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Ok I have been keeping track of my calories. No cheating, according to my computer I should be losing 2 pounds a week.
I have not lost since last November but my muscles have been getting much bigger in my Chest, Back and Arms. My But and Legs are getting smaller but firmer.
But I'm older and on several medications. My wife seems to think medications is the problem.
It's always hard to address these things from a personal perspective versus what a lot of blog articles say. I will tell you that most people say it's very difficult to gain muscle and lose weight at the same time. On a personal level, I think those people either A) Aren't doing it right, or B) Their bodies aren't functioning correctly.
I can't really understand the problems other people face with this because it seems extremely easy to me and if I were training people, I would absolutely tell them it's not a problem to gain large amounts of muscle while in a constant calorie deficit. About two years ago (a bit more), I had let my physical condition get pretty bad for me, as someone who has been in shape almost his entire life, but I guess we all have those periods perhaps. I stood on the scale one day and it was 209, which for a guy who is 5'10" is not an acceptable weight at all. I had also let my muscular strength fade, which is even more frustrating.
The good news for me is that I've always been cocky about weight loss because it's a pretty simple formula and I'm a pretty disciplined person (ok, very disciplined) when I want to be, so I knew I could melt it off. I ate Crispix for breakfast, for the primary reason that it's an extremely low sugar cereal (4 grams per cup almost cannot be beat), along with a protein shake (120 calories or so, 24 grams of protein), lots of fruit and vegetables throughout the day (cucumber with 15 calorie Italian dressing is my boring "go to" staple for fooling your stomach into being somewhat full on very few calories), and at least a total of 3 protein shakes. The key here is PROTEIN, you need A LOT of it. Aim for 0.62 to 0.82 grams per pound of bodyweight, based on numerous studies I've read. Keep it simple and aim for 0.75. It may be a tiny bit more than you need but it won't hurt you to have a bit extra. So if you're 150 pounds, you're definitely wanting 100+ grams of protein and preferable to make it more like 115.
Be sure NOT to work out your muscles when you are hungry. That's a bad idea. You don't want your body in starvation mode ever (calorie deficit, not starvation!), but you especially don't want to feel sapped of energy when you're doing a workout. I tried to eat my biggest meal of the day about an hour before my weight workout, so I felt nice and full and energized. Make sure that one has a good mix of protein and carbs for your workout.
For me, fast forward 6 months, I went from 209 where I couldn't actually bench 100 pounds more than a couple of times on a TRACKED chest press machine to weighing 170 pounds at 9% body fat benching 225 for reps. I was constantly able to increase my muscularity and strength and I lost well over 40 pounds of fat. I dropped as low as 166 pounds at one point then kept adding muscle, so if I had to guess I probably lost almost 50 pounds of fat because throughout that 6 months I was building muscle and still losing weight.
Maybe this doesn't work for everyone, I have no idea, because I keep reading everywhere how "impossible" it is to gain strength and lose weight, but I have never found it especially challenging.
It's always hard to address these things from a personal perspective versus what a lot of blog articles say. I will tell you that most people say it's very difficult to gain muscle and lose weight at the same time. On a personal level, I think those people either A) Aren't doing it right, or B) Their bodies aren't functioning correctly.
I can't really understand the problems other people face with this because it seems extremely easy to me and if I were training people, I would absolutely tell them it's not a problem to gain large amounts of muscle while in a constant calorie deficit. About two years ago (a bit more), I had let my physical condition get pretty bad for me, as someone who has been in shape almost his entire life, but I guess we all have those periods perhaps. I stood on the scale one day and it was 209, which for a guy who is 5'10" is not an acceptable weight at all. I had also let my muscular strength fade, which is even more frustrating.
The good news for me is that I've always been cocky about weight loss because it's a pretty simple formula and I'm a pretty disciplined person (ok, very disciplined) when I want to be, so I knew I could melt it off. I ate Crispix for breakfast, for the primary reason that it's an extremely low sugar cereal (4 grams per cup almost cannot be beat), along with a protein shake (120 calories or so, 24 grams of protein), lots of fruit and vegetables throughout the day (cucumber with 15 calorie Italian dressing is my boring "go to" staple for fooling your stomach into being somewhat full on very few calories), and at least a total of 3 protein shakes. The key here is PROTEIN, you need A LOT of it. Aim for 0.62 to 0.82 grams per pound of bodyweight, based on numerous studies I've read. Keep it simple and aim for 0.75. It may be a tiny bit more than you need but it won't hurt you to have a bit extra. So if you're 150 pounds, you're definitely wanting 100+ grams of protein and preferable to make it more like 115.
Be sure NOT to work out your muscles when you are hungry. That's a bad idea. You don't want your body in starvation mode ever (calorie deficit, not starvation!), but you especially don't want to feel sapped of energy when you're doing a workout. I tried to eat my biggest meal of the day about an hour before my weight workout, so I felt nice and full and energized. Make sure that one has a good mix of protein and carbs for your workout.
For me, fast forward 6 months, I went from 209 where I couldn't actually bench 100 pounds more than a couple of times on a TRACKED chest press machine to weighing 170 pounds at 9% body fat benching 225 for reps. I was constantly able to increase my muscularity and strength and I lost well over 40 pounds of fat. I dropped as low as 166 pounds at one point then kept adding muscle, so if I had to guess I probably lost almost 50 pounds of fat because throughout that 6 months I was building muscle and still losing weight.
Maybe this doesn't work for everyone, I have no idea, because I keep reading everywhere how "impossible" it is to gain strength and lose weight, but I have never found it especially challenging.
Use to work for me until I got in my 60's and was operated on and Surgeon told me to do nothing for a year after already not able to do anything for a year.
Now working out because of other Health problems I have to eat or I get sick. But working out 3X a week for 2 Hours each day. 40 minutes Weights, 30 minutes Stepper, 1 hour in the Pool doing Aerobics. Still weigh 250 but gaining muscle. Doctor is Happy and I am Happy. Told not to worry about the scales.
people says muscle builds when we workout with calorie surplus...but how body changes if we do workout with calorie deficit?
You lose body fat percentage. This is what is commonly referred to as "cut" which is cutting (i.e., reducing) bodyfat. When I cut, I always always always appear more muscular because when bodyfat % drops, you can see much more muscle definition. I usually do 1200 - 1500 calories per day and maintain my usual morning cardio and evening/afternoon resistance (weights or Crossfit) and it works wonders in really eliminating bodyfat %.
When cutting, the main goal of lifting is trying to keep as much of your muscle as possible while still lowering your BF%. Note that you will always lose some muscle, and the more you cut the more you will lose. Don't think you can be sub-10% and still have muscle naturally. If you try you will just lose all your gains. Aim for 10-15% instead.
Don't think you can be sub-10% and still have muscle naturally. If you try you will just lose all your gains. Aim for 10-15% instead.
Many professional athletes seem to have a natural gift for low body fat, to go along with other physical advantages. Charles White, a former USC running back, was said to have an incredibly low body fat of 1.9%
And if you check out these NBA draftees for 2016, most of them are under 10%.
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