Tips on cutting fat but maintaining muscle

[KingsleyLeather]

Yo yo yo

I've been working out since March doing 3x resistance training (push, pull, legs) and 2x boxing training per week. I eat pretty healthy but I do love my food - so I'd say my portion sizes are large. Here is my progress:

Start: 6'2" 18st 3lbs (255lbs) 34% body fat
Currently: 18st 5lbs (257lbs) 28% body fat

As you can see I'm actually getting heavier(!) although my body fat percentage is falling (I assuming some of the extra weight is muscle). Anyway I just feel that 257lbs is just too heavy for my height, so I'm planning to do a 30-60 day cut. Any tips for losing fat but maintaining the muscle that I have built?

Thanks!!

 

[ultravisitor]

Protein. If you're in a cut, make sure you're still consuming a lot of protein.

How many grams of protein are you consuming daily as of now?

I lost approximately 100 pounds and went from 42% body fat to 17-18% body fat. One of the things I did was I made sure I was getting well over 100 grams of protein every day.

Are you logging your meals? That's another thing you might want to do. I use MyFitnessPal and a food scale to log, and those help me to accurately track the nutrients I'm consuming.

Also, I don't know if you do any running, but running intervals is better for burning fat than steady state running.

 

[KingsleyLeather]

Protein. If you're in a cut, make sure you're still consuming a lot of protein.

How many grams of protein are you consuming daily as of now?

I lost approximately 100 pounds and went from 42% body fat to 17-18% body fat. One of the things I did was I made sure I was getting well over 100 grams of protein every day.

Are you logging your meals? That's another thing you might want to do. I use MyFitnessPal and a food scale to log, and those help me to accurately track the nutrients I'm consuming.

Also, I don't know if you do any running, but running intervals is better for burning fat than steady state running.

Thanks so much for that. I think you're right, I should probably track what I'm eating for the next 30 days and look at my protein intake too

I try to do a 4 mile run once a week so I'll swap that out for interval running and see how it goes.

Congrats on your 100lb weight loss - that's phenominal

 

[Epaulet]

Thanks so much for that. I think you're right, I should probably track what I'm eating for the next 30 days and look at my protein intake too

I try to do a 4 mile run once a week so I'll swap that out for interval running and see how it goes.

Congrats on your 100lb weight loss - that's phenominal

I'd echo what the other poster says... tracking your calories and macros makes really any change possible. I imagine that you can knock off 500 to 700 calories per day and sustainably lose some fat as long as you're keeping up with lifting and protein supply.

It's totally realistic to do if you're cooking the majority of your own meals. MyFitnessPal is definitely decent for this, but I've heard good things about Noom too.

 

[ultravisitor]

I'd echo what the other poster says... tracking your calories and macros makes really any change possible. I imagine that you can knock off 500 to 700 calories per day and sustainably lose some fat as long as you're keeping up with lifting and protein supply.

It's totally realistic to do if you're cooking the majority of your own meals. MyFitnessPal is definitely decent for this, but I've heard good things about Noom too.

I did Noom for a year, though I didn't really need to because I had finished with it long before that. (The subscription I bought was for a year, so...) Noom is really good for helping someone change their habits and the way they think about food and eating. In terms of logging meals and watching macros, MyFitnessPal is way, way, way better. Noom has you log meals and tracks calories, but it does not give any breakdown as to what kinds of calories you're consuming. Anyone who wants to watch their macros is far better off with MyFitnessPal.

 

[mhip]

Protein. If you're in a cut, make sure you're still consuming a lot of protein.

^this^
My water intake is protein water, I put a scoop of collagen powder in almost all liquids I consume, including morning coffee.
It's a great way to feed your existing muscles while cutting calories.

 

[Epaulet]

I did Noom for a year, though I didn't really need to because I had finished with it long before that. (The subscription I bought was for a year, so...) Noom is really good for helping someone change their habits and the way they think about food and eating. In terms of logging meals and watching macros, MyFitnessPal is way, way, way better. Noom has you log meals and tracks calories, but it does not give any breakdown as to what kinds of calories you're consuming. Anyone who wants to watch their macros is far better off with MyFitnessPal.

