Is it true I could be losing muscle instead of fat when working out?

Question

Is it even possible to actually lose muscle?
I am overweight. I weighed 162 lbs and is 5'4 before I started working out.
Now I've lost about 12 pounds in a little over a month through dieting and working out at the gym. I lost about 3 inches on my waist and 4 inches on my hips. I do 60 minutes on the eliptical(650-780 calories) and weight training. I go at least 4 times a week cause I'm still in school. I think my diet is pretty good. I eat proteins(like grilled chicken breast, fish, hard boiled eggs[not including yolk]) at least 3 or 4 times a week, at least 3 servings of fruit everyday, vegetables, and lots and lots of water. And I don't eat after 7. Someone told me I could only be losing water weight and muscle and not fat. Could that be true?

Answer 1

weight changes during the month for most of women.
to lose more weight in the beginning is normal. you will start losing less and less with every week because your fat reserves will get smaller.
when you do cardio you lose fat and muscle, but weight training helps you to not lose muscle and tone them .
dont count calories burned - count time.

find calorie/fitness calculator on the net, enter your stats and it will tell you how many calories a day you need to maintain your weight. take 300-400calories off that number and that's how much you need to lose weight.
eat 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones.
5-8 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
8 glasses of water a day.
4-6 times a week cardio work out for 30-50min plus light weight training.
no junk food, no sodas, no white flour (white bread, pasta, cookies, cakes etc)

Answer 2

A tricky one.

If you were to completely overdo the cardiovascular, then yes, you could potentially lose muscle mass as well as body fat.

But you'd have to burning off a huge amount of calories. TWELVE pounds fat loss in a month is a huge amount of weight to lose. Stick to 45 mins on the CV and carry on with the weights. Make sure you hae at least two days rest between weights workouts.

And bravo on the healthy eating plan - stick with it and only eat crap as the occasional treat.

Not eating after a certain time is a pile of bullsh*t - just make sure you dont eat anything large/heavy before going to bed.

My only other advice would be to maybe think about a protein supplement like Reflex Natural Whey. This contains no artificial sh*t and digests nice and easy. Whey protein is by far the best protein for muscle synthesis.

In saying that, watch how much protein you are consuming (no more than 110 grams a day for your body size/weight and do not eat excessive amounts of protein long-term or your could damage your kidneys. Only eat a lot of protein on workout days).

And to prevent muscle loss you must eat CARBS. These are by and large the best fuel source for your body - not enough carbs (energy), your body starts using its reserves and will metabolise whatever it can quickest - whether this is fat OR muscle.

Without eating plenty of carbs you can say bye bye to ever growing decent muscle. Protein and carbs go hand in hand when it comes to building muscle; in essence, BOTH are just as important as each other when it comes to bulking up - make sure you eat plenty of wholemeal foods (and oats) and make sure you eat decent proteins and PLENTY of carbs within a few hours AFTER your workouts (do not any processed foods or anything with white flower). And eat SMALL meals every 2.5-3 hours during the day to keep your energy levels constant and thus prevent your metabolism from doing anything you dont want it to.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

To me, it sounds like you are doing everything right to keep muscle loss at a minimum. It is inevitable that you will lose some muscle mass unless you are doing intensive weight training, eating excessive amounts of protein and taking various supplements.

As long as no more than about 1/4-1/3 of your weight loss is from muscle, you are on the right track.

HTH : )

Answer 5

Not possible to lose muscle. It is possible to load the muscle tissue with fat cells. You will lose water wieght when you work out and sweat, as long as you are alive and breathing anyway! Go to bodyfor life.com read on the workouts and diets. Follow it rigorously and in 3 months nobody will recognize you. Not even on the phone! I'll help where I can, let me know how it goes!

Answer 6

its probably not water weight. water weight is maybe 2 pounds lost after excercise and is usually gained back as soon as you eat. also, although muscle does weigh less than fat, if you are working out then clearly you are not losing muscle. i hope this helped.

Answer 7

You are eating protein, so the your muscle tissue is safe. If you didn't get enough protein, then your body would get it from muscle tissue. It sounds to me like you are losing fat :-)

Answer 8

that isn't completely genuine. in case you chop back your calorie intake and workout you will lose fat, however the subject is you won't be able to overdo on the workout. strolling is the only workout the place you're able to do as much as you like for as long as you like and don't ought to problem approximately dropping muscle. in case you do cardio, you need to cap it at approximately 30-40 minutes at a time (under no circumstances greater effective than 40 5 minutes at a time) or you will start to burn muscle as a replace of fat. For potential education, cap it at one hour in step with consultation. you apart from would must be careful to no longer cut back your caloric intake too a ways. grownup adult men ought to under no circumstances consume below a million,800 energy in step with day mutually as attempting to shed pounds, and girls human beings ought to under no circumstances consume below a million,4 hundred energy in step with day while attempting to shed pounds. in case you drop too low, your physique is going into starvation mode. while that happens, your physique intially burns fat yet then your metabolism slows way down and your physique greedily hangs directly to each final little bit of physique fat which you have. as a result, your physique starts to burn the tissue that demands the main ability to maintain -- MUSCLE. no longer good. terrific common techniques to lose physique fat are: (a million) cut back finished caloric intake, yet no longer too a ways as stated above, (2) upload workout, yet be careful to no longer overdo, (3) strengthen protein intake, (4) cut back down on carbs, yet do no longer cut back them out altogether, and (5) consume smaller foodstuff or snacks in maximum cases for the time of the day -- the guideline of thumb is 3 small foodstuff and a pair of snacks in step with day, with breakfast interior of an hour of waking up and then the foodstuff/snacks at style of three-4 hour periods.

Answer 9

THE MYTH ABOUT EATING AFTER 7PM IS FALSE, CHECK OUT A BOOK CALLED BODY FOR LIFE, IT TELLS YOU HOW TO WORK OUT AND EAT RIGHT. ITS AN EASY READ AND IF YOU WORK OUT PROPERLY YOU DONT HAVE TO BE THER LONGET THAN AN 45 MIN..