This has been something I have been considering lately and can’t really find an answer. Talked to a friend going to school for a BS in Health and Exercise and he was having troubles pointing me in the right direction. I didn’t think he would have the answer, but was hoping for a place to look. He is into bodybuilding, so we butt heads when it comes to things.
Anyway, how do you get under 10% BF with purely cardio (S/B/R) and not have your body eat up your muscle when trying to lose weight? Losing some muscle wouldn’t be bad, but from what I understand, there is a fine line when burning fat and burning muscle when creating a calorie deficit. I’m 210lbs at 5’10" ish so I have around 40 pounds to lose and I doubt I’ll ever get close to 10% body fat, but I’m curious as to how to handle this with using cardio only. I understand that weight training will build muscle and increase metabolism, but I’d rather focus on my S/B/R performance since it’s mostly non-existent.
Let it be noted that nutrition is definitely not my strong side… obviously.
ride more, run more, swim more, eat less, eat better.
If you are really worried about losing much muscle, do some weight training, I think this whole muscle loss thing is something body builders worry about more than most triathletes.
If you want to lose weight it is a very simple equation, consume more calories than you put in. Don’t overthink it, don’t worry about the compostion of your weight lose and whether it will eat into your muscle.
You need to cut your calories. Keep a food plan for a week, that will give you a good understanding of what you are taking in. For weight loss to be sustainable you need to lose the weight at a consistent and gradual pace, otherwise you risk putting it back on (ie. avoid crash diets).
When you get down to lower levels than you need to be a little more scientific. I like to do my first workout (provided its less than 2hrs) on an empty stomach.
Oh yeah, dont even think about lifting weights if you want to lose weight…the increased musle mass will will effect metabolism but wont be nearly as effective as just going out for a run in terms of losing weight.
a big part of it, frankly, is to pick the right parents. some people can train all day and keep a thick layer of fat on them (they’re often great swimmers). other people start losing fat the second they walk out the door.
the others have noted that just doing cardio is a fine way to lose fat. that’s aerobic metabolism, for you.
finally: eating fat doesn’t necessarily MAKE you fat - refined sugars that screw with your insulin levels can actually trigger more fat storage. so if anything, i’d drop the cokes before the salad dressing.
No sugar. You will lose weight and body fat very quickly.
If you drink a lot of soda and eat desserts and candy, the first way to do it is cut those out. If you don’t eat those, then look at any sugar you eat in, say, fruit-flavored yogurt etc.
If you want to lose weight it is a very simple equation, consume more calories than you put in. Don’t overthink it
Very true. Thinking too much about diet can become an obsession that for some can lead to overeating. Even the perfect healthy food can cause weight gain if the quantities are in excess.
Whenever possible eat healthy, but it’s not the end of the world if you have the occasional junk food, as long as you burn more than you eat.
5 years ago, before i started triathlon, 5’10 210. i swam, biked, and ran to 160 barely touching a weight and i definitely feel stronger…pretty straightforward though, 500-1000 deficit per day and you’ll lose a lot more fat than muscle.
This is my n=1 so take it as such. I’m 5’ 9". Last winter in prep for coming back to a full season of road cycling I started dropping pounds. I started at 215 lbs. I dropped about 1-1.5 lbs a week consistently and fairly easily with light exercise and diligent attention to what I ate (i.e counting calories). I used a slightly modified version of the whole Paleo / 4 Hour Body thing, but really that just made it easier to trim calories for me. Not eating bread/pasta/rice means lots more vegetables and lean meat to feel full. I also stopped drinking beer and started drinking more or less only wine (didn’t cut back the overall drinking).
I had DEXA scans pre/during/post to accurately track the process and can tell you that with light exercise (trainer ride here and there, pick up hockey, 30 min treadmill hill intervals) and 3x weekly body weight workout (pushups, squats, assisted pull-ups) that I went from 32% BF to 18% BF without losing any lean muscle (< 1 lb). I’ve been cruising at just under that 18% weight for about six months now as the training volume is way back up and I’m eating to support that.
How to get from 18% to 10% may be more of the same but I suspect once you get under 15% it gets harder. I plan on shedding another 5-10 lbs this spring in prep for race season so I guess I’ll find out (5lbs would put me at 15% and 10lbs would put me at 12.5%).
Just remember whatever the goal is it’s a day by day long term process. One of those things where after 3 months someone will say “Hey - you dropped a bunch of weight - what’s your secret?” as though you did it in the last week. Just stick to it and wait it out.
To the OP. 5’11 and 160ish here, and under 10% body-fat. A few guiding principles:
Like everyone said, you have a fair amount of weight to lose, so I wouldn’t worry about what comes off at first, just run that caloric deficit, and you’ll lose a lot of fat
Forget your concern about losing muscle, but just to support structural changes that will occur from hard S/B/R training, I would recommend keeping the protein high in your diet. Even if you eat enough protein to maintain your current muscle (don’t know the exact number because I don’t know your lean-adjusted body mass, but let’s assume that is about 160-170 grams) that is still under 800 total calories. So your protein intake can be kept where it is at just fine.
