Break Up With The Scale
With a goal like body recomposition, it’s important to be patient and measure your progress in ways other than the scale, because you’re not just trying to lose weight.
“Progress may feel slow because, unlike a dedicated weight-loss or weight-gain phase, you won’t be able to rely on the scales to help monitor progress,” Carpenter said. “You may train for a month and see no change in actual scale weight.”
Measuring body composition without expensive equipment is challenging, but a couple of options are keeping waist measurements or using a tight-fitting pair of jeans to see whether they start to feel tighter in some places as you gain muscle and looser in others as you lose fat.
“Understand that the scales won’t be able to tell you much about your progress, and other ways to measure body composition may be valuable, if you are the kind of person who enjoys tracking progress like that,” Carpenter said.
How Do You Lose Fat
There is a simple answer and a slightly less simple answer when it comes to losing body fat.
The simple answer: âconsume fewer calories than you expend or burn.â
Eight words, and one or two of those could probably be thrown out.
When your body needs more calories than the amount you are eating, you are in a âcaloric deficit.â Your body doesnât have the calories it needs as fuel, so itâll start breaking down parts of itself for its energy requirements.
The hope is that your body will mostly pull from fat stores, though depending on how you are training it will also break down muscle too.
Said again: when you are eating a caloric deficit, your body will pull from both its fat stores AND existing muscle for energy.
Troubling indeed.
From a physique and health standpoint, obviously weâd prefer that your body doesnât break down muscle when in a caloric deficit, and instead really focuses on using fat stores instead.
I make this point for a reason: your goal in fitness shouldnât only be âweight loss,â despite the common vernacular used.
Who cares what the scale says, right?
The goal instead is to reduce body fat while also keeping the muscle you have .
That leads to a better physique and a healthier body.
This is why there is a big market for devices that supposedly assess your body fat percentage.
And lower body fat percentages are where âtoned armsâ and â6-pack absâ hang out.
Good question.
Your options to create this caloric deficit include:
Get Shredded With A Muscle Building Diet For Women
B.S. – Nutritional Science, R.D., L.D.
Writer, The Fit Mother Project
B.S. – Nutritional Science, R.D., L.D.
Writer, The Fit Mother Project
With a muscle-building diet for women, you can get the tight, toned body you’ve always wanted. And muscle building isn’t just for men or athletes!
Now more than ever, women are jumping on the bandwagon of building lean muscle to accelerate weight loss, improve body composition, and achieve the figures they desire.
Women benefit from muscle-building diets and drinking protein shakes just like men.
Regular resistance training and eating a well-balanced, protein-rich diet helps:
- Improve body composition
- Create aesthetically pleasing body contours
- Increase metabolism
- Reduce waist circumference
- Make you look years younger
Even if you dont drop weight right away when following a muscle-building diet for women, youll notice improvements in body shape and reductions in fat.
Because muscle burns more calories than fat, even when youre resting, building muscle boosts metabolism to enhance weight loss over time.
Keep reading and get started with your muscle-building diet for women today!
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Best Foods For Muscle Gain
Protein gets a lot of attention when youre thinking of building muscle mass. Because muscles are made of protein, getting enough of the nutrient is important.
But, how much protein should you be getting a day? The recommended dietary allowance suggests a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight . For an adult weighing 135 pounds, thats only about 49 grams of protein a day. To maximize muscle, therecommendation is 1.6-2.2 grams of protein per kilo a day. If you weigh 135 pounds, thats between about 97 to 134 grams daily.
Protein isa critical part of a muscle-building diet, but its not all that should be considered. To build muscle, most people believe we need protein and only protein, but this is erroneous, Hunnes says. We need a little bit of proteinand can get more than enough from plant-based foodsand quite a bit of healthy carbohydrates. Fats are also important because theyre a primary fuel source for the body. Eating enough fats helps with satiety, helping you feel fuller and more energized for longer. With that in mind, add these foods to your grocery list.
Better Satiety And Reduced Hunger
Theres an inverse relationship between thermogenesis and digestion when it comes to protein. Because its thermogenic power is so strong, it actually takes a while to break down, digest and absorb it.
This makes it perfect for keeping you fuller for longer whats called satiety.
Studies show that protein regulates important appetite-controlling hormones such as peptide YY and GLP-1.
Protein also reduces concentrations of ghrelin a hormone released by the stomach that increases feelings of hunger .
