how to lose muscle mass and fat??

Hi, I don't mean to ask something inappropriate, after all this is a body-building, forum but I would like to know what the most efficient way to lose muscle mass and fat but still maintain a certain amount of hard earned muscle and strength.

I've been searching how to do this, and i found a post a while back about a woman who had the same concerns as I do. She found that her overdeveloped quads were too big for her body; however, the answers given were not what she was looking for, such as building the upper body to match her lower half. This is not what I'm looking for as well.

I have been squatting, lunging, wall sitting, stiff deadlifting for the past couple months with considerably heavy weights. Now that I have gained muscle on my bottom back side (my goal was to develop glute muscles) I found that my quads have grown larger than I'd like. I understand spot reduction is impossible but my question is more of a What did/would you do in this situation?

I've read that by having a calorie deficit and running at a steady pace for an hour a couple times a week will speed up muscle loss. I am curious, will my body fat percentage remain the same? The author of the article I received this information from also mentioned that by doing any exercises for the legs, will keep the muscle, not help get rid of it. Thus in order to lose quad/thigh muscle I'd have to ignore the bicycle and pushing weights. Is this true? I know taking this advice breaks all the rules, but keep in mind my question is the opposite of what people come on this site for.

Please consider this is a personal preference, I am just not enjoying the tight feeling around my quads when I wear jeans, and everywhere else either fits or is too loose. The problem is I do not want to lose much muscle in my glute era, I have naturally don't have a butt, so i'm happy I have one now. :)

I guess this question is about cutting, - I would like to maintain my glute muscles but slim my thighs and quads. To achieve this what do I need to do in terms of eating calories, pfcs etc. and suggested exercises. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you.

I think you will find that the problem is not that you have too much muscle mass in your legs. The problem is most likely that you have fat on TOP of that muscle, giving your legs a bigger appearance. I would recommend you focus on cutting down your body fat percentage primarily through diet rather than trying to lose muscle mass which will ultimately just lead to you having squishy, wobbly legs.

For calorie cals, check out the sticky at the top of the Nutrition forum.

I don't understand how somebody can be muscular with OP's stats.

[QUOTE=juliacheh;448194681]I don't understand how somebody can be muscular with OP's stats.[/QUOTE]

I would have to agree with you. At OP's height and weight she has to be very thin.

I am guessing that her clothes are so tiny that any kind of muscle development would alter the way they fit and if she were to go up a size to fit her thighs they would not fit her anywhere else...

thanks Lou. I think you are correct. I will cut properly and see where I go from there. I always measure at a low body fat percentage though, ( the last time i measured i was at 12-13, but i am probaby up to 14 right now) but I don't look anywhere near what I am supposed to be, which always boggles my mind.

Julia- I guess you'd have to see me to understand. I am slim but I have enough definition and muscle to not look frail. I think most of my muscle is on my bottom half which is normal for women, so i've read.

haha my clothes arnt that tiny. my jean size is a 26.. please tell me im not delusional

Can you post any pictures?

[QUOTE=juliacheh;448194681]I don't understand how somebody can be muscular with OP's stats.[/QUOTE]

I agree completely, I don't think many people are going to give advice on how to lose muscle and/or fat to someone who is 5'7" and 115 lbs assuming those are current stats. That is in the underweight category. Not trying to be snarky at all, just honest.

[QUOTE=SushiFlower;448218091]
haha my clothes arnt that tiny. my jean size is a 26.. please tell me im not delusional[/QUOTE]

A 26? Mens? Womens? Is that a US size or a size from another country?

According to this: [url]http://www.shoplastyle.com/info/sizing.asp[/url]
^
Size 2 ish...

Thanks Emma. I'm not much of a shopper, so I didn't realize that high end jeans were sized differently.

Ok. I'm gonna be blunt. A size 2 is tiny. Close to ity-bity. You are small enough that suggesting you add more muscle on top (and all around) is probably the healthiest thing you can do.

How have you been measuring your body fat? That doesn't sound right to me....

the last time i measured i was a 12.5% that was back in the summer. Since i've changed my diet from keto to eating clean carb,s im probably up now to 14% now, these measurements were taken by the weight scale that sends electronic pulses through your feet, i'm not too sure how accurate it is.

lou what do you mean?

I was prepared to be lectured/ commented about my weight and height. But honestly i have never been approached by someone in real life saying that I'm too skinny, ive had a couple of compliments that I'm perfectly muscular for my size (which made me really happy). This is my natural weight. I used to be 125, but it went down after exersizing and having healthier eating habits, not starving myself or watching my weight, which I hope is not what you assume.

