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I am not sure if this is possible. I know you cannot gain muscle while trying to drop BF, practically impossible ......I think?

The use of shakes between meals is a not a good idea while dropping BF I have heard, other true Body Builders I have spoke with say you have use real food. I can understand the importance of a shake after the workout and one upon waking up, but if we were trying to drop BF shakes between meals would not be the way to go?

Well that sounds like a bit of bro-science to me. I mean it wouldn't matter too much if you ate the equivalent calories from a quality protein source from food, calories are calories. Other than the food would more likely fill you up more, I know it does to me.

I always thought that you couldn't drop BF and gain muscle, apart from those newbie gains. However from some peoples logs I'm sure people have been dropping weight/staying the same weight, looking leaner, yet their lifts going up. Sort of a re-comp perhaps.

That's from what I understand anyway.

Go low carb and you can drop BF% and put on muscle.But still better to choose one, cut or bulk.

I have done what you are talking about in my recomp. I dropped my BF% and still built muscle.

The gains you will get while dropping bodyfat will not be the same as if you were bulking though. Cookie is right, I think you need to choose between bulking or cutting. You wont get HUGE while losing BF, you generally have to do it one at a time.

You could cut down until your BF is low and then do a clean bulk which would maintain to a certain extent, your bf level (obviously this would raise a little as you eat a lot). Or you could bulk up as clean as possible and then do a slower cut to preserve your size.

The piece about having shakes in between affecting your BF% sounds like pure Bro-Science. The "shakes" I drink are one scoop whey and 6 oz water.

The whey itself only has 117 calories, 2g carbs, and 23g protein. I dont know what part of the shake would make your BF go up, it just doesnt add up to me.

Check out my log with before and after pictures and look at my lift numbers. The evidence is there.

Hope this helps.

I have been lifting for 18 years and started out at 170lbs and now currently weigh 240 lbs. I used to weigh 252 when I started my Blueprint, after the famine phase I was 241 lbs. I really noticed a nice size effect during the first two weeks of the Feast phase.
I am trying to dop BF but my muscle size seems to suffer as I reduce my calories. I drink only water or unsweetened tea ( no sugar substitute either). I eat only complex carbohydrates throughout the day and ramp those down as evening approaches. I maintain 30-40 grams of protein throughout the day spaced out every 2 1/2 hours at 7 meals/ shakes. I consume plenty of EFA's (fish oil/olive oil & almond butter) I have only been doing little cardio. It just seems as I reduce my calories to drop BF my muscles suffer significantly.

It's always a compromise but allow me to elaborate.

I don't think it has anything to do with shakes vs real food but rather, total caloric intake for the day, week etc.. As calories drop, so does bodyfat. So does nitrogen retention and.... so does muscle.

The BEST strategy, IMO is to rotate days of 70%, 100% and 120% of maintenance calories. Consider the following:

120% on "heavy" workout days
100% on "normal" workout days
70% on "off days"

Here, you're feeding the body an excess where you know it'll need it the most. Let's say leg/back days where your total tonnage is high and you're taking in 120%. That additional 20% comes in the form of your peri-workout drink.

The 100% of maintenance days are your "normal" workout days where your body needs the energy/fuel due to increased activity. Again, a preponderance of those 100% daily calories should come in the form of that drink.

Finally, the "off" days or cardio days we know are dedicated to fat burning. It makes sense then, to take in a bit less than the body needs during this time to maximize fat burning.

Looked at over a month's time, you may well do better with this template vs. any "set" reduction in calories.

Great advice from Rob, and this line jumped out at me-

"I have only been doing little cardio"

It's smart on many levels to get that heart rate up, rev the metabolism and pop an endorphin rush - often my friend!