# burn fat not muscle



## 2ley (Sep 20, 2009)

as the title says. i here a lot about burning muscle when cutting. but if im doing 3 full body work outs keeping my protein high. and having decent carbs at the right times. how easy is it to burn muscle ?


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## ste08 (Jan 4, 2009)

I think that if you are doing slow moderate cardio i.e. fast pace walking / cycling / crosstrainer, keeping you protein and fat intake quite high then you will avoid loosing muscle. I also think that your carbs are quite important when cutting, simply stick your slow release carbs with ur meals i.e. oats, brown rice, potatoes etc.

I think it is important that you anticipate that you will loose some size, i found this was mostly water weight and as soon as i carbed up on a sunday my muscles would feel much fuller again. I think the more experienced guys off here could help some more but this is just what i found when i was cutting.

Good luck with ya cut mate.


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## T.F. (Aug 28, 2008)

Very easy, your body will use muscle as a fuel before it uses fat.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Absolutely T.F. You need and workouts need to be protein 'sparing'. The last thing you want is your body using protein for energy (through a process called gluconeogenesis).

How? As Ste08 says, either regulate carbs meticulously, or, if your prone to put on fat easily with too many carbs, a low carb diet. CV is of secondary importance IMO, but HIIT is probably best for fat burning whilst protecting muscle (although all CV burns a bit a muscle).....


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## 1bpk (Jun 22, 2009)

T.F. said:


> Very easy, your body will use muscle as a fuel before it uses fat.


I swear that it was the other way around.........i guess not :cool2:


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

1bpk said:


> I swear that it was the other way around.........i guess not :cool2:


Nope. Your body want's to keep fat because that's the most efficient in terms of carried calories per kg. That's why starvation diets will chew up your muscle. You have to keep tricking your body into burning fat by hitting the correct calories (not too low).


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## Dantreadz85 (Jun 4, 2009)

spaynter said:


> Nope. Your body want's to keep fat because that's the most efficient in terms of carried calories per kg. That's why starvation diets will chew up your muscle. You have to keep tricking your body into burning fat by hitting the correct calories (not too low).


an what sorta tricks would be suitable then lol .


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## 2ley (Sep 20, 2009)

yeh lol who can explain in simple terms how i shift fat without losing the muscle ?


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

What size are you (height, weight, bf%)?


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## 2ley (Sep 20, 2009)

spaynter said:


> What size are you (height, weight, bf%)?


im 5 foot 9. 13.4 stone and i think around 16 percent body fat, i say around because i went on a bodyfat scales style reader and it says 18.5. which seems way to high as the only real noticeable bit of fat is the lower part on the midsection which wont seem to go. and talking to other people also reakon im about 16 percent.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

OK, cut back on your carbs and increase fats. Keep protein between 170g and 200g. Don't know what you do for a job, but assuming your not doing manual stuff, aim for about 2200 cals per day.


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## 2ley (Sep 20, 2009)

nice one cheers. im little confused tho how eating more fats is a positive thing to do?


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## Beano (Aug 14, 2009)

All of this is propper confusing. I'm trying to loose my belly aswell and only having around 2000 callories a day, my BMR is 1900 and thought that'd be good but obviously not? I'm a window cleaner aswell. Is it best not to do CV then and just cut the cals?


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## Bulk1 (Apr 12, 2007)

Cals in, less than cals burnt off = will lose fat. (aim to reduce daily cals by approx 500 below maintenance level and see what happens)


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## freddee (Mar 2, 2009)

thats a lot of calories to drop in one go, you might put your body into stsarvation mode, then it will retain fat, have you tried some simple fat loss supps green tea extract, or a good metaboliser such as lecithin or L carnitine.


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## Prodiver (Nov 14, 2008)

T.F. said:


> Very easy, your body will use muscle as a fuel before it uses fat.


Nope. Fat before muscle.

And it won't store fat but burn it if you limit your carbs.

You have to be seriously starved before your body consumes your muscle.

The size you lose when cutting is overwhelmingly fat and water.


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## Bulk1 (Apr 12, 2007)

I dont see whats so difficult to reduce your cals slightly and increase your excercise? Its really not rocket science. Have these people actually tried this for a few months? I hate cutting its hell... so it takes some effort and only you can make this effort. There isnt any secret to this except to follow the rules to burning extra cals than you take in and over time you will see the results.

To lose a Lb of fat a week will be at matter of burning around 4000 cals a week (500 cals a day a combination of more excercise and slightly less food, so 250 reduced from your food intake, 250 burnt through cardio daily).


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## 2ley (Sep 20, 2009)

Prodiver said:


> Nope. Fat before muscle.
> 
> And it won't store fat but burn it if you limit your carbs.
> 
> ...


cheers i thought this was right but this was the post that confused me. im deff losing the fat bit by bit was just worried i was going to be burning muscle at the same time, and counter balancing the gains i have made.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

OK. This has all got way confusing.

