suggestions for cutting body fat and keeping muscle..?

ndj1979

What's your protein intake at? Lyle McDonald has some interesting things to say about conventional wisdom re: protein, and (in short) recommends 3g/kg body weight along with lower volume/high intensity weight training to cut body fat. With enough protein in a solid deficit and some high-intensity stimulus to warn the body that it's not ok to shed necessary muscle, you should be ok.

Low intensity steady state cardio (walking, basically) in a depleted (fasted) state can also help dig into fat stores, but is fairly inefficient in terms of time spent working vs. results.

I, also, found LG-style IF to work pretty well, when I can be bothered to follow it. I suck at cutting, though. Until I hit my strength goals, I'm apparently going to keep cheating on the bulk side

Right now I am doing about 1.5 grams per pound of body weight, which I based on 170. I am hovering between 167 and 170 right now..so I am getting just about 255 grams of protein per day...sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less...

As far as cardio goes, I do two sessions a week of sprinting intervals..sprint 30 seconds rest 60 seconds....do that about ten times. Rest of the week is strength training ...legs, back, arms, triceps, shoulders etc....I also mix in some core and plyometrics as well. Should I throw in one more session of sprint training? I have been going a little easy on the cardio BC a lot of what I read says that cardio will impede muscle growth...

SusanLovesToEat

There was a great post today which included this link. Exceptionally helpful information on things to consider when trying to lose fat and gain muscle.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/4_reasons_youre_not_gaining_muscle

SideSteel

My suggestion would be:

1) Create an energy deficit around 20% under TDEE as a starting point.
2) Consume adequate protein and fat. I'd consume AT LEAST:
1g/lb LBM in protein.
.4g/lb bodyweight in fat
3) Once you've met or exceeded the above, stick the rest in carbs.
4) I'd suggest full body or upper/lower etc over bodypart splits so that you can favor frequency over volume especially if you're not an experienced lifter
5) Choose a program that has you squatting, deadlifting, rowing, chins/pullups, overhead presses, etc, over one that has you doing tricep kickbacks and sitting on an inflatable ball.

Let personal preference dictate your eating schedule. Whether you do 6 meals per day, 8 meals per day, 2 meals per day, IF, whatever -- hitting your daily intake of kcals/macros will trump frequency in terms of importance, by a very big margin. Satiety/Adherence/Gym performance should be the factors that determine your eating schedule, period.

Leisure reading:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

Determinednoob

The several small meal thing is total myth that has been debunked. It take WAY longer to go into starvation mode.

That said I am personally not a big fan of IF for myself although it does make serious cal restriction easier for me, so I did it for one week of heavy restriction during my cut.

how did that one week work out for you??

Waiting until 12pm to eat wasn't very hard, and I lost a few lbs.

Determinednoob

My suggestion would be:

1) Create an energy deficit around 20% under TDEE as a starting point.
2) Consume adequate protein and fat. I'd consume AT LEAST:
1g/lb LBM in protein.
.4g/lb bodyweight in fat
3) Once you've met or exceeded the above, stick the rest in carbs.
4) I'd suggest full body or upper/lower etc over bodypart splits so that you can favor frequency over volume especially if you're not an experienced lifter
5) Choose a program that has you squatting, deadlifting, rowing, chins/pullups, overhead presses, etc, over one that has you doing tricep kickbacks and sitting on an inflatable ball.

Let personal preference dictate your eating schedule. Whether you do 6 meals per day, 8 meals per day, 2 meals per day, IF, whatever -- hitting your daily intake of kcals/macros will trump frequency in terms of importance, by a very big margin. Satiety/Adherence/Gym performance should be the factors that determine your eating schedule, period.

Leisure reading:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

^^^

Only thing I would say is for fat I have seen .45 instead of .40 and even though the min of 1g\lb of LBM protein should suffice, I personally still went a ways over to make myself feel more safe (~150lbm eating 200g pro)

jenni375

I lost 3 kilos of fat and gained .2 kilos of muscle in two weeks by doing circuit training and interval running. My bodyfat % is down 4.1%. I am also on a low carb diet. I only do 4 exercises in the weight room. Chest press, Seated Row, Leg Press, and Abs. I aim to do 15-20 reps on each machine and I do not rest in between each exercise I just go from one machine to the next.

