losing muscle when trying to cut...

[americkan woman]

Some basics: I'm 27, 5'3", 132lbs, BF measures at 15% (80% is on my ass, no joke). I've been training hard and consistently for a few years and I eat a clean diet. My upper body is really defined, but I have a tough time getting rid of the fat below the equator. I'm not trying to get down to competition-level bodyfat, just want a more asthetic bottom half....but dammit, I lose a lot of strength and muscle every time I make a more extreme effort to get my lower body to give up that fat. I'm researching the different "supplements" that might help me retain the muscle while I go on a fat-burning crusade, but mostly I'm wondering if I acheive what I want to, will I be able to maintain it without drugs? Or will I have to follow such an extreme diet/cardio regime in order to keep that fat off that I lose the muscle in the end anyhow? I just want to be an informed consumer and was hoping some of you experienced folks might be able to shed some light on the matter...
Thanks

 

[lapd]

I can't wait to see the replies. I have the same trouble. My trainer wants me to add 1 hour of cardio first thing in the morning. That means I will have to get up at 4:30 !! Yuk!!!

lapd

 

[Phemomena]

hello, and welcome to the boards...

regardless of what you take, you will have to work hard to maintain gains that you get while on, just like you need to work hard to maintain the results you have made naturally...

the good point coming through all of this is that the AS that are popular with women have a reputation of providing gains that are more 'maintainable' than others...

obviously, there will be some losses when going off the AS, but this can be minimized by keeping up with the training/diet as much as possible...

 

[Phemomena]

oh, by work hard, i don't only mean cardio/diet (which will be necessary to keep the fat down) but also lift hard, with heavy weights...

good luck

 

[flex4life]

welcome to elite, both of you!
lapd- your trainer is right on with the cardio suggestion- search for thread 'when 30+ 30 does not =60'- good cardio info here.
For myself, when I hit the cardio for the full hour and really, really ate clean- no protein bars, no diet coke, only foods prepared myself (high protein), no 'white foods', add 2-3 T EFA's/day, broccoli or spinach everyday - it was the solution. It was very hard work to do it natural- previously I believe I quit too soon- going at it & not giving up the determination was the answer. The little cheat food here & there, cutting cardio short, not taking in 1 1/2 gallons water/day limits success.
Also, working the lower body to a burn- a real burn - helped.
Hope this helps you some also. Good luck!

 

[strongchick]

what does diet coke do?

I don't drink it...it makes me feel weird...just curious.

 

[flex4life]

To cut out all preservatives & chemicals, I eliminated diet coke- perhaps it made a difference, perhaps not. Not getting desired results from the already 'clean' dieting, heavy resistance training, major cardio, I was on a mission to do everything possible to get it right- it was suggested by a pro BB.

 

[new@gettinbig]

This is a good question!!!! You have to be consistent in your training and your diet. As said before a very CLEAN diet, no processed stuff or sugar!! Drink tons of water.....TONS! You also need to take some branch chain amino acids...to preserve that muscle while you are dieting....since you are not on AS when you diet....its easy to go cataboic and start eating up muscle...and we dont want that. Its also good to take glutamine and creatine... Keep cardio to low-medium intensity...dont go crazy with it, especially if you do an hour. You just want to burn calories, not muscle! Lift HEAVY, and train HARD. Change your routine every 4-6 weeks and try different exercises and splits. Make sure you are doing plenty of squats, dead lifts, lunges, leg press, leg curls etc. Hit your legs hard...and dont forget your calves

 

[FitFossil]

Been there - had a skeletal upper body and soft lower body - a classic pear. Cut me in half and you'd think I was two different people. Couldn't understand it, I was cardio-ing and starving to death, but my legs still jiggled like jello. I was weight-training too, but only doing high reps with light weight because I "only wanted to tone" and didn't want my legs to get any bigger.

Finally (learning from this board ) and seeing the awesome results I'd gotten with my upper body, I upped the weight and lowered the reps for my leg training as well. That MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE! First I noticed my legs getting harder, then they got tighter, and then came the definition. Mind you, this took time, but now I actually like my legs, and best of all I'm not a pear anymore!

Supplements I use are flax seed oil, glutamine, BCAA's, Adipokenitix.

 

[americkan woman]

Thanks all Much obliged.