Q: Hi Mike, We corresponded about a year ago and you gave me some very good advice which I have tried to follow. I have dropped from 156lbs to 150lbs (age 72) but my body fat % or waist measurement doesnt seem to be doing a lot. Ive been down as low as 147lbs but still no joy. I am now considering trying to regain some weight while (hopefully) holding down my body fat as best I can.....I appreciate that I could well gain some body fat in doing this but maybe I will gain muscle mass which will more than offset this. In so doing, I should like to reduce my percentage body fat from 18% to around 17% (tanita scales). My strategy as best I can work out is to increase my calorie intake from around 1800 a day to, say, 2500 in increments over 6 months. For exercise, I am thinking of a full body workout 2/3 times a week and some HIIT 2/3 times rather than the 2/4 miles slow that I have been doing. I have experimented with some faster work and appreciate the need for care. Maybe some easy walking 2/3 miles on 2 other days. I have a barbell and some lightish weights at home, also a Bullworker which I dont use at the moment. My question, Mike, is what do you think of this proposal to meet my goals and can you suggest what I might change or anything else that would help. Many thanks Mike in anticipation. Peter

A: Hi Peter, glad to hear you are going strong! Everything you wrote sounds very reasonable and I don't think I could've given a better advice myself. Do make sure to clear with your doc as far as HIIT since it will push your heart rate way up. For that matter so will heavy full-body workouts. So do make sure your heart can take the extra stress. At 72 gaining new muscle and lowering body fat is not easy but what you've written up will give you the best chance to do so. The most likely scenario is that you will gain both new muscle and new fat, probably in about equal amounts but once you are satisfied with your new muscle mass you can cut the calories back down and lose some of that extra fat while retaining most of the new muscle. Great job and best of luck! Please check in back and let me know how you are progressing.