Losing weight while maintaining mass..

[SilentEcho13]

I'm currently 5'8" 192lbs, and my arms are about 18" solid muscle. All my fat is gathered at my stomach and i'd like to get rid of it.

I currently go to the gym every other day (m-w-f-s-t-t-s) for 2-3 hours.

I'm trying to watch my eating habits, and it seems to be working but very very slowly. (less than 1lb per 2 weeks).

Can anyone suggest any methods/supplements that can help me out?

Thanks.

[Jaymeany]

Increase the amount of time doing cardio and maintain a range of 70% max heart rate. Also DON'T use one of those formulas to find your max heart rate. Take a good heart rate monitor, warm up then do 5 sets of 100m hills. That should get you close to your max heart rate

[ScubaJenn81]

I agree. Keep up your weights, but be sure you are doing your cardio in 70-85% intensity range. Diet is such a HUGE component to a weight/fat lose plan. You have to tone down things you do not need in your diet. No matter how good you think you are eating, if you have someone else look at your diet (written down), they can catch someone you may have missed. If you want to post it here, we could help out too.

[MagnaBoxer]

Check out some of the workouts on this site.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbin...orkoutPrograms

There are several that are geared toward maintaining mass / losing fat. Never tried any of them so can't say which may be the best. I'm stubborn and set in my routine, which is probably why I will forever be the same shape that I am now.

Due to my work schedule I can't pick which days I work out but will do something every day if possible. I've recently picked up on the cardio and even started getting in 20-30 minutes after my weight training sessions. On days when I'm not lifting I try getting in 60 minutes on the treadmill, bike, or elliptical trainer. This has helped me more than anything and I'm really hoping for the added benefit of better lung function to improve my bottom times.

If you don't mind trying something different give one of these workouts a shot. It just may shake things up enough to shock your body into responding with some positive results.

Don't waste your time with supplements or diet pills. Been down that road and the only thing that got thinner was my wallet.

Besides, you're going to need to save that money so that you can buy more GEAR from SCUBA TOYS.......

[learn2turn]

The general consensus in the fitness world is you can't build muscle mass and loss fat at the same time so pick one and make that your priority and stick with that and then cycle every month or two if need be.

So, lose fat. Prioritize that while trying to maintain as much muscle mass i.e., minimize muscle loss.

You must weight train to minimize muscle loss while losing weight. So hit the weights and work each part of the body 2-3/times a week; don't over-train by going more than that. So maybe, whole-body work out 2-3 days a week would work. Or a split, say upper 2-3 days a week and lower 2-3 days or push exercise 2-3 days a week and pull exercises 2-3 days a week.

You can do cardio after your weight workout and also on your off days. It's good for general fitness plus you burn more calories.

The important thing is caloric deficit. You have to burn more calories than you eat plan and simple. Forget all the 65%, 75%, 85% crap. It's calories, not where they come from.

For you cardio, you might try "HIIT" which is "High intensity interval training". Google it; you'll find some article. Basically, instead of steady cardio, you do intervals, say 45 secs max out and then two minutes at a normal pace. Let me tell you, it rocks. It's like cardio nirvana. Whips you into shape big time. The reason it's great for weight-loss, is you get afterburn. With steady cardio, once you stop, within minutes, your metabolic rate goes back to normal. When you do intervals, it stays higher for hours. You also get this effect to a lesser extent by strength training.

[highdesert]

Do a portion of your weight regimen with lighter weights, but at a faster rate ... turn part of your weight workout into cardio. Move quickly from one set or apparatus to the next. Don't allow yourself recovery time between sets. You will burn weight.

[JFH]

Opinions are going to vary widely as you see.
IMO you can gain some muscle and loose fat. Cut out the carbs...bread, potatoes, pasta, rice) cut out the sweets and eat more protein.
If you want to gain muscle move to basic big lift movements and go heavier. Squats, Bench, Deadlift, Dips, chins, etc. www.t-nation.com has some really good eating plans and workouts. A lot is geared towards the really serious lifters but there are plenty of nuggets out there for the rest of us.
Add fish oil, BCAAs and protein.

Oh yeah, add some intense cardio on the off days.

[Charles R]

I read a recent study done by Stanford that did 3 groups of people same diets group #1 just diet lost weight mostly Muscle Group #2 cardio lost same weight even fat and muscle Group #3 cardio weight 50% lost mostly fat but some muscle. So I guess there is no way to avoid loosing some muscle while loosing fat just loose the fat then build the lean muscle back

[greyzen]

those poor innocent mussels...

[YellowfinKunkfish]

I agree with the earlier post that said, burn more calories than you take in. It's true, that's all you have to do to lose weight.

Cardio is going to burn a lot of calories, building up the muscle is going to burn fat.

You don't have to cut out carbs completely to lose weight, just switch to whole grain, whole wheat, and cut out the sugar. Most people don't realize how much sugar they really eat, esp. if they drink pop.

In 6 months I've lost a total of 45 pounds. South Beach diet, treadmill, crunches, and weights. I'm not starving, I eat when I want, and as much as I want. I just try to exercise more, if I overeat. I cheat on my diet (have to have mexican) at least once a month, so I don't feel deprived.
Sometimes on dive weekends I end up cheating, but I don't worry about it too much, just plan a long surface swim, or offer to tow my buddy!

Good luck!!

Rhonda