Thread: Losing weight, trying to retain as much muscle

Cutting is hard to do, esp if you have been a big guy all your life. I would know. I've struggled with being overweight most of my life. I was 300lbs at one point. Not an in shape 300, just your typical fat ass that didn't care what they looked like. After a long hard road, I'm now around 170-180 depending on how my diet/cardio is.

Mentally, you have to keep in mind that if you do it right, you should loose very little muscle in the leaning process. Size wise, yes, there will be some loss but remember if its fluid and fat lost, it will be much more rewarding to see muscle separation than flab.

Nutrition wise, keeping protein a little higher will make it easier to hold on to muscle. Step your weight down gradually and don't try and take it too fast. Weight loss happens in weird ways. One day you may go down a pound and not feel any different, other days you make look/feel leaner and wont have moved at all. Don't try and take you calories too low or your body will start to turn to muscle for fuel. As long as do it slow and stick to a solid diet, you should be able to keep plenty of muscle.

I've never been fat. I used to be skinny so whenever I lose some weight it freaks me out but now I'm ready to be lean again, I never got fat just unwanted weight and I was a tad heavier then I'd like to be (which was no higher then 16% BF). I've literally not tried to cut ever until now because I would rather be lean and cut then be "bigger" with some fat on me. My last BF test was 14%, and since have cut another inch off my waist.

However, I have lost a tad off my arms and other areas I don't want to, but it could be from too little of cals/protein or it could just be fat/water so it looks like ive lost muscle but I haven't. I've been told I haven't changed much besides noticing I look more lean. I'm going to increase protein and hopefully calories as well but just by 200-300 tops. If I start to see my weight not drop anymore and/or waist size shrinking i'll drop more cals.

Just try and keep in mind of what you want to look like after the cut. It will be very rewarding once you get to where you want to be. Keep and eye on your strength levels. If they start to dip too much, you may have to up cals some cause that's a sign you may be burning muscle.

The best thing you can do is be mature about the situation,
focus on your goals, and track your progress.

I wouldn't too much about the size of your muscles while you
are cutting. The goal is to drop body fat... your muscles will keep
growing as your training progresses/improves especially if the
weight lifting stats keep moving along.

To get pure muscles do eat great sources of protein with no fats at all,I prefer fish oil and fish,chicken breast but no beef due to fats.Green tea,belly exercise,cardio is better for this purpose.

Originally Posted by Lewis01

To get pure muscles do eat great sources of protein with no fats at all,I prefer fish oil and fish,chicken breast but no beef due to fats.Green tea,belly exercise,cardio is better for this purpose.

Why not fats? Can you explain why?!

mannnnnn, I'm doing the same thing right now. I took a couple years to bulk from 165 to 205, but now I've got to lean out a little. The biggest part of the mind game for me is my muscles being flat when I'm low on carbs.

If you throw in a carb-up day every once in a while, and HAMMER down water, your muscles will feel really full and strong. Plus you can see if you really are losing muscle. Hope this helps

Guys im 6'4' 320, my body fat is 29%, most of my fat is in my stomach area,, ive been working real hard in the gym but have done no cardio as of yet because I heard by doing cardio and lift weights you can burn muscle, whats the appropriate amount of cardio to burn fat and not muscle after i lift weights for 45-50 min.

I'm having a pretty successful cut right now. I'm still taking in a moderate amount of fat and still cutting body fat. Try putting the most of your carbs in your pwo meal.

Originally Posted by MegaTron

Guys im 6'4' 320, my body fat is 29%, most of my fat is in my stomach area,, ive been working real hard in the gym but have done no cardio as of yet because I heard by doing cardio and lift weights you can burn muscle, whats the appropriate amount of cardio to burn fat and not muscle after i lift weights for 45-50 min.

Don't thread jack, make your own.

I'm told I don't look like I've lost muscle but I feel as I have and my arms have lost some size (along with everything else) but I look more cut. Maybe it's just a mental game since i'm not used to cutting and looking thinner (or more lean). I'm bumping my cals up and drinking 1 more protein shake a day (120 cal, 20 protein).

Its better to divide them up if you can but if not I would say keep it to 30 mins or less. Since you haven't been doing any cardio the weight should come off pretty easily. I would probably recommend a shake right after weights then hit the cardio with a meal afterwards. That should keep you from burning muscle.

The cardio wont have to be super intense either. There is no need for crazy sprint intervals or anything like that. Set it to a good incline and keep the pace in the mid to upper 3s and you're GtG.

It's most likely just fluid weight you have lost GymRat. When you start dropping pounds, at first most of it is water weight and fluid retention. The body can hold a hell of a lot of water and that water takes up a lot of space, more than most people think. As long as you aren't having a noticeable drop in strength or feeling really drained and tired all the time your muscle should be staying intact.

Could you post up your measurements mate? Just I'm coming up to do the same thing and have the same worries. Will be helpful to read more from people on this

Mike, not tired at all or anything and my weights in the gym continue to climb. I pretty much hate cardio so I rarely do it. It is nice starting to see my abs again but still have that layer of fat.

That's a good sign then. As the weight comes down, the cuts will get deeper and the muscles harder, its just a matter of time of dedication. Are you doing cardio or have you just cleaned up your diet to drop weight?