Last of all, adding protein-rich foods to your diet will result in lower overall calorie intake. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , those with higher protein on their plate ate far less food overall.
Volunteers with 30% of food coming from protein consumed nearly 450 kcal less than those with 10%.
Over a typical 3-meal per day diet plan thats a whopping 1,350 kcal fewer calories!
Protein supports healthy weight loss by boosting metabolism, reducing hunger and elevating calorie-shredding muscle mass.
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Meal Frequency: How Often Should You Eat
Ultimately, you know your schedule better than anyone. The way you distribute your macros out over the course of a day or how often you eat is not as critical as bodybuilding dogma may have you believe. While meal frequency is an ongoing debate in the fitness realm, there is very little evidence that eating 6+ smaller meals per day stokes your metabolism. There may be a correlation between more frequent feeding and satiety, but thats subjective and interindividual
The moral of the story is that going 4 to 5 hours without a meal or snack doesnt mean youre entering catabolic mode as long as you hit your carb, fat, protein, and calorie goals with 3 to 6 meals/snacks throughout the day, youll be just fine. Since your calories are somewhat lower on baseline days, more meals may benefit you if hunger pangs arise.
In any case, try and consume at least three meals spread throughout the day, preferably eating more carbs in your pre-workout and post-workout meals. Your protein and fat intake should be relatively constant at each meal. But again, dont stress too much about micro-managing your macro ratios at every meal its just not necessary unless youre in the final weeks leading up to a bodybuilding show.
Eating To Lose Weight And Build Muscle: How The Nfl Does It
NFL players work out hard, both on the field and in the gym. But for them, training is only part of the equation. They also need to eat right. If youre only you might not get the body you want, and you may increase your risk of injury, says Leslie Bonci, RD, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and team sports dietitian for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Contrary to popular belief, eating everything in sight isnt a plus in the NFL. Barry Rubin, head strength and conditioning coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, says having an unhealthy body weight will only slow you down and make you more sluggish and susceptible to injury. You cant outrun your calories, he says. If you start doing that, youre going to get hurt and over train.
If you want to get in shape like an NFL pro, you need to eat like an NFL pro. That means getting enough protein and the right balance of nutrients in your diet.
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Protein Should Be A Main Source Of Your Caloric Intake
The National Academy of Medicine recommends the average adult gets a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day, or a little over 7 grams for every 20 pounds of body weight. So let’s say you’re 140 pounds. You should typically be getting around 50 grams of protein a day.
But if you’re trying to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, you’re going to want to increase your protein intake. Why? “If you’re not getting enough protein while doing heavy weight training, you will not recover from your workouts enough to perform well, which means that you will not put on as much muscle or burn as much fat,” Catadul says. The trainer suggests that around 30+ percent of your calories should come from protein.
Related Story
A study from the Journal of Nutrition found that among 24 women, half of whom followed a standard carbohydrate-based diet and the other half who followed a lower carb, higher protein diet showed drastic results in fat loss and muscle mass. Each group ate 1,700 calories a day. After 10 weeks, researchers found that women in both groups had lost an average of 16 pounds each, but that the the standard-diet group lost 10.4 pounds of that weight in body fat and 3 pounds in muscle mass, whereas the higher protein group on average, lost 12.3 pounds in body fat and only 1.7 pounds in muscle mass.
Can Athletes Lose Fat And Gain Muscle
Athletes who took time off and lost muscle mass and gained body fat, will have a relatively easy time rebuilding that mass .
They also tend to already have training routines and schedules that can help them stay consistent.
Otherwise, athletes may need to focus on one goal before turning to the other. For example, a seasoned athlete may go through a period of time in a calorie surplus to put on muscle and then cut weight while maintaining as much muscle as they can. More on that below!
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How To Lose Fat And Gain Muscle At The Same Time
There are a lot of reasons to work out, including improving health, burning fat, gaining muscle, and just simply feeling better. Many of us have multiple goals at once, and luckily, a lot of these logically go hand-in-hand. Losing fat and gaining muscle, however, seem to be a little conflicting.
When you’re trying to lose fat, you’re trying to get rid of some of your body’s mass when you’re gaining muscle, you’re looking to do the opposite and build up your body. So it makes sense to wonder, can you really add muscle mass at the same time? Surprisingly, the answer is yes.
In fact, working on both goals at the same time will maximize your resultsmany of the same exercises that are good for burning fat are also great for building up muscles. And its kind of a domino effect: When you have more muscle mass, your body requires more energy at rest .
