Essentially yes, people are capable of doing both, but it’s not very easy to do. Even though you’ve been watching what you eat, hitting the gym and lifting weights and noticing the numbers on your scale decreasing but you don’t see a difference in your physique. This is what we call Body Re-Composition.
Body re-composition helps you lose weight while gaining muscles. Here’s what you need to know.
Fat Loss vs Muscle Gain:
In order to lose fat or weight, your body needs to be in a caloric deficit. Meaning your taking in less calories per day. This will make it difficult to maintain your weight. In order to gain muscle; your body needs to be at a caloric surplus. Surplus provides the energy your body requires to repair itself and build muscle.
Here are 4 Tips to Building Muscle and Losing Weight:
1. Remember: You Are What You Eat!
The first thing you need to know is that exercise in on itself isn’t going to help you lose weight or gain muscle mass. It’s 80% of your food choices and 20% of exercising. On any given day, you will consume a number of calories. Your body has three choices on how to use those calories: burn as fuel, rebuild muscle or store as fat. Our bodies needs a regulated caloric intake for it just to even operate. This is called basal metabolic rate.
If you don’t intake enough calories, it may mess your metabolic rate. Your body thinks it’s starving and to help you survive; your metabolism shuts down. Not eating enough calories can also make your body cannibalize your muscle and hold onto your fat.
2. Protein
Sustained caloric intake deficit while eating enough protein will help your body burn more calories than you consume. This will provide more nutrients and energy to rebuild it’s muscles. Protein rich foods are a key component to both losing body fat and building muscle at the same time. You will need to include more protein intake.
3. Strength Training
For your body to truly build muscle mass; you will need to lift relatively heavy weights to a point where the muscles reaches fatigue and failure. At the time your muscles will tear and break down.
Resistance training and protein intake are key to body re-composition. You will want to ensure that you’re consuming enough calories to help build muscles and fuel your body. If you don’t, then your body will break down muscles to fuel itself; which is actually the opposite of what you’re trying to obtain.
4. Patience
Patience is a virtue, but it has it’s benefits. If you’re hoping to build muscle and loose body fat, remember, even, Arnold Sschwarzenegger didn’t become a bodybuilder overnight.
While trying to lose weight as quickly as possible, you may lose fat and muscle. As you get closer to your goal, it will become progressively more difficult to increase muscle while losing fat, but get discouraged. Gradual loss ensures that you’re mostly losing fat instead of muscles. If one too quickly, it could be harmful to your health goals and or muscle tissue.
Takeaway
If you can sustain a lifting program and maintain a calorie deficit; your body will be able to pull from it’s fat and store to both fuel itself and potentially build muscle mass. Prioritizing foods that are rich in protein is a key component to both losing body fat and building muscle at the same time. Remember that, transforming your body composition will not occur overnight. Be patient and you’ll reap the long-term benefits!