The benefits of regular exercise are extensive and include improving mood, longevity and the body’s natural immune responses to stress and disease. Most of us would also like to see results like a toned physique from our fitness efforts. Although it may seem intuitive, most people don’t know how exactly to lose fat and gain muscle. That is understandable, especially considering the ample misinformation regarding this topic floating around on the internet and in social circles.
We’re going to help demystify how to lose fat and gain muscle and show that it is possible to achieve a toned and healthy physique no matter where you are starting from.
Let’s break this down by considering the “inputs” and “outcomes” of this puzzle side by side.
Inputs and Outcomes
Diet = Fat loss
Exercise = Muscle gain
Once you understand your own physiology and how the mechanisms of metabolism and nutrition work, you can make adjustments to the inputs to get your desired outcomes.
Fat Loss: Is Diet or Exercise More Important?
Although it is tempting to think that exercise is going to make a huge difference in losing fat and gaining muscle, it is actually nutrition that plays the bigger role in this dynamic. Studies have shown that long term weight loss cannot be achieved by exercising more (1). This is probably due to the body’s phenomenal ability to adapt bodily functions and metabolism to the amount of calories we are burning through exercise. The body will always try to achieve a state of homeostasis, which, unfortunately, is usually where you are starting from. It can slow down other functions of the body to compensate for more calorie expenditure from exercise to accomplish this stabilization. This is why nutrition is the key factor.
The bottom line is that we must achieve a deficit of calories in order to lose weight. That being said, it should be a small deficit, especially when starting out. If you go into too large of a deficit, your body will perceive a state of starvation, and literally slow all bodily functions possible to conserve the limited calories you are giving it. That’s why the best approach may be to ‘trick’ your body into thinking that it is still getting plenty of calories, while being in a deficit so that weight loss can occur.
Calculate Your Energy Expenditure
To determine how to get into a caloric deficit, you need to know how many calories you should be consuming to maintain your current weight. This is called your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). This calculation is based on factors like:
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- Your age
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- Your Gender
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- Your Weight
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- Your activity level
You can easily calculate your TDEE here. To keep your metabolism at peak performance and still achieve a deficit, most nutritionists recommend a deficit of no more than 200-500 calories. To get the best results on your weight loss journey, it is highly advisable to track your calories. This increases an awareness of the actual amount of calories you are consuming, promotes a sense of accountability, and provides a data set for your reference. There are many free tracking Apps available, like My Fitness Pal.
Gaining Muscle
Gaining muscle is crucial for increasing one’s metabolism. The more muscle mass one has, the greater the potential for burning calories as fuel. Muscle is made of protein, and protein consumption is important to help you gain muscle. You may have heard about losing muscle mass as you age. This unfortunate propensity is called sarcopenia. It is important to try to combat this tendency by building muscle in order to:
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- Remain strong
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- Maintain a healthy metabolism
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- Prevent injuries as your age
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- Increasing lifespan and longevity
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- Enjoy a better quality of life
Sarcopenia is helped along by the “anabolic resistance” we develop as we age. This means we need more dietary protein to build and maintain muscle.
How Much Protein Should I Be Eating?
You should aim for .75 – 1 gram of protein per day, per pound of ideal body weight. So, if your ideal weight is 145 pounds, you should be eating between 108 and 145 grams of protein per day. That may seem like a lot, but of the three macronutrients: fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, proteins are the most essential for gaining muscle. Even if you aren’t tracking calories, it is important to track your macronutrients, i.e. the amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that make up your diet.
What’s My Ideal Weight?
If you’re not sure what your ideal weight should be, you can find it here. There are several indexes represented, but they are all relatively close to each other.
Which Are the Best Sources of Protein For Building Muscle?
Animal proteins are the best sources of protein for helping to gain muscle as they contain all the essential amino acids and building blocks needed. It can be difficult if you are a vegetarian or vegan, but with proper planning and knowledge, it is doable. It is advisable to meet with a nutritionist to get a meal plan that includes enough protein on a vegetarian regimen.
Resistance Training: The Final Input
To build muscle, you have to work your muscle. Lifting weights is the best way to practice resistance training. To gain muscle and definition, focus on muscle fatigue–working each muscle group but not overworking it. Training with progressive overload means you get close to muscle failure doing sets of repetitions, working each muscle group throughout the week. Aim for at least one day of recovery each week as well. If you’re new to resistance training, it is best to hire a personal trainer to get you started on a plan for muscle gain with the right amount of weight and repetitions for you. After that, there are a lot of great Apps that can help keep you on track, like:
Will I Get Too Bulky?
No. Resistance training is aimed at achieving definition and gaining adequate muscle to increase your metabolic rate. To bulk up, it is usually necessary to take a lot of supplements, a surplus of calories, targeted and intense workouts, and sometimes hormone supplementation too.
Other Factors
While these simple inputs and outputs should reap results when utilized correctly, there are those times when something else might be amiss. You may have recently heard news about how blood sugar affects weight loss. Controlling blood sugar is extremely important for all metabolic functions. Semaglutide has emerged as a viable resource for those who would like to gain better control over their blood sugar and corresponding weight loss.
Semaglutide is a medication that belongs to a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. This drug was initially meant to treat Type 2 diabetes, as it works by mimicking the effects of the GLP-1 hormone, which stimulates insulin release and helps regulate blood sugar levels. Since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration, it has become a highly effective tool for sustained weight loss in overweight and obese adults. Click here if you are interested in learning more about how Semaglutide can help with weight loss.
Fat Loss, Muscle Gain: The Recap
So, the three simple steps required to lose fat and gain muscle are:
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- Eat a slight deficit of calories (start with 200-500 less than your TDEE)
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- Eat Enough Protein: Aim for .75 to 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight per day.
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- Do Resistance Training to muscle fatigue.
How to Track Your Fitness Progress
If you want a completely accurate read out of your total body makeup, a DEXA scan is the thing to get. If you are able, measuring this way every month will help you know how you are doing better than any other method. It can be expensive, though. Another method is using an InBody scale which many gyms and weight loss centers have. These can give you an estimate of your body composition including fat and lean body mass.
What is the Worst Way to Track Fitness Progress?
By far, using a regular bathroom scale is the worst way to track fat loss and muscle gain. Muscle is more dense than fat and weighs more per square inch. So, if you lose fat but gain muscle, the scale will likely show weight gain. It is important to get an idea of your whole body composition to know if you are losing fat and gaining muscle.
Be Patient
Whereas it would be great to wake up one day and be totally transformed, a toned physique takes time. Be patient while you are on your fat loss/muscle gaining journey. It will likely take several months to get the results you are looking for, depending on where you are starting out from. Stay with it and be sure to follow the suggestions in this article. If you have questions or would like more information, feel free to reach out, we would love to hear from you!
1. Cox et al. The Role of Physical Activity for Weight Loss and Maintenance. Diabetes Spectrum 2017, doi 10.2337/ds17-0013