unable to lose fat without sacrificing a lot of muscle

faaipdeoiad · 08-17-2008, 05:53 PM

im currently about 195lbs, 6'2 and around 11% bf. i've been lifting for about 6 years and i have no problem bulking, but ive always been very reluctant to run since it always costs my size. even running for about 5 minutes will make me look significantly smaller, and im not sure how to get around this. i eat pretty well, and right now im at about 2500-3000 calories a day, usually at least 300g protein and under 100 carbs (with some exceptions) im also taking usp recreate and anabolic pump (neither of which seem to do anything).
im unsure of a cardio routine, as both hiit and low intensity cardio still significantly decreases my size. i was splitting up my lifting into twice a day just to maximize this, but even this is not as effective or practical as cardio. im taking plenty of vitamins and bcaas and eating every couple hours but the problem is the same, i dont think im gonna lose anymore bf withoutactual cardio.
what im doing now is cardio in addition to lifting for the first 3-4 days of every week, and then just lifting for the next 2 or 3 to regain my size. this seems inefficient though, and i am still losing a good deal of muscle mass.
if anyone knows a possible solution to this problem or has any advice i would appreciate it.

Omen · 08-17-2008, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faaipdeoiad

im currently about 195lbs, 6'2 and around 11% bf. i've been lifting for about 6 years and i have no problem bulking, but ive always been very reluctant to run since it always costs my size. even running for about 5 minutes will make me look significantly smaller, and im not sure how to get around this. i eat pretty well, and right now im at about 2500-3000 calories a day, usually at least 300g protein and under 100 carbs (with some exceptions) im also taking usp recreate and anabolic pump (neither of which seem to do anything).
im unsure of a cardio routine, as both hiit and low intensity cardio still significantly decreases my size. i was splitting up my lifting into twice a day just to maximize this, but even this is not as effective or practical as cardio. im taking plenty of vitamins and bcaas and eating every couple hours but the problem is the same, i dont think im gonna lose anymore bf withoutactual cardio.
what im doing now is cardio in addition to lifting for the first 3-4 days of every week, and then just lifting for the next 2 or 3 to regain my size. this seems inefficient though, and i am still losing a good deal of muscle mass.
if anyone knows a possible solution to this problem or has any advice i would appreciate it.

Sorry but there's no way you can lose "significant" size after 5 mins of cardio and gain muscle in 2-3 days after losing it

You can lose bodyfat without cardio, you can always try CKD, do a search here on AM or on google, keep a calorie deficit and the fat will come off, you will most likely lose a bit of muscle, which isn't a big deal, you "look" bigger when you cut some bf off.

Around 11% to get lower bf, I would recommend cardio, I'm just really not buying the significant size loss thing, only way to significantly lose size after 5 mins of cardio is if I'm running behind you with a chainsaw and cutting your limbs off, but I don't do that anymore.

Domenic · 08-17-2008, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omen

running behind you with a chainsaw and cutting your limbs off, but I don't do that anymore.

Caloric deficit.
Cardio.
Fat-burner once you're 11 or 12 trying to get sub-10.

atjnutrition2 · 08-17-2008, 06:23 PM

Dropping fat without losing muscle is a tricky thing. The main issue is diet. Not just calories, proteins and carbs, but the type of carbs, fat intake...etc. I would consider a carb cycling diet in which you have a high, medium, low carb day and depending on how well you feel you maintain your muscle mass possibly extend the high carb day into two or even three days. This carb cycling is used by quite a few BB'ers who cut body fat while maintaining mass. Also, those carbs need to be the correct type of carbs. As for your cardio, I'm a BIG proponent of interval/sprint type cardio for no longer than 20-30min. Just look at the difference in body type between and a true sprinter and a distance runner. The sprinter is constantly doing cardio, but the type of cardio is more conducive to maintaining lean mass.

Anyway, that's my .02 and I'm sure others will have some more and possibly different and better advice.

faaipdeoiad · 08-17-2008, 06:32 PM

my body seems to be extremely receptive to change, i can lose or gain size very quickly. from as much as a night of poor sleep or low calorie intake i noticeably shrink. it seems to be a pretty big problem, and i havent met anyone who is this affected by it. i have a friend who is about the same size with the same diet except that he does cardio daily and mantains his size, where as i fluctuate on a weekly basis. he even went so far as to tell me that i should see a doctor about it, as its not normal. im thinking that my diet may be the best way to solve this, but even a carb deficit will alter my size (though not nearly as drastically as cardio)
i think the carb cycling sounds like it might help a little, thanks, ive been doing something similiar but with less variation, its more of a low carbs during the week with an increase over the weekend.
im thinking of starting hiit again too, i think itl cost me more size but i may see better results from it, plus i really dislike fasted cardio. About how often would u reccommend i do hiit a week?

