Muscle loss resulting from weight loss is one possibility that people face when they lose weight. You may get sarcopenia, a condition where you have less muscle mass, and your muscles don’t work.
If you try to keep your lean muscle mass while you lose weight, you will have to deal with new problems. It can be more challenging to track your progress because the numbers on the scale sometimes stay the same, even if your body shape changes.
Muscle Growth vs. Fat Loss
According to one study, young women who followed a 12-week combined cardio and strength program lost 10% of their body fat while increasing their muscle mass by nearly 9%. In a smaller study with older women, a 12-week swimming program cut body fat and strengthened the women.
Research shows beginners respond quickly and efficiently to strength and cardio training. Your muscles “remember” what it was like to be bigger; re-building that muscle is easy. The result is comparable if you’ve previously gained power but lost it.
Suppose you are a moderate exerciser looking to enhance your fat-to-muscle ratio. In that case, you can reduce fat while strengthening lean body tissue over time. If you’re new to exercise, you’re more likely to reap the benefits of fat reduction and muscle building.
Imagine you are an experienced exerciser or bodybuilder who wants to gain a lot of muscle and lose fat simultaneously. In that case, this may be challenging because those goals frequently contradict each other. Why?
Muscular development necessitates consuming more calories than you expend. In order to lose fat, you must consume fewer calories than you burn. When you cut calories to lose weight, your muscles don’t get the nourishment they need to get bigger.
Techniques for Trading Fat for Muscle
If you want to achieve a healthy mix of fat reduction and muscle gain, here are a few suggestions.
Perform Cardio and Strength Training
Whether you’ve worked out before or not, the goal is to include cardio and strength training in your workouts.
If you don’t do strength training along with your cardio, your muscles can shrink instead of grow. Yet, weight training without cardio can jeopardize fat reduction. So, both.
Even though your workout will include aerobic and strength training, you can give more importance to one or the other. Focus on cardiovascular endurance if you’re a marathon runner. Concentrate on the muscular gain if you’re a bodybuilder.
A beginner or average exerciser is more likely to lose fat and keep muscle mass if they strike a balance between the two. Also, keep in mind that you might lose fat without losing weight, so the number on the scale might not show how well you’re doing.
Don’t Forget About Your Diet
Although exercise is essential, fat reduction occurs mainly in the kitchen. The USDA says that if you want to stay at a healthy weight, you should eat a lot of lean proteins, vegetables, fruit, beans, lentils, grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy, and oils, like those found in nuts and shellfish.
You could also talk to a certified nutritionist about creating an eating plan to help you reach your goals. Most of the time, a nutritionist can help you develop a meal plan that lets you eat foods you like and gives you the nutrition you need to lose fat during weight training.
Change Your Eating Habits to Lose Weight
Change Your Recovery Times
While overtraining or not allowing your body adequate time to recuperate between sessions may not result in muscle loss, it can impact your muscles’ strength and endurance. It can also increase your chance of injury, making weight-loss exercise more challenging.
Overtraining can affect both new exercisers and athletes. Take a day or two off if you realize your workout performance is declining or feel exhausted. Let your muscles fully heal to avoid causing serious harm.
Adjusting the recuperation durations between your exercise sets may also be beneficial. The American Academy of Sports Medicine recommends the following rest periods based on your training goals:
Muscle size is increased by resting no more than 90 seconds between sets.
Improve muscle endurance by resting for no more than 60 seconds between sets.
Muscle strength should be increased by sleeping for 3-5 minutes between sets.
Muscle power should be increased by sleeping for 3-5 minutes between sets.
How to Lose Weight Without Losing Muscle
You don’t want to gain muscle while reducing weight, but you also want to maintain your already-found strength. You can do a few things to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass.
Consume More Protein
According to one study of 39 individuals, a high-protein diet can help protect muscle while lowering calories to reduce weight. Although all participants lost weight by cutting calories, those who ate more protein lost less lean muscle mass. A study of 20 obese patients yielded comparable results.
Fish, eggs, lean meat, and dairy products are excellent protein sources. Beans, legumes, and seeds are all non-animal foods high in protein if you follow a plant-based diet.
Consult your doctor before beginning a high-protein diet if you have a medical issue. This eating approach may affect renal function. Thus, it is worth considering if you have a kidney ailment.
Get the Required Nutrients
Some foods, according to research, may assist in keeping muscle mass while decreasing weight. A study of 80 obese older adults, for example, discovered that taking a supplement combining leucine and vitamin D (together with whey protein) helped protect their muscles when they were on a low-calorie diet.
Again, before commencing any supplemental program, consult with your doctor. They can also advise you on how much of each supplement you should take based on your health and medical problems.
Workout regularly
Exercise is well-known for its ability to burn calories and build muscle. Less emphasized is that if you don’t make exercise a habit, you’re more likely to lose the power you already have.
How long do you have between workouts before your muscles begin to deteriorate? According to one study, even a five-day absence can cause lean muscle mass to shrink in size. Hence, attempt to exercise regularly to burn calories and protect your muscle mass.
Finally we state, you can lose muscle mass while trying to lose weight. If you eat well and don’t overdo or underdo it in the gym (or at home), the muscle you lose will be small. Still, it’s essential to consider your overall health regarding what you eat and how much you exercise.
Evaluating your progress using means other than the scale is also beneficial. If you gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously, you can lose inches without losing weight. (Don’t rely on soreness to indicate a solid workout either; this is a strength-training myth.) Instead, focus on your physical size and how fantastic you feel.