Question About Building Bigger Muscles [ Edited ]

[AprilTheSimmer96]

I remember reading somewhere (on forums.thesims.com) that if you want your Sims to bulk up, you have to feed them foods with higher calories and have them lifting weights. 

If I don't want them also gaining weight from the food because of higher calories but want them to gain more muscle, do I have to make sure their hunger is in the orange or red before feeding them high calorie foods or will it not matter? 

I got one of my Sims (he'll be mentioned below) a little above the max amount of muscle on the slider but I want to make sure he doesn't get to the highest amount of body fat if possible. 

If I want bigger muscle do I have to let them reach the highest amount of body fat then have them work it off? 

Reason I'm asking is because I have a Sim of Maui from Moana (I've had him for a little over a month now) and he's from the Gallery (by a user called lucianafall) and I don't want him to get past the second scale down from the top of the body fat slider, or else he'll have a six pack and that looks just cringy on him since he doesn't have that in the movie (plus having him at the very top of the body fat slider is a bit more cringy than having it how it is now since he's not supposed to be fat). 

As for what I mean by "second scale down from the top of the body fat slider", I'll just explain it. 

So basically what I mean is that when you're in CAS and you have the body fat slider all the way at the top, you bring it one space down. 

So if I were to have him eat high calorie foods when his hunger is in the red, will he not gain weight and just gain muscle? Also like my question above, if he gains weight, do I need to have him use a treadmill and/or jog it off (since I think lowering fat in CAS will also slightly lower how big the muscles look)? 

EDIT: Had to crop them because the image was taken on my phone (I'm an Xbox player) and I couldn't get them on here because the images were too big according to the forum. 

I decided to take two pictures for reference. The first picture is the muscle size above the slider limit and the second is at the slider limit. 

I decided to take them since I thought it'd be fitting somehow for this post. But if they aren't, just ignore them. 😆

[RandomBuzziness]

@AprilTheSimmer96 Carl from Carl's Sims 4 made a great video on how the weight gain/loss and the muscle gain/loss systems work in Sims 4. Give this video a try & see if it answers your questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STPuuDrZFgg&ab_channel=Carl%27sSimGuides

Btw- I love Moana, that's an awesome movie :D

[AprilTheSimmer96]

@RandomBuzziness Okay, I've seen it and I think read the guide but I'll have to watch it again to see if there's something I forgot in it that answers my question. Thanks! 😊

Also I agree, it's the best movie ever (imo)! 😁

[SheriGR]

@AprilTheSimmer96 Hmmm... I'm always trying to not get my Sims fat or bulked up. I almost always keep a treadmill on the lot as it doesn't make them bulk up. The only time I had them bulking up was when someone was using the weight machine a bunch.  I didn't worry about the calorie count of the foods as they worked off what they ate fine. Personally, if I were you I would just feed him normally, but not have a treadmill. 

You may want to have them do the bodybuilding career - at least for a while. If you get your Sim 'energized' they can then. Confident is also helpful. There are some good tips in this article: https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/careers/athlete/

Also, if you get frustrated you can do some 'sculpting' yourself in CAS, then just work to maintain it.

[AprilTheSimmer96]

@SheriGR Okay thanks! 😊

[RandomBuzziness]

@AprilTheSimmer96 According to Carl's video and guide your Sims will need to do at least some cardio or they will gain weight as Sims do not burn calories through regular activities. Cardio exercises like jogging, using a treadmill, or swimming will reduce weight but will not affect muscle. If you have the City Living EP you'll notice some of the townies will gain weight because they eat at the food booths but they do not do cardio exercises. For muscle gain your Sims need to lift weights or do other types of non-cardio exercises. Lifting weights will increase fitness but it will not reduce fatness. So it's like there are two separate systems. I think using a punching bag will do a little of both, it will increase muscle and decrease fat.

[AprilTheSimmer96]

@RandomBuzziness Okay thanks for the info! 😊

[RandomBuzziness]

@AprilTheSimmer96 Carl also explained how when you create a Sim in CAS, wherever you initially set the Muscle slider is the "floor" of how far their muscle mass will decrease over time. So if you create a Sim with a high level of muscle mass on their slider, then in theory they should retain that mass even without all of the weight lifting. They'd still need to do some cardio though, just to keep their fatness level down. It's probably going to take a little trial and error to figure out the right amount of cardio to keep your Maui from getting too heavy but without him that six-pack look that you're wanting to avoid. All of this is basically what I did with my favorite Sim: I created her in CAS with the muscle mass I wanted her to keep in the game & then I just had her do cardio exercises to keep her weight where I wanted it. She looked really weird when she got too thin!

[AprilTheSimmer96]

@RandomBuzziness Yeah when you have something at where you want it and they get too thin it looks weird. Like if I get to a point where Maui gets too thin I'll take a picture and show it. Honestly in my opinion he reminds me of the real Maui legend when he does and I think he looks like a rip-off of the real one. 😆

Not from Hawaii (I was born in Seattle) but I read about Maui on the Disney wiki before seeing the movie and that's how I learned he was based off an actual Polynesian legend. ☺️ I've seen images of illustrations of the one from the legend too, so that's why I think Maui looks like a rip-off of real Maui when he gets too thin. 😆

[Sashas0nic]

Hi, @AprilTheSimmer96 Just stopping by with some notes on Mods, it may not be your preferred style, but they can customize your game quite a lot. If you only have a few, that also makes it easy to keep up to date per patch..

There's a few I can think of

1. There's a few Mod Sliders, that are more 'exact' in cas (neck/leg/calf/butt etc etc..)
2. There's also a 'Balanced Calories Mod' you can find at mod the sims.. (and an explanation from there below the spoiler, if of interest)
3. This and the other mods I mention have been updated (slider rated as compatible) in August.

Spoiler

How does the game behave by default ?

In the Sims 4, almost all foods are full of calories. The problem with the game is that it makes all foods have a positive calorie count, like in reality. But in reality, we have a baseline metabolism that burns calories even when we don't exercise, and in the Sims there is no baseline metabolism, so sims that don't workout regularly are condemned to gain weight, more or less quickly, but they can't escape it on long term. Even if they just eat salad !

What does this mod change to the game's behavior ?

As sims should burn very quickly all calories of low calorie meals, some foods have been modified to induce weight loss instead of weight gain : it's the case for salads, as well as dishes made of fruits and vegetables. Grains, lean meats and fish are low calorie. High fat, high sugar, desserts, most quick meals (with the exception of oatmeal and yogurt) and junk foods in general are high calorie. Some gourmet foods are now low calorie or even inducing weight loss ! Your sims can now enjoy some gourmet dishes without guilt ! But beware of cake !
This mod has been designed to force your sims to adopt a diversified diet. Some foods induce weight gain, others induce weight loss, and very few are 0 calorie. This means that your sims have a much lower risk of being overweight, unless if they like junk foods and desserts too much. But if they like only salad, they risk being underweight on long term. Fortunately, they can avoid that by choosing the right balance between high calorie and low calorie foods. If your sims like mac and cheese, they can now enjoy it, and eat a garden salad later to lose the weight gained with mac and cheese. This way, your sims can maintain their weight much more easily than before, with simple and intuitive choices.
Even toddlers can maintain their weight as peas and yogurt will keep them in better health than crackers. And just like adult sims, toddlers need a diversified diet to keep a healthy weight.

All the best, hope this helps some.

Sasha

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I have no connection to EA, am an Avid Mods/CC user, but don't make them