what are the basics in lowering body fat?

[the People's Champ]

obviously there are a lot of factors in decreasing body fat, but I would like to know what is needed to be done to properly and effectively lose bf.

lowering carb intake or just lowering calorie intake will help, but how does that mix in with my workouts? do I do the same amount of lifts? I have found that when I either cut down on the calories or the carbs, and perofrm the same amount of lifts, I get tired QUICK. cardio also plays a role, but how?

right now, I am at the point where I am gaining some lean mass, but am also gaining a gut, and would like to cut that down a bit before the summer. without taking a huge loss in size or power, how could I lose some body fat effectively? give me a diet, routine, cardio smaple please...

here is what I have thought about doing but don't know the exact results and don't want to waste my time through trial and error.

1. lower carb/calorie intake. drop sets to 2-3 per muscle group. add 20-30 minutes of cardio
2. normal diet. drop sets to 2-3- per muscle group and on off days run 3 miles. no cardio on workout days.

 

[Jman88]

I have lost 4-5 lbs in the last 3 weeks. Very little muscle lost.

I do 30-45 minutes low intensity cardio every morning while following a CKD diet. My only carbs are post workout, which is dextrose.

Weekends are carb ups. I haven't changed my lifting style-just shorter breaks in between sets. (1 minute)

Hope that helps.

 

[Jman88]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add I am taking 4 NYC a day and drinking 2 gallons of water.

 

[spatts]

I don't change my training to cut. Just diet. I use "Spatt's cutting diet."

 

[leancuisine]

i keep my carbs under 150 grams a day.
a.m cardio is critical for fat loss.
eat most carbs pre and post workout so only 15-20 grams with every other meals.
effedrine works like magic.

 

[the People's Champ]

thanks for the fast reponses. please explain what the "spatts cutting diet" is, and what ckd is. I think I eat healthy, but I guess healthy to maintain, not to gain muscle or lose fat. I find it hard to swallow NOT to take in carbs throughout the day...

 

[nclifter6feet6]

low fat and moderate carbs are my preference

 

[spatts]

If you ever went to the women's board you'd see my cutting diet posted on about every other thread, seems like.

Here's the standard post:

http://www.asylum-strength.com/spat-cutting.htm

THIS IS A CARB CYCLING DIET. You would have to alter the times by when you train, and cycle the carbs 3 days low (.5g/kg body weight) and 2 days high (2.0g/kg body weight), or high on training days and low on non training days. The diet in the link represents the 100g CHO median.

1Kg = 2.2046 lbs

 

[the People's Champ]

i keep my carbs under 150 grams a day.
a.m cardio is critical for fat loss.
eat most carbs pre and post workout so only 15-20 grams with every other meals.
effedrine works like magic.

I see. as far as the am cardio, that is almost unpossible for me, since I have work at 430 in da morning. but, I have been taking some hydroxycut after work, for an energy boost before I go to the gym, and I also take maldextrin after my workouts. hmmm.. I guess there are some sacrifices that I will have to make. somewhere...

 

[collegiateLifter]

i've got to say that i really am a fan of the anabolic/metabolic diet. you go 5 days low carbs, 2 day big binge and lots of carbs.

 

[WarriorPL]

I just started to decrease my carbs, and i just added in cardio today. I hope to shed some fat... a good 3% i hope.

 

[SeanHolmz]

I do cardio on an empty stomach in the morning, then do my weight training in the evening. I've heard that helps.

 

[the People's Champ]

to put things in perspective, my day starts at 3 am, work starts at 4:30 am, get off at work at 3pm, hit the gym at 3:45 pm, then normally hit the rack at 8 or 9 pm. I work a lot, which really doesn't give me too much time to play with. can I just give up lifting weights altogether for like two weeks and concentrate on cardio on top of decreasing my carbs?

 

[leancuisine]

to put things in perspective, my day starts at 3 am, work starts at 4:30 am, get off at work at 3pm, hit the gym at 3:45 pm, then normally hit the rack at 8 or 9 pm. I work a lot, which really doesn't give me too much time to play with. can I just give up lifting weights altogether for like two weeks and concentrate on cardio on top of decreasing my carbs?

let me address this in the most informative way. now......
sounds like you wanna shed fat quikcly and efficiently and the 2 week "all cardio" routine is not a bad idea at all if you're willing to lose muslce. if you quickly wanna lose fat and spare as much muscle as possible then you have to take an anabolic steroid.

i would take a fast acting steroid like test enanthate for the entire 3 weeks at 100mg every other day. the rationale is that the tesetesterone will not allow your body to go into a catabolic phase. it has many other good qualties such as increased protein synthesis, and postive nitrogen balance, but for your purpose it will serve to spare muscle. during these 2 weeks do cardio twice a day. once in the morning on am empty stomach and one session as far apart as the morning session. for example, if your a.m cardio is at 10 a.m, wait until 6p.m or later to do the next session. cut your carbs down to no more than 100 grams a day, and protein intake at 200-250 grams. fat i'd say at no more than 50grams.

i strongly recommed to workout at least twice on your upper body and twice on your legs during this routine. i'm not talking about a grueling painful session but a moderately intesnse session just to maintain your mass.

hope that helps

 

[Jman88]

People's Champ

Here is a excellent article on CKD from the archives written by Kakdiesel. It's very effective and close to what I'm following.

http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132661&highlight=ckd

 

[Jman88]

bump for people's champ

 

[the People's Champ]

thanks for bumping. I haven't had time to read that but will and will respond when I get to it. thanks for the link mang.

