So I've been cutting for 2 months now and have dropped 14lbs. and am happy with my progress but am noticing that my muscle mass is decreasing... but my strength is still the same. I'm still using the same weight and rep/set ranges without any struggle, in fact on some lifts I'm still going up in weight.
What gives?
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03-06-2019, 08:40 AM #1
- Join Date: Mar 2016
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Age: 47
- Posts: 255
- Rep Power: 317
Losing size but not strength (cutting)
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03-06-2019, 08:42 AM #2
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03-06-2019, 08:54 AM #3
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03-06-2019, 08:56 AM #4
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03-06-2019, 09:15 AM #5
You probably just had more fat than you thought. As you lose that fat, yeah, where you lose that fat from will typically look smaller.
[If your strength is unchanged and you're getting adequate protein, it's doubtful you are losing muscle mass. You MAY be a little flatter if you're restricting carbs, though.]
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03-06-2019, 09:18 AM #6
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03-06-2019, 09:26 AM #7
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03-06-2019, 09:31 AM #8
- Join Date: Aug 2015
- Location: Bayside, California, United States
- Age: 23
- Posts: 1,364
- Rep Power: 15627
if you're losing weight but not strength, I doubt you're losing noticeable amounts of muscle mass. Looking skinny is probably just from fat loss. I was shocked the first time I lost a significant amount of weight by how much smaller I looked.
And yeah, carb restriction will make you look much flatter. It's not actual muscle loss.
14 pounds in 2 months is solid progress, and makes me feel like you're not in too extreme a deficit. I'd say keep up with it and just recognize that you're going to lose some sizeBP: 280
SQ: 455
DL: 585
Bodyweight 185
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03-06-2019, 09:46 AM #9
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03-06-2019, 09:53 AM #10
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03-06-2019, 12:45 PM #11
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03-06-2019, 03:13 PM #12
As spradish said it simple is water reduction in the muscle as muscle is made of about 70-80% water.
http://gira.cadouarn.pagesperso-oran...tal_muscle.htm
I wouldn't worry too much about fullness if I am honest. You could just consume more carbs and lower fats/ protein a bit if you have room within your calories. That generally will help retain water in the muscle.
Generally if you are keeping strength or even gaining that is a good sign muscle lose is at a minimum. Another aspect could be that you underestimated how much lbm to fat ratio you have (this effects most people). However it most likely is water amounts due to low carbs.
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03-06-2019, 03:30 PM #13
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