This is a guest post by JC, the author of JCD Fitness.

Out of all the questions I receive weekly, there are a few I have read multiple times over. “How do I build muscle?” and “how do I lose body fat?” are the most common. Calorie balance is a very simple concept, however over time it has been made extremely complicated. So who is right and who is wrong? Can you really build muscle or lose fat when eating cheeseburgers and washing them down with milk shakes? My answer is yes. Must you stick to a strict diet of broccoli and chicken whilst consuming starchy carbohydrates only around your workouts? No, that is just silly.

Allow me to address each question individually.

How Do I Build Muscle?
You do two things and you do them right. You eat enough to grow and you train in a fashion that is conducive to building muscle mass. Many of the skinny guys I run into who are looking to build muscle are lost in the minutiae. They usually have their heads buried in some supplement cluttered bodybuilding magazine whilst consulting with a trainer who is smaller and less knowledgeable than themselves. The truth is you don’t need some fancy supplements or special bodybuilding split to successfully build that coveted physique. You only need to eat more than you burn and you must give your body a reason to use the excess calories for building lean body mass as opposed to only adipose tissue.

Here are my recommendations. Eat about 500 calories over maintenance daily and train each body part two to three times per week. Ideally you will be in the gym for a total of three to four sessions each week while taking advantage of your days off to relax, eat and grow. As far as meal timing(outside of your pre and post workout meals), eat whenever you want. Meal frequency is usually not an issue, however some guys may need to eat a few more meals per day in order to make their caloric requirements. Don’t obsess over this though.

I don’t care where your calories come from as long as you consume 1-1.5x your bodyweight in grams of protein and get 3-5grams of EFA’s per day. Set a caloric goal of +500 calories over maintenance for the day and have fun stuffing yourself. I personally enjoy a higher carbohydrate diet but I realize some individuals do not do so well on a lot of starch. Strike a nice balance between macro nutrients and just EAT.

As long as you are training sensibly you will build muscle. It takes time but the outcome is well worth the journey.

How Do I Lose Body Fat?
Eat less and move more. No really, it’s that easy. Pertaining to calorie balance the dietary deficit is all that matters. If you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight. It’s the law of thermodynamics at work. Energy must come from somewhere and when you eat below your maintenance requirements your body will pull energy from body tissue. The energy will either come from lean body mass or fat mass depending on your diet and training.

When dieting I recommend consuming 1.5x lean body mass. I also recommend lowering your training volume significantly and focusing on the 5-8 rep range to maintain your strength and size gains from your previous muscle building cycle. When consuming this amount of protein you are providing enough protein energy to preserve your hard earned muscle mass. When you perform lower volume weight training, the intensity(weight on the bar) must be high in order to prevent muscle loss. By doing it this way, you are basically giving your muscles a reason to exist and retain their current size. This also ensures that body fat is being used for energy as opposed to lean body mass while maintaining a caloric deficit.

Can I Eat Whatever I Want?
Yes, as long as it’s within your caloric goals. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. As long as protein requirements are met, however you decide to reach your energy calorie requirements are totally up to you. I have weeks where I eat burgers every day and then I have weeks where I eat lots of sugary cereal and pop tarts. It really doesn’t matter in the long run. If you want to gain muscle, you eat more than you burn. If you want to drop fat, you eat less than you burn. To further prove my point, a few pieces written by Lyle McDonald explains my line of thinking perfectly. Is a Calorie a Calorie? explains in full the details about how the only factor affecting weight loss or gain is the amount of calories, not the types of foods deemed clean or unclean. Calories, Nutrients or Food also explains the ideals of calorie balance as well.

So keep it simple, pick a goal and work towards it. If you follow the principles I have laid out, you are sure to succeed in your fat loss or muscle building pursuits.

JC is the creator of JCDFitness.com. If you can appreciate a relaxed, no BS approach to looking great naked, then you may find his ideas about the fitness lifestyle to be very practical and applicable.

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