im really confused on this...im trying to lose weight but still maintain muscle right, so im eating around 1400 calories per day and im working out for 15-20 minutes per day with another 30-60 min of cardio per day...im also eating around 50 grams of protein per day from food and a shake, im wondering if this is an ok plan for maintaining muscle while still losing fat, because i have heard that undereating will result in your body gettin energy from muscle leading to loss in muscle...
lose weight and maintain muscle
- Thread starter HalfHeartedGoal
- Start date
what are your stats?
first of all...you are undereating. until i know what your stats are i cant give you an estimate on how many calories you should be taking in but i guarantee 1400 is too low. You should try to maintain a ratio of around 40%/30%/30% protien/fat/carbs.
also what types of exercises are you doing for your weight training? You should not be lifting everyday if you are. Try to focus on a full body workout 3 times a week.
Cardio 5-6 days a week is good. You should also consider doing HIIT cardio. It will minimize muscle loss while burning fat as efficiently as medium intenisty cardio in half the time
first of all...you are undereating. until i know what your stats are i cant give you an estimate on how many calories you should be taking in but i guarantee 1400 is too low. You should try to maintain a ratio of around 40%/30%/30% protien/fat/carbs.
also what types of exercises are you doing for your weight training? You should not be lifting everyday if you are. Try to focus on a full body workout 3 times a week.
Cardio 5-6 days a week is good. You should also consider doing HIIT cardio. It will minimize muscle loss while burning fat as efficiently as medium intenisty cardio in half the time
15, m, 5' 8'', 175...weight training, i do arms and abs one day, chest and shoulders another, and legs another...cardio isnt intense, just some basketball for a while or swimming in my pool...
im gonna guess you shouldnt get any less than 2400 calories. Do a search on google for a calorie calculator which should better estimate your daily calories burned.
Just make sure you eat 5-6 small meals, and try to maintain those ratios i suggested before. At least for starters.
I'm also gonna suggest you step up the cardio a bit. look into HIIT cardio, its a very effective fat burner
Just make sure you eat 5-6 small meals, and try to maintain those ratios i suggested before. At least for starters.
I'm also gonna suggest you step up the cardio a bit. look into HIIT cardio, its a very effective fat burner
yea 1400 calories is WAY too little even if you werent exercising. Just do cardio and dont worry about it.
whenever i do searches on the internet it always says i should be gettin like 3000 per day to maintain my weight, i wanna believe it but how can that be right? my bmr is 1900, and i dont burn 1000 calories per day from exercising, so why is this estimate so high?
the estimate is so high because you are a BIG guy. Even just sitting down, you burn small amounts of calories especially if you weight train. Muscles literally eat/burn calories; being so tall, you simply need more calories. No offense, but be a man. I am 15, 5'6" and i eat more than 3000 cals/day. ESPECIALLY if u are an ectomorph!!! if your body naturally keeps fat off, dont worry.
oh yea...try to get more than 50 grams protein/day. go for at least 100. Dont lift weights every day; try for 3 times a week. Also, try doing cardio no more than 3 times a week. I know its hard to let go, but more is not better. Trust me; i went 2 years working out every day; i never saw ANY muscle growth. I just started to calm down to 3 workouts a week. Week 2 and i see more results than i did in the 2 years before. : )
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good luck and try to give yourself a one week break if you feel fatigued and stressed by your working out.
my workouts arent long, 15-20 min most of the time...they're hard DURING, by the last set it gets difficult to complete the last couple reps...its intense during the workout, but afterward i dont really feel anything from it...if anything it gets me more awake and energetic...
basically, because you are eating so little, you are depriving your body of its main source of fuel which is food. Therefor, it has to look to other sources, such as stored fat and muscle. Your workouts arent effective because you arent giving yourself enough calories and protein to rebuild the muscles after you break them down.
Another side effect of eating too little is your body realizes that it isnt getting enough energy for the days activities. So when it digests your food, its gonna store as much of it as fat as possible, because youve put yourself in a starvation mode.
Eating too little is almost as bad (some may argue worse) than eating too much. So eat up !