Oh interesting. Yeah I heard some similar feedback. Did you find that Noom had an easier interface? MFP might be a little overwhelming for someone just trying to lose some fat with a calorie restriction.

I was using MFP for the better part of a year, but I can track things pretty well by instinct at this point. Helps that I make most of my own meals and I'm okay with them being insanely repetitive.

 

[ultravisitor]

Oh interesting. Yeah I heard some similar feedback. Did you find that Noom had an easier interface? MFP might be a little overwhelming for someone just trying to lose some fat with a calorie restriction.

No. MFP is much better because of the granularity with which you're able to log foods. Noom isn't nearly as good with serving sizes, etc. I suggested all sorts of additions/changes for foods in their database, but none of those were implemented over the year I was using it.

 

[FuseSkin]

thanks for sharing the tips.

 

[FLMountainMan]

Any updates on the progress?

 

[KultASK]

Since MFP has been mentioned here, I stumbled upon the app MacroFactor which seems to be less of a nutrition log but more of an app that provides better insights, some AI-generated recommendations, etc. Just started using it yesterday, so cannot say much more about it.

 

[Duke Santos]

Thanks for the recommendation on My Fitness Pal. I started using it a month ago, and it's been a game changer. Two things in particular have really jumped out at me.

1. How many empty calories in gin martinis I drink a week. I know it's been the holidays, but this was a real eye opener.

2. Despite feeling that I eat a healthy amount of fish and chicken along with some red meat and at least one egg breakfast a week, I was really shocked to see that I'm actually not getting enough protein.

 

[Epaulet]

Thanks for the recommendation on My Fitness Pal. I started using it a month ago, and it's been a game changer. Two things in particular have really jumped out at me.

1. How many empty calories in gin martinis I drink a week. I know it's been the holidays, but this was a real eye opener.

2. Despite feeling that I eat a healthy amount of fish and chicken along with some red meat and at least one egg breakfast a week, I was really shocked to see that I'm actually not getting enough protein.

(Mostly) quitting drinking was necessary for me to really make any progress. It's a lot of empty calories and a hit to your metabolism. I still enjoy the occasional cocktail, but I'm far more selective with when I drink them. Luckily we have legal cannabis in CA, so I have more gainz-friendly ways to relax. But yeah, I think it's hard to really change things with regular amounts of alcohol.

Eggs every day for breakfast will make a huge difference. This is kind of a great product for it as well. It's pricey, but very convenient. One glass of it each day will sort out your protein deficit.

 

[mhip]

(Mostly) quitting drinking was necessary for me to really make any progress.

I became a fitness freak mainly so that I could drink with impunity.
I'm 4 months out from a freaky bike accident and while the ribs finally healed up, I still have a jacked up wrist and deep bone bruising in both hands.
I can't do any of my normal workout stuff yet, but I haven't stopped drinking.
I'm becoming skinny fat, except for my waist, which is becoming just fat fat.

thanks, Trump

 

[Epaulet]

I became a fitness freak mainly so that I could drink with impunity.
I'm 4 months out from a freaky bike accident and while the ribs finally healed up, I still have a jacked up wrist and deep bone bruising in both hands.
I can't do any of my normal workout stuff yet, but I haven't stopped drinking.
I'm becoming skinny fat, except for my waist, which is becoming just fat fat.

thanks, Trump

LMAO. Well I didn't switch over to full sobriety, I just get gonzo stoned instead of gonzo drunk. Better for muscle growth, gut health, and being functional the morning after.

I know that a lot of people get the munchies when they're high, but I don't really have that with edibles. I do have an overwhelming desire to listen to the "Graceland" album by Paul Simon though. Or repetitively watch "I Think You Should Leave" on Netflix.