How to lose fat but not muscle?
I am about 5’11 at about 240 pounds. I have started doing cardio daily. I am doing about 45 minutes of elliptical training every day, which according to the meter is burning about 500-600 calories. I have also changed my diet around to only intake about 1500 calories a day concentrating on eating a lot of fiber and protein in the form of eggs, lean meat, and tofu. I read a lot about losing fat, but they also warn about not losing muscle. Nothing has been too specific about that though. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to lose weight without losing too much muscle?
October 5th, 2010 at 4:53 am
Do all the cardio you are doing. But still make sure you lift. Do your cardio in the morning if possible if you do it all at the same time lift before you do your cardio you shouldnt lose any strenght that way this is what im currently doing. just make sure you work your butt off in the weight room
October 5th, 2010 at 5:34 am
at your size, 1500 is too few calories and you’ll actually make your body store MORE fat. you need to fuel it enough to where it doesn’t feel starved. at least aim for about 2200. hell, i’m 5’10 and 170 and i get about 2700 a day.
as for maintaing muscle mass, you’re also doing the wrong exercise. cardio, esp prolonged steady state can eat away at muscle. your best bet is to weight train to keep the muscle mass (and eat enough to keep the size). when doing cardio, stick to sprints, or at least keep it under 20 mins.
October 5th, 2010 at 6:01 am
Use it or lose it. Do bodybuilding to keep muscle. Do not cut calories. You need them to keep your muscle. BOTH Harvard U and gov. pyramid say not to cut calories but eat differently.
See site below so you can eat good fats to burn fat and avoid bad fat which will make you fat no matter what you do. Eat good carbs and avoid bad carbs which make you fat and give you diabetes (glycemic load).
October 5th, 2010 at 6:52 am
Keep your protein in the ONE to ONE and a HALF grams per pound of body weight and you have nothing to worry about.
By the way, Forget LOSING muscle, why not BUILD some while you are at it by starting a lifting program? This will burn LOTS more carbs than just running, make you look better, and build lots of NEW muscle. Also, try a protein shake, and cottage cheese (put a little crushed pinapple on top for taste), and Canned Tuna for your protein. Eggs dont really have much protein. I think they are around a measly 5 grams per egg. Good Luck!
October 5th, 2010 at 7:36 am
Eat Veggies, grilled skinless chicken breasts, and grilled fish.
Cross training is really a great way to go.
Sunday – Try running a mile then walking a mile. If you can’t do the full mile running that is fine. Push as far as you can.
Monday – Run .10 mile sprints 5 times. Cool down between each. Jog/speed walk .5 mile.
Tuesday – Ride a stationary bike for 45 minutes. Then do 35 of each.
Sit ups
Crunches
Bicycle Sit ups
Wednesday – Take off and let your body heal.
Thursday – Run again. Same as Monday. Push as best you can.
Friday – Weight Training. Work on your upper boddy and lower body.
Saturday – Take off.
A lifestyle of eating healthy and working out properly will change your body in dramatic ways. Be patient. Results come with time, not overnight.
Note – Increase your workout as you get in better shape. Go on runs of longer distance. Ride longer on the bike. Lift more weight or add more reps. Good luck!