Maintaining muscle

Intentional_Me
Intentional_Me Posts: 336 Member
edited December 3 in Fitness and Exercise
Talk to me about maintaining some muscle mass while in a long term calorie deficit. Will meeting my protein goal daily and doing a full body lifting routine 3x a week do this? I know I'll lose some but I'd like to make recomp easier when I'm done losing. What is the best way? I'm set to 2 pounds a week and would like to stick to this as I've still got a long ways until GW. Thanks!

Replies

  • Dano74
    Dano74 Posts: 503 Member
    Protein intake should be higher on deficit: .8- 1g per pound.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    Set that to 1lb a week. 2lbs will likely result in quite abit of loose skin and muscle atrophy.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Three elements:

    Higher protein goal. (as per Dano's post)
    Strength/resistance training. (as per your OP)
    Moderate calorie deficit. (as per Jesse's post)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    jessef593 wrote: »
    Set that to 1lb a week. 2lbs will likely result in quite abit of loose skin and muscle atrophy.

    She has 104 lbs to go, if she is doing strength training and getting adequate protein (well over 100 grams/day) then having a goal of 2lbs/week will not result in atrophy. I would suggest following this guideline for setting weekly weight loss goals:
    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

    As you get closer to your goal, make your deficit smaller
  • Intentional_Me
    Intentional_Me Posts: 336 Member
    Thanks everyone. I'm going to increase my protein intake for sure and follow ericks guidelines on how much per week to aim for as I lose.
  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
    oliverneedsyou wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. I'm going to increase my protein intake for sure and follow ericks guidelines on how much per week to aim for as I lose.

    I would do 1 gram per pound of LEAN body weight.

    IMO 1 gram per pound is overkill.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    edited September 2016
    Up your protein just a bit (I'd aim for 110-120ish) and you should be good to go.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    tillerstouch wrote: »
    oliverneedsyou wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. I'm going to increase my protein intake for sure and follow ericks guidelines on how much per week to aim for as I lose.

    I would do 1 gram per pound of LEAN body weight.

    IMO 1 gram per pound is overkill.

    and If you don't know your BF%, aim for 0.8grams per lb of goal weight.
  • pmm3437
    pmm3437 Posts: 529 Member
    Medical studies have shown muscle retention is enhanced up to 1.5g/kg ( TBW ) of protein intake.
    Same studies recommend a min of 0.8g/kg.

    Eric's suggestion is a good one ... I follow a similar plan by setting my calorie target manually. That way, as I get closer to target weight, the deficit naturally decreases.

    Those plus your workout plans should work out well for you, if the routine is well designed.
  • Intentional_Me
    Intentional_Me Posts: 336 Member
    pmm3437 wrote: »
    Medical studies have shown muscle retention is enhanced up to 1.5g/kg ( TBW ) of protein intake.
    Same studies recommend a min of 0.8g/kg.

    Eric's suggestion is a good one ... I follow a similar plan by setting my calorie target manually. That way, as I get closer to target weight, the deficit naturally decreases.

    Those plus your workout plans should work out well for you, if the routine is well designed.

    I'm not really sure if its well designed. It's at the YMCA and there aren't many people into fitness that work there, ironically. Any references I should check out?
  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    tillerstouch wrote: »
    oliverneedsyou wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. I'm going to increase my protein intake for sure and follow ericks guidelines on how much per week to aim for as I lose.

    I would do 1 gram per pound of LEAN body weight.

    IMO 1 gram per pound is overkill.

    and If you don't know your BF%, aim for 0.8grams per lb of goal weight.

    .8 grams per lb will probably put you close to where lean body weight would, so yeah i second that.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    oliverneedsyou wrote: »
    pmm3437 wrote: »
    Medical studies have shown muscle retention is enhanced up to 1.5g/kg ( TBW ) of protein intake.
    Same studies recommend a min of 0.8g/kg.

    Eric's suggestion is a good one ... I follow a similar plan by setting my calorie target manually. That way, as I get closer to target weight, the deficit naturally decreases.

    Those plus your workout plans should work out well for you, if the routine is well designed.

    I'm not really sure if its well designed. It's at the YMCA and there aren't many people into fitness that work there, ironically. Any references I should check out?

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you#latest


    Have a look at this list in the Beginners section for different programs - whatever may suit your needs/goals.
  • Intentional_Me
    Intentional_Me Posts: 336 Member
    samanthaluangphixay wrote: »
    oliverneedsyou wrote: »
    pmm3437 wrote: »
    Medical studies have shown muscle retention is enhanced up to 1.5g/kg ( TBW ) of protein intake.
    Same studies recommend a min of 0.8g/kg.

    Eric's suggestion is a good one ... I follow a similar plan by setting my calorie target manually. That way, as I get closer to target weight, the deficit naturally decreases.

    Those plus your workout plans should work out well for you, if the routine is well designed.

    I'm not really sure if its well designed. It's at the YMCA and there aren't many people into fitness that work there, ironically. Any references I should check out?

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you#latest


    Have a look at this list in the Beginners section for different programs - whatever may suit your needs/goals.

    Thanks!
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