How can i lose more weight (fat) while gaining or retaining muscle? (5’8, 22 years old)

[manfromfin]

I really let myself go last year, i got close to a 100 kg, when i stepped on the scale and saw it said 100, i decided i needed to change. I just dieted but that didnt lead to as much weight loss as i would have hoped for, so i decided to join the gym. I was around 97 kg when i started going to the gym 1.5 months ago, l've started to diet and work out for 2 hours a day, 6 days a week (Saturdays are rest days). I try to maintain around a 1400 calorie deficit everyday. This morning my weight was 92.7 kg, i even saw 91.6 kg on the scale the day before yesterday right after i came home from the gym cause i lost a lot of water weight from sweating. Im losing weight at a good pace but im worried that im not losing as much fat as i am muscles.
I would appreciate any advice on how i can focus on losing weight while gaining or even just retaining my existing muscles.

 

[mayacruz1708]

@manfromfin If you're resistance training and eating plenty of protein that's exactly how you minimise muscle loss during a diet. As you're new to it and overweight, you'll very likely even add some muscle. So you're doing it right.

Your deficit sounds very high - do you mean you are eating 1400 cal rather than a 1400 deficit?
Eating in too much of a deficit is something to avoid if you want to keep muscle and remain consistent. Slow and steady wins the race with fat loss (and building muscle).

Regarding weighing yourself - better to do this at the same time each day under the same conditions (not after a workout) - usually just after the bathroom and before food /drink in the morning. This will give a more consistent reading as weight can fluctuate wildly in a day. Also take an average every week or two to see if it is moving in the right direction.

l've started to diet and work out for 2 hours a day, 6 days a week

Your workout schedule seems excessive. It's easy to get a bit carried away when you first get the impetus to make changes with your life. You risk getting fatigued and burned out (especially in a deficit) - resulting in eventually starting to skip days or weeks then being back at square one.

3 times a week for 1 hour is plenty for resistance training - using a proven full body routine. Give the muscles time to recover.
You can add some cardio days to this.
If you have really got the bug and are just thoroughly enjoying being in the gym 6x a week and think it's sustainable, a push pull legs routine is a good option as this allows muscles to recover.

As above - slow and steady wins the race. Don't try to rush the process.

 

[anonymous18]

@manfromfin As a beginner, it is very much possible to put on some muscle while losing weight. Eat plenty of protein and follow some proven routine - plenty available in the wiki linked by the bot.

1400 calorie deficit is most likely too much. You’ll want to lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week to prevent excess muscle loss. 500 calorie deficit per day is roughly 0.5 kg lost per week

2 hours sounds like a lot for gym at once. Do you do cardio as well at the gym?

 

[manfromfin]

@anonymous18 My friend has told me that i would most likely benefit from beginner gains and shouldnt worry too much as after i lose weight, i can always slowly gain more muscle mass. I just wanted to know if there was a way to retain as much muscle as possible while im losing weight. Im trying to eat as much protein as i can throughout the day.

Yes i do cardio, its embarrassing to say but running tires me out too fast and fatigues me to the point that i cant really workout to my fullest, so i do incline walking on the treadmill from anywhere 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how much time i have. I usually do 5 to 6 exercises each with 3 sets of 12. It probably is because of beginner gains but i have built up a lot of strength compared to when i first started out. I’ll try to keep the weight loss in mind and try to tone down the calorie deficit to more reasonable pace. Thanks for the advice!

 

[busygrl]

@manfromfin You should only do 200-300 calorie deficit for body recomposition. Any more than that and you will most likely be losing muscle too.

 

[chosenone247]

@manfromfin Hey instead of 1400 cut it more but eat more protein then anything else no carbs like eat some chicken and tuna packets with an avocado for lunch cut breakfast. Fast for 12 hours don’t eat past 7:00, drink tons of water eat some chicken and some veggies for dinner. But vegetables that aren’t carbs like carrots and potatoes, corn. I was 350lbs now I’m 165lbs but yes lower your sugar and carbs, also don’t do cheat days do cheat meals like if you eat a unhealthy breakfast than the other two meals do healthy meals. And give it some time to work don’t get on the scale and become discouraged. Remember it takes time to detox from the sugar and carbs for it to work.

 

[sword_of_truth]

@manfromfin Losing fat and gaining muscle is the gymbro unicorn.

Honestly it sounds like your cut is going really well, I’d just make sure you’re eating enough protein and carry on weight training. Keeping all of your muscle will be difficult whilst losing fat, but this should ensure you’re maintaining as much as possible. Gradually as you reach your target weight, you can start introducing more calories so you’re not in a deficit and see if you start putting on muscle weight. As you put on muscle weight, you’ll likely put on some fat again too. You can then start a cut again if you want to lose the fat and, again, retain most of the new muscle.

 

[manfromfin]

@sword_of_truth Thanks for the advice and encouragement. My target weight for now is 75 kg. I know its unrealistic to be able to maintain all your muscle mass as you lose weight, i just wanted to know if it possible either way. I have made some progress in my strength even as i lose weight but that is probably just beginner gains (as my friend calls it). The gym community has been nothing but encouraging to me and im thankful for that. Thank you again, it feels good to hear encouraging words even though i should be doing this just for myself and not for external validation haha

 

[sword_of_truth]

@manfromfin You’re smashing it bro, you’ve already lost ~8kg and the fact that you’re asking for advice shows that you are committed