Lose fat keep muscle?

[JDoc37]

Trying to lose weight but gain lean muscle mass at same time. Been watching my diet very closely and drink a protein shake for breakfast. about 2 hours later ill eat a apple or cup of yogurt. mid way through day i eat lunch keeping portions small. almost 3 hours later i get off work and go to gym. routine consists of weight lifting and a couple times a week i play basketball for about 2 hours after weight training. then dinner and rest for the rest of the night. Is there any advice out there that may help. Im taking Syntha 6 right now but after reading an article in supplements im going to switch to All the Whey. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Do keep in mind im in iraq currently and have limited things i can do. thanks all
Jeff

 

[Kristopher]

Well, without an idea as to your caloric needs, actual dietary choices, and bodyfat%, it is hard to give advice. As a general rule, when trying to burn fat and spare muscle, high protein and lower carbs is usually a good bet, with as little as possible of your daily protein source coming from protein powder (whole foods is best).
Post up a diet and maybe we can give some better tips!

Cheers

 

[Red Dog]

First, tell us a little about yourself -- it helps tailor the response to your situation. I never trust what somebody puts in their info (it's inaccurate too often), so things like age, weight, height, estimated bf%, years lifting, etc, are all things that help us help you!

It's great that you watch your diet because the two most important things in physique building are diet training (and in that order). We can talk about how to refine that to help you achieve your goals.

No matter what your goals are, they will be easier to achieve if you're utilizing the big three -- deadlifts (or a variation), squats, and bench press -- along with other compound movements such as pull-ups and military press. If you have access to the equipment necessary to perform these, which I'm guessing you do, then make sure you include them in your training regimen. They are effective in both mass building (the obvious effect), as well as fat loss (to help you keep your the muscle you've got).

So assuming you've got those lifts implemented in your program, you can specialize somewhat. While it may be possible to add lean mass while losing fat (I can't do it, but I've seen people claim that it's possible), results come easier if you focus on either adding lean mass or losing fat. One is best achieved with a caloric surplus, while the other is with a deficit.

Just a few other things..

- Do you consume anything between your training session and your playing basketball? If you are then terrific; but if not, then you should be! The body readily accepts nutrients after a resistance workout -- especially amino acids. After your training session, try to take in some form of protein (whey is my preference, but a lean cut of meat or non-fatty protein source is acceptable otherwise). A small to moderate amount of carbohydrate can be taken as well (unless, potentially, on a low-carb diet) to facilitate an insulin response and create an anabolic environment post-WO.

- I would include at least a small to moderate amount of protein at each meal.

- What are your dinner specifics? Meat is an optimal choice IMO, but let me know what a typical supper consists of.

- I have no qualms with BSN, but All The Whey is a stand-up company with great protein -- good move there!

 

[JDoc37]

Thanks Red Dog. Im 23 years old, 5’10 and 20o lbs. My bodyfat was roughly 24 % last time the military checked it. I just recently got into lifting so im working on sculpting my body. Started lifting consistently about about 3 months ago. I have dreams of losing that last 10 to 15 lbs of weight for that beach body (trying to take the wife on a cruise to Jamaica).
My diet normally consists of the protein shake in the morning. Syntha 6 was way high in calories, carbs, and sodium so that’s the reason for the future switch. Mid morning I will eat an apple normally. Lunch I have a grilled boneless chicken breast with a side vegetable and or salad. I workout about 3 hours later and I havnt consumed anything between the gym and basketball. Dinner is normally the same as lunch.
So after the gym should I try a protein shake before basketball? I will probably cut down to half a serving if so because id prefer not to throw it back up.
Once again thanks for the advice.

