Maintaining muscle on a low carb diet and losing weight?

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Brimstone14
Brimstone14 Posts: 36 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone got any advice on this?

I currently only take about 30g carbs. I can access weights. I am trying to lose weight from 200lbs to about 172lbs. My calories in are about 1200kcal per day or slightly more with exercise.

I've got some muscle, not alot, but I'd rather not lose it if it's possible, or at least lose the minimum.

Thanks

Replies

  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    If you don't want to lose muscle make sure you're lifting, getting around .8g of protein per pound of body mass, and not in an aggressive deficit. .5-1 pound per week loss.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    As mentioned protein intake is going to be very important. I would worry more about your really low calorie intake.. with such an aggressive rate of loss you will lose more muscle than of you kept your calories moderate.

    Also really low carbs can affect lifting performance in many, keep an eye on your progress and energy.. or look into carb timing around your sessions.
  • Brimstone14
    Brimstone14 Posts: 36 Member
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    Thanks guys
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Eat more (1500 net calories minimum, if not the goal for a pound a week). Get enough protein. Lift heavy.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited February 2018
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    sardelsa wrote: »
    As mentioned protein intake is going to be very important. I would worry more about your really low calorie intake.. with such an aggressive rate of loss you will lose more muscle than of you kept your calories moderate.

    Also really low carbs can affect lifting performance in many, keep an eye on your progress and energy.. or look into carb timing around your sessions.

    I'd agree that the calorie intake is considerably too low, and could negatively impact preservation of LBM. No grown man should be eating 1200 calories per day (especially on keto, which is a sub-optimal diet for preservation of LBM in the first place). As Alan Aragon says, "there is nothing anabolic about not eating".

  • Meelisv
    Meelisv Posts: 235 Member
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    Eating 1200 calories as a male is a dangerous and absolutely sure way to lose muscle mass.
    Eat more, make sure you get enough protein and do some weight lifting.
    If low carb is not something you do for a specific reason, I would reconsider that too, though that part is highly individual and down to personal preference.
  • Brimstone14
    Brimstone14 Posts: 36 Member
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    Ok guys, the consensus is I up my calories a bit, so thanks for the advice on that.

    @meelisv , the reason i do keto / low carb is not because of any particular ideology of it, although i know the low carb ideology, but just because it just suits me better. It controls my hunger better, I'm a real sugar craver between meals eating a comparatively lower fat diet and i definitely over eat. When i was 17 (27 now) i suffered a bad knee injury and have had multiple operations which never resolved it so i can't run or play sports anymore so my activity level is quite low to what if could be. Since that injury, weight piled on weight even when trying to diet, but i always failed. I went low carb when i was 23, say, and managed to drop 50lbs. After i did that i stopped doing low carb because i thought i could maintain etc, but from then to now I've put it all back on and some. I eat very badly and overeat on a 'normal' diet. I love bread, pasta, rice, etc, but it's not worth the weight that seems to come with it despite my best efforts. I've been low carb since new year approx and ive dropped about 15 lbs (a lot of that will be water) and my appetite is more stable, i can stay away from junk food easily and i eat genuinely better food as i don't get so hungry i stuff the nearest thing in my mouth. It just works for me given my circumstances and how i tend to eat on a lower fat diet.

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