Thread: Losing a few kilos of fat with no muscle loss...

Hi Guys, so I've changed my mind and am going to try and cut a few kilos of fat before I start bulking again. My GF started poking my belly and saying it was cute (vomit)
I go to the gym 4 days a week after work, so am planning on doing cardio in the mornings. I'm really scared of losing muscle, so have a couple of questions..

Should I have a meal before I go for a run in the morning? Protein shake fine? or do I need carbs after the night starve? Will I lose muscle mass if I don't have carbs after weight training? (I will be getting some BCAA's as well)

This is my rough diet plan...

1 Breakfast (after run) - cup oats, protein shake
2 200g tuna, salad
3 200g beef, vegies
4 200g chicken, vegies
5 PreWO NO shotgun(has 20g protein), with few pieces of watermelon
6 PostWO Protein shake with banana (is the banana needed?)
7 400gram Steak with vegies
8 cottage cheese with salad and chicken

PS Ive never dieted in my life :) I usually eat everything in sight!

Re your morning cardio - the "to eat or not to eat" is a debate that has been had over and over. Some are for cardio on empty stomach and some are against.

I prefer not having anything otherwise I feel ill.

So with a 50/50 split on this issue, I'd suggest trying both methods and see how your body reacts.

Diet looks good.

On eating pre-cardio - I find I cannot eat before a run but I like to eat before or during a ride.

So it is up to personal preference.

On your diet - don't forget to do a quick calorie count. You are definitely not making the mistake that some starters make of eating too little. However you might want to make sure you aren't coming too close to maintenance there.

And yes - the banana post workout is a good idea.

Thanks guys, maybe just a small protein shake in the morning before cardio? I would hate for my body to start breaking down muscle... Do you guys recommend HIIT on a bike or something, or just go for a constant jog?

I've actually been quite hungry today, so not sure I could eat any less. Also, today was only day one and I was quite a bit weaker on the bench press, about 10kg's less!... should I add a 100g brown rice at lunch?

As was mentioned, cardio on empthy/full stomach is a controversial issue. DAVA here has been doing it on empty stomach and achieved some amazing results.

If you are very worried about muscle loss, I'd recommend limiting the duration of the cardio to 10-15min of very intense interval training. HIIT will burn plenty of calories and if kept short will help you preserve your hard earned muscle and is also, as Fadi once pointed out to me, much more functional and natural for the way our bodies were designed.

HIIT and keep your protein high and your carbs lowish

Thanks for the advice guys, I did 15 minutes of HIIT this morning on an empty stomach (skipping 1 minute, break 30 secs) and was pooped but feel good this morning.

Wait till about lunch time :P Go for HIIT in morning empty stomach and weights in afternoon, and sometimes swap them around to shock your body even more. Good stuff.

Another +1 for similiar diet to DAVA's.. very good so far.

Yeah not looking forward to crashing later today, I'm chucking in a few green teas throughout the day as a bit of a stimulant.... we'll see how it goes :)

Nice work, +1 for green tea too !

I cheated this morning and opted for Short Black.. hey it was free at gym what can i say.. :)

Originally Posted by croft1010

Hi Guys, so I've changed my mind and am going to try and cut a few kilos of fat before I start bulking again. My GF started poking my belly and saying it was cute (vomit)
I go to the gym 4 days a week after work, so am planning on doing cardio in the mornings. I'm really scared of losing muscle, so have a couple of questions..

Should I have a meal before I go for a run in the morning? Protein shake fine? or do I need carbs after the night starve? Will I lose muscle mass if I don't have carbs after weight training? (I will be getting some BCAA's as well)

This is my rough diet plan...

1 Breakfast (after run) - cup oats, protein shake
2 200g tuna, salad
3 200g beef, vegies
4 200g chicken, vegies
5 PreWO NO shotgun(has 20g protein), with few pieces of watermelon
6 PostWO Protein shake with banana (is the banana needed?)
7 400gram Steak with vegies
8 cottage cheese with salad and chicken

hey mate, your meal 2 says you eat 200 g of tuna,.. is that exactly 200 grams drained weight or one of the 200 gram tins?

Hi Chump, good point, it's actually 2x 95 gram tins (Sirena) so really it's only around 42 grams of protein. I noticed that I actually eat a bit more then 200gs of chicken and beef etc..... Not eating carbs makes me STARVING!

Get into some water, or make some green tea/water with some lemon seems to keep the edge off the hunger a bit.. just means your at the mens room every hour :)