CALLING ALL FEMALE LIFTERS THAT HAVE LEANED OUT

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madisonamanda
madisonamanda Posts: 78 Member
edited March 2015 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey, yall!

So, quick background on me: cardio queen lost 20lbs, was soft and undefined. Started IIFYM and started lifting lost 15 more pounds, gained a ton of muscle and have much more tone/definition. I've been at this point for ...five months or so and happy. BUT... now I want to lean out.

Ten pounds or so I imagine (though of course the results are more important than the number). I've got a lot of muscle, I don't want to gain a whole lot more muscle but I want to see the existing ones a bit more.

I'm a little scared of cardio in terms of eating away my muscle (and I hate it). I'm assuming, however it is a must. I also read that I should cut the grams of fat I eat per day. (I currently eat 60g). But do I replace those lost calories of fat with something else? carbs? protein?

What kind of cardio/routine/ changes to diet (in terms of macros) did you do to lean out those last few pounds ?

Replies

  • sgthaggard
    sgthaggard Posts: 581 Member
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    I've heard that biking is a good choice for cardio when you're trying to preserve muscle.
  • FitFitzy331
    FitFitzy331 Posts: 308 Member
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    IIFYM gives you recommended macros to hit for protein and fat. If you're using those you should be set. Here, I changed mine to about 40c/30f/30p but my goal was to hit at least 115g protein and about 50g fat a day, the rest of my cals I used towards carbs or more fat or protein. I definitely had days over 60g fat and never noticed a problem.

    When I was losing (I'm maintaining now) I was lifting 3-4 days a week and doing cardio (at first just elliptical HITT and steady state, then I started running again) 2-3 days a week. I generally workout 6 days a week depending on other obligations.

    If you're eating at a small deficit (aiming to lose 0.5lbs/week since you're saying about 10lbs) and eating enough protein you should retain most of your lean muscle mass
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    You don't necessarily need cardio, you don't necessarily need to drop fat from your diet either. Small calorie deficit with reasonable macros plus a continued progressive lifting program will continue to drop the weight and keep the muscle. Cardio can be done to allow more food intake while maintaining a deficit but is generally not required.
  • branflakes1980
    branflakes1980 Posts: 2,516 Member
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    Bumping to follow
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
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    DopeItUp wrote: »
    You don't necessarily need cardio, you don't necessarily need to drop fat from your diet either. Small calorie deficit with reasonable macros plus a continued progressive lifting program will continue to drop the weight and keep the muscle. Cardio can be done to allow more food intake while maintaining a deficit but is generally not required.

    This :)
  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

    Try this group to find some experienced answers.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    IIFYM (I dropped my carbs and upped my protein and fat). For lifting, protein and fat are just as important if not more for trying to lose FAT while maintaining muscle mass. You sound like you need to lose the extra layer of fat surrounding your muscles so they will peak through more. I am doing this now and it is working but being a woman it does take time.. I am already lean..

    I actually do cardio three days a week and lift 3 days a week (alternate days then rest). I want the cardiovascular exercise for my health not for anything else.
  • rageginger
    rageginger Posts: 74 Member
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    Just going to leave this here, and while it specifies "stomach", it applies to everything when you are wanting to drop body fat. As others have said, cardio is not required.
  • madisonamanda
    madisonamanda Posts: 78 Member
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    Awesome info. Checking out suggested links now. Thanks fit folks ;)

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