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Anonymous
Question for /fit/ regulars.

I have been lifting weights for around two years, and in this time I have gained close to 40 pounds (I started at around 210) within this time I have seen the following improvements..

Bench went from 150-340
Squat is somewhere in the mid 600's (haven't maxed in a while)
etc etc

Basically I gained a lot of strength and shapeless size. I ate a fuckload of food and It seemed like I gained quite a bit of fat along with the muscle.

My question is this..

I started a diet 3 weeks ago and have lost around 10 pounds so far, I went from eating approx 5000-8000 cal's to around 3000 now. The diet is obviously working, and I am starting to tell a difference in my bodyfat. However, my strength is going down hill, hard. My bench had probably gone done around 30 pound, and 315 seems like a nightmare when in the past I could do it a few times. Squat has gone done, everything has. I work out harder now than I did before, i'm eating right, yet i'm losing strength? WTF is going on?
>> Anonymous
You can try doing fewer reps of heavy weight if big lifts are your main concern.

If you are looking better and you workout for this purpose, does it matter how much you lift?
>> Anonymous
>>418313
Thanks for the response first of all.

Yes it kind of does, because I'm going to start playing baseball soon and losing strength in a light concern of mine.
>> Anonymous
You should be more concerned with power, not strength...
>> Anonymous
In losing more than 1lbs a week you will definately lose muscle. Make sure you keep lifting heavy, or the body doesn't have a reason to keep it. Also cottage cheese is your friend to keep blood amino acid levels up at all times, to avoid breakdown.
>> Anonymous
What you're finding out OP, is that high levels of strength and power have nothing to do with having a six pack. You aren't providing your muscles with enough "fuel" and they're catabolizing, when you lose weight, you lose strength. 3000 cal down from 5-8000 cal is more or less a starvation diet, this is not "eating right."

If you want to stay strong while lowering your bodyfat%, it's going to take some time and very careful manipulation of your diet. Look up Dave Tate to see how a very big guy lost a lot of bodyfat while staying strong.