By Jason T Boyd
I think we would all agree that when working on reducing our body fat percentage the goal should always be to keep as much muscle as possible.
If you don't agree you should probably stop reading because I'm going to use the remainder of this article to explain exactly how to go about holding on to all of your hard-earned muscle mass while cutting fat.
There are two reasons, which are related to one another, why people typically experience noticeable losses in muscle mass when shedding fat:
The Consequence of Slowed Fat Loss
When it comes to transforming our bodies, we want to see results, and we want to see them right away. This seems to be especially true for those interested in ridding their bodies of excess fat.
This desire for fast results leaves individuals resorting to extreme measures to ensure that they're dropping fat as fast as possible.
While extreme caloric deficits can be an effective short-term plan to lose weight, they're never a viable long-term solution for living fit and healthy. Not to mention that they will wreak havoc on your immune system, metabolism, energy levels and cause muscular atrophy.
Let's look specifically at why extreme caloric deprivation causes muscle atrophy...
Glucose in the blood is the body's preferred source of energy. When glucose levels are depleted the body then turns to glycogen stored in the muscle and fat cells for fuel.
When extreme caloric deficits are implemented, glucose and glycogen levels in the body become deficient and the body must turn to ingested proteins and muscle tissue to fill the energy void.
In other words, not only will your body be receiving a smaller percentage of ingested proteins to use for muscle building and recovery, but it will also be breaking down muscle tissue as well.
The way to prevent this from happening is by using less extreme nutritional measures to lose fat. Of course this will slow the amount of fat you'll be losing each week, but it's a necessary "evil" if you don't want to experience muscle loss.
I'm now going to explain exactly how to structure your diet so you can lose fat without losing muscle mass in the process.
Diet for Losing Fat without Losing Muscle
The way to feed the body for shedding fat while maintaining muscle mass is fairly simple in concept, but takes a certain amount of discipline to apply. Essentially what you want to do is maintain a slight caloric deficit.
Maintaining a slight caloric deficit provides the benefit of fat loss without depriving the body of nutrition to a degree that will force it to break down muscle tissue.
Besides maintaining a slight caloric deficit, the only other rule you'll need to follow is to make sure you're eating carbohydrates with at least 2 or 3 meals each day. Abstaining from ingesting carbohydrates for prolonged periods of time will cause your glycogen levels to become depleted and lead to muscle atrophy - even if you aren't severely limiting your calories.
So how do you make sure you're maintaining a slight caloric deficit?
Fat Loss Measurements and Caloric Modifications
You'll want to start by taking a stomach circumference measurement and then following a specific daily allowance of calories for a full week.
At the end of that week you'll take another stomach circumference measurement. If your measurement hasn't decreased you'll want to decrease your daily caloric allowance by 200 calories.
Once you measure a decrease in stomach fat, you'll continue eating the same number of calories until your fat loss stops, at which point you will want to decrease your daily caloric allowance by 200 again to get back to shedding fat.
If you have no idea on what your daily calorie allowance should be when getting started, a good rule of thumb would be for men to start at 2,000 calories per day and women to start at 1,700 calories per day and adjust from there.
Are You Serious About Holding Onto Your Muscle?
Unfortunately, maintaining a slight caloric deficit is the best way to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass, but it does require a certain amount of effort and will make the process of losing fat take longer than more extreme fat loss nutritional implements.
In the end you simply have to decide if holding onto your muscle mass is important to you or not.
If your main concern is losing fat, and you wouldn't mind losing a few pounds of muscle in the process, then by all means, go ahead and limit your calories to a greater degree knowing full well the consequences.
On the other hand, if maintaining muscle mass is a priority for you while cutting fat, you now have the plan to reduce your body fat percentage while holding onto all of your hard-earned muscle.
I think we would all agree that when working on reducing our body fat percentage the goal should always be to keep as much muscle as possible.If you don't agree you should probably stop reading because I'm going to use the remainder of this article to explain exactly how to go about holding on to all of your hard-earned muscle mass while cutting fat.
There are two reasons, which are related to one another, why people typically experience noticeable losses in muscle mass when shedding fat:
- Losing fat without losing muscle requires adhering to specific nutritional rules
- Fat loss must occur at a slower rate when the goal is to maintain muscle
The Consequence of Slowed Fat Loss
When it comes to transforming our bodies, we want to see results, and we want to see them right away. This seems to be especially true for those interested in ridding their bodies of excess fat.
This desire for fast results leaves individuals resorting to extreme measures to ensure that they're dropping fat as fast as possible.
While extreme caloric deficits can be an effective short-term plan to lose weight, they're never a viable long-term solution for living fit and healthy. Not to mention that they will wreak havoc on your immune system, metabolism, energy levels and cause muscular atrophy.
Let's look specifically at why extreme caloric deprivation causes muscle atrophy...
Glucose in the blood is the body's preferred source of energy. When glucose levels are depleted the body then turns to glycogen stored in the muscle and fat cells for fuel.
When extreme caloric deficits are implemented, glucose and glycogen levels in the body become deficient and the body must turn to ingested proteins and muscle tissue to fill the energy void.
In other words, not only will your body be receiving a smaller percentage of ingested proteins to use for muscle building and recovery, but it will also be breaking down muscle tissue as well.
The way to prevent this from happening is by using less extreme nutritional measures to lose fat. Of course this will slow the amount of fat you'll be losing each week, but it's a necessary "evil" if you don't want to experience muscle loss.
I'm now going to explain exactly how to structure your diet so you can lose fat without losing muscle mass in the process.
Diet for Losing Fat without Losing Muscle
The way to feed the body for shedding fat while maintaining muscle mass is fairly simple in concept, but takes a certain amount of discipline to apply. Essentially what you want to do is maintain a slight caloric deficit.
Maintaining a slight caloric deficit provides the benefit of fat loss without depriving the body of nutrition to a degree that will force it to break down muscle tissue.
Besides maintaining a slight caloric deficit, the only other rule you'll need to follow is to make sure you're eating carbohydrates with at least 2 or 3 meals each day. Abstaining from ingesting carbohydrates for prolonged periods of time will cause your glycogen levels to become depleted and lead to muscle atrophy - even if you aren't severely limiting your calories.
So how do you make sure you're maintaining a slight caloric deficit?
Fat Loss Measurements and Caloric Modifications
You'll want to start by taking a stomach circumference measurement and then following a specific daily allowance of calories for a full week.
At the end of that week you'll take another stomach circumference measurement. If your measurement hasn't decreased you'll want to decrease your daily caloric allowance by 200 calories.
Once you measure a decrease in stomach fat, you'll continue eating the same number of calories until your fat loss stops, at which point you will want to decrease your daily caloric allowance by 200 again to get back to shedding fat.
If you have no idea on what your daily calorie allowance should be when getting started, a good rule of thumb would be for men to start at 2,000 calories per day and women to start at 1,700 calories per day and adjust from there.
Are You Serious About Holding Onto Your Muscle?
Unfortunately, maintaining a slight caloric deficit is the best way to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass, but it does require a certain amount of effort and will make the process of losing fat take longer than more extreme fat loss nutritional implements.
In the end you simply have to decide if holding onto your muscle mass is important to you or not.
If your main concern is losing fat, and you wouldn't mind losing a few pounds of muscle in the process, then by all means, go ahead and limit your calories to a greater degree knowing full well the consequences.
On the other hand, if maintaining muscle mass is a priority for you while cutting fat, you now have the plan to reduce your body fat percentage while holding onto all of your hard-earned muscle.
Learn the Most Effective Fat Loss techniqes at - My Health and Fitness
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