Hey there - I hope everyone is doing well, training hard, and looking forward to the upcoming Holidays.  Here are some questions that I answered yesterday as well as an update on my mother's progress.  A lot of you have written into the blog and inquired about that.

'Hey Pete, Really appreciate the valuable information on your blog -it's great to see such clear and frank answers to people's problems. My question is a fairly simple, and I think a fairly common one: ''How do you lose body fat and gain muscle at the same? Do I need to eat a calorie surplus, or is a high level of protein suffient?'' I am a 5'7, 22 year old male and weigh about 140lbs. I'm not overweight and don't consider myself fat, but I have a small layer over my stomach which is just proving really difficult to eradicate! At the same time I want to gain muscle and I go to the gym working on various muscle group 4 days a week making sure I take 48 hour rests between each session on each muscle group. I also do HIIT about 3 days a week preferably on the days I don't do weights. I am also eating about 6 times a day making protein the main focus of everything I eat. I attempt to get about 140grams of protein in a day. My main concern is that I am not getting enough calories... I reckon I consume about 1500 calories a day as I like to eat pretty well and want to lose that stomach fat! I have read a lot of stuff on the internet about gaining muscle and having to eat a 'surplus' amount of calories (i.e. eat more than your burn). But this would obviously mean I wouldn't lose the fat around my stomach. Right? Please help me with this problem! Thanks! Andrew. '

'Hi Pete, Your info. is really great and helpful, and I hope you can see you have quite a fan base! I'm a 49-year-old, 6'1", 200-lb. male who has been working out at the gym 4 - 5 times weekly for the past 2-1/2 years, each time concentrating on specific areas of my body as you recommend for about 1 hour. I do 2 sets of 12 reps on everything I do. I always end with 28 minutes on an eliptical bike for my cardio. No workouts on the weekends. My uusual M-F daily diet consists of Kashi high protein/high fiber cereal with wheat germ and a CytoGainer protein shake with wheat germ, a banana, and either strawberries or blueberries in the morning, usually about 3 - 4 pieces of fruit and Fage yogurt daily for lunch, and veggies and/or beans and a meat for dinner. Sometimes I do through-in bread for dinner, but generally avoid the starches. I'm getting about 100g - 125g of protein daily. I average about 6 hours of sleep per night. The bad news - on weekends, I average about 3 margaritas, and often eat at Mexican restaurants, mindful about those meals and my diet, but I do enjoy tortillas, chips, and salsa. I figure it's OK to relax a little bit sometimes, right? I know the body slows down around my age, but I haven't seen any changes for about 6 - 8 months. I'm trying to get a six-pack, get my arms and shoulders to be bulkier, and get rid of the pouch of fat on my stomach (which is as stubborn as I am), drop 10 pounds, but it ain't happenin'! What do I need to change? Help! Ron '

'Hey! My friend told me about this blog and I have been sitting 2 hours just reading through everything. I wonder if you have any tips on a really, really hard circuit workout? I have already done P90X and P90X+. I want to do something really though where I loose fat and build muscle at the same time. I have seen how the actors trained for the movie 300 and that looked like fun:D Do you have any tips of what and how much to eat if you want to look like a "Spartan"? Thanks so much and keep on blogging! '

11/20/2008

ronray: Peter, I have an ectomorph build and weigh about 145lbs. Although I do have muscular definition, I'd like to know some proven ways to add size to my build without gaining fat. Ronray

11/16/2008

Peter Adonis: Rex - thanks for the compliments. Type 'IDS Protein Shot' and you'll get sites where you can order the protein shots.

11/16/2008

Rex: Your blog is the best around. THANKS for sharing all your knowledge and tips. I always try to find quality, fast protein for in-between meals during the busy work days. I couldn't catch the name of the protein bottle (42 grams) you pulled out of the refrigerator and drank (in 3 seconds). Could you share that? Keep up the great work. Continued success to you and your mother's recovery as well. FITNESS does pay off doesn't it? Thanks, Rex

11/14/2008

Peter Adonis: Glad that you learned from it Ron. How is the drawing coming along?

11/14/2008

ronray: I got some great workout tips from your the 11/7 Q & A. Thanks Peter.

11/12/2008

Paul Olson: Hey Pete, the Nov 6 video blog covered a lot of ground with some great insights. Thanks for those. Also, I'm glad to hear about the progress with your mother. All the best to you.

11/10/2008

mikep: Hey Pete.... Really appreciate the update about your mother. I am glad she is doing so well! Was a pleasure meeting her during my training session! As far as the question and answer portion....you know that this really struck a cord with me! I have a similar issue, trying to gain weight and muscle without gaining fat! Plus, I have the same goal of trying to get rid of the extra weight around my midsection! The anwers really make sense! Have learned alot from this blog, really appreciate the effort you put into it! mikep

11/08/2008

tip top: Wow, another great post, I'm learning so much from you, keep it up!!!

11/07/2008

Jake: Awesome news about your mom! I have done a little bit of P90x. Its a fantastic program for people that are not fit and want to look good. You wont gain alot of mass but you will be in great shape and loss alot of fat. Its basicly useless if you already are fit and want to add muscle mass. I really hope Obama will get good old USA back that I love so much! /Jake