Preventing muscle loss while dieting?

Beet_Girl
Beet_Girl Posts: 102
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm wondering how much is enough when preventing muscle loss while dieting. I usually use the elliptical on high resistance and the stair stepper. I can tell my strength is increasing because I've been able to use them on a higher resistance than before. Is this enough to prevent muscle loss? Or should I be lifting as well?

Replies

  • mrPopoBrah
    mrPopoBrah Posts: 10
    1. Should definitely be lifting, got to keep muscles active lol.
    2. Keep protein high between 0.8 - 1 g per pound of BW
    3. Adjust macros/cals so you consistently loose 0.5 - 2 lbs a wk
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Whole body lifting program
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    life weights, eat enough protein, rinse and repeat
  • dan23chi
    dan23chi Posts: 26 Member
    ^^^ agreed keeping the muscles active and lifting will be your best bet.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I'm wondering how much is enough when preventing muscle loss while dieting. I usually use the elliptical on high resistance and the stair stepper. I can tell my strength is increasing because I've been able to use them on a higher resistance than before. Is this enough to prevent muscle loss? Or should I be lifting as well?
    Up to a point, and only for your lower body.

    Lift some weights.
  • opticoax
    opticoax Posts: 28
    i hurt my shoulder quite badly doing Gironda dips a couple months ago and stopped going to the gym.

    Since then, i have lost about 10-11lbs...I cant imagine I am losing 1lb a week of muscle. I have been keeping my diet fairly clean with high protein.

    However, I can see I lost a little definition and my clothes fit only a little more loosely.

    I see weight swings of up to 4lbs per day, so I have to assume that is mostly water.

    I just started going back to the gym now and I will dedicate myself a bit more strictly to recording my sets and recording my measurements.

    My fat is at that watery squishy jelly stage as well. I dont know if I have lost muscle, lost fat, or gained fat/lost muscle.

    However, when dieting, you will lose some muscle mass. However, if you keep your protein intake to about 1g per lb of Lean Body Mass, you should be able to minimize this and actually put on some muscle if you are doing heavy weight lifting. For example, 1 hard boiled egg is abt 6g of protein.

    I am 5'7", 177lbs 31-waist and my LBM was measured at about 70kg by one of those electrical impedence devices....it would probalby serve me a bit better to get an official caliper measurement or a BodPod measurement...but the electrical impedence put me at about 18% body fat.

    I try to do intermittent fasting on an 16/8 schedule, I eat twice a day with just chicken and salad yogurt and banana for lunch. Dinner can be a healthy tuna salad and a couple hard boiled eggs to a ridiculous high-cal KFC on occasion. I seem to be able to exercise or eat clean, but not both. Hopefully the brutal summer heat of Kuwait will tamp down my appetite and jump my water intake.

    I drink maybe 3-6 100ml sodas per week and the rest of the time is water, coffee w/ milk and Truvia, or unsweetened iced tea.

    I like to carb up for 1 meal per week and exceed my calories on 1 day per week. My exercise routine is typically 3 days of weights + 30 mins cardio and 2 days of 1 hour of cardio and 2 day rest. Low carb on cardio days and extra carb on weight days.

    I dont think i lost that much muscle, but I did lose some strength and endurance...i could plank for over a minute but now its abt 30 seconds.
  • Laughter_Girl
    Laughter_Girl Posts: 2,226 Member
    life weights, eat enough protein, rinse and repeat

    This^^^
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Agree 100% with the lifting and protein recommendations, but would also like to add that you should keep your calorie deficit relatively low as well. If your deficit is too high, you will lose muscle no matter how much lifting you do or protein you eat. If you do not have a bunch of weight to lose, I would strive for 0.5-1 lb per week max.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Agree 100% with the lifting and protein recommendations, but would also like to add that you should keep your calorie deficit relatively low as well. If your deficit is too high, you will lose muscle no matter how much lifting you do or protein you eat. If you do not have a bunch of weight to lose, I would strive for 0.5-1 lb per week max.

    Areed except my understand is that protien should be 1g per 1lb of LBM or 0.6-0.8 per lb of BW...
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    lift things.
    if you aren't working out- and you are losing weight steadily - odds are you aren't just losing fat.

Categories