyway. I look my best when my face is thin. But then I dislike having an underwhelming physique!

 

[Hayley]

I'm not sure, probably about 6 months? I really don't take extra weight on my face well haha, it really ruins my looks, as I have small features anyway. I look my best when my face is thin. But then I dislike having an underwhelming physique!

Same thing happened to me. I was also getting over a slight eating disorder, and I just ballooned right up in the face when I started bulking and it looks very bad when I look back on pictures from that time. It will all work out and your body will eventually recomp without you even trying and you’ll lose the puffiness. You have to trust the process, I’m talking 3 years. I know there’s a chance you could have something very wrong with your hormones, but it seems more likely it’s a simple matter of needing to put on muscle and being in a caloric surplus over a long period of time. Finding the sweet spot of training volume is also important, meaning not over training, but still having intense enough workouts to stimulate growth. The aesthetics will eventually come.

 

[Jonk]

I've made some small improvements in this area mainly because of faster digestion I think. More sugar, less fat, trying different fruits that work for digestion like kiwis and pineapple. Supplementing magnesium.

 

[Zbush]

Consistency in the gym. It's not going to happen over night but it's the little gains that mean the most.

 

[crazypatriot]

1) Actually count your calories and weigh your food. Use an App if needed.

2) Eat at least 0.8g of protein per lb of Bodyweight

3) Eat lots of red meat and eggs

4) Buy skin calipers and figure out your bodyfat percentage. If you are over 15%, don't even bother bulking, you'll just get fatter and smoother.

5) (probably most important) Stop training like a p***y and bust your **** in the gym for MINIMUM 45 mins, 3 days a week on anaerobic exercises. Find a bodybuilding inspired routine which focuses on hypertrophy. Try to hit each muscle group twice a week, ideally. There's nothing wrong with acute high stress. Don't just go through the motions. Look at yourself in the mirror and get angry for motivation. This 'negative' motivation can be really powerful. You should be slightly nervous before your workouts because you know you are about to do something hard. Postworkout, you should feel proud because you know you gave it your all. If you don't have these feelings, you are not providing enough stimulus for muscle growth.

6) Have a goal and take steps to reach it weekly. Whether that be fat loss (calorie deficit) or getting stronger (do more sets, reps, or weight each week in the gym) Log weight loss or strength gains somewhere to see your progression. Take photos to compare throughout the months.

7) Bonus) Vitamin B6 in the form of (P5P) is effective at lowering prolactin. Ensure other vitamin deciencies are met.

 

[Sergey]

I know there's no silver bullet, but if you feel there was something that made a key difference, I'd love to hear it. Carb intake? Addition of aerobic exercise? Acid base balance?

I've struggled for years to build muscle and tone up. Whenever I try to increase calories or increase protein or increase workload, the negatives always outweight the positives. I'm trying to rack my brains to see if I'm missing something.

Have you tried taking vitamin b5?
Ideally combined with some b1 and regular topical magnesium all over your body (unless you’ve got some not yet addressed fungal issues or anything else which could be aggravated by lots of magnesium and excess vitamins).
And how are your hair/skin/nails, overall?

 

[RollingStone]

Lift weights with focus and intensity and cut down or stop eating sugar, refined carbs, carbs in general.

 

[Raw Egg Gnostic]

Compound lifts plus lots of raw milk and raw egg yolks.

 

[Alex Jaramillo]

1. Fruit smoothies every morning whether lifting that day or not

2. Focusing on strength progression *making sure to not get injured*

3. Having other hobbies/activities you like to do (stretching, walking, painting, reading, hiking, having an active career/job) *preferably as a sort of active recovery*

4. Sleep 8 hours at least

5. Body weight in protein at least and maybe two times that in carbs

6. Remove stress from your life as best you can

7. Don’t be afraid to eat just don’t binge.
(Eat fruit, meat, organs, fish, tubers, limit pufa, get your magnesium & potassium)

Lastly stick to a certain caloric intake. Either increase activity or lower calories accordingly

 

[toolhead]

I relate to you in many ways. I used to be hardcore into working out many years ago and eventually gave it up because I quickly plateaued and never saw any gains after that. I could not gain more muscle without looking fat/bloated, and when I tried to lean out, I just looked trim and skinny with no real definition. I also have a soft/chubby face so I soon quit creatine in order to avoid facial bloat.

Earlier this year I got back into it. One thing I read is one of AJ Cortes’ ebooks designed for skinnyfats. The main takeaway I got from it was that we should not focus on bulking (at least not for a while) but maintaining muscle while leaning out. Most of his focus was on dieting choices, which is the usual stuff most on this forum would already know: intermittent fasting, optimizing hormones (naturally), avoiding inflammatory foods, etc.

I don’t have time to go into all his specific workout advice, but I will tell you one thing I myself decided was not to worry about legs. When I used to hit the gym hard I would kill myself doing legs, and hardly ever saw any improvement. Since I had learned from some other fitness guru the body has a limited capacity for recuperation, I decided to prioritize and focus that precious resource on my upper body. I’m getting older and want to avoid that old-man look of belly+atrophied shoulders/chest. I just want a flat belly and upper body mass. I still train legs, but just enough to maintain them for functionality and I no longer kill myself on them. Seems to be working fairly well for me so far, though I expect to make some tweaks as I progress.

Good luck.

 

[MarcelZD]

I can put on muscle well but I find it significantly harder to stay lean while lifting heavy weights. With increased intensity my face becomes bloated and my belly sofr, and I don't believe this is purely a matter of additional calories. My first guess would be that this has to do with elevated cortisol.

I haven't seen many natural bodybuilders with the photogenic lean look, so I think that I am not the only one to have that problem. Perhaps you have to be one of those lucky individuals with a naturally favorable hormonal profile? For me unfortunately heavy lifting while being lean doesn't work, and I would think that it will only get more problematic as I get older.