muscle loss occurs at approx how far below maintenance?

[TiGeR AK]

just as a general guideline.. how much below maintenance do you have to be to start to lose some muscle?

because i have been cutting for about a month, and have lost about 5-7 lbs... but the little flab around my waist just doesn't seem to budge. i'm doing a slow cut so as to spare as much muscle as possible.

i'm afraid to lower the calories more, because i don't want to lose muscle, and yet... i also want to lose the flab.

so i'm kinda torn here.


typically how long should i be cutting if i'm trying to lose 1-2 lbs per week, before i see some solid results?

[defcon]

it would depend on ho fat you are before you se results.. just kep going at it.. and im no expert, but i believe you should just lower your cals to a point that is appox 500 below maitnaice.. then after a while if your fat loss stops, a in MORE cardio.. then when it stops again, prolly drop cals 100-200 more.. but that would be it.. just keep upping the cardio i guess..

[bradley]

Originally posted by TiGeR AK
just as a general guideline.. how much below maintenance do you have to be to start to lose some muscle?

It would depend on various factors such as current bf%, setpoint, diet, training, etc. If you are at a higher bf%, i.e. above natural setpoint, then you can get away with a larger calorie deficit and probably avoid losing LBM. As you get leaner you would want to concentrate on losing smaller amounts of weight each week, as well as incorporating refeeds.

because i have been cutting for about a month, and have lost about 5-7 lbs... but the little flab around my waist just doesn't seem to budge. i'm doing a slow cut so as to spare as much muscle as possible.

Stubborn bf will be one of the last places that you see weight loss, and the addition of cardio should help to mobilize stubborn bf. Visceral adipose tissue is usually the easiest to get rid of, and subcutaneous fat (lower back fat, love handles, etc.) is harder to get rid of.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

i'm afraid to lower the calories more, because i don't want to lose muscle, and yet... i also want to lose the flab.

typically how long should i be cutting if i'm trying to lose 1-2 lbs per week, before i see some solid results?

If you are currently losing a small amount of weight each week then you will see results, but it will take time. The higher your starting bf% the longer it will take, obviously.

Sounds like you are going about it the right way, so just continue doing what you are doing.

[AllUp]

Yep As long as the deficit is there It should be gone in time. Also I noticed more wt. Loss and LBM gains getting 7-9hr/sleep. make sure you get good sleep. Well worked for me anyway.

Goodluck,

[TiGeR AK]

so how long do you guys try to cut for? how long is too long?

[jinxx]

I was cutting for about 6 weeks and dropped from 12% BF to about 8.5. It just depends on what your goals are, I'd say check in the mirror once a week till you're satisfied.

[bradley]

Originally posted by TiGeR AK
so how long do you guys try to cut for? how long is too long?

It is all relative to your goals, and it depends on how much bf you are trying to lose. If you dieting for more than 8 weeks, it might be a good idea to take a week off of your diet and eat at maintenance cals. This would help in boosting your metabolism, and basically you would be trying to "normalize" your system. Although if you are at a higher bf% (>15%) this would not really apply.

[TiGeR AK]

well.. to get a better idea of my situation i was at about 14% bodyfat or so when i began cutting, and ~195 lbs.

i think i will have to go beyond 8 weeks to cut with my current slow rate of cutting. i will definitely take a break on the cut by maintenance'ing it for a week or so.

[defcon]

looking @ an old thread.. how is the cutting going tiger?

[TiGeR AK]

thanks for checkin up..

i'm down to about 185 from 195 in a slow cut for about 8 weeks.

definitely improvement in definition..

did not lose much muscle if any... as my lifts remained the same or better since beginning the cut. Bench went from 255 for 5-6 reps to 265 for 5 reps the past 2 workouts. Not a HUGE gain, but what do you expect when you're cutting calories?

but for some reason.. i just FEEL smaller. I guess it's just mental.. but i'm happy with the way i am at. I'll probably stay at maintenance for a while, and decide whether i want to cut some more or bulk up a little over the winter season.

thanks for everybody's help.. it really paid off.

[defcon]

great work man, im cutting too right now ( look at the profile ) and so far my bench has went up 10 lbs, leg day today.. wonder how my squats are doing