ShapeFit.com

[Henchup]

Okay, Ive recently decided i want to loose some weight whiling toning up muscle. Im currently 5'10 and weigh about 180lbs, i have a fair bit of excess fat that i really want to loose, while also building up my muscles for greater definition. Problem i have is all diets either suggest eating low for weight lose, or eating tones for muscle building. If I was to eat loads to get muscle it wud be hard to then loose my current fat. I was wondering what sort of diet i shud eat in order to loose fat while I work on muscle building. Also what sort of exercises should I be aiming to do? I want to work on all parts of my body increasing strength while loosing fat.

[Patrick]

your in the same boat as alot of people man you should search the diet section of this form for food ideas and i would suggest total body workouts waterbury method would be a good one to start with for sure.

[swanso5]

well just eat moderately but the right foods at the right times....go to diet section and read 'before posting...'

[DianaB]

"train like a powerlifter, eat like a bodybuilder"

[Tyler Hawke]

I've just gone through this (to a degree). In January I was 220. As of yesterday, I am down to 205 but I have shaped up-tightened up, look better, put on some muscle.., whatever.

Simply put - I cut portions first. The started to pay attention to calories. Then I transitioned over to eating between 4 and 6 smaller meals a day, cutting between 200 and 500 calories from my diet. Again, I then slowly transitioned my diet over to a more protein, less fat and carb intake - but I did not cut these out nor was I a saint about this everyday. But in general, I keep a pretty good diet.

I work out full body workouts for 45 minutes to 1 hour, 3 days a week - mostly compound exercises but mix in some ISO's as well ( i know some frown on this but hey..., it's for me and t seems to work). I do cardio 2 or three times a week - a mix of HIIT and regular jogging, 5km minimum.

I'm 5 lbs from my goal weight which is 200lbs for my 45th birthday, in 3 weeks. I want to hit it and have started to actually cut back even more on the calorie intake and amped up the cardio a little just to make sure I get there....,

For me though, if it takes an extra week or more, I don't care - I'm working it, I've developed pretty good discipline while still enjoying myself. I do not deny myself a beer or two after a good day of yard work and I'll have an Ice cream sundae with the kids because that's life to and I'm enjoying. I've lost my double chin and a bunch from my love handles - still have a little more to go- but I'm doing great overall and am in the best shape of my life since my early thirties.

I guess what I'm expressing is you can find a balance, but don't expect it to happen quickly.

[swanso5]

[/quote]I'm 5 lbs from my goal weight which is 200lbs for my 45th birthday, in 3 weeks. I want to hit it and have started to actually cut back even more on the calorie intake and amped up the cardio a little just to make sure I get there....,

[cassiegose]

I would work on building up the mucle while following a healthy, clean diet and the fat loss will come off in the process. Every pound of muscle you have burns an extra 35-50 calories a day. As youre building your muscles up you will naturally be burning more calories. Eat every 2-3 hours and consume lots of lean proteins (chicken breast, eggwhites, tofu, fish), whole grains (oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, whole wheat couscouse, brown rice, wheat bread) fruits and veggies. You don't want to restrict your calories too much because that will shut your metabolism down. I would aim for 2500-3000 calories making sure you're eating clean foods. One thing that also works really well for me is eating most of my carbs before lunch and having mostly veggies and protein for the rest of my meals. Also drink lots of water and be patient. :)

[Henchup]

wow i never realised that more muscle meant more calories burnt, but is it really as much as 35-50 calories a day. That seems alot just for a little extra muscle, also what is it that makes larger muscles burn more calories?

[swanso5]

to be honest i don't really know...muscle weights more than fat per gram so you need to more calories to simply sustain it...the more muscle you have, the more you weight so it is 'harder" to move a heavier body than a light one, just like lifting...i don't really know the technical reason

[heroyi]

i think that u meant that u want to gain muscle but lose fat. well really its not possible to do both at the same time
wat u want to do is to first eat alot thus gaining calories and start working out with weight training. then later when you reach that weight you are comfortable with then you start doing cardio to burn the calories (you will lose some muscle in process cause that is the definition of cardio pretty much thus y you start workout first) and the you will lose some weight and that horrible fat you wanted to get rid of tat for some reason our body seems to treasure

i know cause i followed that false road of eating less to lose fat and workout to gain muscle which is impossible...

[heroyi]

[swanso5]

heroyi your half way there...cardio doesn't burn fat...don't mistake burning cals for burning fat...burning fat is fuckin hard as you actually have to train hard enough to mobilise it, break it up and burn it...unless your doing 400's with bugger all rest over and over, wt loss from cardio is a long and strenuous situation

[heroyi]

[swanso5]

like is aid, you don't know your burning fat...you could just as easily be burning muscle and simply sugar...say if you burn 1 3rd of each then your 1pd a week becomes 1/3rd of a pd a week and your supposably fast fat loss stretches out to 3 times the time you expected, you get pissed off and fall off the wagon

[heroyi]