Am I losing muscle?

drewlfitness

From March-June, I had been lifting heavy weights, five days a week, and doing maybe 20-30 minutes cardio after lifting. I was doing this because I wanted to maintain as much muscle as possible, but also lose weight fairly quickly (1.5 pounds per week caloric deficit).

Now in July (4th month of all this), I've been doing way more cardio, and less lifting. Although, I have still been lifting heavy weights, but only 2-3 days a week. And more cardio (uphill walking, stairstepper, elliptical).

Still maintaining the "lose 1.5lbs per week" setting, and adding calories from exercise.

I'm starting to feel a little skinny, but this could just be what my body looks like at this weight level, maybe? Or, maybe I need to change my settings to lose just 1lb a week, or. 5 pounds a week, if I'm going to be doing more cardio.

I feel like once your body gets low enough in weight, that is also the time to essentially lower you calorie deficit, in order to decrease muscle loss. But it could be that I'm not losing muscle, and the only reason I'm feeling "skinny" is because I'm losing fat, which makes everything look "smaller", including muscle.

Just wondering if anyone has experienced this and what they thought.

juggernaut1974

How many more pounds do you have to lose? To lose 1.5 / week would require a pretty significant amount of weight to lose if you are trying to maximize fat/minimize muscle loss.

You'll never eliminate muscle loss entirely - but can minimize it by continuing to lift heavy, and eating at a moderate (ie not too big) deficit.

drewlfitness

ceoverturf wrote: »

How many more pounds do you have to lose? To lose 1.5 / week would require a pretty significant amount of weight to lose if you are trying to maximize fat/minimize muscle loss.

You'll never eliminate muscle loss entirely - but can minimize it by continuing to lift heavy, and eating at a moderate (ie not too big) deficit.

I have another 10 pounds that I want to lose. I have lost about 35lbs total.

I'm probably just over thinking this...My protein intake has been lacking, specifically regarding protein shakes. I've been drinking less of them. I do notice that when I'm consistently drinking protein shakes (2-3 times a day), my overall image is a little "bulkier" looking, which actually appears to be a "healthier" image for me.

Maybe I'll try upping my shake intake, but still do cardio as I'm doing, and see what happens.

IsaackGMOON

drewlamonte wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

How many more pounds do you have to lose? To lose 1.5 / week would require a pretty significant amount of weight to lose if you are trying to maximize fat/minimize muscle loss.

You'll never eliminate muscle loss entirely - but can minimize it by continuing to lift heavy, and eating at a moderate (ie not too big) deficit.

I have another 10 pounds that I want to lose. I have lost about 35lbs total.

I'm probably just over thinking this...My protein intake has been lacking, specifically regarding protein shakes. I've been drinking less of them. I do notice that when I'm consistently drinking protein shakes (2-3 times a day), my overall image is a little "bulkier" looking, which actually appears to be a "healthier" image for me.

Maybe I'll try upping my shake intake, but still do cardio as I'm doing, and see what happens.

You don't need to up your protein shake intake... get your protein from real food.

arditarose

drewlamonte wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

How many more pounds do you have to lose? To lose 1.5 / week would require a pretty significant amount of weight to lose if you are trying to maximize fat/minimize muscle loss.

You'll never eliminate muscle loss entirely - but can minimize it by continuing to lift heavy, and eating at a moderate (ie not too big) deficit.

I have another 10 pounds that I want to lose. I have lost about 35lbs total.

I'm probably just over thinking this...My protein intake has been lacking, specifically regarding protein shakes. I've been drinking less of them. I do notice that when I'm consistently drinking protein shakes (2-3 times a day), my overall image is a little "bulkier" looking, which actually appears to be a "healthier" image for me.

Maybe I'll try upping my shake intake, but still do cardio as I'm doing, and see what happens.

With 10 pounds to lose, switch to .5 lbs per week loss. Keep your protein up, keep your lifting heavy and at least 3 days per week. Don't over think it with your cardio. Do some, but there's no need to get crazy with it. I have no idea what you mean by protein shakes making you bulkier looking. I have never heard that.

lemmie177

How is your strength training each week? If you find yourself having to go down in weights or do less reps, then its likely you're losing muscle.
Try to keep protein intake high while eating at a deficit, real food is great, but I use shakes where needed. I try to keep it at 1g protein per lb.

Liftng4Lis

With only 10 pounds left to go, you should lower your goal to about a half pound a week. Make sure you're getting adequate protein and keep lifting. Yes, the 3 days a week is sufficient.