Can i keep my muscle mass on a low carb diet?

[Danny]

I have been training for 6 months with the specific goal of developing muscle mass and im pleased to say that i achieved my goals using a weight training routine backed up with a diet rich in Protein, and carbs to promote growth.

Now the time has come where i would like to burn the remaining body fat especially around the lower abdominal area. I have moved onto a diet with significantly reduced carbs except prior and post exercise where i consume small amounts.

So far so good as i have noticed a definite more chiseled look around my abs but i am concerned that i am losing some of my muscle mass. I am still visiting the gym once a week along with continuous running and come combat sports that i participate in. To maintain the muscle mass that i have developed would it be beneficial to replace the continuous running with sprint training to give myself a muscular as well as anaerobic workout. If not what steps should i be taking while on this diet to prevent the loss of muscle mass i have worked so hard to gain.

Also bare in mind that my overall goal after i have reduced my body fat the required amount i will be aiming to build muscle once again.

Thank you for your time.

[Lee]

To trick when looking to strip body fat is to 'maintain muscle'. Don't try and add more muscle during this period as losing body fat and adding more muscle mass are two processes that require two very different approaches.

1. Reducing body fat requires consuming less calories than you actually use during the day - forcing the body to utlise body fat as a source of fuel.

2. Adding muscle requires consuming more calories than you need - more calories will increase muscle mass and the amount of body fat you carry BUT crucially *should* alter your actual body fat percentage (add 2 stone of muscle and 5 pounds of boy fat will mean an increase of body fat BUT a lower body fat percentage due to the increase of muscle mass).

So, choose either goal and work hard using cardio exercise in each stage to either strip body fat down in the fat burning stage and maintaining (that work again) fitness during the muscle building stage.

As for what type of cardio exercise - sometimes moderate intensity for 30 - 45 minutes, sometimes high intense intervals for 20 - 30 minutes.

NOTE: During the muscle building stage remember to try and maintain fitness - steady exercise 2-3 times a week will be best here. During the body fat loss stage aim for cardio 3 - 5 times a week with 1 or 2 high intenisty sessions.

Hope this helps/

[Danny]

Thank you for the response Lee,

So while i am in this faze of trying to lose body fat by utilizing more cardio sessions it is possible to 'maintain' my current muscular mass with correct eating and one weights session a week?

How about instead of the cardio workouts a low weight high reps weight session to burn calories and break down the muscle tissue?

Finally will the consumption of protein help to maintain muscle mass at this time?

[Lee]

One weights session a week - hmmmm ... I'm not a big fan of that unless your are performing other strength sessions without weights also in that week (e.g. Hill sprints for legs or gymnastics for the upper body and core). I think you should strength train at least twice a week - 3 to 5 days rest in between each sesion.

Your question about less cardio and more weights but low weight high reps - well this would add another weights session into the mix so that would be positive. And if your performed these exercises as a non-stop circuit you'd also gave some fitness benefits.

However, cardio + diet + weights burns more calories than diet + weights or diet + cardio. Reason?

- Weights increase metabolic rate - burning more calories at rest and when exercising
- Cardio burns a lot of calories during exercise
- Diet controls the amount of calories you take on board.

Missing out one of the above and your goals will take that much longer if your are after a toned, lean physique.

[Danny]

Sounds good to me!

I will try to add one more weights session a week along with the cardio and diet to complete the set in order to reach my goals.

Speaking of hill sprints, are they a good burner of calories as well as a good muscular test or is it limited?

[Lee]

Sprint work is an excellent calorie burner during the actual performance; your body is working close to maximum and so this requires a lot of energy.

However, this is a catch 22 situation as because your are working so hard you can't exercise for prolonged periods. This means the chance to burn a lot of calories per session disappears.

In order to increase the amount of calories you burn I'd suggest linking your sprints with lower intensity exercise ... maybe slow jogs followed by the sprint followed by a jog etc.

NOTE: I also get the feeling that your are keen to do everything in each workout you do. Develop speed, strength, power, stamina, your fat burning capacity ... all in single workouts. This isn't how training works.

Ask yourself what your ultimate goal is and chip away at this over time. Perhaps your goal is to increase speed rather than burn body fat. If so then hill sprints followed by walk backs is good. If you're looking to add as much muscle as possible don't concentrate on burning too many calories per workout.

[Danny]

I do have some problems analysing my goals.

At the moment my goal is to slowly burn the fat around the lower abdominal area which is going great. I have achieved this by adding one more cardio session a week and reducing the carbs i consume considerably, restricted to just before and after intense training sessions.

After the hard work i put in at the gym to gain size i feel that if i continue with this diet and regime i will lose alot of size.

My overall goal is to continue untill i have lost the body fat around the abdominal area..and then return to the gym more often to gain size. Reducing my cardio workouts but still doing 2 per week to hold my cardio at the level it is at.

Thank you for your time

[Tom@foresight]

I think the est way to get your goal into perspective is to do the following:-

-Take photos of yourself now, to compare to the future you.
- work on body composition (such as body fat %, lean mass, water %) rather than weight.
- take key measurements (calf, thigh, hip, waist, chest, upper arm)

All these things will allow you to see the changes that take place in your body much more objectively.

TOM

[Cheshire Cat]

It would be difficult IMO, without the use of anabolics. It would have to be monitored carefully, and with low levels of carbs you will notice muscle loss IMO. This may help - Ketogenic Diets (http://www.fitnessuncovered.co.uk/nutrition-articles/all_about_ketogenic_and_ketoacidosis.php)

[Heart Ace]

wow.... nice posts guys.. i myself is on weight training and its really hard to get rid of my handles..i guess its the hardest part to tone... i visit the gym once a week and doing all those ab routines seems not to work...