I have naturally very skinny arms and ankles, all my weight is kept on my stomach and lower body. Anyway I am looking forward to staying healthy and Fit but not too muscular for my size. i'd like a ballet dancers body, if that could provide a little of where i'm headed.

I'm just trying to tone down the muscle on my quads but maintain glute muscles... that is my question, can anyone help me aside form making comments about my weight?? thanks I appreciate it =]

[QUOTE=SushiFlower;448733341]the last time i measured i was a 12.5% that was back in the summer. Since i've changed my diet from keto to eating clean carb,s im probably up now to 14% now, these measurements were taken by the weight scale that sends electronic pulses through your feet, i'm not too sure how accurate it is.

lou what do you mean?

I was prepared to be lectured/ commented about my weight and height. But honestly i have never been approached by someone in real life saying that I'm too skinny, ive had a couple of compliments that I'm perfectly muscular for my size (which made me really happy). This is my natural weight. I used to be 125, but it went down after exersizing and having healthier eating habits, not starving myself or watching my weight, which I hope is not what you assume.

I have naturally very skinny arms and ankles, all my weight is kept on my stomach and lower body. Anyway I am looking forward to staying healthy and Fit but not too muscular for my size. i'd like a ballet dancers body, if that could provide a little of where i'm headed.

I'm just trying to tone down the muscle on my quads but maintain glute muscles... that is my question, can anyone help me aside form making comments about my weight?? thanks I appreciate it =][/QUOTE]

Look at this first: [url]http://www.stumptuous.com/honesty-is-the-best-policy[/url]
Are your legs really too muscular? Probably not.

That being said, if you really want advice on how to lose muscle mass, you are in the wrong place.

Leigh Peele has some interesting comments in response to someone asking your exact same question in this podcast and gives advice to a woman with that problem:
[url]http://www.leighpeele.com/ask-leigh-the-weekend-means-everything[/url]

I think those scales, at least the ones sold to the public, are pretty unreliable.

Are you able to post a picture so we can get a better idea of your body composition?

If you are looking to spot reduce, you will do so unsuccessfully. You will also lose muscle in your upper body.. and may even lose it there first before you can even consider losing it on your legs. I wouldnt bother trying to spot reduce, just dont work out your legs as hardcore. Do them 2x a month, high reps and low weight... thats just my opinion though.

[QUOTE=SushiFlower;448175741]
I have been squatting, lunging, wall sitting, stiff deadlifting for the past couple months with considerably heavy weights. Now that I have gained muscle on my bottom back side (my goal was to develop glute muscles) I found that my quads have grown larger than I'd like. I understand spot reduction is impossible but my question is more of a What did/would you do in this situation?
[/QUOTE]

Doing this^^for a couple months is not enough time to add a kind of decent muscle. Seriously, it takes a lot longer than that.

With your stats I'm going to say you have little muscle...until I see a pic to show me otherwise.

Stay in a deficit and do a ton of cardio, this is the key for losing muscle.

Those scales are incredibly unreliable as they are affected by hydration status, recent food intake, last bowel motion etc etc.

I maintain chances are you are a thin girl without muscle muscle mass (aka skinny fat) so the second you started lifting a bit, your muscles underneath the leg fat have grown a smidge plus are holding water, giving you what feels to you like "overly muscular" legs.

[QUOTE=SushiFlower;448733341]the last time i measured i was a 12.5% that was back in the summer. Since i've changed my diet from keto to eating clean carb,s im probably up now to 14% now, these measurements were taken by the weight scale that sends electronic pulses through your feet, i'm not too sure how accurate it is.

lou what do you mean?

I was prepared to be lectured/ commented about my weight and height. But honestly i have never been approached by someone in real life saying that I'm too skinny, ive had a couple of compliments that I'm perfectly muscular for my size (which made me really happy). This is my natural weight. I used to be 125, but it went down after exersizing and having healthier eating habits, not starving myself or watching my weight, which I hope is not what you assume.

I have naturally very skinny arms and ankles, all my weight is kept on my stomach and lower body. Anyway I am looking forward to staying healthy and Fit but not too muscular for my size. i'd like a ballet dancers body, if that could provide a little of where i'm headed.

I'm just trying to tone down the muscle on my quads but maintain glute muscles... that is my question, can anyone help me aside form making comments about my weight?? thanks I appreciate it =][/QUOTE]

if the only bodyfat testing you have ever had is thru the electronic scale....then you have never had it done.