 

[Red Dog]

Thanks Red Dog. Im 23 years old, 5’10 and 20o lbs. My bodyfat was roughly 24 % last time the military checked it. I just recently got into lifting so im working on sculpting my body. Started lifting consistently about about 3 months ago. I have dreams of losing that last 10 to 15 lbs of weight for that beach body (trying to take the wife on a cruise to Jamaica).
My diet normally consists of the protein shake in the morning. Syntha 6 was way high in calories, carbs, and sodium so that’s the reason for the future switch. Mid morning I will eat an apple normally. Lunch I have a grilled boneless chicken breast with a side vegetable and or salad. I workout about 3 hours later and I havnt consumed anything between the gym and basketball. Dinner is normally the same as lunch.
So after the gym should I try a protein shake before basketball? I will probably cut down to half a serving if so because id prefer not to throw it back up.
Once again thanks for the advice.

Glad to help To be honest, your diet shouldn't result in you being ~24% BF! Going by what you've said, your daily intake essentially looks like:

Protein Shake - 40g P - 160 calories
Apple - 15g C - 60 calories
Grilled Chicken Breast (Lunch) - 8oz. - 3g F, 50g P - 230 calories
Side Salad/Vegetable (Lunch) - fibrous - ~30 calories
Grilled Chicken Breast (Dinner) - 8oz. - 3g F, 50g P - 230 calories
Side Salad/Vegetable (Dinner) - fibrous - ~30 calories

** I've just used approximations as I don't know the exact amount of each food you eat.

- At that rate, you're only eating 740 calories -- the more extreme end of a cutting phase is ~1450-1500!) Your BMR, off the top of my head, would be up at 2000 calories and your 2+ hours of extracurricular physical activity would put you in a rather remarkable deficit at the end of the day!

- The protein intake is acceptable at 140g, but you are getting almost no carbohydrates (aside from the apple) and very little healthy fat (as grilled chicken breast is very lean).

- Using the mirror and the scale, do you appear to be losing fat at this point? Are you losing strength and/or muscle endurance? If not, then there are only so many explanations IMO.

- You are either: 1) forgetting to report a vast amount of food that you're consuming (not likely ); 2) you have an underlying condition such as hypothyroidism that is halting fat oxidation, or 3) you've driven your metabolism into the ground and are virtually void of leptin by eating so little day after day.

- So, assuming you don't have an underlying condition (which bloodwork can determine for you), how long have you been eating the diet outlined above? For extended diets to be effective, you need to prevent the body from thinking it's starving by not reducing calories too far, and occasionally taking a day to eat freely (called a refeed). I am familiar with low-carb diets and can help you with that if you want (and decide it is what's best for your goals) -- but I don't know much about moderate-carb diets.

- Think these things over and let me know what you think the problem may be and any thoughts you have on what I've covered. Point In Case -- you should be burning over twice the amount of calories you are currently ingesting (~800) if you never left your bed all day! Something is wrong here, but we can figure it out!

 

[JDoc37]

Ill try to keep a better meal journal over the next few days and see if we can figure out if the food is my problem. It seems like i intake more than 800 calories. The syntha 6 itself was 400 calories straight away in the morning. I will map everything i possibly can out for you over the next week if you think you can fine tune my workouts and diet. currently i dont think we have the resources for that type of blood work to be done so im going to pray that it has nothing to do with that. Anyways let me know if you are willing to check out everything i do. I dont want to over burden any one. Thank you again. oh almost forgot. been doing the diet above for about 2 weeks now.

 

[benj851]

Wow very interesting article, and the the radio feed was very very informative. thanks for the links.

 

[tsmith]

Thanks Red Dog. Im 23 years old, 5’10 and 20o lbs. My bodyfat was roughly 24 % last time the military checked it.
Once again thanks for the advice.

Hey Doc, I did a 6 year hitch in the military and I can tell you their bf% tests are bullsh**! I went on a 6 month deployment and lifted, ate clean, and did cardio 6 days a week. Came of the cruise, and they said my bf% was 20%. You could see my intercostal muscles for christ sakes. My problem was that I didnt have a huge neck and had slight love handles. I imagine that is how they are measuring you bf%, so take it with a grain of salt.