 

[alias26]

I think the basics of lowering body fat are to:

1. Do more fat burning cardio
2. Eat fewer calories if necessary
(And of course continue with weight training)

I do not think that you need to lower carb intake. I eat nearly 70% carbs, and I was under 5% body fat at my last test.

 

[solidj55]

I wouldnt quit lifting but I would simplify my routine.

 

[solidj55]

Here is what I would do as far as lifting while cutting.

Day 1(Monday)

Decline Situps- 2 sets 20 reps(add weight as needed)

Pullups-1 set 6-8 reps(add weight as needed), 75 sec rest
Dumbell Incline Press-1 set 6-8 reps, 75 sec rest
Pullups-1 set 6-8 reps, 75 sec rest
Dumbell Incline Press-1 set 6-8 reps, 2 min rest

Dumbell Row-1 set 6-8 reps(20 sec rest between arms),75sec rest
Dips-1 set 6-8 reps(add weight ass needed), 75 sec rest
Dumbell Row- 1 set 6-8 reps, 75 sec rest
Dips-1 set 6-8 reps, 2 min rest

Lower Back Hyperextensions-2 sets 8-10 reps(add weight)
_______________________________________________

Day 2(Thursday)

Hack Squat-1 set 20 reps, 90 sec rest
Leg Curl-1 set 8 reps, 75 sec rest
Hack Squat-1 set 20 reps, 90 sec rest
Leg Curl-1 set 8 reps, 75 sec rest
Standing or seated Calves-3x20, 75 sec rest between, 2 min rest
Dumbell Side Raises- 2x8-12 reps, 60 sec rest between
Standing Barbell Curl-1 set to failure, 60 sec rest
Tricep Pushdowns-1 set to failure

And on my other days I would alternate low, moderate, and high intensity cardio sessions.

 

[collegiateLifter]

I'd take lifting over the cardio

 

[BigTimer]

there is no difference in doing cardio in the morning or at night,the only time u will see better effects doing the morning cardio is if u r already below 10% bf,but otherwise there is no difference

 

[leancuisine]

there is no difference in doing cardio in the morning or at night,the only time u will see better effects doing the morning cardio is if u r already below 10% bf,but otherwise there is no difference

nonsense in its purest form.

dude.....

before making such an ill-informed statement, i suggest you research the topic.

a.m cardio has proven to be the most effective way to burn fat quickly and not just to those whose bodyfat is under 10%.

 

[solidj55]

nonsense in its purest form.

dude.....

before making such an ill-informed statement, i suggest you research the topic.

a.m cardio has proven to be the most effective way to burn fat quickly and not just to those whose bodyfat is under 10%.

Exactly what I was going to say.

 

[BigTimer]

actually its not nonsense,because i tried doing cardio in the afternoon instead of morning cause i was curious about results,and am getting the exact same results.also before u guys think im making all this up read this Q & A by lyle Mcdonald hes an expert on dieting and working out

Wannabebig: Straying from nutrition for a moment and its effects on fat loss let’s look at the physical aspect of fat loss. What's your take on doing any type of morning 'cardio' on an empty stomach or performing some sort of resistance training? I believe it was Bill Phillips who revolutionized this method and it's always been a topic that's sure to spark up a good debate.

Lyle M: Oh, this should be fun, piss some readers off. For the most part (with one or two exceptions), I don't think it matters. What Phillips (and everyone else) is getting at is this: in the morning, there is a high concentration of free fatty acids in your bloodstream, because of the overnight fast, low insulin, blah, blah, blah.

Now, we've known for years that, in general, the body will burn whatever fuel is most available. Studies reliably show that when you ramp up fatty acid availability to the muscle, the muscle burns more fat.

So the logic goes: do cardio in the morning, when there are lots of fatty acids available and you will burn more fat and thus lose more fat.

Wannabebig: Seems like a reasonable concept.

Lyle M: And the logic is 100% sound right up until the last part of it "...thus lose more fat." A fundamental mistake that's been held by researchers, physiologists, trainers and coaches for decades is that 'burning fat during activity = fat loss'. You find the same argument in the 'do low intensity activity because you burn a greater percentage of fat' folks; they logic that burning more fat during activity = more fat loss.

The problem (well, there are many problems) is that they are focusing only on what's happening during the exercise bout. That is, they are worried only about what's being burned during the 30 minutes of activity. That's problem #1: what about the other 23.5 hours of the day? Most (but not all) studies have shown that, when you look at total fat use over 24 hours in response to activity, the body will figure it out. For example, if you burn more fat during exercise, you tend to burn less fat the rest of the day; if you burn more glycogen during exercise, you burn more fat the rest of the day. Over 24 hours, it balances. At least two studies have shown (and note that this wasn't in bodybuilders or lean folks) that as long as the calorie burn during activity is the same, fat loss is the same. They had folks exercise at either a low or high intensity for something like 70 or 35 minutes (calorie burn was identical in either case). Fat loss was the same over the course of the study.

 

[BigTimer]

so do u guys still think its nonsense??????????

 

[solidj55]

Yes.