Circuit training is the best way to burn fat and maintain muscle mass. It's time efficient. Instead of standing around while your muscle rests you do a different exercise. Your chest muscles get a rest while your doing the row. This keeps your heart rate up allowing you to burn more calories which means you burn more fat. I do circuit training 3 times a week. And I do 20-30 minutes of interval running 6 days a week. I also do other aerobic activities such as Zumba, belly dance, and step aerobics. You can probably only do 3-4 days of circuit training a week, but do as much aerobic activity as you want/can stand.

If you are interested in bulking up you can still Circuit training just do 8-12 reps instead of 15-20 reps.

Chest press, seated row, and leg press are the best exercises you can do if you want to lose bodyfat because they are complex exercises you are working multiple muscles at once which means you're burning more calories. Also your quads, lats and pecs are the biggest muscles in your body so that means they burn more calories. You've gotta include your abs for vanity you want the muscles to show through once you lose the belly fat You can do other isolation exercises too their also great, but focus on doing the complex exercises first.

kiachu

I think a good way to burn body fat, in my unprofessional opinion, and maintain as much muscle as possible is creating a deficit via diet but allows you enough energy to lift relatively heavy in the gym. Calorie cycling is good. You probably want to make your higher days be when you do your larger muscle groups (legs, back). Also maybe do periodic refeeds(a day, two days maybe if your lean), high carb and low fat, low protein.

I mean if you have patience and don't do any thing crazy you could hang on to most of your muscle. You don't even need cardio if your deficit is sufficient and your getting good workouts in the gym on lifting days. Maybe a few session of HIIT thrown in?

ndj1979

I think a good way to burn body fat, in my unprofessional opinion, and maintain as much muscle as possible is creating a deficit via diet but allows you enough energy to lift relatively heavy in the gym. Calorie cycling is good. You probably want to make your higher days be when you do your larger muscle groups (legs, back). Also maybe do periodic refeeds(a day, two days maybe if your lean), high carb and low fat, low protein.

I mean if you have patience and don't do any thing crazy you could hang on to most of your muscle. You don't even need cardio if your deficit is sufficient and your getting good workouts in the gym on lifting days. Maybe a few session of HIIT thrown in?

this is essentially what I have been doing for the past two weeks with a few minor variations. I have been doing one to two sessions of HIIT sprints....and four hours a week of training. Something like chest/arms on monday; back/triceps tues; legs on wens; shoulders on thursday; friday is kind of whatever I feel like.usually 20 mint sprint interval followed by some core/plyo...

Huffdogg

I lost 3 kilos of fat and gained .2 kilos of muscle in two weeks by doing circuit training and interval running. My bodyfat % is down 4.1%. I am also on a low carb diet. I only do 4 exercises in the weight room. Chest press, Seated Row, Leg Press, and Abs. I aim to do 15-20 reps on each machine and I do not rest in between each exercise I just go from one machine to the next.

Circuit training is the best way to burn fat and maintain muscle mass. It's time efficient. Instead of standing around while your muscle rests you do a different exercise. Your chest muscles get a rest while your doing the row. This keeps your heart rate up allowing you to burn more calories which means you burn more fat. I do circuit training 3 times a week. And I do 20-30 minutes of interval running 6 days a week. I also do other aerobic activities such as Zumba, belly dance, and step aerobics. You can probably only do 3-4 days of circuit training a week, but do as much aerobic activity as you want/can stand.

If you are interested in bulking up you can still Circuit training just do 8-12 reps instead of 15-20 reps.

Chest press, seated row, and leg press are the best exercises you can do if you want to lose bodyfat because they are complex exercises you are working multiple muscles at once which means you're burning more calories. Also your quads, lats and pecs are the biggest muscles in your body so that means they burn more calories. You've gotta include your abs for vanity you want the muscles to show through once you lose the belly fat You can do other isolation exercises too their also great, but focus on doing the complex exercises first.

o_O

I don't even know where to start, but no. Just no.

ndj1979

I lost 3 kilos of fat and gained .2 kilos of muscle in two weeks by doing circuit training and interval running. My bodyfat % is down 4.1%. I am also on a low carb diet. I only do 4 exercises in the weight room. Chest press, Seated Row, Leg Press, and Abs. I aim to do 15-20 reps on each machine and I do not rest in between each exercise I just go from one machine to the next.

Circuit training is the best way to burn fat and maintain muscle mass. It's time efficient. Instead of standing around while your muscle rests you do a different exercise. Your chest muscles get a rest while your doing the row. This keeps your heart rate up allowing you to burn more calories which means you burn more fat. I do circuit training 3 times a week. And I do 20-30 minutes of interval running 6 days a week. I also do other aerobic activities such as Zumba, belly dance, and step aerobics. You can probably only do 3-4 days of circuit training a week, but do as much aerobic activity as you want/can stand.

