“Lose fat gain muscle” is the mantra of the bodybuilding crowd. So, if you want healthy and toned physique it is time to lose the ugly fat and learn how to build muscle mass.
Why do you want to lose fat and gain muscle? Do you want it for health reasons, or is it for a holiday, for a competition or just as a challenge to yourself? People choose to lose fat for a variety of reasons but you can’t take up this challenge half-heartedly and hope to build muscles.
Achieving a low body fat percentage is not at all easy. The body has evolved over thousands of years trying to store fat for a bad day and it is not going to change it habits just because you want to. Your life henceforth will revolve on achieving your low body fat goals.
It is crucial to get yourself and those close to you involved in this long drawn out process. This step to decide to start gaining muscle, with a 100% committment to do all that is needed, is the key to your success.
Before you start planning you need a goal.
* What is the aim of your build muscle lose fat program?
* How much fat do you want to lose?
* What is a realistic number to achieve in say 3-4 weeks?
Don’t aim for something like “lose 15 percent fat in 3 weeks”. That is impossible. Instead set ambitious but realistic targets. Pin your goals all around you – in your car, on your bathroom mirror, on your bedroom wall where you will see it the first thing in morning. Post pictures of people who have gained the body they dreamed off from fitness magazines. Post pictures of amazing transformations both the before and after pictures. All these will help to keep you focused on the goal.
Nutrition is key to good health and proper weight loss. Trying to reduce calorie intake does not work as your body kick starts its safety mechanism to start hoarding fat by producing more of lipase which is a lipoprotein that stores fat in the body by slowing down metabolism. During this phase the body also sacrifices its muscle tissue for its energy needs.
You will show amazing weight loss results but the body is actually losing muscle tissue instead of fat. You will gain back all the weight you lost in a few weeks time as body stores all the lost fat and some more in case you pull this stunt once again.
Your aim is to lose fat while gaining muscle. So, don’t reduce your calorie intake. Instead look around for muscle building tips that will help you build muscle but slowly lose fat.
Advice for those wishing to know to how to build muscle mass and also lose weight is to eat 6 meals a day spread out through the day. So if you start off at morning then at regular intervals you should consume 250-300 calories/ meal depending on your calorific needs, spread over 6 meals.
Here’s a sample plan, if you eat at 6.30 am in the morning, plan to eat meals at 9.30 am, 12.30 am, 3.30 pm, 6.30 pm and 9.30 pm. This requires careful planning so you eat a balanced meal consisting of all food groups of fruits, vegetables, proteins and carbs.
Essential fats, omega3 and omega-6 fatty acids found in fish, proteins about 1.5 gm/kilo body weight and whole grains with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables will keep your body well-supplied with nutrition and lead to fat loss while you gain muscle. Of course you need to do strength training to gain the muscles you wish for.