struggling to lose body fat

astroflake · 25-Mar-04, 10:41 AM

Hi, i've been lifting consistently for about a year and a half now. last summer i went on a 6 month bulking phase and gained about 40 pounds and saw dramatic increases in strength. However i wasn't monitoring my body fat at all at the time, just my weight. Anyhow, as of january, i've been in a cutting phase. When i stopped bulking, i was 242 pounds (i'm 6'2") and according to my tanita body fat scale, my body fat would vary between 19 and 22 percent, depending on the time of day. Now, about two and a half months later, i weigh about 226 and have a BF percentage that varies between 17.5 and 20.

I feel as though i'm not losing enough body fat, and i'm afraid to lose weight. I have no trouble shedding the pounds, but i don't care about shedding pounds, so much as i care about getting down to about 8% - 10% BF.

I eat a high protein (about 200-250g/day), moderate fat, low carb diet. I have an 8 day work out cycle, where i work out 4 times (every other day), do cardio three times (every other day), and take one day off. I should note that when i was bulking, i didn't do any cardio.

So my question is this, how do i focus my program on losing body fat, instead of body weight. I know i can easily lose the pounds by just eating a little less, but i'm worried that i'm losing more muscle than fat that way, because the BF meter on the scale is barely budging. Any ideas?

Thanks....

**jgriffith** · 25-Mar-04, 10:46 AM

Stick to about 500 cals less than your maintenence and up the cardio. That and keeping the fat down post workout. Definitely keep your fat intake low.

Thats basically what I've been doing. I was worried about losing muscle myself. Check out my Jamaica journal.

bgodd1 · 25-Mar-04, 03:06 PM

You've lost 16lbs in about 11 weeks. That's not bad at all. You can safely lose 2lbs a week without effecting muscle gains.
I would eat 1/3 of your total calorie intake within 3 hours post work out to stay anabolic and promote lean muscle gains. Stay away from saturated fats. Perform your cardio 8 or more hours away from your lifting sessions.
I do my cardio 5:30 am and lift during lunch at 1:30pm. I basically follow the MAX OT concepts and have had great results gaining lean muscle and losing body fat at the same time.

mesomorph · 25-Mar-04, 05:21 PM

bgodd1 has given some good specific advice to minimise muscle loss and maximise fat loss. In general I would also recommend that in this case patience is a vital ingredient.
If you try to do things too quickly (diet and exercise) you will definitely undo all your efforts ie cutting cals too far, skipping meals before w/os etc. The cutting phase requires more effort, planning and persistance than bulking. So take your time, chip away gradually and you will be very pleased with the ultimate results.

astroflake · 25-Mar-04, 05:34 PM

actually, one of the issues i've been having is figuring out some aspects of the diet. For example, sometimes i work out early in the morning. If i do that, should i eat something just before i work out? i usually down a 20 g protein shake or something. and then eat as i usually would afterwards.

Other time however, i work out in the evening. eating before those workouts isn't a problem. I've got the timing on that down to a science. post workout meals during bulking weren't a problem either. but now when i'm cutting, i'm not so sure about eating carbs late at night post work out. As in, i'll a 40 g protein shake right after i work out, and then i'll eat a meal 1 hour later. That meal usually falls about 1 hour before i go to bed. so although, ideally i'd eat a cup or brown rice in that meal, i avoid it and just eat a lot of vegetables and meat instead. Should i be eating the rice anyway so late?

Bvlgari · 26-Mar-04, 04:51 AM

As long as it's lean carbs, dude, than it's okay. The last thing you want is to down something with a high glycemic index (as in sugary/sweet) right before you go to bed. Personally, I think tuna (with some lemon juice, cellery and non-fat mayo) on whole wheat toast is great. You get your protein and carbs right there.

Ideally, I would imagine that you ought to consume an equal amount of carbs and protein. Fat should be kept low, but not too low. If you do cardio every day, and workout as well, then eat around 2000 calories a day, and you're guranteed to make progress.

**Lady C** · 26-Mar-04, 08:49 AM

Note to remember: After the post-workout shake. The next post-workout meal, regardless of time of day, you need ample amount of complex carbs for the body to repair itself. Just make sure it is not too many carbs and don't go right to bed.

bgodd1 · 26-Mar-04, 09:36 AM

There has been a study to show several athletes eating 400g of good carbs in a 3 hour window after intense weight training. They used tracers to find none of the carbs went to fat, but instead all went to muscle recovery. The three hour period after you lift is the most crucial time for nutrients to stay anabolic, no matter what time you lift. If you lift sometimes in the morning, then 1/3 of your total calorie intake should be consumed withing that 3 hour window post workout. Later in the day keep your carbs LOW GLYCEMIC.
I would definitely eat pre-workout (half hour before lifting), but not too much, something small and high protein. This will supply you with more energy to get a better workout to get better results.

Here is a great link that provides much more detail--pay no attention to the advertising of their own products, just absorb the principles and concepts

http://www.ast-ss.com/articles/article.asp?aid=77