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2004/04/28, 01:55 PM
Hey there,
I have one question that needs a professional answer.
I am 31-year old 5'-10" male and weigh about 145lbs. I am pretty skinny. It is not because I don't eat much or I do too much exercise. It is because of my genetic. I have a fast metabolism and burn the calories really quick.
Howevere, this doesn't mean that I don't have fat around my belly. Whatever I did, I couldn't get rid of those unwanted fat that covers my ab muscle. Someone told me about the morning cardio on an emptry stomach, and I did it for about 2 months 4-5 times a week and lost about 8 pounds. 8 pounds is a lot if you just weigh around 145. Despite losing 8 pounds, I didn't even see slightly change on my belly. All the fat were there as they were. I started wondering myself about where that 8 pounds did go. Did I lose muscle? If so that is scary.
I heard about muscle catabolism. How can I make sure I don't burn my muscle while trying to burn some fat.
I exercise regularly(4 times a week after work), I do morning cardio, 2 or 3 times per week, I rarely eat junk food and try to have 5 small meals a day including protein shakes and bars. The only glitch is that I have a job that requires me to sit in front of a computer for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Other than the business hours I am pretty active.
I know I can't tell you all about my life in this forum but I really want to know a good answer to my question.
HOW DO I MAKE SURE I BURN FAT NOT MUSCLE?
You can ask more about me if it will help you find the answer.
Please answer if you are familiar.
Thanks for your time.
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2004/04/29, 06:38 PM
How many calories are you taking in? With a fast metabolsim, al that cardio and not enough calories, you will burn your mass off.
Start by figuring out how many calories per day you are taking in, you need probably 2,300 or more a day at your weight.
You need to stimultae muscle gains with a heavy weight routine and keep your cardio to a minimum. The fat on your belly wil only go away once you get your diet on track and add some muscle mass.
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If you fall down seven times, get up eight.
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2004/04/30, 09:24 AM
Thanks asimmer,
What you are telling makes really sense to me. I never counted my caloric intake actually, and now I will start doing that. But I can tell you first hand that my caloric intake is way below than 2,300, and I guess this explaines why I burn my muscles.
Like I said I have a office job and that requires me to sit here all day that's why I try to limit the carb amount I am taking so they don't get stored as fat. I have no way of burning those calories here at work.
So, I will definitelly increase my caloric intake and start counting the calories but how do I divide this 2,300 throughout the day? Would you have any suggestion for that?
I mean how much of it should be in the am, how much of it should be in pm time? considering I do my work out after work around 6:00-8:00pm for duration of 45min to 1 hour and I have 5 to 6 meals per day.
If you can advice me on that or can provide any web link to it, I would really appreciate.
Thanks
Alex
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2004/05/02, 09:52 PM
Hi nexus14,
I'm pretty new to this too and like you I'm a hard gainer. I'm at the 10th week of my workout routine and although I have seen some improvements and have gotten stronger I do believe I have been burning some muscle. I'm a healthy eater so I never bother doing my macros thinking I was okay there. Boy was I wrong. I charted my meals for a few days and found that although I was coming close to my caloric intake I was eating way too much carbs and not enough protein even after supplementation. Everyone always stressed proper diet to me but now I'm starting to get it. All the info on this site is great(asimmer is super). I found the following link to very very helpful for hardgainers like ourselves starting out. It has detailed info on diet and macros. Good luck!
http://corychoate.tripod.com/corysnaturalbodybuilding2/gainingmass.html
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2004/05/04, 10:34 AM
Alex - try this -
6 meals a day - each with 38g protein.
1st meal and post workout meal 64g carbs (oatmeal, rice, pasta, barley, vegetables)
other 4 meals 32g carbs
supplement with olive oil, flaxseed oil, fish oil to get fats up to 51g a day. (I mix my oil into my shakes, not as bad as it sounds).
If you need a list of foods look for the grocery list for a bodybuilder in the nutrition section.
Good luck!
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If you fall down seven times, get up eight.
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