How To Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle

CassandraChloeJ

Bump to read later and see what everyone else has to say about accuracy or inaccuracy of article.

tlacox1

Bump

KatLifter

KISS METHOD- Moderate calorie deficit. Lift heavy. This will reduce lean muscle loss and help with weight loss.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

^This. No need for the wall of text.

KatLifter

Bump- I don't agree with some points on here (eg. the idea of 'dirty' foods) but it's a good outline.

Same. If you are calorie cutting, why spend those calories on foods lacking nutrients?

tinak33

bump

katy_trail

TMW

3dogsrunning

Bump- I don't agree with some points on here (eg. the idea of 'dirty' foods) but it's a good outline.

Same. If you are calorie cutting, why spend those calories on foods lacking nutrients?

There are many foods that some people consider "dirty" that have lots of nutrients in them. And no one can agree on what exactly is "dirty" and what isn't.
But for the sake of argument, assuming I have consumed mostly nutrient rich food throughout the day and I have some calories left over, what is wrong with having something "dirty"?

KatLifter

Bump- I don't agree with some points on here (eg. the idea of 'dirty' foods) but it's a good outline.

Same. If you are calorie cutting, why spend those calories on foods lacking nutrients?

There are many foods that some people consider "dirty" that have lots of nutrients in them. And no one can agree on what exactly is "dirty" and what isn't.
But for the sake of argument, assuming I have consumed mostly nutrient rich food throughout the day and I have some calories left over, what is wrong with having something "dirty"?

If that makes you happy, do it.

tmbbb0707

Bump

RivenV

Bump.

JoanB5

I do agree with calorie cycle. The way I achieve this is by following the "In Place of a Road Map" famous MFP article, doing the spreadsheets every other week or so to check TDEE, establish a daily eating goal based on my intended workouts, then instead of their recommendations, I deduct about 200 calories a day to enter into MFP manually. On days I do a hard workout, I add those back, not going over my daily eating goal, UNLESS I get two hard workouts in that day, then I allow myself to go over another 200-300. If I do a light workout, I only add about 100. In this way, I'm not overeating on days I don't workout, but I'm fueling it on days I do. If I do not eat all my cals back that day, but am hungry the next day, I allow myself to go over to fuel the day before's recovery needs.

I do NOT agree that cardio is boring. That bugs me about lifting articles. That is a very subjective statement and harmful to others who may need it and never trying just because some "smart people" feel it's boring. She IS right that that it is individual and depends on your goals. I play tennis, lift progressively with what weights I can find at home, jog, do circuit training, and run...all of these compliment one another. I am much faster on the court when I've been doing some HIIT training, or some running. It is good mental time for me to run. Both challenge me in different ways. I'd get very bored with just lifting...THAT is boring for me, but I do it because it's good for me.

Does one "take away from" another? Probably. But, both meet different goals for me, so I'd rather say that both add to my training regimen. I used to only run, but if I got an injury, I stopped all training. This time, I cross train and have other things I can do. My core is stronger, which strengthens everything I love. I like to think of myself becoming a well rounded athlete, not an inefficient one. I may weight train twice a week or run several times a week, depending on what I have coming up or what is "least sore". The key is to just keep building and tackle your goals, whatever they are. Do what you can every day, have a strong heart, strong core, and be able to move. Anything is better than sitting on the couch or at the computer. Sometimes, we spend so much trying to think of the "best thing" that we do nothing. Just do something!

ksuetorres

bump

GlassslippersAndFairyDust

I do agree with calorie cycle. The way I achieve this is by following the "In Place of a Road Map" famous MFP article, doing the spreadsheets every other week or so to check TDEE, establish a daily eating goal based on my intended workouts, then instead of their recommendations, I deduct about 200 calories a day to enter into MFP manually. On days I do a hard workout, I add those back, not going over my daily eating goal, UNLESS I get two hard workouts in that day, then I allow myself to go over another 200-300. If I do a light workout, I only add about 100. In this way, I'm not overeating on days I don't workout, but I'm fueling it on days I do. If I do not eat all my cals back that day, but am hungry the next day, I allow myself to go over to fuel the day before's recovery needs.

I do NOT agree that cardio is boring. That bugs me about lifting articles. That is a very subjective statement and harmful to others who may need it and never trying just because some "smart people" feel it's boring. She IS right that that it is individual and depends on your goals. I play tennis, lift progressively with what weights I can find at home, jog, do circuit training, and run...all of these compliment one another. I am much faster on the court when I've been doing some HIIT training, or some running. It is good mental time for me to run. Both challenge me in different ways. I'd get very bored with just lifting...THAT is boring for me, but I do it because it's good for me.

Does one "take away from" another? Probably. But, both meet different goals for me, so I'd rather say that both add to my training regimen. I used to only run, but if I got an injury, I stopped all training. This time, I cross train and have other things I can do. My core is stronger, which strengthens everything I love. I like to think of myself becoming a well rounded athlete, not an inefficient one. I may weight train twice a week or run several times a week, depending on what I have coming up or what is "least sore". The key is to just keep building and tackle your goals, whatever they are. Do what you can every day, have a strong heart, strong core, and be able to move. Anything is better than sitting on the couch or at the computer. Sometimes, we spend so much trying to think of the "best thing" that we do nothing. Just do something!

Although I haven't done all these things.....yet I do agree with this concept. Just do something! I love to challenge myself!:flowerforyou:

BonaFideUK

exercise with intensity, even on a calorie deficit. Your body is an efficient machine so you need to give your body a reason to keep your muscle, if you don't then your body will break them down to fuel it.

kdiamond

KISS METHOD- Moderate calorie deficit. Lift heavy. This will reduce lean muscle loss and help with weight loss.

^^^^^TOTALLY AGREE.

Topsking2010

Bump

orapronobis

BUMP

JeffseekingV

I started at around 190lbs 3-4 years ago. Probably aroun 21% bodyfat. While lifting, I lost 10 lbs. I joined this site and started counting my calories. i do heavy squats, heavy deads and heavy bench. All my lifts have been increasing steadily while on a calorie decficit. I'm well beyond newbie gains for muscle and weight loss. I've also started doing more cardio in the last 2 years and my cardiovascular health has improved. It has not impacted my lift numbers. Or at least they haven't gone down.

I'm now at 169lbs and my last bodyfat was measured at 17.5% . In addition, I asctually adjusted my weight loss to 0.5lbs per week from 1lb per week. That has gotten me unstuck from my weight loss. It's finally started just creeping down again

I have friends that do much more cardio than lifting and one friend does only cardio. They weigh less. ie... 155-160lbs. But they aren't any more cut than I am. And they can't lift nearly as much as I can. They are in slightly better cardiovascular shape but not signficantly.

If you want to hold onto your muscle while in a deficit, there's no question you need to lift weights. Free weights and do the main lifts. Squats, deads and bench. Olympic lifts will work well also.

coffee4me57

bump

jls341

.