By reducing your calorie intake, you can lose weight by being into a caloric deficit and losing both muscle and fat. Dieting will become even less appealing as a result. On the other side, when you are in a caloric surplus, you must consume more calories daily than you expend, which necessitates growing muscle. Like putting bricks, that is. You’ll need extra bricks if you want to bulk up. Then there is the requirement for eliminating bricks to lose weight. According to experts, you may alter the tissues, fats, and muscles in your body to produce a deficit in a new way. In other words, there are ways to lose weight without losing all your developed muscles. Let’s look at them now:
Protein is your fuel of choice.
You must ensure that you eat correctly and get the necessary quantity of protein to maintain your muscle mass. Get 0.8 grammes of protein per kilogram of body weight per day as a general guideline.
Simply double your body weight in pounds by 0.45. The recommended daily protein intake for your body is then calculated by dividing this new value by 1.2.
Cut back on calories.
When trying to reduce weight, cutting calories is advised, but make sure you cut fewer calories. You need to quit lowering calories if doing so causes you to lose muscle.
It is advised to cut calorie consumption by 300–400 calories for ladies and 400–600 calories for males. Calculate your maintenance caloric needs, then roughly cut this number by 25%.
Exercise your muscles.
The kind of exercise you choose is crucial for both fat loss and muscle maintenance. Cardio exercise will boost oxygen extraction but have little effect on muscle mass. If aerobics is your only method of weight loss, you will lose muscle mass.
It is advised to exercise at your maximum strength to gain muscle. Unlike cardio exercises such as aerobics, strength training recruit type 2 muscle fibre and help produce muscle gain by preserving muscle mass. Strength training also stimulates the development of human growth hormone and testosterone, but it is for a short time only.
Remember your carbohydrates.
You must be mindful of your carbohydrate intake. According to a study, when you consume more carbohydrates than protein, you can shed more fat without losing lean muscle mass.
Pay attention to muscular recovery.
You also need to take some time to recover after working out. It enables you to get the most out of every workout. Getting enough is the most crucial component of rehabilitation. Whether or whether you lose muscle or fat depends on how much sleep you receive. Why? because hormone levels are changed by sleep.
Track your alcohol consumption.
We don’t advise you to give up drinking. It serves as a warning, meanwhile, that drinking too much alcohol hinders muscular growth. Drinking too much alcohol will increase your oestrogen levels and may even affect your testosterone levels, which can cause you to lose muscle mass over time. Your entire effort can be for nought.
Employ your muscles.
Yes, you must exert physical effort. They could become useless if they aren’t used. Start doing some complex exercises, such as pull-ups, bench presses, squats, and deadlifts, among others. In addition to promoting muscular growth, this will also enable weight loss. Therefore, everyone benefits.
Without realising it, you can be losing muscle. If it applies to you, cease doing whatever was injuring your muscles. Consult a physical therapist or a dietitian to help you come up with the best workouts for maintaining or gaining muscle while reducing weight.
