Attempting The Near Impossible: Losing Fat While Gaining Muscle. Need Advice

[morrod]

I posted on here before about my routine and got some good feedback but i should have made it clearer What i am trying to do.

I have been reading and reading about how hard it is to gain muscle while losing fat and most articles say i should just focus on losing weight then focus on gaining back muscle and I just can't do that. I don't want to lose any of my muscle.

I am on a Navy Ship on deployment and I am in the gym every single day without fail. my routine is a four day plan and i hit every muscle twice a week.
Day 1: Chest/Triceps
Day 2: Back/Biceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Cardio/Abs

I do cardio for about 10 minutes before every workout.

I am also eating very healthy but only three meals a day due to time constraints since I have to work through the day. I have read that i do need Carbs or my body will burn protein so I eat very little usually a scoop of rice with lunch and dinner. I am Taking Animal Pak Multivitamins, HMB, creatine, and C4 pre-workout. I will be hitting a port soon so i can pick up some whey but for now i just try to eat as much protein as I can from foods in the galley.

I have been doing this for about three months now and i have lost about 18 pounds and my shoulders arms and back are looking a lot better so it appears to be working I just want to make sure that I am doing the best that I can possibly do.

The only idea I have is to add in an extra 20 minutes of cardio in the morning before i start work either every day or every other day. I have seen a few example routines for cutting fat and building muscle that have lifting every other day and cardio the days in between with a rest day at the end of the week but i dont want all that time off from lifting and i certainly don't need a day off.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

[Off Road]

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Work your legs, it will help build more muscle.
Take some rest days, it will also help build muscle.
Eat maintenance calories high in protein and pray you recomp.
Besides, your post already says you're gaining muscle and losing weight, so I'm not sure what more you want to do? If it's working, why mess with it?

[jed]

Besides, your post already says you're gaining muscle and losing weight, so I'm not sure what more you want to do? If it's working, why mess with it?

This is important. For God's sake, if you're doing something that's impossible, don't change what you're doing!! It's complex and differs for everyone, and you've apparently found your formula. Off Road gives good advice, heed it!

[SMK41]

I wouldn't stress too much about trying to put on muscle while losing fat. When you drop a significant amount of weight it's going to look like you gained muscle, since the muscle you do have is going to show more. If you are unhappy with the amount of muscle definition you currently have I'd make losing fat your primary goal for now. You should easily be able to accomplish that by reducing your total calories (while keeping protein high) and adding in some cardio.

For your lifting routine stick with a simple, proven program (starting strength) that works the whole body. Whatever program you choose it should involve you lifting heavy weight on the main compound exercises (deadlift, squat, bench, overhead press). Even if you plateau on strength gains, lifting heavy will make sure you maintain as much of your existing muscle as possible during your cut.

Once you get to a level of body composition/muscle definition you are comfortable with, switch to bulking/cutting cycles to gradually gain muscle and then cut off the extra unwanted fat you gain while bulking. If you try to do a recomp I think you won't ultimately accomplish your goals as quickly as if you do the bulk/cut cycle.