I'm trying to get my body back in shape, will doing a lot of cardio burn just my fat or will I lose muscles?

Question

I'm a stocky build trying to strip away the fat and keep the muscle. I don't do protein shakes, or fat burners. I stay chemical free. Good old fashioned hard work. Like Rocky Balboa in Rocky !V hahaha. Sylvester Stallone earned his muscles the old school way along with football star Herschel Walker who just did Push ups a lot. Old School stuff and old fashioned hardwork is the foundation for success in life... No gimmicks.

Answer 1

First of all, stay away from diet supplements. They are counterproductive. Doesn't sound like that's gonna be a problem for you anyway - just thought I'd mention it. When you don't eat your body perceives itself as starving and lowers your metabolism (how fast you burn calories) to compensate. Instead, you should go for weight loss in a manner that will last. Your body actually raises its' metabolism each time you eat though, What you should do is take your normal diet and spread it out over 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day. Stay away from the obvious things - cookies cakes and candies. Soda is a real killer; one twelve ounce can of soda will support about 11 pounds of body weight for a body at rest for an entire day. Don't eat anything within 4 hours of going to bed. And stay away from things made with white flour; your body processes it just like sugar. Eat foods made from whole grains instead. You could also start exercising. Any continuous exercise (walking, cycling, etc.) that you do for more than twenty minutes kicks in the fat burning machine. After twenty minutes (on average) your body starts to burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. And last, but not least, no - you shouldn't lose muscle mass that you've already gained because of doing cardio work.
John S. Bennett
http://www.4yourbody.info
P.S. Sylvester Stallone has admitted to past steroid use.

Answer 2

Cardio is the best way to lose fat. Your body will use carbs, fats, then protein, in that order, as a preferred fuel source. You won't lose muscle from working out, but you may lose muscle from NOT working out and being sedentary.

Answer 3

Don't actaully know, but if it does, just lift a few weights so they don't go away. Sorry, probably wasn't too helpful.