Fat loss & muscle gain
Fat loss and muscle growth often go hand in hand. There are two phases that will help you to achieve these goals, these are known as the cutting phase and the muscle growth phase.
Cutting phase:
Often, individuals will say they want to lose weight or lose body fat, but they can’t seem to get the numbers of the scales to move. There can be so many reasons for this, but often they aren’t eating enough, or they aren’t properly tracking their food intake and end up eating too much without realising.
Below are some tips and things to remember when in a cutting phase:
- Weight can mean muscle mass too, so even though the number on the scale hasn’t moved it doesn’t mean you haven’t lost body fat, it could mean that you’ve gained a little muscle mass.
- Create an ideal calorie deficit. You should start at maintenance calories and slowly decrease them by 100 calories until you reach 25% below your maintenance level.
- Consume an ideal amount of protein – 0.8 to 1.2grams of protein per pound of current bodyweight. This will help you feel fuller for longer and help to reduce cravings, it will also help to maintain muscle mass.
- Make sure you keep weight training, even though you are trying to lose fat it doesn’t mean that your training must be all cardio. Doing too much cardio can burn off muscle mass too. Try doing HIIT workouts instead of treadmill runs!
- And finally – DO NOT RUSH THE PROCESS!! Losing weight too quickly can be really unhealthy and you’ll probably just end up losing loads of muscle mass too. Remember – you still need to fuel your body enough to maintain the muscle mass and so you have enough energy to get through the day.
Muscle growth phase:
If you are looking to increase your muscle mass you’ve probably heard that you just need to be in a calorie surplus and eating loads and loads of protein and lifting heavy. Whilst this is true, below are some tips to consider for a more effective muscle growth phase:
- You should aim to slowly increase your body weight – if you gain weight too quickly you’ll just end up with excessive amount of body fat. Men should aim to put on 1 to 2 lbs (0.5 to 1kg) per month whereas women should aim to put on 0.5 to 1lbs (0.25 to 0.5kg) per month.
- Create an ideal calorie surplus. Men should start their growth phase 200 calories over their maintenance calories. Women should start 100 calories over their maintenance calories.
- Consume an ideal amount of protein – 0.8 to 1.2grams of protein per pound of current bodyweight.
- Take regular rest days! Rest days are important as it allows your body to recover and repair.
- And finally, you need patience and consistency (lots of it!!), and don’t end your bulk early just because you want to cut down for a holiday or feel uncomfortable with the extra weight gain. Consistency is key for this phase.
