By Eating for gains while keeping the fat away is possible
Finding a happy medium between weight loss, maintenance, and muscle gain is a challenging task. It all depends on the amount of weight you lift, how much muscle mass and body fat you have. Gender also should be taken into consideration. I would focus on protein to gain muscle and burn body fat in a healthy, nutritional surplus. Therefore, protein should be your primary nutrient. Using both plant and animal protein is a better option. Those who are vegan still have a high chance of building muscle mass than those who primarily use animal protein. Based on your training and metabolism, it takes a bit of time, knowledge, and experimentation to determine how much nutrients your body can handle. That’s not to say that you should go crazy on the amount you eat, but slowly add a bit more to each week so that your body has time to adapt. Many studies have shown that consuming extra protein doesn’t lead to fat gain when individuals are active. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, are metabolised by the body in a completely different way; therefore, when you do consume these in excess, it can and most probably will lead to somebody fat gain. There is a way around this, which I have written about in this post here (in case you would like to use it as a carb fat-fighting strategy.) Our bodies are more inclined to process protein without the adverse effects of fat gain because protein has a thermogenic effect on the body during the digestion and assimilation phase.It’s also a powerful aid in increasing our energy — leading to an increase in our activity levels. This opposite effect happens when on a calorie-restricted diet. Due to the lack of nutrients, activity is more than likely decreased, leading to lower energy expenditure. This is a natural occurrence triggered by the brain unconsciously to prevent weight loss when scarce food sources. The only real downside to eating more protein is the GI stress that is attached to it. When protein particles aren’t appropriately digested and reach the gut, they can cause inflammation.High protein diets can cause constipation because of the lack of fibre. This can significantly increase the inflammation in our gut. The alternative to this disadvantage is to always consume protein with a vegetable source, preferably cruciferous veggies. Better yet, add in vegan protein sources as often as possible and put the animal variety aside for a day or so. Another ideal situation is to disperse the protein sources throughout the day for sustaining and building muscle all day long. It will also allow the GI tract to assimilate the protein without a lot of GI disturbances slowly. While increasing your protein sources slowly, lower carbs to allow enough room for this surplus — and of course, not to become susceptible to fat gain. This is probably not necessary if you are already relatively lean — but something to be mindful of. In light of this information, I hope you choose to increase protein as your surplus of nutrients, picking only the highest quality possible. This is your critical nutritional goal to gain muscle mass and lose body fat. That’s not to say that carbs and fat are not important -they are most definitely. It’s just more evidence that higher-protein consumption will assist in achieving your particular body composition goals. On a closing note — it’s essential to add that training hard while eating your protein is essential. If your goal is to build muscle, focus on lifting weights. You can use HIIT to cut body fat sporadically throughout your journey. This will help you balance any excess calories you didn’t bargain for. That means, if you overate at certain times during the week, a combination of weights plus HIIT would eliminate any negative consequences. All in all, keep active, rest, sleep and drink lots of water. There will be good and bad days but that’s part and parcel of life. Take it as it is and run with it. If you would like to read more articles like this or start writing your own, please sign up via my link. I’d love to see you on the other side.Sign up here for your medium subscription