If you are interested in bulking up you can still Circuit training just do 8-12 reps instead of 15-20 reps.

Chest press, seated row, and leg press are the best exercises you can do if you want to lose bodyfat because they are complex exercises you are working multiple muscles at once which means you're burning more calories. Also your quads, lats and pecs are the biggest muscles in your body so that means they burn more calories. You've gotta include your abs for vanity you want the muscles to show through once you lose the belly fat You can do other isolation exercises too their also great, but focus on doing the complex exercises first.

o_O

I don't even know where to start, but no. Just no.

thanks Huff...I dd the circuit training/cardio combo thing four or five years ago when I first started working out becuase I wanted to lose weiht and it really helped get me from abut 21-0 (out of shape) to wehre I am now. Now I just want to keep my muscle and get my body fat down. So 3 to 6 sessions of interval running is not going to work for me, although I do appreciate the posters thoughts:)...I have doing some reading on IF an find it interesing. I actually decided to give it a try today and do a 17 hour fast. I did not eat breakfast and I actually feel fine! In addition to that I am cycling carbs and keeping my workout regimen the same as in previous posts. What kind of work out regimen do you find ideal?

qtiekiki

Carb cycling is excellent, especially on workout vs non workout days. keep your protein high and, even though I'll probably be vilified here for saying this, you might want to check out intermittent fasting. I know there;s much pearl clutching on the topic... but Look at the before and after pictures here http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Client results, and then tell me if I made a point (I am in cutting mode on IF and it shows).

I dunno why anyone would villify someone for mentionging IF. It is a perfectly fine method to employ if someone chooses.

that is interesting..everything i have always read says that you should do the six meals a day thing because it keeps your metabolism going...from what I have read fasing is bad becuase your body goes into starvation mode and slows down metabolism...I will check the site/article out...

I don't think you are fasting for a long enough period of time to get to starvation mode when you are doing IF. My husband got really good results with IFing, and it hasn't affect his metabolism. Anyways, do your research and decide if it's for you.

ndj1979

Carb cycling is excellent, especially on workout vs non workout days. keep your protein high and, even though I'll probably be vilified here for saying this, you might want to check out intermittent fasting. I know there;s much pearl clutching on the topic... but Look at the before and after pictures here http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Client results, and then tell me if I made a point (I am in cutting mode on IF and it shows).

I dunno why anyone would villify someone for mentionging IF. It is a perfectly fine method to employ if someone chooses.

that is interesting..everything i have always read says that you should do the six meals a day thing because it keeps your metabolism going...from what I have read fasing is bad becuase your body goes into starvation mode and slows down metabolism...I will check the site/article out...

I don't think you are fasting for a long enough period of time to get to starvation mode when you are doing IF. My husband got really good results with IFing, and it hasn't affect his metabolism. Anyways, do your research and decide if it's for you.
[/quote

I actually did a lot of reading up on it hte past several days and decided to give it a shot, as the methods/research behind it made sense to me. Decided to start off with skipping breakfast this AM and thendoing normal lunch snac post work out etc...The one today was a 17hr fast..Dinner 7pm then lunch at 12Pm...next week I might try a 24 hr one...Shockingly, or maybe not so shocking, I actually feel pretty good right now ad I am on hour 16 with no eating...

Plates559

I lost 3 kilos of fat and gained .2 kilos of muscle in two weeks by doing circuit training and interval running. My bodyfat % is down 4.1%. I am also on a low carb diet. I only do 4 exercises in the weight room. Chest press, Seated Row, Leg Press, and Abs. I aim to do 15-20 reps on each machine and I do not rest in between each exercise I just go from one machine to the next.

Circuit training is the best way to burn fat and maintain muscle mass. It's time efficient. Instead of standing around while your muscle rests you do a different exercise. Your chest muscles get a rest while your doing the row. This keeps your heart rate up allowing you to burn more calories which means you burn more fat. I do circuit training 3 times a week. And I do 20-30 minutes of interval running 6 days a week. I also do other aerobic activities such as Zumba, belly dance, and step aerobics. You can probably only do 3-4 days of circuit training a week, but do as much aerobic activity as you want/can stand.

If you are interested in bulking up you can still Circuit training just do 8-12 reps instead of 15-20 reps.

