eating right to lose fat but maintain muscle.
Discussion
In the last 6 weeks i have started hitting the gym in a bid to lose a little bit of weight and tone up a bit. I'm 6"1 and well built and currently 14.5 stone. Not visibly overweight, but have a decent amount of muscle mass but also a nice layer of fat over it all! I want to drop about a 1.5 stones of fat, without compromising any of the muscle. In the past i have done crash diets, and lost a few stone but just ended up looking skinny and want to do it differently this time. Could any of you critique my diet below, bearing in mind i want to lose weight but hold onto a bit of muscle. The way i figured it out was my maintenance calorie level is about 2300cals. so i am aiming to eat 1800cals a day, with as much protein as i can whilst keeping the calories down. I try and aim for over 100g's of protein a day. A typical days diet is;
Breakfast: Bowl of porridge with a scoop of whey protein (350cals) (40g protein)
Lunch: chicken sandwich on brown bread and 2 plain chicken fillets (550cals) (55g of protein)
Dinner: Lean meat, e.g 2 chicken breasts with steamed veg & protein shake (800cals) (70g of protein)
Total. approx 1700 cals 165 grams of protein.
I have my dinner and the shake after the gym. I'm doing super circuits on mondays and fridays, a mixture of split weights, and cardio tues-thur, then swimming on a sunday. On weight training days i'm pushing to failure, and seeing some nice results weight wise so far, but i think it's too early to work out if i'm losing muscle etc. Would appreciate some decent advice. My priority is losing the weight and not building muscle as such, just holding onto it. I've honestly no idea if i should even be eating that much protein whilst doing this? Thanks guys.
Breakfast: Bowl of porridge with a scoop of whey protein (350cals) (40g protein)
Lunch: chicken sandwich on brown bread and 2 plain chicken fillets (550cals) (55g of protein)
Dinner: Lean meat, e.g 2 chicken breasts with steamed veg & protein shake (800cals) (70g of protein)
Total. approx 1700 cals 165 grams of protein.
I have my dinner and the shake after the gym. I'm doing super circuits on mondays and fridays, a mixture of split weights, and cardio tues-thur, then swimming on a sunday. On weight training days i'm pushing to failure, and seeing some nice results weight wise so far, but i think it's too early to work out if i'm losing muscle etc. Would appreciate some decent advice. My priority is losing the weight and not building muscle as such, just holding onto it. I've honestly no idea if i should even be eating that much protein whilst doing this? Thanks guys.
Nick,
If anything you need a bit more protein, say 0.75-1.5 g per lb of bodyweight. However, don't try and have more than 30-40g of protein in one go, I think that's about the limit that your body can absorb at one time. Also, your metabolism will be faster if you eat smaller, more frequent meals (and you'll feel less bloated).
There are lots of calculators on the internet to give you an idea of what you should eat to reach your goal. Maximuscle have one, for example. It might be a good idea to try a couple to establish a starting point and then modify it until it starts to work.
If you can afford it, how about a session with a sports nutritionist?
If anything you need a bit more protein, say 0.75-1.5 g per lb of bodyweight. However, don't try and have more than 30-40g of protein in one go, I think that's about the limit that your body can absorb at one time. Also, your metabolism will be faster if you eat smaller, more frequent meals (and you'll feel less bloated).
There are lots of calculators on the internet to give you an idea of what you should eat to reach your goal. Maximuscle have one, for example. It might be a good idea to try a couple to establish a starting point and then modify it until it starts to work.
If you can afford it, how about a session with a sports nutritionist?
thanks for the reply. Ok i will try and add some more protein in there. I did hear that 6 small meals are better. But psychologically it just seems greedier 
I'll try spreading the food out more aswell.
I was actually thinking about seeing a sports nutritionist. Is that something i should ask at the gym about?
Also, i was doing 30 mins of jogging on my cardio days, but have read on the net that HIIT training is better for fat loss whilst maintaining muscle. e.g sprint for 2 mins walk for 2 mins and keep repeating?
I'll try spreading the food out more aswell.I was actually thinking about seeing a sports nutritionist. Is that something i should ask at the gym about?
Also, i was doing 30 mins of jogging on my cardio days, but have read on the net that HIIT training is better for fat loss whilst maintaining muscle. e.g sprint for 2 mins walk for 2 mins and keep repeating?
Edited by nick s on Tuesday 12th January 17:13
www.dailyburn.com
brilliant website.
its aimed at being an online diary for workouts and eating but i jst use it as a calorie/fat/carbs/protein counter.
try to aim to get your calories from protein/carbs/fats in a 40/40/20 percent
+1 for eating smaller, more frequent meals though. at the moment im trying to do the same and use a meal replacement powder.
at the moment mine is something along the lines of:
breakfast - 4 eggs scrambled
morning break - mrp shake
lunch - salad bowl and tuna
afternoon break - banana and apple
late afternoon - mrp shake
evening - tub of cottage cheese
maybe have chicken with breakfast and only 2 eggs
brilliant website.
its aimed at being an online diary for workouts and eating but i jst use it as a calorie/fat/carbs/protein counter.
try to aim to get your calories from protein/carbs/fats in a 40/40/20 percent
+1 for eating smaller, more frequent meals though. at the moment im trying to do the same and use a meal replacement powder.
at the moment mine is something along the lines of:
breakfast - 4 eggs scrambled
morning break - mrp shake
lunch - salad bowl and tuna
afternoon break - banana and apple
late afternoon - mrp shake
evening - tub of cottage cheese
maybe have chicken with breakfast and only 2 eggs
I think some of this is overcomplicating matters somewhat.
As long as you dont starve yourself, and continue to work out, I'm sure you wont lose much, if anything at all... might even put some muscle on!
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Number-1-Way-to-Prev...
As long as you dont starve yourself, and continue to work out, I'm sure you wont lose much, if anything at all... might even put some muscle on!
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Number-1-Way-to-Prev...
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