Should you lose belly fat before building muscle?

Question

I have at least 25 pound to lose around my mid section and I don't want to build muscle under the fat. Should I lose the fat first then build the muscle?
Thanks

Thanks for all the constructive answers. The reason I ask the questions is not because I don''t want to do the work I just don't want to build up muscle under fat and look fatter.

Anywho I appreciate all the ACTUAL answers.

Answer 1

that is why u must loss ur belly fat
and i have solution to ur belly fat
Small Ways to Lose a Big Belly

1. Fried foods are garbage. Potato chips, French fries and onion rings are pregnant with saturated fat and calories, yet they contain zero healthy or muscle-promoting nutrients. If you're on a fat-loss plan, simply eliminate fried foods. That alone will allow you to shed lard quickly

2. Drink a glass of skim milk as soon as you wake up. Some quick protein before you even step into the shower will energize you and end those morning cravings for Egg McMuffins and pastry.

3. Do 2 minutes of pushups every morning. It's tough to exercise as soon as you roll out of bed, but you can burn off 21 calories a day--2 1/2 pounds in a year.


4. Toss a quart of water in your briefcase. Water helps you burn calories--96 calories just by carrying a bottle while you walk for 20 minutes. Serve it over ice in your office and your body will burn 31 calories warming it to 98.6. Then there's the aerobic effect of all those bathroom runs.

5. Want to look better naked? Try drinking half as much alcohol. Alcohol contains calories. You may drink like a fish, but booze isn't water. Even a light beer has more than 100 calories. Booze makes you store fat. Your body sees alcohol as a poison, and tries desperately to get rid of it. Your liver stops processing all other calories until it has dealt with the alcohol. So anything else you eat during the time you're drinking is more likely to end up as fat. Alcohol also lowers testosterone. With more abdominal fat, testosterone drops.

more in this site
http://www.westcoastorganics.com/pages/14_ways.htm

Answer 2

that would be your best bet to keep you from looking more bulky ( to lose some of the fat first). However, if you incorporate a few toning excercies into your initial weight loss program, it makes your body burn more calories for a longer amount of time after you finish your workout and helps to make your other body parts appear more lean because it increases the amount of lean muscle mass in your body. One thing that you should NOT do is crunches. These are one of the worst stomach exercise EVER!! All they do is build muscle, if you are going for a 6 pack, go for it, I just realized i don´t konw if you are a man or a woman... anyway, look online for asymetric stomach exercies as these will add muscle, but not bulk. These can be done before you lose weight because they wont make you look more bulky. And as i always recommend, go see a personal trainer at your gym, make sure first that they are certified!!!! many of the people at places like gold´s gym have taken a test that´s a joke and are certified in 5 minutes... this is bad, they have no idea what they are doing and often train people in ways that will eventually cause chronic problems with the clients joints. anyway, if you are ever have a lot of pain in a muscle group that you did not work out the day before (ie, you worked out your legs and your back hurts) chances are your form is wrong and you should try very hard to correct this as it will only cause more problems. anyway, i hope i answered your question and such, most of what i said will be useful in the future, but for now, jump on that treadmill and don´t forget to stretch!!!

Answer 3

Hi!
Unless you build some muscle, it's unlikely that you'll actually lose that 25 lbs completely. It will actually accelerate your fat loss if you combine strength training, cardio, and modified diet together with you program. Muscle burns a lot of calories, so the more of it you have, the more fat you can burn! Also, studies have shown that you metabolism stays elevated for 6-8 hours after weight training vs. cardio where your metabolism only stays elevated during that 30-60 minutes that you're working out! (Even so, cardio is important too!)
If you're worried about looking bulky by building muscle under your fat, don't! First of all, you are not going to get big muscles that quickly. (You'll likely lose the 25 lbs if you're diligent way before you gain any appreciable size in musculature.) 1-2lbs a week is a good guesstamate for dilligent people when it comes to fat loss, but depending on the individual, it may be a little faster!

Try circuit training- it's ideal for fat loss because it's a cardio workout and strength training workout wrapped up into one- a double whammy! Keep the weights moderate- you don't want to go too heavy if you want to get the full circuit training effect! (During circuit training, you move from one exercise to another without stopping, repeating cycles. Make sure the weights are challenging though- if they're too light, they won't do you much good!) Google "circuit training"!

