If learning how to lose fat and gain muscle was easy, everyone would. They are often inconsistent.
Simply put, building muscle requires a calorie surplus, which typically burns more calories than you burn each day, leaving your body with extra resources (particularly protein) to build new muscle. Fat loss, on the other hand, requires a calorie deficit that consumes more calories per day than it consumes.
So no matter how often you pump the iron with the highest adjustable dumbbell (opens in new tab)or how strictly you adhere to a sustainable calorie deficit (opens in new tab)Achieving both muscle gain and fat loss at the same time may still be out of reach.
However, there are ways to strategically structure your exercise regimen and diet to achieve this. To discover situations where you can achieve fat loss and muscle gain at the same time, we consulted registered dietitian and obesity and nutrition expert Edibel Quintero. (opens in new tab) MD of the answer.
Edibel Quintero is a medical doctor who graduated from the University of Zulia in 2013 and has been working professionally ever since. She specializes in obesity and nutrition, physical rehabilitation, sports massage and post-operative rehabilitation.
Can I lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?
“Despite what most people believe, teeth It’s possible to lose weight and gain muscle mass at the same time,” Quintero told Live Science.
“Such a process is called body restructuring. In this case, we focus not on the numbers on the scale (weight loss), but on the muscle-to-fat ratio, which is the best indicator of overall health and fitness. .”
2020 Articles in the Strength and Conditioning Journal (opens in new tab) – Analysis of past research on whether trained individuals can build muscle and lose fat at the same time supports Quintero’s statement.
“The literature supports that trained individuals can also experience body restructuring… Resistance training combined with dietary strategies has been shown to augment this phenomenon.”
However, they add, “an individual’s training status, exercise interventions, and baseline body composition may affect how much muscle is gained and how much fat is lost.”
This means that your existing body fat percentage, muscle mass, and previous training experience can affect how successful your body restructuring is.
The study adds:
Is it hard to lose fat and build muscle?
Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is possible, but not easy or fast.
“Trying to restructure your body can be a difficult task because it’s a lifestyle, not just a diet,” warns Quintero. requires patience, a lot of determination, effort, and a lot of planning, and it will definitely take time.
“For example, if you want to restructure your body well, you don’t just learn how to count calories, (opens in new tab) It can also be strategically placed according to physical activity. “
Functionality on how to track macros if you need help in this department (opens in new tab) Great place to start.
how to lose fat and gain muscle
Research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning (opens in new tab) – Investigating fat loss and muscle gain simultaneously – showing that there is not one way to achieve this, but “a very heterogeneous set of designs, methods and results”. In other words, there are different ways to achieve it.
However, by breaking down the existing literature into topics, the 2020 study mentioned in the previous section identified a number of behaviors consistently shown to support body restructuring processes. increase.
start weight training
We recommend doing progressive resistance or weight training first. (opens in new tab) A regime of at least 3 sessions per week. The progressive element of this is crucial to muscle growth by utilizing the principle of progressive overload. (opens in new tab) Your body adapts to handle the increased strain. In this case, the working muscle increases in size and strength.
However, these changes are not possible without proper fuel. So his second piece of advice for this study is to get enough protein. (opens in new tab) – An essential macronutrient for building muscle mass, commonly found in animal and plant foods such as nuts and legumes.
get enough protein
A 2013 systematic review of studies on dietary protein during caloric restriction in resistance-trained lean athletes published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. (opens in new tab)said:
Or, put more simply, an athlete who is lifting weights when they are in a calorie deficit should eat between 2.3g and 3.1g of protein per kilogram of lean body mass to support body restructuring. You can calculate your lean mass by dividing your weight by 100 and multiplying this number by 100 minus your body fat percentage. Approximate body fat percentage can be measured using a set of skinfold calipers.
Using protein supplements such as the best protein powders (opens in new tab) Another efficient way to “increase your daily dietary protein intake … (and) maximize muscle protein synthesis.”
make sure you rest
The 2020 body restructuring study also states:
“…prioritizing sleep quality and quantity can be an additional variable that can have a significant impact on performance, recovery, and changes in body composition.”
Quintero reinforced this advice. “You have to strategically plan how many calories you’re going to burn in a day,” she says. “It’s also important to incorporate cardio and strength training into your routine. In addition, quality sleep and a healthy, balanced diet that provides calories are important.”
Track your calorie intake and output
She also provided further insight into how to structure your diet and caloric intake according to your daily activity level to optimize your body’s restructuring.
Quintero said: (opens in new tab) rate) – Let’s call these calories bases.
“When doing cardio, you need to add a little more to the base calorie count above, so your body can use that and fat as fuel, but not take energy from your muscles.
“On days you do 30 minutes or more of strength training, eat more calories and focus on protein, which will give you the energy to exercise and build muscle without gaining weight.
“Finally, you’ll burn up to 10% fewer calories than your base on non-workout days.”
