losing muscle

[Boxtrot]

Ok im gonna try to make this as clear as possible.

I've tried cutting numerous times over the years and the only result i seem to get is weight loss and what appears to be muscle loss and next to no fat loss.

I remember i tried cutting for the first time ever when i was 19 having no idea about anything i simply ate salad sandwhiches and soup for 2 weeks. I dropped 2 kilos and could see a visible 6 pack whilst tensing.

Every cut since then i have tried to use all the principles of 'cutting' to lose body fat i.e. high protein, low cal, cardio, weight lifting, low carb etc.

Yet till this day all those routes to the same goal has just yielded muscle loss. So my after reading someones post how they believe they are 'carb sensitive' yet having no idea whether that exists or not, i am beginning to assume that i am also carb sensitive. Especially after reading an article on how your live can synthesize carbs into protein and protein into carbs (i think) for a period of time to maintain energy levels and or muscle.

Is it possible my pertituary gland is sensitive and low glycogen stores will cause it to release its hormone taking me into starvation mode, hence needing more carbs to function properly?

I know my post might sound a bit uninformed in some spots but im curious to get to the bottom of this.

[fit2bOld]

You may want to post this in the diet section, You may be restricting your total calories to the point of causing the starvation mode. A long term commitment to live lean may be a better alternative to bulking and cutting.

[John Andrew]

Hi mate, I think you should spend some time in the diet section! Learn about a balanced diet. Its vital to staying healthy. Also remember that many bodybuilders only cut maybe once a year for a competition. The rest of the year they carry some weight.
To me its more important to be strong than lean. Having said that I do not want to look fat. I always follow a clean diet , low sugar and fat with lots of rice and chicken and fruit. I may weigh from 75kg to 115 kgs depending on what group I wish to compete in. Its easier to win at the higher body weights! I say this only because with a good diet I have made these sorts of changes in my body for the last 30 years!
Really, eat fewer calories and lose weight. Eat more calories more often and gain weight! You will get the look you want from hard training! Good luck, John

[Shadowmaker]

i have the same problem most of the time, but the basic stuff is :

1)never cut your carbs fast... start by lowering them by 30-40g a week.
2)if you bulk on roids, cut on roids.
3)if your muscle gets smaller it doesnt mean that u lose muscle mass... when cutting, i usually do 5 days clean, low carbs, then eat lots of crap, because i like the taste and i dont care the idea here is that on the 5th day, im usually like 5lbs lighter than i was at the 1st day, because of the glycogen. at the 5th day, all my clothes hang on me, i am SO much smaller, because of glycogen depletion(spelling?!) in my muscle... so, when the 6th day comes, i eat like 5 times the calories i would do during the week, and the next morning - BOOM, im big and ripped... a lil bit of water retention around the waste thou.

so - if you do stuff right, but you get smaller, it doesnt really mean that you REALLY get smaller... try 1 or 2 high carb days and tons of sleep and see how you change...