How to lose fat with proper nutrition
Should I cut weight?
For anyone who is looking to maintain muscle mass or build upon it, one factor that you should always consider is ensuring you're doing the right exercises in order to lose fat. It isn’t done overnight and you’ll need to closely monitor many aspects of your routine where calorie intake and training are concerned.
The right exercise helps to burn body fat; just as eating the right food is important for muscles. For starters, you’ll need to cut down on the cardio exercise. That treadmill may be helping you to get that endorphin buzz but too much of it and you risk burning what muscle you may already have for fuel.
Maintain Your Muscle
If you’re wondering how to maintain muscle mass, aim to take in about one and a half times the protein in grams as you weigh in pounds; you’ll then have enough protein intake to help muscle development and maintenance. The best time to take in a good chunk of that protein is within an hour of exercise, so if you’re pressed for preparation time, a protein shake or bar would be the most convenient way of taking it on board. A fast absorbing protein such as Promax, with whey, soy and casein would be ideal at this time and will provide you with a high quality protein intake.
Think about the source of the protein you’re taking in the rest of the time and take in some of those ‘good’ fats rather than the bad ones – replace rice with brown rice, potatoes with sweet potatoes and cook with olive oil rather than lard or butter.
Speak to an expert at the gym about measuring your body fat and make a note from week to week of how much you’re losing to adjust your training, rest and calories accordingly.
Another common misconception is that you need to be exercising for hours at a time, all the time! A high-intensity workout will always work better than one which is high in duration so be careful not to tire yourself out often - your body needs its rest periods to just as much as it needs the exercise.
While this cutting guide is meant to help guide your nutrition choices you need to ensure you give yourself adequate rest.