If you're in the Stockton, Manteca, Modesto,Tracy California area and you'd like to find out more about fitness programs, please give me a call!

Fitness Pros
[phone]
www.fitnesspros4u.com

Answer 4

I would say, don't worry about that. As you do exercises to build muscle, the fat will burn off. Muscle burns fat like mad, using them I mean, after you build them.

Building the muscle will also shrink you by inches fast, no matter what the scale actually reads.

I would just be a bit careful the exercises are gentle, not to much at first, or the wrong kind.
Swimming is really good. It burns calories and belly fat without stressing the lower back with impact as bad.

Jogging would be one of the worst, as the stomach could bounce alittle, and ouch! That can really hurt, and the lower back too, cause it can pull on those muscles.

Walking works amazingly well. And gets you where you're going without gas money!

Answer 5

2

Answer 6

There is no such thing as spot reducing. For example, you won't lose abdominal fat if you do sit-ups. Your body burns fat throughout your body. Actually, I read that abdominal fat is one of the slowest areas to decrease. As to how to burn fat. Diet and Excersize work wonders, but you should also build your muscles. Muscles assist your metabolism in burning calories. I suspect that this is why models are so worried about gaining weight, because they hardly have any muscles.

Anyway, you can work on your abdominal muscles, but unless you do a lot of lifting, I don't think these muscles serve much purpose other than physical appearance. Instead, I would work on the arms and legs, as you use them the most. When you feel you lost enough abdominal fat, then you can work on that area. It really doesn't matter though. Muscles weigh more but I don't think it will make your belly seem any bigger.

Answer 7

By all means go ahead and work on building muscle mass and definition. It won't make your abs fatter - if fact, your metabolism will be faster if you have more muscle mass and burn fat faster. The only thing is if you just work on building muscle and don't work on decreasing fat, you won't see the results of all that muscle because it'll be underneath fat. Do at least 30 minutes of cardio 5-6 times a week in addition to weight training schedule and your results will come together and pay you off with a great 6 pack effect!

Answer 8

Absolutly not ! Start building muscle! Muscle will eat(aka burn) up fat. Drink lots,lots of water. You'll nee to eat better. Stay away from chips, pop (unless Diet), candy etc.. find a substitute. And FYI don't be afraid to lift heavy weights. To many women think if they lift heavy they will look like a guy'. Not true unless you use steroids. You need to tear up the muscle fiber so then it can begin the repair process therefor giving you the defination you want and eating away at that Fat. Remeber muscle weighs more. So don't base you results on weight, but how you look and feel. Have a goal set. (ie. 3 months I can lift this weight..6 months I can lift that weight...12 months et...) You didn't get 25 lbs around your waist over night. If you lift hard 3 x per week and through in 20 min cardio somewhere in there 1 x per week for about 4 months You'll be amazed! Keep a Log. PowerBuilder magazine has good routines etc.. mix and match to find something that you like. Have fun, Eat right & drink lots of water!!!!

Answer 9

Belly Fat Before And After

Answer 10

The body is not desingned to BURN fat and then BUILD muscle because of the body's composition. Therefore the best thing to do is focus on building muscle because that will also burn fat at the same time.

Also doing Cardio (running) will burn most fat however you will lose muscle as well but your body will be more toned. Cycling, Swimming and Rowing are also good fat burners.

I also recommend abdominal curls, crunches, leg raises and leg kicks for your abs that can be worked at least 4 to 5 times a week without the muscle being over worked.

(Friendly FYI)...There is a myth that sitting in a Sauna foe a few hours will burn fat but the truth is it takes physcial perfomance i.e. cardio vascular to burn fat.

Answer 11

I am on a diet now where I have already lost almost 30 pounds. I actually do both at the same time. By eating a diet low in sugar and fat, but high in protein, I lose fat and replace it with muscle, which is actually more healthy. If you try to lose the fat without building muscle, you will actually lose muscle mass along with the fat, making you more likely to gain the weight back.