Cardiovascular exercise, or combined cardio and resistance exercise, alongside a healthy diet still stands as the best techniques for fat loss -- there's just no way around the science. Read more: Eat more, weigh less: These high-volume foods will fill you up on fewer calories. To build muscle, focus on two main factors: weight training and protein consumption.
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Strength training is essential to changing your body composition -- your muscles won't grow if you don't challenge them. Additionally, you can't build muscle without being in a caloric surplus, so you must eat more calories than you burn to promote muscle growth. While all macronutrients are important, protein is especially important for building muscle. Without enough protein, your body will struggle to repair the muscle tissues that get broken down during weight training.
Plus, studies show that a high-protein diet can help with losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time. Research shows that, while in a calorie deficit, consuming more protein than you normally might can help preserve your lean body mass a. In people who have already been following a strength training program, increasing protein intake and following a heavy weightlifting routine leads to improvements in body composition.
Read more: The 7 most important strength-training moves for building muscle. Body builders are known for their ability to achieve insanely lean and muscular physiques. This obviously isn't everyone's goal, but it's a good example of what's possible with body recomposition.
It sounds confusing that you have to eat fewer calories than you burn to lose fat, but you have to eat more calories than you burn to build muscle. It's actually pretty simple when you learn about the concept of calorie cycling: modifying your calorie and macronutrient intake to match your goal for the day. The first thing you need to do is figure out your maintenance calories , or how many calories you burn on a day you don't exercise.
You can see a certified personal trainer, dietitian or other health professional to find this number, or you can use an online calorie calculator. On days that you do cardio exercise, you should consume enough calories to meet your maintenance number. Consuming maintenance calories on a cardio day ensures that you're in a slight deficit to promote fat loss, but not in a deficit so large that your body starts using muscle tissue as fuel. We want the muscle! Read more: Should you lift weights or do cardio first? On days that you do a strength training workout for 30 minutes or more, eat more calories than your maintenance number with a focus on protein.
Weight loss: how to maintain the most muscle mass when dieting
This number is called your "rest day calories. If you're still confused, think of it this way: Every day, you consume new calories and your body must decide what to do with those calories. Your body essentially has three basic choices: immediately burn the calories for fuel, use them to repair and build muscle tissue or store them as fat.
If you're looking for a body transformation, you definitely don't want to store calories as fat. But you do want your body to use new calories to repair the muscles you broke down during weightlifting workouts.
Preserve your muscle mass - Harvard Health
So, you'll eat more calories and protein on weight-training days so your body uses those calories and nutrients to fuel muscle repair, and thus muscle growth. And you'll eat fewer calories on cardio days and days that you don't work out because you want your body to use the fat it already has as fuel -- not to use new calories as fuel.
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Make sure you get the best pair of shoes for your workout. The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.
Body recomposition: How to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time Transforming your body isn't easy, but if you want muscle definition, you'll need to do it. When it comes to losing fat to look good, people tend to go to extremes.
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All winter long you have tried to bulk up and pack on the muscle. While this is all good, you may end up with some unwanted body fat. So, you decide to either not eat much, eat too little, avoid certain foods like the plague, and end up miserable with less muscle than you had from the start. This does not have to happen. In order to retain muscle while shedding body fat , you need to have a sustainable approach, not an extreme one. If you have an adjustable approach, depending on your goals at the time, you will always stay within your fighting weight, and be able to gain some muscle mass.
Before laying out a sample meal plan, consider the following critical tips:. I am a big fan of intermittent fasting IF. There are many benefits to IF that can help you reach your goals. Just be aware that cutting too many calories from your diet can lower you metabolism, leaving you hungry and primed to regain the fat that you lost. You also may find yourself eating the wrong types of foods after a long fast.
So be mindful of the foods you eat to fuel your body. Piggybacking off 1, you will not make progress by cutting calories and eating processed foods when you are hungry. Sure, if you are in a caloric deficit and are eating gluten-free this and fat free that, you will lose weight, however this will not stick long-term. As Josh Hillis Says, co-author of Fat Loss Happens on Monday , weight loss will be determined by the quantity of the food you eat, but body composition fat and muscle will be determined by your food quality.
This will allow you to explore your pallet.
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You have to let yourself indulge once in a while for your sanity and to kick-start your metabolism. This also allows you some wiggle room when you are in a crunch. This is a guide to help you get an array of macronutrients protein, carbs, fats and micronutrients vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients in each day. Try and include at least one to two servings from each of the following food categories.
How to Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle
If you work out 2 hours a week, multiply the body weight you want to reach say you weigh and want to weigh , by 12 calories. If you work out 3 hours a week, multiply your target weight by 13 calories. If you work out hours a week, multiply your target bodyweight by 15 calories. NOTE: If you are in a muscle-building phase, simply increase calories to calories times the bodyweight you want to get up to. Another rule to follow is the protein rule.