Dropping body fat..

[BoaConstrictor Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoaConstrictor]

What are some good ways to get lean and lose a lot of body fat but still retain muscle mass?
Like what has worked for you?
I seem to get a lot of mixed ideas on this and I want an answer from somebody's personal experience.

I'm trying to get lean, but it seems every time I do a lot of cardio, I get skinnier all over. What am I doing wrong?

I workout out and my mass in muscle is fine for me, but maybe I'd like to be a bit more muscular..but I want to drop body fat mostly.

Anyways, what kind of routine and what exercises should I do? I'm tired of this flab, but I also don't like to be skinny...

Thanks...

[Realman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Realman]

You could do low intensity like an hour walk.Fast enough that you could have a conservation with someone. You could do sprints with a minute rest in between sets. You could do high intensity interval training like circuits. You could do skipping rope or also playing a sport.I did walking and lost about 20 pounds.

[Ego Killer Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ego Killer]

Watch this video. He's amazing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lozkwiyVefw. He has other videos on weight loss, check them out. https://www.youtube.com/user/strengt...arch?query=fat

[Florida636 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Florida636]

Your post is kind of confusing on what your trying trying to achieve. You said you don't want to be lean everywhere? If ur happy where your muscle build is and now want to get cut up(leaned out) I would do a low carb diet for sure. If your not happy with your build then your going to have to bulk up before cutting down.
From your post it seems that your happy with your build but u may have a gut you want to get rid of?

Im 5'8 at 178 9% body fat and I started a low carb 3 weeks ago and im now at 168 and getting a lot more lean. Im taking in no more than 30 carbs a day. I mainly eat grilled chicken,turkey,eggs, lots of clery with natural peanut butter, lot of salad with light Italian dressing, tofu, spinach etc. The main things you have to stay away from are Bread,Cereal,Fruits,Crackers,Candy, stuff with really high carbs or sugars. You could do this diet for a month and lose about 4 lbs a week and still keep your muscular build if u workout and def lose the unwanted weight. I like to do my weight lifting and then immediately after I run street for 4 miles and then drink the small carton of egg whites which is 50g of straight protein no carbs like most protein shakes have. This diet is easy once you get used to it, you can really it as much as you want as long as its not carbs. No counting calories or measuring out portions of food you eat, just don't eat carbs!

[namsokiek Banned Find all posts View Profile Close namsokiek]

You get skinny all over because there are fat stores all over your body. You can't target fat loss.

I lost 40 lbs in 11 months doing the following routine:

M - front and mid delts & traps (shoulder presses, cleans, upright rows, lateral raises) 30 min, cardio 30 min (elliptical) target HR 140 bpm
T - 60 min cardio (elliptical) target HR 140 bpm
W - Back, rear delts (pull-ups, barbell rows, bent-over rows, rear-delt raises) 30 min, cardio 30 min (elliptical) target HR 140 bpm
TH - 60 min cardio (elliptical) target HR 140 bpm
F - Chest (Dumbell Press (slight incline), Dumbell press 30 deg incline, chest flies, dips) 30 min, cardio 30 min (elliptical) target HR 140 bpm

I also ate 6-7 small meals during the day and one larger meal for dinner. I drank 6-7 liters of water each day. On the weekends I relaxed from the gym and relaxed my eating schedule.

[BoaConstrictor Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoaConstrictor]

Thanks everyone, I think I have a plan based on your influences.

@florida636....
Yeah I'm happy with my size all over, except in my gut and around my chest, I believe I have too much fat there.. I want to tighten it up.

@namsokiek...
I seem to be able to slim down real easy. If I do cardio many hours at least a few times a week and cut my meals down, I seem to easily lose all "visual" fat in like two weeks...but the problem is, that I seem to lose muscle mass in my arms and chest when doing this. I'm wondering if I don't cut my meals and just take the cardio longer, would I be able to slim the fat down and keep the arms and chest size.


I eat pretty healthy and raw and workout....

I guess my main concern or my main question is; if I do excessive cardio daily and don't cut my calories, could I possibly risk burning muscle from my chest and arms along with the fat?

[Florida636 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Florida636]

Yes if you do to much cardio you will lose muscle mass

[Florida636 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Florida636]

Like namsokiek said you cant just choose where your going to loose your fat at

[BoaConstrictor Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoaConstrictor]

Yes if you do to much cardio you will lose muscle mass

Is there a way to know when it's too much? Is there a medium that I can shoot for?

[BoaConstrictor Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoaConstrictor]

Like namsokiek said you cant just choose where your going to loose your fat at

No that's what I want. I want to lose it everywhere and anywhere. What I don't want is to have my body feed on my muscle stores, particularly the arms and chest area.

[Toadstool Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toadstool]

Well since everyone's going to give you different advice, I may as well throw in my radically different point of view. This is what I do:
I have one major meal per day and fast for the rest of the day. In the morning I'll have something light, like fruit, a hard boiled egg, some nuts. Then I go about my day and eat nothing else, or as little as possible.
For dinner time, I plan a structured overeating session usually starting with a big salad, followed by a protein-centered course, followed by a carb course. I drink alcohol, eat chocolate and enjoy starchy carbs.

I make sure I exercise on a completely empty stomach and eat a recovery meal that has all macros in it.

I've been doing this for a couple of months now and have gained size. I don't know how much I weigh, but I'm lean and muscular. If anyone saw my photo in the "post your ab" thread, I can confidently say that I'm more defined than I was then.

As for exercise, I only do body weight movements. I haven't lifted a bar in close to a year. Once in awhile I'll do sprints around town. I'm strong, big and lean. I don't count calories... EVER. I don't measure any specific nutrient. I just open my mouth and stuff it full of fresh foods until my stomach can take no more. Then I fast until my next meal.

[GoingForGold Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close GoingForGold]

When you're exercising, you have to increase the amount of calories you're taking in. Eat more PROTEIN. I'm the type of person who needs to eat as much as is comfortable because my body regulates itself so I get sick when I overeat.

Exercise in new ways. There are many philosophies on how to best exercise muscle tissue. I prefer running, lifting, hiking, climbing, and getting my groove on.

[dmallsick Banned Find all posts View Profile Close dmallsick]

What helped me to get from 22 to 10% bodyfat.
Intermittent fasting. I fast 17-24 hours a day. Usually have 1 or 2 meals.
IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) or Flexible Dieting. Eat whatever I want just so I get 1g of protein per pound of lean mass, and 0.5g of fat per pound of lean mass.
Heavy barbell training. Starting Strength program.
NO CARDIO! Ever.
A physically demanding job. I guess it can be counted as cardio, but I get paid doing it, so it's not bad and not a waste of time.

[BoaConstrictor Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoaConstrictor]

@Toadstool....
Thanks,.. I've done something similar and I find it works really well. I actually like fasting for some reason. I usually don't have much food until at least mid day. Hey, what do you mean by body weight movements?

@GoingforGold...
Nice info.. I will try this. Thank you.

[BoaConstrictor Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoaConstrictor]

What helped me to get from 22 to 10% bodyfat.
Intermittent fasting. I fast 17-24 hours a day. Usually have 1 or 2 meals.
IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) or Flexible Dieting. Eat whatever I want just so I get 1g of protein per pound of lean mass, and 0.5g of fat per pound of lean mass.
Heavy barbell training. Starting Strength program.
NO CARDIO! Ever.
A physically demanding job. I guess it can be counted as cardio, but I get paid doing it, so it's not bad and not a waste of time.

Have you made muscle mass gains with this program and using the barbells while getting lean?