Place to start

[fastnova76]

I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction, well at least a general direction. i have been going to the gym 3-5 times a week splitting up all the days up with different body parts.
my lifting buddie is more into size and less into cutting than me so im not getting much help from him and he eats like crap. i like to think i eat pretty well but due to little time i dont eat as offten as i should. i have also been taking alot of protine shakes-only on workout days- befor and after and one before bed and somtimes in the morning. i would like to get bigger and gain some weight but i would like to flatten out my stomach first. there isnt much fat there but i would like a idea on how to get rid of it before i start bulking up. and by the way i have gone through about 4 tubs of protine shakes and havent gained a pound. so my questions are
-how can i get rid of this stomach fat and work on a six pack
-and why am i not gaining weight and still not flatining my stomach

and yes i know im sort of going in two different directions im mainly concerned about sheding a bit of stomach fat before i start packing on the muscle

thanks

[iron_worker]

You're talking about two totally different ideas here.

Losing fat generally requires a deficit of calories toget the body to start to consume itself and an excess of protein to get the body to hopefully consume the protein you ingest and not the protein found in your muscles.

Gaining muscle mass requires an excess of calories. If there is insufficient calories then the body will not be able to build muscle ... even if you are applying stimulus/stress (lifting weights). However, when gaining mass at any appreciable rate (at least naturally), it is very difficult to not gain at least *some* fat with the muscle mass.

So as you can see... you have two conflicting goals ...to have a 6 pack or to bulk up?

What I would do is bulk up until you're happy with your muscle size and then cut afterwards to trim off the fat.

IW