Another side effect of eating too little is your body realizes that it isnt getting enough energy for the days activities. So when it digests your food, its gonna store as much of it as fat as possible, because youve put yourself in a starvation mode.
Eating too little is almost as bad (some may argue worse) than eating too much. So eat up !
very well said...thats what i like remembering when i am on my 11th meal at
2pm : )
2pm : )
LOL dgessler
u think u should do MORE cardio?
that is a lot. 3 hitt sessions a week? thats hard core. i dont do any.
can you give me a sample hiit routine???
basically all i plan to do (when i reach my bulking goal) is 2 hiit sessions/week which will be like 8 thirty second prints and 8 one minute jogs in between. Is this too weak???
u think u should do MORE cardio?
that is a lot. 3 hitt sessions a week? thats hard core. i dont do any.
can you give me a sample hiit routine???
basically all i plan to do (when i reach my bulking goal) is 2 hiit sessions/week which will be like 8 thirty second prints and 8 one minute jogs in between. Is this too weak???
eight one minute sprints... my gosh i would be jogging in my sprint minute by the end...
Proteinboy said:
Your goals are different than his. He wasnt to lose fat as his main goal, you want to bulk up. Different goals mean you have different methods to acheive them.
dgessler said:
I do 3-5 HIIT sessions a week (depending on what other cardio i decide to do), and 2 or more other cardio exercises a week. you dont have to do HIIT for each cardio and in fact, i suggest you dont. Try to get some medium intensity cardio in there as well. For instance a 45 minute brisk jog twice a week maybe. Mix it up and keep your body guessing.
HIIT is most effective for burning fat and retaining muscle, but it will quickly lose effectiveness if thats the only cardio you are doing. I suggest keep your 3 HIIT sessions a week and throw in some medium intensity cardio like a jog for 45 minutes, or if you play sports like racquetball or basketball for an hour or so. It also helps to keep you from being bored.
Always remember though to keep the cardio AFTER the weight training.
how long shoudl a HIIT session last?
HIIT session length
20 minutes or less! 8 100 yard sprints with a slow walk back to the starting point in between: 12-15 seconds sprint, 2-3 minutes walk. For more intensity try sprinting 70 yards up a steep hill! If you can do more than 8 sprints you are not sprinting hard enough! More intensity, not more volume! Thats what HIIT is all about (HIGH INTENSITY interval training)! When you are done you should fell a lot of tightness in your chest, as your lungs try to expand to get enough oxygen, this stimulates your body to release HGH (human growth hormone), the natural steroid, which signals your body to burn fat and grow muscle!
If you are just starting out do only 4 sprints, and add another one each week until you get to 8.
Twice a week is plenty of HIIT to make good improvement, more is NOT better. If you feel you must do cardio 3 times a week a good run (or basketball, socker, tennis, swim, etc.) of 20-45 minutes is a nice change up on the 3rd day.
20 minutes or less! 8 100 yard sprints with a slow walk back to the starting point in between: 12-15 seconds sprint, 2-3 minutes walk. For more intensity try sprinting 70 yards up a steep hill! If you can do more than 8 sprints you are not sprinting hard enough! More intensity, not more volume! Thats what HIIT is all about (HIGH INTENSITY interval training)! When you are done you should fell a lot of tightness in your chest, as your lungs try to expand to get enough oxygen, this stimulates your body to release HGH (human growth hormone), the natural steroid, which signals your body to burn fat and grow muscle!
If you are just starting out do only 4 sprints, and add another one each week until you get to 8.
Twice a week is plenty of HIIT to make good improvement, more is NOT better. If you feel you must do cardio 3 times a week a good run (or basketball, socker, tennis, swim, etc.) of 20-45 minutes is a nice change up on the 3rd day.
dswithers said:
see he thinks that 2 times of HIIT a week is plenty; he also says that more is NOT better. Thats y i said 3 times a week is hard core above.
THANKS for the quality info, u pretty much answered everything.
if i cant go to a track or something; how is a good way to measure the distance i sprint? should i get a stop watch and sprint 30 seconds then walk 1 minute and repeat until 15-20 minutes and do this around the block?
