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When most of us say we want to lose weight, what we really mean is that we want to lose fat. In many cases, we want to retain or even build up our muscle mass, while simultaneously reducing fat in our bodies.
That means we need to consider how we approach weight loss carefully, to ensure that we’re doing the right kinds of exercises to maintain and build muscle, while also eating the right kind of diet to support muscle gain and fat loss.
One of the most common approaches to weight loss is a calorie-deficit diet. This simply means that you consume fewer calories than you expend in a day.
The premise is logical – if you use more calories than you consume, you’ll lose weight. However, it’s important that you don’t restrict your calorie intake too much too quickly and that you consider where the weight loss will come from.
While our bodies will naturally start metabolising fat to give us energy in the first few days of consuming fewer calories, it’s important to note that not all of our organs and tissues can use fat stores for energy.
In fact, our brains, which require a considerable amount of our energy every day, can’t use fat for energy. Instead, these tissues will turn to our muscles, where we often store protein, to get the energy they need.
No matter what you do, though, if you are losing weight your body will also lose some of its fat-free mass, like muscle. Some of this muscle loss is necessary if you are losing fat, because your musculature will change to support your body differently as you slim down.
The evidence suggests that the most effective ways of preventing muscle loss while you’re on a weight loss programme are:
This means it’s important to create a long-term structure for your weight loss journey, to ensure that your activities are sustainable and that you are building in both exercise and the correct kind of nutrition throughout the process.
In addition, it’s important to be aware that as we age we naturally lose muscle mass and that men and women lose fat and muscle differently. So, while what we’re sharing here is useful, it’s essential that you take the time to find out what will work for your body.
This is where resistance training comes into its own. Resistance training simply means you are performing exercise against a load. That might be weights, but it can just as easily be created by using resistance bands or even your own body weight.
Resistance training is a good activity to add into your routine for several reasons. First, it is a way to actively burn calories, which can help with your weight loss. Second, it builds muscle, which means you can retain your muscle mass while losing fat.
Finally, your muscles don’t stop consuming calories at the end of a workout. They continue to burn calories during your recovery period. So, when you do a strong workout, the benefits continue long after you’ve stepped out of the gym.
Here’s where protein comes in. Protein is fuel for your muscles, which is important if you are working them to help burn more calories.
What’s more, protein helps you to feel full for longer. This can help with weight loss in general because it will prevent you from reaching for the snacks when you don’t really need them.
If adding protein into your diet feels like a challenge while restricting your calorie intake, consider introducing meal replacement shakes. Shakes with the right formula can provide you with plenty of protein, while limiting carbohydrates and calories.
This can also make it easier to meal prep to support your weight loss while retaining or gaining muscle mass, because it gives you one less meal that you have to prepare each day.
Another reason why meal replacement shakes are helpful is because they can help you spread your protein intake out throughout your day. Eating all your protein with your evening meal, for instance, won’t be as helpful as consuming protein in every meal.
In addition to spreading out your protein intake, you also need to ensure you’re consuming enough vegetables, vitamins, minerals and fibre across your diet. These essential elements will help support your body to stay healthy while you’re losing weight.
