Fat Loss and Hypertrophy Work Opposite For Me

[mediumweight]

Hi all this is my first post! Glad to be here. I have been doing NROL for a year now and am starting my second cycle. I am still a new lifter as this is the first program i have ever followed for a full year. I decided to start off my second cycle with fat loss 1 to trim up, but I seem to be gaining weight on the scale. I also noticed big gains in muscle mass. I find this odd since when I did Hyp I and II i trimmed up a lot and lost weight on the scale. I also lost weight during Strength I and my muscles seemed to have tightened up vs getting bigger. Fat loss seems to make my muscles bulkier not leaner and tighter and I notice some weight gain also, which seems more of what should be happening in hypertrophy. Could you guys shed some light on this for me.

Thanks!

[LisaS]

maybe it makes you hungrier and you eat more
or
maybe it makes you fatigued and so you do less everyday activity (stairs, walking the dog, playing catch with the kids) and more sitting on the couch so on balance you are in a calorie surplus

[mediumweight]

I definitely notice that it makes me a lot hungrier and i have the ability to eat a lot more in one sitting. So how should i fix this problem because I don't feel like battling hunger pains all day?

[Espi]

If you want to lose fat.. go back to what you did during the hypertrophy.

You're not the first one to gain weight on a 'Fat Loss' routine since higher rep stuff makes people insanely hungry.

[mediumweight]

so should i essentially switch the two for different uses since it effects me like that. Do fat loss when I want to gain muscle and hypertrophy when i want to lose fat?

[Espi]

No, I don't think it works that way. What you see during the fat loss phase may be hypertrophy since you're eating more and doing a higher volume workout. But generally people put on muscle the best when not just eating more than they need (the most important part) but also when they generally work in the mid-rep-range (6-12 reps). That's not to say you can't put on muscle with strength work (1-6 reps) or endurance work (12+ reps) but it won't happen as easily.

However this really shows that overeating is vital for muscle growth and it happens more easily when doing higher rep workouts. It's why I generally shy away from high-rep work.

[LisaS]

eat less than you burn when you want to lose fat

[AS]

The routine you do isn't going to make you gain or lose weight, if you want to lose weight, eat less food.