Lose Fat

[kpreston]

I've been lifting weights for a while, but I'd like to trim down some in the future. How can I lose the fat without burning the muscle I've worked so hard to gain?

[da1prophet]

Originally Posted by kpreston

I've been lifting weights for a while, but I'd like to trim down some in the future. How can I lose the fat without burning the muscle I've worked so hard to gain?

See those cardio machines at the gym? Use them ; )

Seriously, if you mix the cardio in and continue your weight training you'll lose the fat and not the muscle. Obviously diet also plays a role--if you're eating a high fat diet you might want to modify that.

[kpreston]

I think I'm just mis-informed then. Is it alright to mix a mile run in there on my "off days?" I've always liked running, but I was told heavy cardio like that would "eat" away at muscle more than fat.

[ChefSalad]

The keyword there is "heavy". Light cardio is good for muscle building and fat loss.

[Kevin]

So wait -- you're telling me that if I run three miles a day I'm burning muscle as well as fat?

[Frans]

Originally Posted by ChefSalad

Light cardio is good for muscle building and fat loss.

Light cardio is good for fat loss, but you won't gain muscle tissue with cardio, on the contrary.

[Jessica Adlin]

I think light cardio is beneficial in losing extra body fat, but I think proper diet is essential to build muscle and, especially to lose body fat.

"Proper diet" is a huge topic in and of itself, but in a nutshell...adequate protein for your specifcs (age, sex, activity level), carbohydrates in the form of vegetables and some fruits, and a bit of healthy fats and plenty of fresh water. Total calories are dependent again on age, sex, LBM, and activity level but if you choose nutrient dense foods and eliminate refined, processed food you are off to a good start.

Good luck!

Jess
Live Well

[kpreston]

So would a mile jog be classified as light or heavy cardio? Should I walk instead?

[sonbuenas]

If you're trying to change your body composition ie: lose fat and keep muscle, not just lose weight, your diet is 80% of the battle. The key is regulating your insulin levels throughout the day by eating light meals all day long. If you eat alot at once, especially sugary or quickly digestable stuff (white flour, high fructose corn syrup) your insulin levels spike, triggering your body to store fat. Conversely, if you don't eat anything for several hours, your insulin levels drop and your body will go into survival mode and try and store fat as well. So aim for six or seven light meals throughout the day.

As far as exercising, keep on weight training because this keeps your metabolism revving for up to 72 hours afterward. Heavy cardio (runnning or or jogging for more than fifteen minutes or so) WILL start to burn muscle. A better approach is interval training because it keeps your body burning fat, and maintain a higher metabolism for a while after your workout. Do intense cardio for a minute and then light cardio for a minute. Repeat that six to seven times.

And one more thing: Muscle takes a lot more calories to sustain itself than fat does. Adding a pound of muscle will force your body to burn an extra 50 calories a day just sitting around. So lets say you weigh 200 lbs and your body fat percentage is at 17 percent. If you can drop that number to 10 percent while building muscle to keep yourself at 200lbs then thats an extra 14 lbs of muscle on your frame which translates to 700 calories a day. Thats a huge difference.

[Kevin]

Thanks for the great advice, sonbuenas.

[kpreston]

Thank you very much.

[ticktockclok]

Umm.... no.

Light cardio is terrible for fat loss. Its okay for weight loss and the misconception of fat loss.

Short, high intensity cardio is great for fat loss. After you do your weights, get in 10 minutes of jump rope, alternating 30 seconds jump rope and 30 seconds rest. Since your glycogen stores will be depleted after you lift weights, the energy will come from fat when you jump rope. Plus, since its high-intensity, it will keep you burning calories throughout the rest of the day as well.

If you take a protein supplement, definitely take it afterwards. Don't take get any dextrose/maltodextrin in though, it will end the immediate fat burning from the jump roping.

[richardtc]

There is a lot of good advice here and also some conflicting contributions.

Here are my thoughts:

It is very difficult to burn muscle. You only will use muscle for fuel when you are glycogen depleted. It takes at least 90 minutes of continuous vigorous activity to burn up all of your body's glucose stores. In even 30 minutes of very vigorous strength training it's not going to happen.

The best program for losing fat is a good solid strength training and aerobic program and a couple of sessions of yoga per week to balance things out. Ideally the aerobic should be at least moderately vigorous to vigorous. Interval training provide the best return on time invested.

The whole light aerobic/fat burning workout is a total myth. You got to push it at least a bit to get your best ROI.

While I agree that it is best to stay away from simple carbs (simple sugars and white flour) that whole insulin/fat storage thing is really not scientifically proven.

Thanks for letting me share!

Best always,

Richard