I posted this in the anabolc forum by mistake, so here's my question again.
I'm 10 weeks out from my first contest and working on getting ripped while holding as much muscle as possible. What's the consensus on which is the best way to accomplish this goal?
Should I keep my calories reasonable while drastically increasing my energy expenditure (cardio) or cut calories dramatically and do a minimum of cardio? So far I've lost about 7 to 9 pounds in three weeks. I've cut calories by about 800 per day and I'm currently doing 40 minutes of cardio 3 times per week. I haven't lost any muscle yet that I can tell and my strength during my workouts is about the same or slightly better. My carbs have gone from about 46% of calories to around 20%. Protein has increased from 37% of calories to about 60%. Percent of calories from fat (omega 3 & 6's) has remained constant in the low teens. The biggest change that I've noticed from this is that I'm always hungry and don't have as much energy anymore. I'm also taking Hydroxycut, 3 capsules 2x daily.
I'm 10 weeks out from my first contest and working on getting ripped while holding as much muscle as possible. What's the consensus on which is the best way to accomplish this goal?
Should I keep my calories reasonable while drastically increasing my energy expenditure (cardio) or cut calories dramatically and do a minimum of cardio? So far I've lost about 7 to 9 pounds in three weeks. I've cut calories by about 800 per day and I'm currently doing 40 minutes of cardio 3 times per week. I haven't lost any muscle yet that I can tell and my strength during my workouts is about the same or slightly better. My carbs have gone from about 46% of calories to around 20%. Protein has increased from 37% of calories to about 60%. Percent of calories from fat (omega 3 & 6's) has remained constant in the low teens. The biggest change that I've noticed from this is that I'm always hungry and don't have as much energy anymore. I'm also taking Hydroxycut, 3 capsules 2x daily.