Am I under eating?

I do use a food scale, although I've had to do quick adds for some recent vacations. I thought my diary was open, let me check it and open it.

here is the link in case you need it.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

it's not uncommon to drop more weight when you only cardio it up, that is because you tend to lose muscle mass. The advantage to weight training is it minimizes muscle loss. And as you get leaner, you will want to minimize the deficit to also help get all the nutrients you need and maintain lean body mass.

No, no, no and no - you lose muscle mass if you're a) seriously undereating, b) if you're bed-ridden (also known as muscle atrophy), c) may have an illness that contributes to this or d) a combination of the above. If you're doing cardio only, or you're workouts are cardio-heavy, you WILL NOT lose muscle mass. You won't gain any, but you won't lose any.You lose more weight during cardio because it burns huge amounts of calories (usually) while lifting/body building doesn't burn quickly, it takes longer. You're building muscle you will use daily now, but the muscle is what will keep you fit so you don't have to do hour or two hour long cardio sessions 4 times a week - muscle keeps you fit because it burns more calories, even at rest. So by building muscle, you're gaining Lean Body Mass but my only doing cardio, you're simply using up energy (calories).

Cardio burns calories for today so if you have a lot of weight to lose, which it sounds like you don't, you won't see a whole lot of change with your muscle mass because cardio is really only using up calories (energy). If you want to gain muscle mass, increase your weight traing and consider something like heavy lifting if you want to bulk. I am on the heavier side and I switch things up . . . I have a lot of muscle underneath because, well, it takes a lot of muscle to carry around the weight I used to be, but when I do cardio I burn more calories because of the muscle I also have. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn daily (including while at rest).

Please don't list to this poster if he/she thinks you lose muscle mass during cardio, you don't. You can live your whole life, doing normal every day things, and not lose muscle. You only lose the muscle when you undereat (this is also referred to as losing lean body mass or LBM) or you're sick and bedridden for months and your muscles go into atrophy from not using them. Simply put, the only way to really, actually lose muscle mass is to not use it. For example, I have a lot of friends who are runners. They don't do a lot of weight training because the way weight training works your muscles and the way they need their muscles for running are different. Does this mean they don't have any muscle mass? Are they just skin and bones? No, they have muscles - their legs are INCREDIBLE - but they just haven't bulked because it isn't appropriate for their chosen sport. It depends on what you want, but you definitely WILL NOT lose muscles just by doing cardio. If you're a runner, you might actually help to work your core (stabilizer) and some of your leg muscles by running.

it's not uncommon to drop more weight when you only cardio it up, that is because you tend to lose muscle mass. The advantage to weight training is it minimizes muscle loss. And as you get leaner, you will want to minimize the deficit to also help get all the nutrients you need and maintain lean body mass.

No, no, no and no - you lose muscle mass if you're a) seriously undereating, b) if you're bed-ridden (also known as muscle atrophy), c) may have an illness that contributes to this or d) a combination of the above. If you're doing cardio only, or you're workouts are cardio-heavy, you WILL NOT lose muscle mass. You won't gain any, but you won't lose any.You lose more weight during cardio because it burns huge amounts of calories (usually) while lifting/body building doesn't burn quickly, it takes longer. You're building muscle you will use daily now, but the muscle is what will keep you fit so you don't have to do hour or two hour long cardio sessions 4 times a week - muscle keeps you fit because it burns more calories, even at rest. So by building muscle, you're gaining Lean Body Mass but my only doing cardio, you're simply using up energy (calories).

Cardio burns calories for today so if you have a lot of weight to lose, which it sounds like you don't, you won't see a whole lot of change with your muscle mass because cardio is really only using up calories (energy). If you want to gain muscle mass, increase your weight traing and consider something like heavy lifting if you want to bulk. I am on the heavier side and I switch things up . . . I have a lot of muscle underneath because, well, it takes a lot of muscle to carry around the weight I used to be, but when I do cardio I burn more calories because of the muscle I also have. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn daily (including while at rest).

Please don't list to this poster if he/she thinks you lose muscle mass during cardio, you don't. You can live your whole life, doing normal every day things, and not lose muscle. You only lose the muscle when you undereat (this is also referred to as losing lean body mass or LBM) or you're sick and bedridden for months and your muscles go into atrophy from not using them. Simply put, the only way to really, actually lose muscle mass is to not use it. For example, I have a lot of friends who are runners. They don't do a lot of weight training because the way weight training works your muscles and the way they need their muscles for running are different. Does this mean they don't have any muscle mass? Are they just skin and bones? No, they have muscles - their legs are INCREDIBLE - but they just haven't bulked because it isn't appropriate for their chosen sport. It depends on what you want, but you definitely WILL NOT lose muscles just by doing cardio. If you're a runner, you might actually help to work your core (stabilizer) and some of your leg muscles by running.

Any time a person is trying to lose weight, regardless of their training routine, they will lose lean body mass. A person who is lean does not need to carry as much muscle as a person who is obese. If you honestly think that you will maintain all your muscle during a large weight loss, you are mistaken. And I can guarantee you, that if you got a body fat analysis done today vise when you lose the 80 lbs, your overall lean body mass will decrease. Muscle is very inefficient so it requires a lot of calories to maintain.


Also, there are very few people that can actually gain new lean body mass while they are in a catabolic state (deficit). Those that are brand new to weight lifting, those that are obese (more likely morbidly obese) and those that are athletes that are returning. The thing is, those gains diminish quickly; in fact, a person will probably only gain a few lbs of new lean body mass.

See this is exactly what I've been pondering. As great as my trainer has been with showing me form and the work outs, he isn't a nutritionalist and I appreciate that he doesn't pretend to be one.

I can decrease body fat % in 2 ways right? Lose the fat or gain muscle. Losing just fat isn't gonna give me the body I want. I love lifting and I have a great plan for it. I think imma give 2200 without eating back all my calculated calorie burns a spin. But that's still in a deficit. Since I'm a lifting newb, the results I've gotten so far are going to start to dwindle... Thoughts on what % body fat one should look at stopping the cut? Is that just personal preference? Would lifting regularly and at maintainence help reduce the belly roll even if the scale doesn't drop?

Since you are a fairly lean individual, even if you do happen to gain some new lean body mass, it won't be outside of a few lbs. If you want to look ripped or cut, you will probably need to get near 10% body fat or into the single digits, especially if your predispositioned to storing your fat in your stomach. You have very similar stats as me, so 2200 calories is probably about right in terms of losing fat and maintenance is probably near 2800 calories. But like i noted before, give it a try for 4 to 6 weeks to see what kind of results you have. At 23% body fat, I wouldn't advise trying to bulk. If you bulk now, you will be adding additional fat too, which will prolong the time needed to achieve the body you want. Once you get down to 10% or lower body fat, and don't like your look, then a bulk could be considered.

In terms of eating at maintenance and lifting, you can achieve some recomposition but it's a very slow process and not ideal for a person who is at your body fat %. I worked with a women who cut from 26% body fat to 14.6% body fat (confirmed through a hydrostatic body fat analyzer) through a recomp and it took just over a year to achieve that. But she also was very meticulous with her logging and dedication.