how to lose fat % and keep muscle mass

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jalyner
jalyner Posts: 172 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been at a 1200 cal diet for 3 weeks now and as time goes on I'm feeling more and more ravenous. I should also say that I'm a heavy exerciser (4-6 days a week, crossfitter) and I eat back my calories. In these 3 weeks, my strength has tanked in the gym and weight that I used to lift with ease has now become arduous. My fat % is currently at 26.5% and I lowered my calories from 1800/day in an effort to change this number. While I've lost 10 pounds with the restricted calories, I feel like I've lost so much more in my physical abilities.

I ate breakfast at 7:00 (one egg, a tbl of guacamole, mustard and a piece of toast -160cal) and by 9:00, I'm already feeling weak and very hungry. A week ago I didn't feel so drained, nor did I feel so deprived. I'm afraid if I up my calories, I will put the little weight back on I struggled to lose.

Is there such a thing as losing fat% and making gains in the gym at the same time?
Or do I just focus on losing fat% first, and then worry about strength later?
And how do I know I'm not just losing all the muscle I've gained over the last 3 years.
I don't want to do Paleo, since I know I cannot sustain it for the rest of my life. I've done Eat to Preform, and while I made awesome progress in my strength, I did not lose any fat.
I've also tried carb cycling, but I put on 10 pounds (that I just struggled to lose).

I must be missing something. I must be doing something wrong. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Replies

  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
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    Eat closer to maintenance and do it slower for better strength or do it faster and lose some lean mass. You need calories and a reasonable amount of protein to preserve as much muscle as possible, cycling fads won't give you lasting results.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
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    When you are in a calorie deficit your body will not only metabolize fat but muscle. You can limit muscle loss and in some cases even build muscle while you lose weight. I'd recommend you take a look at Mike Matthews books or site. My fiancé and I have both lost fat and added muscle overtime on it. He uses lots of scientific studies to show what he proposes why it works. You need to weigh and track everything you eat, get into a high protein, low fat diet to do it. It's really sustainable.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited May 2016
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    You make vary minimal gainz if you eat back up to maintenance and can loose a week bit of fat % if you lower maintenance less 100, 150 or 200 calories.

    This is basically recomping and is a ole so slow process and does take some precision in getting your nutrition dialed in whilst on a progressive lifting program.

    I did this for a year and got quite frustrated at the slowness. So I just cut, deloaded the weights for a while until I got to goal. Then conducted back up to maintenance plus surplus calories slowly until I got to where my fat gainz were slower. This too took time.

    You do not need a specific diet, but dial in your protein to .8 to 1 gr/ per body weight. Also during a cut you want to lower the carbs a bit. If you cut then bulk, you up the carbs back during the bulk.

    this is the way I did and cutting was best suited for me first so I could gain the weight back.
  • ReneePerle
    ReneePerle Posts: 9 Member
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    That is a big cut, from 1800 to 1200 - why not settle midway? If you feel this bad you must need to fuel more.
  • jtcedinburgh
    jtcedinburgh Posts: 117 Member
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    Interesting. I was always under the impression that the body wouldn't break down muscle unless as a last resort (i.e. in sustained starvation conditions), instead liberating energy from stored fat. I could be wrong about that though. I wonder if consciously working those muscles would prevent them from being 'targeted' for break down. This is something I'm interested in, but would appreciate more informed factual information (rather than opinion), if that's possible....
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    Yes , progressive overload weight lifting helps preserve muscles
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
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    Being in a calorie deficit impacts the protein synthesis and the way muscles are built and maintained.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20164371

  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    jtcedinburgh wrote: »
    Interesting. I was always under the impression that the body wouldn't break down muscle unless as a last resort (i.e. in sustained starvation conditions), instead liberating energy from stored fat. I could be wrong about that though. I wonder if consciously working those muscles would prevent them from being 'targeted' for break down. This is something I'm interested in, but would appreciate more informed factual information (rather than opinion), if that's possible....

    The body is a fascinating thing. While fat stores are indeed more efficient stores of energy, the body will tear down excess muscle still. Why? If you are on a constant caloric deficit, one way to fix it is to remove excess mass that is unused and wastes precious calories.

    Additionally, constant caloric deficit will result in a hormonal balance that is more inclined to break things down (fats and muscle) rather than build them up (fats and muscle).

    By actively using your muscle via some sort of strength training exercise, you can encourage the body to use more fat for energy during a caloric deficit. The logic behind it is your body assumes this muscle is being used to keep you alive in your day, so it is much more vital than if it was just sitting there taking up precious energy.

    There have even been studies on how much weight you should lift and how many times per week to determine the best ratio for keeping as much muscle mass as possible.

    Note that even with a perfect strength training program, being in a constant caloric deficit WILL result in some muscle loss. There is simply no way around it.
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
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    If you're a crossfitter, why can't one of the coaches at your box guide you on this?

    There are three short answers to your question. First, if you're in a steep deficit your workouts will be miserable. Everyone's are. You can't expect to perform the same on 1200 units of energy as you do on 1800.

    Second, you can lose (some) fat and make (some) gains if you are an obese newbie. Everyone else is mostly stuck doing bulk-cut cycles. You can try eating at a very slight deficit and doing recomp, but it's very slow going.

    Third, if you want to cut, cut and take a temporary performance loss. If you want to bulk, bulk and try not to put on fat too fast. If you're cutting, keep your protein up and keep lifting and it will minimize your muscle loss.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    1) The more extreme your deficit, the more muscle mass you'll lose. At 3.33 lbs lost per week, yours counts as extreme.
    That's also why you're so hungry and why your performance is lagging.

    2) Strength training (heavy lifting) will be the biggest way you can preserve muscle mass. Focus on compound movements (squat, deadlift, bench press, rows, lat pulls, overhead press...) and lower rep ranges (more weight, fewer reps). Reps in the 8-12 range may be better for building mass when bulking/recomping but the lower ranges are better for preserving muscle in a cut (and better for strength).

    3) While it is sorta possible to put on muscle mass while losing fat, it gets more difficult/unlikely the leaner you are and the more advanced you are as a lifter. I would focus on losing the fat you want for now and adjust your goals when you get as lean as your wanting.

    4) If you are getting enough protein (.8-1.2 grams per pound of goal weight) and are lifting heavy, you can rest assured that you're not losing all your muscle and in fact are retaining the vast majority of it (a little will always be lost in a cut. It just can't be helped).

    5) You don't need to resort to carb cycling (unless you're trying to get stage lean in which case you may need to try some advanced diet techniques but I don't think that's your goal).

    6) Since you're already counting calories and don't want to do things like paleo (I don't blame you), I suggest you check out IIFYM.com. Plug in your stats on the IIFYM calculator to determine your TDEE.
    Subtract 500 calories from that number to lose one pound per week. That's your new calorie goal. It automatically includes exercise calories so you'll be eating more but won't be eating back exercise calories anymore. I like this approach because it means I get the same amount of food everyday (and don't have to calculate/estimate my exercise burns).

    From there, determine your protein goal (.8-1.2 grams per pound of goal weight) and multiply those grams by four. That's your calories from protein.
    Then determine your fat goal (.35-.42 grams per pound of lean body mass) and multiply those grams by nine. That's your calories from fat.
    Subtract your calories from fat and protein from your total calorie goal. The remainder can be spent on carbs (likely since you need energy for workouts) or on extra fats and proteins if you prefer. Divide by four to get the grams of carbs.

    7) Take it slow and be patient. You're sculpting a masterpiece.

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