The most important thing in cutting is diet. Exercise is secondary.

Fat storage (and release with the lack of it) is regulated by the hormone insulin. Insulin is produced in response to high blood sugar which is ONLY caused by ingesting carbohydrate. As Prodiver says fat storage is next to impossible on a low carbs diet (you're lacking the molecule needed to turn free fatty acids into triglycerides).

On a low carb diet more protein and muscle is spared than a high carb diet.

Under consuming calories will not necessarily cause you to lose weight if the composition of the diet is wrong. This does not defy the second law of thermodynamics. Energy in < Energy out = Weight loss does not apply beacause Energy in and out are linked.

Bottom line - Carbs to a minimum with a caloric deficit will promote fat loss and minimise muscle loss.

High carb diet (60% of cals) if you're insulin sensitive and you'll achieve minimum weight loss even with high caloric deficit and whatever weight you do lose will likely be muscle.


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## Bulk1 (Apr 12, 2007)

spaynter said:


> OK. This has all got way confusing.
> 
> Only if you make it confusing, I think your confusing a lot of the guys on here.
> 
> High carb diet (60% of cals) if you're insulin sensitive and you'll achieve minimum weight loss even with high caloric deficit and whatever weight you do lose will likely be muscle.


Very strange, why would anyone want to be on a high 'simple sugar/carb' diet plan that spikes insulin levels when cutting, this is very basic knowledge.

You do want to be consuming Complex Starchy and Fibrous Carbs as part of your diet plan that will support stubborn fat loss. Eat smaller meals every 3 hrs or so around 5-6 times a day.

Stay away from simple sugars.

I'm sure you will come back with some rocket science, but please stop confusing these guys. Keep to the basics... and be patient / consistant.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Bulk1 said:


> Very strange, why would anyone want to be on a high 'simple sugar/carb' diet plan that spikes insulin levels when cutting, this is very basic knowledge.
> 
> You do want to be consuming Complex Starchy and Fibrous Carbs as part of your diet plan that will support stubborn fat loss. Eat smaller meals every 3 hrs or so around 5-6 times a day.
> 
> ...


No rocket science, but I think people should know the facts. Your diet of complex carbohydrates works for you, but people have different tolerance levels to carbs. Some can get fat vary easily and on relatively low levels.

So, I'm not try to confuse, but trying to give advice that would work across the board.

Because this advice is not the 'basics', sometimes it just takes a little justification.....

Anyone who reads this is free to follow your route or my route. The evidence available suggest they'll be more successful using mine.

PS I was referring to carbs, not simple sugars. It all raises blood sugar levels, just takes longer if complex.


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## Bulk1 (Apr 12, 2007)

spaynter said:


> No rocket science, but I think people should know the facts. Your diet of complex carbohydrates works for you, but people have different tolerance levels to carbs. Some can get fat vary easily and on relatively low levels.
> 
> This is a fair point if you are heavier by nature you will want to consume less carbs/higher protein than someone that is skinny by nature.
> 
> ...


Ok


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## Tom1990 (Dec 21, 2008)

to burn fat, instead of getting confused about calories IMO its easier to just time your carbs when you awake, and around your workouts and just have your other meals as protein and fats. this has worked for me very well and i have never ever counted my calories as didnt see the point in the hassle, i just made sure i had enough protein in each meal and didnt let myself go overboard on the carbs.


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## IronFed (Dec 10, 2008)

spaynter said:


> OK. This has all got way confusing.
> 
> The most important thing in cutting is diet. Exercise is secondary.
> 
> ...


^ This pretty much says it all :thumbup1: good post.

I think the biggest mistake people make when dieting is to restrict fats to a minimum which is bad because if you are also restricting carbs your body has no choice but to use protein as its source for energy.


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## jabber (Oct 18, 2009)

ketogenic diet works wonders for me.

Targeted ketogenic diet would be perfect.

Have a look on the net.

Or I can help you out with an example diet plan from a body builder called 'Dave Palumbo' which follows that diet.

You would lose water retention and fat, bu still retain muscle with this diet.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

joshnow said:


> with everything else said above and before..
> 
> i want to discuss 1 point low intensity cardio burns fat / high intensity burns muscle.
> 
> if you look at the legs and body of a sprinter in comparison to a long distance runner like below. throw that theory out the window.


You want to tell me how Paula Radcliffe is low intensity?

Sprinters practice a form of HIIT which is very useful for fat loss and muscle maintenance.

Long distance runners go at a high intensity for unfeasible lengths of time. Hence small but efficient muscles.

Running a marathon in 2 hours isn't the equivalent of a lengthy cross trainer session in the gym.

In fact, go to the gym, set the treadmill to 20km/h and see what happens to your heart (if you don't slide of the back first).......


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