Cutting fat & maintining/building muscle

[LoudGTZ]

Here's the situation...

I'm 24 years old, 5' 10" and about 215 lb. I've dropped 30 lb (mostly fat) in the last 3.5 months. Strength has increased to a level equal to my old football days in high school but should be better. I'm currently using a BSN No Xplode & Nitrix stack to up energy and maintain size. I'm worried that despite my best efforts I'm not gaining as much muscle as possible while I'm pushing my body to drop fat.

Current diet:

About 2000 calories per day
250-300 grams of protein
About 200-250 grams of carbs (very few from sugar or processed sources)
Fats vary but are very low

I'm looking to maintain my current muscle w/ the potential of adding some while dropping another 15-20 lb of body fat.

I've heard great things about Winny and have a reliable connection for 5mg tabs but I'm wondering what kind of dosage would work well to allow me to drop the fat but maintain my muscle mass.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Black03SVTCobra]

Perfect diet and cardio would do the trick

 

[bootneck]

So long as you keep the protein up, you shouldnt lose muscle, drop the carbs maybe, whats your cardio like?

 

[mlong23]

Assuming that you are intelligent about bodybuilding, it is very hard to gain muscle and lose bodyfat at the same time. There is no reason to be eating 300 grams of protein on a daily basis.

1-1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight for protein
1 gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight
30% of your weight for fat grams

 

[LoudGTZ]

Bootneck:

The first 2.5 months of training (first 20-25 lb drop) was 30-45 minutes of intense cardio 5 times per week.

Last month has been 20 minutes medium intensity cardio 2 times per week plus 1 intense 45 minute session.

I lift 3-4 times per week every week.


mlong23:

If I'm supposed to eat 1-1.5 grams of protein daily then why would 250-300 grams daily be a bad thing? I weigh 215 lb currently so 1.5/lb would put me over 300 g per day. This has been mostly in the last month to maintain current level of muscle mass as well as any kind of gain to be made while lifting hard and still completing a moderate amount of cardio.

 

[letsrun4it]

I didn't see the part where you stopped having success naturally. The reason most of us even thought about steroids was due to frustrations with lack of progress despite having everything dialed in. You're doing great man, stick with it.

 

[Makavelli]

The first thing I would do is up your cals to around 2400 add some good fats. You're hindering both your muscle gain and fat loss by eating low fat. I also agree with the above that it's very difficult to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. If you decide to use Winstrol I would run between 75-100 mgs/day if that's all you're using.

 

[LoudGTZ]

I didn't see the part where you stopped having success naturally. The reason most of us even thought about steroids was due to frustrations with lack of progress despite having everything dialed in. You're doing great man, stick with it.

I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'm happy w/ my results so far but have see a major drop off in fat loss despite a clean diet & strong routine. I'm hoping I'll overcome this plateau I've hit fairly soon and start dropping fat again.

 

[bootneck]

Yeah mate dont jump into doing gear if you dont need to, i know sometimes it can be hard to stay away from the idea, but carry on natural for now i reckon. Its upto you tho mate. Good luck whatever, but be patient and sensible in your choice.

 

[LoudGTZ]

I appreciate the help guys. Sometimes a little pep talk from my peers is all I need. I'll look into switching my diet up a bit and determine whether to sacrifice some size to push fat loss back into high gear.

Regards.

 

[wlmcrae]

I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'm happy w/ my results so far but have see a major drop off in fat loss despite a clean diet & strong routine. I'm hoping I'll overcome this plateau I've hit fairly soon and start dropping fat again.

For every lb of muscle you put on, add somewhere btw 200&500 calories to maintain it. The correct cutting calories at the 'beginning' of a program may be 'starvation' level once you've cut up a bit, esp. if you've added some muscle (possible if you've just started again or are a beginner). You are eating six times a day, correct?

G'luck!

 

[bbkingpin]

Assuming that you are intelligent about bodybuilding, it is very hard to gain muscle and lose bodyfat at the same time. There is no reason to be eating 300 grams of protein on a daily basis.

1-1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight for protein
1 gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight
30% of your weight for fat grams

No it's not very hard IF you are intelligent about bodybuilding. I've lost over 35 lbs at a time and gained muscle so I know that it isn't hard.

 

[mlong23]

Bootneck:

mlong23:

If I'm supposed to eat 1-1.5 grams of protein daily then why would 250-300 grams daily be a bad thing? I weigh 215 lb currently so 1.5/lb would put me over 300 g per day. This has been mostly in the last month to maintain current level of muscle mass as well as any kind of gain to be made while lifting hard and still completing a moderate amount of cardio.

You are correct, 1.5 would put you over 300 grams. Typically 1 gram per pound is fine. On the lower carb days, it would be fine to up your protein. It is not always the best to eat 300 grams of protein if you only weigh 215. If you consistently eat this much, it is a waste of money and you may be neglecting more important calories from carbs and fats, as those two are still important in achieving your goals.

 

[MASSIVEMONSTER]

if i was you i`d have very low carb days (say 80g), medium days (150g) and high days (300g) and rotate it. keep protein fairly high. I often lose fat and maintain muscle doing this but it`ll be hard to gain muscle whilst losing fat unless your fat to begin with. if you bf is under 15% just diet down then increase cals to add muscle once your lean and happy

 

[immortalis]

if i was you i`d have very low carb days (say 80g), medium days (150g) and high days (300g) and rotate it. keep protein fairly high. I often lose fat and maintain muscle doing this but it`ll be hard to gain muscle whilst losing fat unless your fat to begin with. if you bf is under 15% just diet down then increase cals to add muscle once your lean and happy

I second the Monsta!

 

[Maetenloch]

Assuming that you are intelligent about bodybuilding, it is very hard to gain muscle and lose bodyfat at the same time.

If you're starting from an untrained state, it's very possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. One summer after a layoff of a couple years I worked out intensely 3 x week plus cardio on other days. My weight barely fluctuated the entire time, but my pants size dropped by 3-4 inches and I was noticably more muscular at the end of the summer.