STRATEGIES FOR GAINING MUSCLE WHILE DIETING DOWN: Adding muscle isn’t that difficult… you lock down on the hard work, you eat everything under the sun, you lift heavy and you sleep every chance you get. Without a doubt, you’ll gain weight, with some of it being muscle. Likewise, getting ripped isn’t all that hard either. You drastically cut calories, run several miles a day, use some fat burner products, and voila, your body weight (along with some body fat) will drop. The most challenging task for those who lift – whether a powerlifter, bodybuilder, or just casual lifter – is to shed body fat while keep the muscle they have worked so hard to gain. There is a delicate balancing act in place as you work to ramp up your metabolism and preserve your muscle- almost a system of yin and yang requiring your constant attention in order to maintain the precious balance. Many try every year, and many fail, but those with the right strategy and habits in place will succeed! Gradual works… Whether you’re dropping your caloric intake, increasing your daily cardiovascular exercise, or changing up your weightlifting repetition scheme, a slow and gradual transition to the new strategy is definitely the way to go! Fast changes can cause your body’s systems to panic with an innate fear and result in an instant call for self-preservation. Small increments of 5 minutes per day of cardio, or a staggered withdrawal of 100 to 250 calories per day, every few days, offer a much wiser way to see the changes you desire without placing your body into a catabolic state. Download some Apps! Spend some time on your tablet or smart phone, checking out some of the various applications available for your device which can help you in your cautious fat loss efforts. Calorie counters, workout journal recorders, heart rate sensors, and just plain motivational sites can make your fat loss journey an easier one and help to keep you on track. Even something as simple as entertainment sites can help make longer cardio sessions fly by. Choose quality You get what you pay for. While there are always exceptions, you can rest assured that 60 grams of protein from a high end filet mignon steak are going to be used by your body in a much more efficient manner than the same 60 grams acquired from a stack of McDonald’s McDouble sandwiches. Not all protein grams are created equal! If this is the time you choose to drop the body fat, retain muscle, and maximize how good your body can look, then this is the time to splurge and choose the highest quality food sources possible. You can go back to eating a little dirty when you don’t mind adding a little fat in the off-season. Right now, you need your body to be an efficient, fat burning machine. Quality foods will help you to reach that goal. Get the big things out of the way first! Don’t get married two weeks before a big bodybuilding show. Forget planning a dieting strategy around the final weeks of your senior college thesis. Finish the more important “real life” tasks before attempting to diet down. You’ll be placing enough stress upon your body with the added cardio and reduced caloric intake. Don’t make things worse by keeping yourself up late at night worrying about the new business you decided to open this month. Map out the “big changes” in your life planned for this year, and remember that to your body, an actual diet might be the most stressful task it has ever faced. Plan accordingly! Remove temptation Clean out your refrigerator. Clean out your cabinets. Clean out the junk food you have stashed all over your house or workplace. This will solve half your problems when it comes to resisting temptation over the coming weeks. Replace them with healthy snacking and dining alternatives. This works for places you go, as well as people with which you spend time. Take a break from the bar-hopping friends if you’re serious about getting in your best-ever shape. Let your food do the work There are a handful of food choices known for their ability to help you burn fat faster than other foods. So why not add them to your diet? Almonds are high in the right types of fat your body needs to burn fat. The nitrates in beets act as a natural NOS supplement, opening up blood vessels and giving you greater training lung and heart capacity. Cold potatoes are ideal for increasing insulin sensitivity in your body, a key part of the fat loss process. A healthier gut means healthier digestion and faster removal of waste from your body. Prunes do exactly that, making you lighter on your feet and healthier at the same time. Finally, add sardines for a quick protein fix that tastes great, delivers much-needed leptin to your body, and regulates body fat levels. Go Public It’s easy to take “selfies” and keep them to yourself, promising to make changes in the coming weeks and months. It’s a lot more difficult to share these pictures with the world, well aware of the fact you may have to actually stick with uncomfortable dieting and training, at the very least to avoid ridicule or questioning from those around you. The good news is that you’ll receive plenty of support from those around you as well! Just remember to keep any pictures G-rated so they don’t end up following you to work, school, or worse!
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 13:55:22 +0000
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