Thoose are highly inaccurate and can flucuate by 5-9% just based on how much water and salt you have had in a day. they are horrible, please never mention that piece of **** again. LOL


that being said....most women who gain fat, in the legs and butt, where it is most common to put on fat, always think its to much muscle. If you truly were 115lbs and had overdeveloped quads, you would have good seperation in the quads and be able to see each muscle, is this the case? if not, I would assume you have put on bodyfat.

Further more telling me you just came off a keto diet, tells me more then likely, your body has eaten up most of its muscle, your metabolism is slower now, and your putting on bodyfat.....the exact opposite then over developed quads.

keto diets eat muscle like crazy....I will not go into all the specifics and biochemistry how, and i am sure (I always do) will get people who disagree with me. So all I will say about keto diets is believe me they are bad bad bad news, if someone wants to disagree, I dont care, its your body.

my background: 17 years of experience, multiple bodybuilding shows, and prepare diets and train multiple clients for contest prep.

[QUOTE=SushiFlower;448175741]Hi, I don't mean to ask something inappropriate, after all this is a body-building, forum but I would like to know what the most efficient way to lose muscle mass and fat but still maintain a certain amount of hard earned muscle and strength.

I've been searching how to do this, and i found a post a while back about a woman who had the same concerns as I do. She found that her overdeveloped quads were too big for her body; however, the answers given were not what she was looking for, such as building the upper body to match her lower half. This is not what I'm looking for as well.

I have been squatting, lunging, wall sitting, stiff deadlifting for the past couple months with considerably heavy weights. Now that I have gained muscle on my bottom back side (my goal was to develop glute muscles) I found that my quads have grown larger than I'd like. [B]I understand spot reduction is impossible[/B] but my question is more of a What did/would you do in this situation?

I've read that by having a calorie deficit and running at a steady pace for an hour a couple times a week will speed up muscle loss. I am curious, will my body fat percentage remain the same? The author of the article I received this information from also mentioned that by doing any exercises for the legs, will keep the muscle, not help get rid of it. Thus in order to lose quad/thigh muscle I'd have to ignore the bicycle and pushing weights. Is this true? I know taking this advice breaks all the rules, but keep in mind my question is the opposite of what people come on this site for.

Please consider this is a personal preference, I am just not enjoying the tight feeling around my quads when I wear jeans, and everywhere else either fits or is too loose. The problem is I do not want to lose much muscle in my glute era, I have naturally don't have a butt, so i'm happy I have one now. :)

I guess this question is about cutting, - I would like to maintain my glute muscles but slim my thighs and quads. To achieve this what do I need to do in terms of eating calories, pfcs etc. and suggested exercises. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you.[/QUOTE]

Not in the sense of reducing muscle size. You would simply keep breaking down the muscle and starving it of nutrients or you could overtrain it and regress that way. I bet you could just throw in heavy daily leg extensions while dieting normally and you'd see your quads whither away...

[QUOTE=juliacheh;448194681]I don't understand how somebody can be muscular with OP's stats.[/QUOTE]

That's the first thing I noticed. If she loses anymore muscle or fat she'd be in the running for anorexia. Sorry, but really, 5'7" & 115lbs??? I'd have to squint to see her!! lol!

At her height/weight now she is considered under weight using the BMI formula.

Sounds like a body image distortion problem to me.

[QUOTE=Intenceman;452412761]Sounds like a body image distortion problem to me.[/QUOTE]

^ that must be it, I'd want her to take some full body pics of herself and actually SEE what she looks like in jeans, etc.. because the mirror lies it's not a good indication of weight gain, it can make 1lb look like 10 if you have insecurities.. and working out on the weights a while can make you SEEM like you're getting bulky in the mirror but in reality it's not.. at 115 and 5'7" that's even close to a size 0 I would think, so trying to be "hollywood" skinny its pretty dangerous..

I'm 5'4 and 115 and my quads are non-existent. They have wasted themselves to the point that when I flex, there is NO palpable mass. That is because I have health problems and the meds I am on have destroyed my appetite. Luckily I'm on a rack of supplements and weight bearing exercise now to sort things out.

You are 3 inches taller than me, I fail to see how it can be possible for your quads to be "too big". I think you probably can't see what's really in the mirror and have a disproportionate view of your body. Post up a picture.

I think OP took her 18 inch thighs (per her stats) and left. Perhaps she found a home on a pro-ED site. If not, I hope OP will listen to the advice and comments on this thread.

Nobody here is slamming you. You may not like what you've heard here, but sometimes others have a more clear perspective. Your stats indicate you are very thin and do not have a lot of muscle mass or fat. Perhaps you can find someone in real life to talk to this about...a counselor?