Chest press, seated row, and leg press are the best exercises you can do if you want to lose bodyfat because they are complex exercises you are working multiple muscles at once which means you're burning more calories. Also your quads, lats and pecs are the biggest muscles in your body so that means they burn more calories. You've gotta include your abs for vanity you want the muscles to show through once you lose the belly fat You can do other isolation exercises too their also great, but focus on doing the complex exercises first.

There are so many problems with this I don't even want to start.

Plates559

Circuit training is the best way to burn fat

Wrong its diet

This keeps your heart rate up allowing you to burn more calories which means you burn more fat.

With weight lifting your heart rate isn't a direct indicator of calorie burn.

I also do other aerobic activities such as Zumba, belly dance, and step aerobics.

Zumba, not even once.

If you are interested in bulking up you can still Circuit training just do 8-12 reps instead of 15-20 reps.

Rep ranges all wrong, and if you are interesting in bulking eat everything in sight.

Chest press, seated row, and leg press are the best exercises you can do if you want to lose bodyfat because they are complex exercises you are working multiple muscles at once which means you're burning more calories.

COMPOUND exercises.... You also forgot squats, deadlifts, lunges, pull ups, dips, cleans, presses, snatches. Your 4 machine exercises are crap compared to free weight lifting.

You've gotta include your abs for vanity you want the muscles to show through once you lose the belly fat You can do other isolation exercises too their also great, but focus on doing the complex exercises first.

You don't have to do any direct ab work, heavy compounds like squats and deads will hit your abs more than enough.

Huffdogg

thanks Huff...I dd the circuit training/cardio combo thing four or five years ago when I first started working out becuase I wanted to lose weiht and it really helped get me from abut 21-0 (out of shape) to wehre I am now. Now I just want to keep my muscle and get my body fat down. So 3 to 6 sessions of interval running is not going to work for me, although I do appreciate the posters thoughts:)...I have doing some reading on IF an find it interesing. I actually decided to give it a try today and do a 17 hour fast. I did not eat breakfast and I actually feel fine! In addition to that I am cycling carbs and keeping my workout regimen the same as in previous posts. What kind of work out regimen do you find ideal?

My situation is not the same as many, as my job CAN BE very physically demanding, but isn't always so. My programming has to reflect the reality of my career, so as soon as I started to plateau my newb gainz with Stronglifts (wish I'd done SS instead, but that's another story), I went into a Big 3 RPT routine similar to the one Andy Morgan talks about on his (LG clone) website. I spent probably 4-5 months doing constant max effort stuff (top set 90+% 1RM) and going into a split routine once the demands got too high. Just recently, based on a Layne Norton series I've read comparing several very established, successful systems, I decided to take the intensity down a notch. I'm still playing with the system right now, but it's basically a modified SS.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj4NOMDss6S9dDExVzVNRVVlTXZnbTFEbTJHbm9LT2c#gid=0

FWIW, if your diet is controlled well, I think RPT is an excellent way to train. It allows your program to be dictated by your ability on a day-by-day basis with excellent intensity/volume mix.

rkr22401

Are you sure you are 17% BF? What method are you using to measure? That puts your LBM at 138 lbs. Hard to tell from the profile picture alone, but from your arms, shoulders, weight, and height, I would guess your LBM to be greater than 138 lbs.

Recommend getting a set of calipers if you are currently basing your goals off an online calculator or BF scale.

Topsking2010

Bump

ndj1979

Are you sure you are 17% BF? What method are you using to measure? That puts your LBM at 138 lbs. Hard to tell from the profile picture alone, but from your arms, shoulders, weight, and height, I would guess your LBM to be greater than 138 lbs.

Recommend getting a set of calipers if you are currently basing your goals off an online calculator or BF scale.

That is what my scale says and it measures weight, body fat% and water level....However, I know that those scales are not that accurate so I could be +/- 2% off on the reading?

Anyone know an accrae set of scales that does body weight and body fat % or should I just get calipers?

Huffdogg

The Withings scales are the only ones I've heard of that are purported to be very accurate at all, and they are omfgwtfbbq expensive. I'd go with calipers IF you have someone to help you take your measurements. If not, I'd just not worry so much about the actual number and pay more attention to whether it's going up or down so you know you're on the right track.

chrishgt4

Sounds like you're doing it right; just tweak cals until you start a steady loss and there you go.

I'm no expert really, but just from the photo i would say that 15-17% bf doesn't sound out of the way.