Is it possible to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time?
This is the question that many people ask when they are starting their fitness journey. Most people out there say that it is only possible to focus on one thing at a time, and you can’t lose weight and gain muscle simultaneously.
I’ve personally seen many success stories in my friend’s circle.
When it comes to losing weight and gaining muscles at the same time—it can be very difficult for an average Joe because it takes a lot of discipline and hard work. At times, it can get very painful, and you may feel like quitting, but you can definitely achieve your goals by staying consistent and motivated.
Most people are looking to “get toned”, and that’s what they want from their trainers. It is also known as “Body recomposition”. It is the process in which your physique is altered by burning fat and gaining muscles at the same time.
The thing is people want less fat and more muscles, little do they know how hard it can get to achieve these results.
Many people say that body recomposition is impossible because they think weight loss requires you to eat fewer calories than you burn. But to build up muscles, you need to eat more calories you burn.
However, your body is more competent than you think, and if you keep a close eye on your diet (what you eat and when you eat it) and put some hard work into your training, you can absolutely lose weight and gain muscle at the same time.
Table of Contents
Tips on How to Build Lean Muscles and Lose Fat at same time:
1. Always Keep in Mind that You Are What You Eat
The first thing to remember is that only exercise isn’t enough to help you lose weight and build muscles simultaneously. It also comes down to what you eat and when you eat it. Like they say, “You are what you eat”.
You must choose the right food that contains low calories and has high nutritional value. Your eating habits contribute 80-90% to weight loss, while the remaining 10-20% is your exercise.
When you consume several calories, your body has three choices for how to utilize these calories:
- Burn as fuel to provide energy to your body
- Rebuild muscle
- Store as fat
We need a regulated caloric intake that provides energy to our body and keeps it functional.
Not taking enough calories can mess up your metabolism. Your body feels like its facing starvation. Your metabolism shuts down to counter the caloric deficit. Not eating enough calories can force your body to cannibalize muscles and store fat.
Consider getting in touch with some nutrition expert who can develop a meal plan for you according to your metabolic rate. It enables you to eat the foods you love while still getting the energy to lose weight and build muscles simultaneously.
2. Use Protein to Lose Weight and Gain Muscle at the same time
When you are looking to lose weight and build muscles at the same time, you certainly need to eat foods that are low in the caloric intake but have high nutritional value. For this reason, I highly recommend you to eat Protein-rich foods.
But why do you need to increase your protein intake?
When you are burning more calories and consuming fewer calories, your body might go to a calorie deficit. Make sure that it is only a slight calorie deficit. Because if you take it too far, the muscles will struggle hard to hold on to your body. Despite all that, Protein gives your body plenty of energy and helps you build up strong muscles. It will also protect your muscles when you are cutting down calories in an attempt to lose weight.
Following list contains protein-rich foods:
- Black beans
- Lima beans
- Yellow corn
- Chinese cabbage
- Salmon
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Potatoes
3. Workout plan to Lose Weight and Muscle at the same time
Strength Train a Few Days a Week:
For the body to build muscle mass, you’ll need to lift relatively heavy weights to a point where your muscles start to fatigue and tear up. When your muscles start to repair, you’ll notice that they’ll be bigger and stronger than before.
While strength training is important, make sure you are eating enough calories to supply energy to your body. As mentioned earlier, eating plenty of protein is a good option.
Keep increasing the weight of whatever object you are lifting and also try to increase the number of reps. It will help your body to progress gradually, and in the end, you’ll see some excellent results. The reason is that our body adapts to stimulus, so it makes sense to increase the number of reps and the weight of the object you lift. This is what the strength training is all about.
Depending on your goals, you need to choose a strength training program that’ll work for you.
You can check out Strength training exercises here.
I advise you to talk with a fitness trainer before starting strength training. This way, you’ll not face any muscle injuries.
Less Cardio:
With your goal to lose weight and build muscles simultaneously, you don’t need to do a lot of cardio like jogging and running on a treadmill.
If you have a calorie deficit, you may lose lean muscles doing heavy cardio. Indeed, You don’t want that to happen.
Instead, I recommend you to keep active by walking.
The point is when you are doing a low-intensity exercise like running, fat is used as the fuel source to provide energy to your body.
Running isn’t necessarily needed because your goal is to lose fat and build muscles at the same time.
Start by trying to hit 10,000 steps a day and see how you get on.
4. Get adequate sleep to Lose Weight and Gain Muscle at the same time
It’s challenging to build muscle and lose weight without adequate sleep. Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep daily. This is the time when your important body hormones become active such as growth hormone. On the other hand, fatigue and restlessness limit your ability to train hard and eat the right food, thus causing your body fat to increase. When you’re tired, your brain doesn’t know whether it’s because of not enough sleep or starving; this is why you eat everything in sight when you’re exhausted. Without adequate sleep, you’re sabotaging your efforts to build muscle and burn fat.
5. Diet plan to lose fat and build muscles at the same time
FULL-FAT DAIRY
Greek yogurt is one of my favourites on the list. It contains conjugated Linoleic acid, which is known to burn fat and promote weight loss. Slow-digesting dairy proteins will also help you to build muscles. Cottage cheese is another protein-rich snack that helps to fill you up.
EGGS
Eggs are protein-rich and provide a good amount of protein to your body. It helps you feel fuller. Additionally, the protein in eggs can increase the metabolic rate in the body for several hours. So, if you are looking to lose weight and gain muscles, eating eggs can be a great choice.
WHEY PROTEIN
Nobody would like to lose muscles while losing weight. For that reason, using Whey protein can be a great option to protect and conserve muscle in the body. That’s a pretty impressive characteristic of this food. You can easily add whey protein to smoothies and other nutritional drinks. It can help you feel full and promotes fat burning as well.
FISH LIKE SALMON and TUNA
Fish like salmon contains mega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation and lessen the production of cortisol (a stress hormone that can cause fat storage). It is also great for both heart and muscular health. Moreover, you’ll lose weight and gain muscle at the same time.
Remember that you Won’t Achieve Your Goals Overnight
Patience is the key. Changing your body composition is a long process, and you need to know that it will take some time. But it has a lot of health benefits in the long run. If you want to build muscles and lose weight at the same time, remember, even Jeff Seid didn’t become a bodybuilder overnight.
It can be tempting to drop weight as quickly as possible, but if you overdo it, you’ll end up losing muscles along with fat. Keep in mind, Fat loss takes some time, and muscle gain typically takes even longer. Don’t rush it.
It’ll become progressively more difficult to gain muscles and lose weight as you get closer to your goal.
Final Thoughts:
While it is possible to lose weight and build muscles at the same time, make sure to keep your health in check. Focus on eating healthy, and don’t go overboard with exercises because you are looking to preserve muscles while losing fat. It would be best if you exercised daily, but don’t overdo it as you can end up losing your muscles.
Get in touch with a personal trainer and follow his advice. It is better to have a pro on your side because he’ll motivate you to eat healthily and also make the right workout plan according to your body goals.
If you are struggling to lose weight, you can check out my other article where I talk about losing 20 pounds in 2 weeks.
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