But nailing fat loss and muscle gains in one fell swoop requires a strategic approach. Heres why: If you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. But when you restrict your calories, your body has to pull from existing energy stores in your bodyfat, carbohydrate, and even proteinin order to function. As a result, you wind up losing fat, but unfortunately, you also lose muscle mass.
To achieve both goals at once, you need to focus on two main things: protein and weightlifting.
And remember: losing fat and gaining muscle does not require cutting calories.
Nuts Like Peanuts And Almond
Nuts have a good number of calories and are a great source of nutrients. They are filled with antioxidants that help a person lose weight.
Apart from weight loss, your body gets inflammation which is best for your skin. Not just that, taking fiber in a good quantity may protect the body against the risk of heart attacks.
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Writer The Fit Father Project
Holly is board-certified in nephrology and internal medicine, has a bachelors degree in dietetics, and is a certified personal trainer with NASM-PES certification.
Holly is a keen runner, triathlete, and fitness and nutrition enthusiast. She has completed four full ironmans, twelve marathons, countless half ironmans, Olympic distance triathlons, half marathons, and numerous other road races.
Holly joined the Fit Father Project in May 2019 as a regular writer, contributing articles on health, wellness, exercise, and nutrition.
Other Ways To Reduce Fat Stores
Aside from hiking protein intake and increasing calorie expenditure, here are other tried-and-true methods for losing body fat:
- Cut out processed foods: High intake of processed foods, such as fast food, candy, packaged baked goods and chips, has been associated with excess body fat (
Summary
Moderately decreasing your calorie intake, cutting out processed foods and increasing protein and fiber intake are the best ways to lose fat while preserving muscle mass.
While losing fat is important, maintaining or gaining muscle is key to changing your body composition.
Focusing only on diet and neglecting exercise habits may result in a loss of muscle mass.
Its vital to combine a healthy, lean-body-mass-promoting diet with a fitness routine that supports muscle growth and maintenance.
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Eat Carbs With Protein
Studies prove that eating protein with carbohydrates helps in post-workout muscle recovery. If youre looking to optimize your post-workout nourishment, you need to pick a protein powder shake thats blended with fruit, a banana with plant milk and almond butter, yogurt topped with nuts or fruit, or grilled chicken with veggies and brown rice.
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, you should ingest around 20-30 grams of protein after a workout to enhance muscle building.
Best Diet To Build Muscle And Lose Belly Fat
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Identify Muscle Building Calorie Requirements
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, weight maintenance calorie requirements for moderately active and active women include:
- 19-25 years old: 2,200-2,400 calories
- 26-30 years old: 2,000-2,400 calories
- 31-50 years old: 2,000-2,200 calories
- 51-60 years old: 1,800-2,200 calories
- 61+ years old: 1,800-2,000 calories
Is weight loss plus muscle-building your ultimate goal? Focus on consuming 1,200-1,800 calories every day, based on your starting body weight and how active you are.
How Do You Get Rid Of Belly Fat And Gain Muscle
Diet and exercise tips for gaining muscle. Taking off the waist. … Diets. ” = ” ” Creates negative energy balance helps in weight loss. … Embrace good nutrition. … Keep yourself hydrated with a proper beverage. … Water can help you reduce your weight. = = = Take fewer odours. … Anything is more valuable than nothing.
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Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget
Eat smaller portions
One of the first things that I noticed when I came to the United States is just how large the portion sizes are. I remember well ordering at a restaurant and being amazed at how much food they piled on my plate, it was at least twice as much as I would have got at a restaurant back in the West Indies! In general, few people realize that you really dont need to eat as much food as they do and that eating less is not only healthy but will save you money. Knowing how much is enough is not an easy task and studies have consistently shown that most people are unable to accurately estimate their food intake. It is so difficult that a study involving nutrition students that had been rigorously trained in food energy content found that even they had a low level of accuracy in figuring out the caloric value of several foods set in front of them. Also you dont want to go down the road of measuring your food and counting calories as it can become a bit obsessive and has little to do with a natural way of losing weight. So how do you know how much is enough? Simple, you use my rule of thirds for losing weight.
Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget- The Poor Mans Weight Loss Diet Plan Tip 3
Cook Your Meals And Bring Them With You
You can make these prices go even lower by following these rules:
Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget- The Poor Mans Weight Loss Diet Plan- Tip 4
Drink Only Water.
Slow Down And Change The Way You See Time.
