The idea of shedding some pounds and getting rid of the extra fat has been drilled into us from childhood. We are constantly reminded about being thin as a person who belongs to a particular culture or religion. But, at times, it feels like we are expected to be skinny from birth and nothing else.
However, there is no denying that the world of fitness has changed with time. With more and more people becoming interested in how they can get fit and stay fit, there has also been an increase in the number of different workout programs available. Let’s look at some of how you can go about achieving both at once.
What you will learn
Lose fat – gain muscle
There are two important concepts to understand when it comes to weight loss and muscle gain: how you lose fat is different from how you gain muscle. These goals can often conflict with each other, which can create a contradiction. This means that you might need to clarify which goal you are trying to achieve.
To lose fat or weight, your body must be in a caloric deficit, meaning you take in fewer calories per day than your body needs. This forces your body to burn stored fat for energy, resulting in weight loss. Conversely, to gain muscle your body must have a caloric surplus. This surplus provides the energy your body needs to repair and then build muscle mass.
So how can you achieve both goals? The key is to create a healthy balance of eating and exercise and follow specific rules.
fat loss vs weight loss
People often say they want to lose weight, but in most cases, they don’t mean it. They usually want to lose fat. Losing weight and losing fat are two very different things.
If you lose weight, you lose both fat and muscle, so although your body may become lighter, its shape won’t really change. This means it won’t get the athletic “toned” physique that many people desire.
As we said, to lose fat, you need to create a calorie deficit by burning more calories than you consume. You can do this through diet and exercise. Ample research has shown that both diet and exercise are essential for long-term success.
It is possible to build muscle and lose fat simultaneously
Although many individuals claim that it isn’t possible, it is feasible to gain muscle and lose body fat at the same time. That is body recomposition. Part of the confusion is that people understand that you need a calorie surplus to gain weight and a calorie deficit to lose weight, so these two concepts sound completely opposite.
However, this refers to total body weight as one. They are different materials with different production processes. When you are in a calorie deficit, your body will burn stored body fat for energy. At the same time, if you stimulate muscle growth with the training, your body will break down muscle tissue and use those amino acids to build new muscle proteins.
So, while you are technically losing weight, you are also building new muscle tissue.
Eat slightly below your maintenance calories
When trying to lose weight, it is important to start by learning the energy balance in your diet. This means figuring out how many calories you are consuming each day, and how many calories you are burning through activity.
Once you know this number, you can then begin to cut calories to create a marginal calorie deficit (100 – 200 calories). This marginal deficit is important for two reasons. First, it helps to kick-start the body’s process of losing fat. Second, it should be small enough that the body does not go into a “survival” mode and reduce the metabolism.
Eat enough protein to maintain muscle mass
It is important to pay attention to protein intake when dieting and trying to lose fat. When cutting calories, it is easy to fall into the trap of not getting enough protein. This can lead to muscle loss, as well as other problems.
A high protein intake will help your body get the necessary nutrients and energy to promote muscle growth. It will also help you feel fuller longer, so you are less likely to overeat.
In addition, protein helps to stabilize blood sugar levels, which can prevent cravings and hunger pangs.
So, make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet.
Promote muscle growth by resistance training
When it comes to muscle recovery or muscle growth, resistance training is key. By repeatedly putting your muscles under strain and then allowing them to rest and recover, you can gradually build strength and endurance.
However, it’s important to remember that simply lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises is not enough. You also need to apply progressive overload, which means gradually increasing the weight, reps, or sets over time. This ensures that your body continues to adapt to the ever-changing stimulus, rather than plateauing.
In other words, if you want to have the desired results in building muscle, you need to keep your body in the new stimulus.
Combine strength training with high intensity intervals training
It is important to combine cardiovascular training with strength training to improve the body’s energy status and performance.
Cardiovascular training raises the heart rate and helps to keep it elevated throughout the workout. This is important because it helps to improve the body’s energy status and performance without compromising the muscular system.
Strength training helps to give the body a reason to maintain and increase muscle mass, which is essential for improving the body’s composition, energy status, and performance.
There are many different ways to structure a workout that combines cardiovascular and strength training. One example would be to perform strength exercises such as squats and deadlifts (at a weight where you can perform 15-25 reps) along with burst periods for 60 seconds (e.g. jumping rope or high knees.)
This type of workout would be beneficial because it would help to improve muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness at the same time. Another option would be to alternate between cardiovascular exercises and strength exercises, doing one set of each before moving on to the next exercise. Whichever way you choose to structure your workout, including both cardiovascular and strength training will help you to achieve better overall fitness results and improve the body’s efficiency to gain muscle and lose body fat.
Give the body a reason to lose body fat
The most important element in the equation of losing fat and adding muscle mass at the same time is to give the body a good reason to lose fat.
Reducing food intake is one way to create a calorie deficit, which will force the body to start burning stored body fat for energy.
However, this approach has a serious drawback. It can lead to a decrease in metabolism, as the body tries to conserve energy to survive.
One way to force the body to lose fat is to give it the stimulus to become faster or more agile in space. By doing this, we provide the body with a good reason to want to become lighter.
The body then responds by burning off excess fat to meet the new demands placed on it. This process can be achieved through a variety of methods, such as increasing the intensity of our workouts or introducing new and challenging movements into our training regime.
However, it is important to remember that only by consistently providing the body with this type of stimulus will we see lasting results. So if you’re looking to shed some unwanted weight, be sure to keep your body guessing – and your fat-burning furnace stoked – by constantly changing up your workout routine and moving your body.
Monitor your body composition
When trying to improve your body composition, it’s important to be patient and measure your progress in ways other than the scale. This is because you’re not just trying to lose weight – you’re also trying to build muscle and improve your overall fitness.
Progress can be slow, but there are many ways to track it. One simple way to approximate your body composition is to measure your waist, hips, and neck circumference.
However, for greater accuracy, you can track it with a specialist or with expensive equipment such as a dexa-scan. The most important thing is to focus on the long-term goal and not get discouraged by short-term setbacks.
Be patient
Losing fat and gaining muscle are two of the most common goals. Unfortunately, they are also two of the most difficult goals to achieve due to bad information.
Many people give up before they see any results, but the key to success is patience. Changing your body composition is a long journey, and it takes time to see results. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see the number on the scale change immediately.
Instead, focus on other indicators of progress, such as how your clothes fit or how much better you feel. And remember, even if the process is slow, it’s still worth it in the end.
What to remember for your body recomposition
In conclusion, it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. This technique is referred to as body recomposition, even though it goes against popular belief.
The most important thing you can do to facilitate this process is to give your body a serious reason to lose fat.
This can be accomplished by doing a variety of exercises that move the body in space, strength training with resistance training combined with interval burst exercises, and taking a sufficient amount of protein.