Originally Posted by Lewis01

To get pure muscles do eat great sources of protein with no fats at all,I prefer fish oil and fish,chicken breast but no beef due to fats.Green tea,belly exercise,cardio is better for this purpose.

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Fitness Trainers Chicago

The trick to keeping muscle whist dieting (eating 500cals below maintenance) is to keep your protein high; eat 1.4grams of protein per your goal weight.

E.g. If you are 220 and want to be 185 you would eat 185 * 1.4 which would be 259 grams of protein.

Then do 3 moderate carb days (200) and one really low carb day (50) and cycle carb's like that.

Drink plenty of water and eat clean (lean meats, veggies, complex carbs, and a few fruits) and you should be gtg.

If you eat 500 cals below your TDEE you will be on a 3500 cal deficit. per week.

3500 cal's equals 1 lb. o fat, so you should lose 1-1.5 lbs. per week w/ carb cycling AND cardio. I forgot about cardio. I lift in the mournings whilst dieting to burn glycogen. Take 1 scoop of pre-workout drink and lift weights then 20 minutes cardio.

You burn 80% fat after a 30 min. cardio session. So on non-weight lifting day's you should do 1 hr. cardio in the mourning empty stomach if schedule allow's.

This is not a "quick" way to burn fat, but if you do it like this you will be able to maintain this forever if you wish.

There are many way's to do this of course. If you are already a muscular guy you could go 1000 or more below TDEE, you will lose some muscle but after you shed all your fat your muslce memory will be there and eating clean at maintenance or 5-10% under thereafter will pack on any lost muscle.

OF course the trick is to eating clean. That is how we get out of shape in the first place. Actually it's eating over your daily limit no so much eating clean.

I would advise to look up healthy recipes and stick to healthy foods and eat LOTS of veggies. Veggies are such a low calorie dense food that you can eat as much as you want. Fibrous veggies will also make you full. Try eating egg white salads, lean turkey salad with turkey bacon crumbled in with a side of veggies. Once you start eating clean again your body adapts it's chemical output and you no longer "crave" foods that pack on the fat. It's a scientific fact.

Hope that helps

Originally Posted by easymoneymike

Cutting is hard to do, esp if you have been a big guy all your life. I would know. I've struggled with being overweight most of my life. I was 300lbs at one point. Not an in shape 300, just your typical fat ass that didn't care what they looked like. After a long hard road, I'm now around 170-180 depending on how my diet/cardio is.

Mentally, you have to keep in mind that if you do it right, you should loose very little muscle in the leaning process. Size wise, yes, there will be some loss but remember if its fluid and fat lost, it will be much more rewarding to see muscle separation than flab.

Nutrition wise, keeping protein a little higher will make it easier to hold on to muscle. Step your weight down gradually and don't try and take it too fast.

Mike congrats on your diet and cardio! You are spot on with your advice, bump protein up while keeping carb's in check and doing cardio, and don't try to go to fast.

And as far as size, when you are lean you actually LOOK bigger than you are. Once that fat get's sucked out your muscles pop more. Most guy's after dieting will not lose much arm size either. The bicep will actually look bigger and you will have peaks and sweeps in your physique.

Not to mention your VO2 Max will improve with the loss of fat as your lungs will have more "room" to breath and thus vastly improving cardio performance as well as signifigantly lowering BP, risk of diabetes, and improving general sense of wellbeing.

Thanks! It took me a long time to get to where I'm now. I'm not proud of where I let myself get to but I have to say its made me what I am today.

- EAT a STRICT diet, of CLEAN foods. & split your meals in 5-6 small meals. HIGH protein, moderate carbs & moderate fats.

- drink minimum 10 tall glasses of water a day

- gradually decrease your calories little by little, don't just jump straight into a 500 calorie deficit, eat a little bit over your maintenance & start from there

- on your lifting days LIFT HEAVY & INTENSE within a 30-45 minute time frame, all your trying to do is maintain, not gain so there's really no point in lifting for more than an hour

- focus on maintaining most of your strength on the main lifts, your obviously going to lose some strength but if you do it right, you won't lose much. & if you're diet is ON POINT, than you shouldn't lose ANY strength whatsoever. If you are keeping your strength that's a tall tale sign you still have all muscle.

- split your cardio & lifting sessions on different days to maintain maximum muscle

- eat most of your carbs before & after your workouts

- don't just stick to boring slow paced cardio, rotate your cardio with HIIT, Circuit training, long runs, short sprints, & so on. I found out by experience, that switching things up seems to speed up the fat loss process. Also, it keeps things fun.

- & i can not stress this enough, TAKE IT SLOW, don't rush things, a slow long cut is always superior to a short cut. focus on losing MAX 3 pounds of fat a week, 2 would be better IMO. but just do what works best for you. if your lifts are going down, up the calories, if your strength is still there, your doing it right.

- supplements to benefit from on a cut - EC Stack, creatine, BCAA's, Whey, Multi, Fish-oil & if your rich enough, throw in some glutamine. but as we all know. supplements only bring you so far. diet is key when trying to lose fat


- been doing this for the past 3 months & managed to go from 220lb to a ripped 200 pounds while maintaining adding a total of 20 pounds to my big three (bench,squat,dead)

budda, what is some foods you recommend besides fish?