Go to bed a little hungry. Eating late at night is killer for achieving weight-loss and body-comp goals
Outside of the lower intensity workout on an empty stomach (which I still wouldn’t do more than 2x a week) be sure not to short-change your calories around workouts (e.g., right before, during,and after). This will not only sabotage those workouts, but also, you’ll crave the carbohydrates later in the day; if you are going to eat them, might as well eat them when they are working for you
Much like in #4, be strict about carbs and sugars. If you limit your consumption of carbs pretty much to those periods of right before/during/after workouts, and focus on just proteins, good fats, and vegetables (and fruits are the exception to the carb, sugar rule, eat them whenever too) you should drop weight.
Ping me offline if you want to talk more. I came from a football background. My height was the same, but I was a 200 pound slot WR, and it’s not like I was fat then, but I looked like a 200lb slot receiver, not a long-course triathlete. I absolutely lost a lot of muscle over the past 4 years to get to where I am now, but I feel stronger and healthier, and I’m no longer training with the purpose of going over the middle, I’m training with the purpose of S/B/R as fast as I can…so I’m familiar with your challenge.
As others have stated it is all about your eating habits. Exercise can speed the process but if you do not change your eating habits you will not lose weight. I am sure others have had different experiences but for me, I just cut out the crap I used to eat for breakfast and lunch during the workweek, along with sodas (really anything besides water), and started focusing on healthier choices for dinner. During the weekends I do what I want and do not worry about counting calories (I cannot sacrifice my weekend beer drinking/chips + football = cannot defend), though I now habitually eat better than I used too.
BTW, when I initially started losing weight my strength (in weightlifting but not in swim/bike/run) did take a hit, but after getting down to my natural body weight it has come back and is building at the same rate as before I fixed my eating habits.
As others have stated it is all about your eating habits. Exercise can speed the process but if you do not change your eating habits you will not lose weight. I am sure others have had different experiences but for me, I just cut out the crap I used to eat for breakfast and lunch during the workweek, along with sodas (really anything besides water), and started focusing on healthier choices for dinner. During the weekends I do what I want and do not worry about counting calories (I cannot sacrifice my weekend beer drinking/chips + football = cannot defend), though I now habitually eat better than I used too.
I’m currently 5’8" 151lbs, but two years ago I was 205lbs. Because you still have a quite a few pounds to lose, the pounds should come off really quickly if you swim, bike, and run, while maintaining a clean diet.
My Tanita scale had me at around a 140lbs of muscle when I was 205lbs and 130lbs of muscle when I was 150lbs.
So I did a round of P90X, spent another three months at the gym, and I’m currently 151lbs (140 of muscle according the the scale) so under 10% BF =)
You’re over 90% muscle? Are you a mollusc or something?!
Thanks for all of the replies everyone. I do understand that cutting calories and setting up a deficit is the way to lose weight. I’ve been losing weight the past 4 weeks. My main concern was mostly about composition and doing it in a healthy manner and whether or not my muscles would go first or the fat would go first. I don’t want to be skinny-fat as I once have read.
I understand where you’re coming from, but how about taking the angle that if you eat more earlier in the day you’ll have more energy to be more active throughout the day (stairs vs elevator, etc…), which will ultimately give you a greater overall calorie deficit even if you eat a bit more compared to someone who is sloth all day besides their “workouts” and eats more at night.
Basically, even if you buy the calorie is a calorie is a calorie is a calorie in-and-out argument (which i basically do), there still are real reasons to try not eating much close to your bedtime as these calories would be better served to be put in your system earlier in the day.
Thanks for all of the replies everyone. I do understand that cutting calories and setting up a deficit is the way to lose weight. I’ve been losing weight the past 4 weeks. My main concern was mostly about composition and doing it in a healthy manner and whether or not my muscles would go first or the fat would go first. I don’t want to be skinny-fat as I once have read.
I’ll just keep at it then. Thanks again everyone.
~trevor
er… you need to lose 40lbs and your worried about losing muscle? I suggest finding something else to worry about. No offense- but you’re a long way from there.
If you’re looking for weight loss tips:
eat more often. snacks between meals (not huge ones- and include some fat/protein, not sugary stuff. Fruit and nuts are good).
eat slower. put down your fork until everything in your mouth is swallowed before you pick it up again.
don’t let yourself get overly hungry, or overly full. Eat until you’re ‘gently satisfied’.
Enjoy desserts- just limit the portion size. Most of the satisfaction of that dessert comes in the 1st 3 bites- so only have 3 bites. OK, 4 if you must. I don’t know about you, but one piece of really good dark chocolate is much more satisfying than a snicker’s bar.
1 really good beer or glass of wine is better than 3 lousy ones.
Don’t ‘diet’. Don’t do anything today- that you’re not willing to do for the rest of your life.
ADD more veggies to your diet. Start your meal with a big salad. there won’t be room for as much else.
Consistency. that 500Kcal a day deficit that you ran monday - friday can be shot at one superbowl game.