Domenic · 08-17-2008, 06:34 PM

It's in your head, man. There's no way your weight/ size fluctuates that much, that quickly.

faaipdeoiad · 08-17-2008, 06:41 PM

im not sure man, i thought that at first but other people seem to notice it too. i keep getting comments that im shrinking or growing, and it happens just a few days apart. granted im sure its not quite as bad as i may have made it sound, but its still noticeable, im kinda unsure where to go from here, i cant reallydrop below 11% without losing my size. i dont really want to be skinny just to lose some fat haha

Domenic · 08-17-2008, 06:44 PM

Are you sure you're not just looking.... what's the word-- "flat?" Are you doing a keto diet or something?

faaipdeoiad · 08-17-2008, 06:47 PM

naw not entirely, im on a very low carb diet but its still between 50-100 g a day. i do look more cut after cardio but i can tell that my clothes dont fit the same and i measured arm size, after about a week of cardio it had shrunk by almost an inch

Domenic · 08-17-2008, 06:50 PM

Ignoring the fact that 50-100g is pretty freakin' low, I'm just gonna' suggest that you take a picture tomorrow before you leave your house, then get to the gym and do some cardio, take another picture, then lift, and take another picture. Look at the pictures and see that it's in your head. If the pictures look all that different, post them.

faaipdeoiad · 08-17-2008, 06:57 PM

hmm ok that sounds pretty reasonable. il give it a shot. ive been meaning to get some pics anyways
i also used to eat waaay more carbs, but ive been cutting it by alot as i figured itd make for more significant fat loss. i eat about 20-30g first thing in the morning and pre and post workout. thats a big reduction as i eat between 6 -8 times a day,

BigCasino · 08-17-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faaipdeoiad

naw not entirely, im on a very low carb diet but its still between 50-100 g a day. i do look more cut after cardio but i can tell that my clothes dont fit the same and i measured arm size, after about a week of cardio it had shrunk by almost an inch

Here's your answer. 50-100gs /day? Are you kidding me? You're just thinking you are loosing muscle because you are "flat" from your low carb diet man, you're carb depleted, prolly low glycogen. Do yourself a big favor and carb up, your muscles will look much more full. Everyone looks smaller when they are carb depleted man, but that is not cause you actually lost a bunch of tissue it is cause your muscles are not full, they are there but you have not been filling up the tank bro....

Domenic · 08-17-2008, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigCasino

Here's your answer. 50-100gs /day? Are you kidding me? You're just thinking you are loosing muscle because you are "flat" from your low carb diet man

That's 2 for being flat. 50-100g is nothing.

Vicarious · 08-17-2008, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigCasino

Here's your answer. 50-100gs /day? Are you kidding me? You're just thinking you are loosing muscle because you are "flat" from your low carb diet man, you're carb depleted, prolly low glycogen. Do yourself a big favor and carb up, your muscles will look much more full. Everyone looks smaller when they are carb depleted man, but that is not cause you actually lost a bunch of tissue it is cause your muscles are not full, they are there but you have not been filling up the tank bro....

tru dat! at 50 to 100 grams of carbs a day..you'll fill out eating a tootsie roll. work your diet more...sounds like you have the metabolism everyone in here wants...

bla55 · 08-17-2008, 07:37 PM

Agreed.

50-100 is one out of my 3 meals. And I may be pushing that number with my PB + Toast + Bananas snack in the afternoon as well.

Cutting carbs is not the answer, cuttign the bad carbs could be. Go for whole weat foods, sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc. Up your intake on those, lower the bad fat and increase good ones like PB or so. Then just maintain the calorie number at a healthy level and you should be money.

faaipdeoiad · 08-17-2008, 08:12 PM

well i stick to only healthy carbs, fats etc but i assumed that u could get by with that while cutting, i guess not. il up my carbs to around 200-250 and see if it helps minimize this size loss, thanks

Kalakbar · 08-18-2008, 02:32 AM

I'm quite a bit higher bodyfat than you (24%ish), and I definitely noticed that my muscles looked a lot "flatter" when I was trying a 20g carb a day diet. Not only did my muscles look smaller, they also didn't perform as well. I'm trying about 150g of carbs a day now, some at breakfast, and then bracketing weightlifting, and it's working much better for me.

Your mileage may vary