Supposedly one needs to eat well to gain muscle, but one needs to starve oneself to lose fat.
I googled the subject and there are lots of trainers out there talking about eating carbs on your lifting days and avoiding them on your non-lifting days, etc. But that sounds a little hokey to me.
And besides, what if you’re training (weights, running, riding, swimming) most days? Then what? I believe body builders will say to avoid getting too much aerobic excercise, as it will make it harder to gain weight, but that’s clearly stupid, musclehead advice. So long as one isn’t getting exhausted, fatigued or injured by it, more aerobic exercise is surely a good thing.
Moreover, doesn’t it make sense that if one cross-trains as described above, 5 days a week or so, one will train the muscles plenty in order to tone, shape and build them, while simultaneously burning so many calories as to shed off unwanted fat?
Then, if one eats a healthy diet, high in protein, fruits and vegies, but low in processed white flour, sugar, fried foods and fat, the program should be complete, no? Or is there really some truth to a more complex strategy?
Btw, I also was pleased to learn when googling the subject that BMI (body mass index), which is presumably the % reading your bathroom scale shows that I had assumed correlates to body fat DOESN’T necessarily mean a damn thing. In general they claim that shows body fat level, but they admit it’s misleading because those who work out a lot tend to get higher BMI readings due to muscle, not fat. Ha!
Reminds me of when I had a physical a few years ago and the doc was concerned because I had a slightly enlarged heart, which he warned me is a bad thing. But I then learned it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It can also be a good thing resulting from lots of exercise.
I’m not suggesting I’m a super athlete with Lance Armstrong’s physiology. Just saying I’m not sure those BMI measurements mean a damned thing. Safer to just rely on common sense. Look in the mirror, grab your gut, see how you feel climbing stairs/hills, and you can tell if you should do more or less of whatever.
But I’m still curious about maximizing fat loss while simultaneously maintaining/building muscle.
Yes, building muscle and burning fat at the same time is possible but most people will not be able to do it because it’s a heck of a lot harder than you think. If it were so simple, everyone would be doing it.
Even among trainers, how to do it isn’t common knowledge. That’s why most trainers suggest that people bulk up first and then cut fat. Doing one first and then the other is much easier than doing both at the same time. Even with the knowledge, you have to be VERY strict about the diet, and volume and type of exercise. Most people aren’t that motivated to be that strict.
My guess from your post is that you’ve mapped out this general plan that you think should be working but it somehow isn’t, correct? I’m guessing that because you wouldn’t likely be asking otherwise.
I’ll give you one clue: endless amounts of aerobic exercise like cycling isn’t going to cut it. Nor will working out five days a week.
No, no plan mapped out on this subject. I’ve just been working simultaneously on two fitness goals: (1) getting super fit and losing my gut as of my birthday this summer and (2) getting totally prepared to go climb a big mountain this summer.
Then it occurred to me that the starving myself which I’ve been doing in order to lose fat (mostly smaller portions, less starch, more salads, less snacks) may be counterproductive for my other goals, so I googled “lose fat build muscle” and found many discuss it but most of the advice looks a little sketchy and speculative to me.
Since I’m not trying to bulk up for bodybuilding, just trying to get really fit, maybe it’s not such a big deal. It doesn’t seem like there’s any reason to starve oneself if one eats very little crappy food. With salads, veggies, lean meat, fish, chicken (not fried) etc., I think one should be allowed to stuff one’s face, eat all you want, because you should keep getting leaner if you’re burning the calories.
First, build more muscle through really hard sessions in the gym as a supplement to your cardio workouts, eat as you stated above, but after 7pm only have a protein powder and egg white, keep regular cardio exercise to keep the metabolism steady and burning energy.
When you’re stronger, do a week to 10 days of basically nil carbs, chicken and egg whites for protein, green leafy veges, no fruit. Keep up the regular cardio, and hard weights. You’ll trim up well and won’t lose muscle. Might be a bit grumpy though.
just work hard and eat less of everything, without skimping on the protein or having too much fat. tuck into a juicy steak and eggs. and then exercise more. do hill sprints until you puke.
all this fancy shmancy diet stuff is overrated. any moderate exercise you do is funded by fat, and any hard exercise you do builds muscle. just do more of both and avoid putting that fat straight back into your mouth. you will need some carbohydrates for your muscles to use glucose when you exercise at peak load (ie, anaerobically), but your body is so good at interconverting fat and carbohydrate anyway, and even building more fat from protein, that it doesn’t really matter what you eat (within limits).
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]No, no plan mapped out on this subject. I’ve just been working simultaneously on two fitness goals: (1) getting super fit and losing my gut as of my birthday this summer and (2) getting totally prepared to go climb a big mountain this summer.
Then it occurred to me that the starving myself which I’ve been doing in order to lose fat (mostly smaller portions, less starch, more salads, less snacks) may be counterproductive for my other goals, so I googled “lose fat build muscle” and found many discuss it but most of the advice looks a little sketchy and speculative to me.
Since I’m not trying to bulk up for bodybuilding, just trying to get really fit, maybe it’s not such a big deal. [/quote]
What I’m saying is that what you have mapped out so far is a generic template for fitness. But it won’t maximize muscle gain and fat loss simultaneously.
The reason the advice looks vague and sketchy is that what should be done depends on where the person is mentally and physically – it’s not A then B then C. And frankly most people aren’t really cut out to do both simultaneously. As I’ve said, it takes a lot of dedication – more than even I have sometimes.
And no, I’m not talking about bodybuilding. I’m talking about the kind of training done by Gym Jones for 300 and by Rob Shaul over at Mountain Athlete as shown in this clip above. It’s not your typical gym stuff.
