Burning bodyfat and maintaining muscle

classicalguitar1

Hi, I know there literally hundreds of articles on the Internet regarding this topic and they all contradict each other in some way, so I thought I would see what you guys have to say on the subject.
I have already lost around 60 lbs and I know quite a lot of that weight loss has been muscle loss!
I have been cutting my calories and doing quite intense cardio (cycling, running, skipping etc) 4-5 times a week.
However now I want to try and lose those few extra pounds of fat whilst maintaining the muscle I still have left.
So I have cut back abit on the excessive cardio work because I know that can be catabolic and introduced some strength training mainly focusing on upper body, the problem however is that I really can't see myself drinking protein shakes and cutting carbs out etc! So can I realistically maintain my muscle mass and lose fat at the same time by incorporating cardio and strength training without taking on shi£ loads of protein?
I eat porridge for breakfast, ham rolls for lunch and for dinner is always meat/fish of some sort with vegetables and potatoes, so as you can tell my carb intake is hardly minimal.
Thanks

Cherimoose

It's true there's some contradictory info out there, but there's no question that protein shakes aren't necessary for you, if your diet has enough protein (roughly 20+% of calories). Also there's no question that you should be doing full-body strength training to maximize your results.

If you have more questions, make your food log public.

Showcase_Brodown

For one, I believe you will want a conservative deficit, don't cut your calories too far.

Getting adequate (or more than adequate) protein is one way to help protect muscle as you are losing weight.

On top of that, strength training is another way to protect it further.

That doesn't mean that by doing these things, you won't lose any muscle, it just means that you will minimize how much you'll lose.

JenMc14

Aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. You don't have to consume massive amounts, but that's a good general rule. No reason to cut crabs or drink shakes unless you want to. Eat at a moderate deficit and do a progressive lifting program and whatever cardio you like.