The Secret to Losing Fat Without Losing Muscle

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:

1. Losing fat without losing muscle requires adhering to specific nutritional rules
2. Fat loss must occur at a slower rate when the goal is to maintain muscle

I'm now going to explain each of these points in greater detail, starting with point number 2 first.

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

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_T_Boyd

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The Secret of Weight Loss Diet to Keep Extra Weight Off Successfully

By Katie V Adams 

Discovering the secret of weight loss diet will help you unlock the key to a successful weight loss approach. The cold, hard facts about losing weight and diet aren't always revealed but having a positive attitude and a readiness to face the truth will help you achieve your goals in no time at all.

Any sensible dieter knows a diet program that claims it can help you lose weight in an impossibly short amount of time is not telling the whole truth. Because the truth is even if you're just trying to lose 5lbs, the road to weight loss is anything but easy. There are no magic pills, no miracle drinks, or effective short cuts to losing unwanted pounds. Different people have varying needs when it comes to shedding extra weight. That's why it's important to find an approach that is tailored after your needs.

When you find out about the secret of weight loss diet, you'll discover that losing weight is not as complicated as it sounds. Although it requires hard work, it is not rocket science. To lose weight, the amount of calories you burn must exceed the amount of your calorie intake. It's a simple equation that holds the key to success.

You can modify your daily routine to increase your activities that involve physical work. You don't need a gym membership to stay active. Simple things like tending to your garden, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and trading your car for a bicycle can help a lot in increasing your body's capacity to burn calories.

To hit your target weight, double your work load and be consistent about it.

It's important to keep in mind that a regular exercise routine is not a free pass to indulge your food urges.

You have to accept the fact that your body's metabolism cannot keep up with overeating. To effectively control your weight, you need to cut back on calories and increase your physical activities. You might be able to burn a big lunch by spending time on a treadmill but you will not be able to eliminate your excess weight.

A lot of people fall for false claims because they are too lazy to find the time to actually do things that matter. They keep coming up with excuses to avoid doing their exercise routine. The secret of weight loss diet lies in being able to do certain sacrifices. In battling weight issues, you need to compromise in order to achieve your goals. If it's time for you to exercise, don't let your favorite soap opera or a night out with friends get in the way of kicking those extra pounds.

The principle of weight loss will always center on eating less and exercising more. Based on this, don't be swayed by any diet pitch that encourages you to eat a specific food group to lose weight. This is not how losing weight works. Replacing your choices with non-fat substitutes is not even a viable solution. You simply have to limit your food intake to enjoy weight loss benefits.

It is not always easy to get your body to cooperate. That is why there are no short cuts to losing weight because you need to be diligent and work hard. It's ironic that it's so easy to gain weight but it's such a huge struggle to keep it off. But keeping a desirable weight is not really a puzzle if you can see through the secret of weight loss diet. Have the discipline to tame your taste buds, eat healthy, and overcome bad eating habits to achieve weight loss success.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_V_Adams

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The Secret to Losing Weight With Help Of A Diet And Special Herb

By Jesse Singh 

In the New England Journal of Medicine, a study was published where it reported that a diet low in glycemic index or GI and high in protein is a much more successful approach than other diets at maintaining weight loss.

Researchers conducted this study on overweight adults from eight European countries who had lost at least 8% of their body weight with a low calorie diet. These participants were randomly assigned to one of five diets to prevent weight regain over a 5 month period. These were the following diets:
 1. Low protein and high GI diet

2. High protein and low GI diet

3. high protein and high GI diet


4. Controlled diet based on the most up to date European dietary recommendations.

The low protein diet had 13 percent of calories in the form of protein, while the high protein diet had 25 percent protein. In six months, five hundred forty-eight subjects completed their assigned diets. For all the subjects who completed the study, only the low protein with high GI diet were the ones who regained 3.6 ibs or 1.67 kg of weight by the end of the dietary intervention. For people that were on the high protein and low GI diet, weight regain was much less. White flour, white rice, and other refined carbohydrates are all high in GI.

This study shows that a small increase in protein content and a small reduction in glycemic index can lead to an improvement in weight loss and maintaining that weight loss.

Now to supercharge these results, there is an extremely powerful herb out there that the Asian community call "King of Herbs". It is the number one herb on the planet and people who consume it for weight loss said they lost significant weight in their first month. Now these are not actual studies, but real life testimonials.

Some people may get better results and others won't. This herb is called Ganoderma Lucidum. The way Ganoderma works is amazing. According to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, ganoderma contains many active ingredients that increase your metabolic rate after consumption. Once your metabolism increased, your body uses more energy to digest food much more efficiently. What fuels this energy is a break down of fat deposits and calories in your body, which can lead to weight loss. In addition, ganoderma increases the rate in which your body provides oxygen to your blood which allows your body to exert more energy.

The only problem with ganoderma is the taste. It has very strong bitter taste to it and the average person probably won't like the taste. One company called Organo Gold did a genius thing. They infused ganoderma with coffee without effecting the taste. Now you can drink this coffee to help lose you weight and it is something that people consume 3-5 times a day. No one forgets to drink their coffee, but people forget to kiss their kids or hug their spouses before the leave the house. Now for the tea people, Organo Gold had green tea and red tea which are 100% organic and have ganoderma in it.

The key is to drink this coffee or tea with 100% certified organic ganoderma extract 30 minutes before you eat. For the coffee to be effective, consume at least 2 cups a day. Now remember, these are not "proven" studies, however, there is a lot of testimonials out there where they did this and lost a lot of weight in a period of a month.

In conclusion, eating a high protein diet with low GI can lead to weight loss. Drinking Coffee or Tea with ganoderma in it will supercharge your results. It has helped many people with weight loss and other health issues.

visit http://www.coffeeworldteam.com for coffee and tea with ganoderma infused in it. I have been drinking the black coffee with ganoderma for 1 month and personally lost significant weight.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jesse_Singh

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