Posted by Nikoletta Ventseslavova

Read if: you want to have a tight and slim body

Conventional wisdom states that the only way to get rid of excess weight is to eat low-calorie foods and expend more calories than we consume. Fasting methods are also promoted by the stars in the media. Angelina Jolie fell for the trap, becoming anorexic.

It would be perfect, if we could walk into the gym and do a workout that burns fat and builds muscle at the same time, instead of starving with months and exercising afterwards in order to tighten our bodies. Is it possible to lose the extras around our waistline and obtain a six-pack stomach at the same time without defying the laws of Physics? The answer is yes.

Our bodies need about 2,500 calories to build 1 pound of muscle and need to burn about 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. Let’s assume that we want to add 1 pound of muscle in 5 days. We’d have to eat an extra 500 calories per day. If we want to lose 1 pound of fat in the same period, each day we’d have to eat 500 calories less than our normal intake. At first sight this is mission impossible.

Will Thompson, medical exercise specialist, certified by the American Academy of Health, Fitness and Rehabilitation Professionals says that fat burning and muscle building at the same time is definitely possible, “but it’s hard work. To lose body weight, essentially you have to burn more calories than you take in. But when you’re losing weight, you may also be losing muscle that you want to keep. Ideally, you want to maintain or increase lean body mass as you reduce body fat, so the result can be a net weight gain.”

Bear in mind reading the above statement that muscle is more dense and hence weighs more than fat so you can actually be heavier but look thinner. Remember also that muscle burns energy so just by having more muscle, before you lift a finger, the amount you can eat per day increases.

Useful tips for a tight, strong and slim body:

- Consume proper food : Proteins (30-40 grams per meal) from meat, poultry, fish and eggs; Fat: balance between saturated fats and unsaturated fats + omega 3,6 fatty acids; All kind of fruits and vegetables in every meal; Reduction of starches such as white bread and pasta to be replaced with of whole grain food; Limit junk food consumption and fizzy drinks as much as possible; Drink water: 1 liter per 1000 expended calories.

- Eat frequently, between 6 to 8 times per day, in small portions – this boosts metabolism and promotes muscle growth.

-  Regular strength and weight training (30 or 60 minutes 4 times a week)  – working the muscles assists our body to absorb more protein and builds muscle mass. Strength training also burns a small amount of fat.

- Moderate cardio trainings – add 20 minutes cardio after your strength training in order to promote burning of body-fat.

The strategy for success:

To gain muscle and lose weight at the same time we need to combine proper nutrition with strength and cardio(cardiovascular) training. The key to success here is when to eat. This doesn’t mean that we have to eat while we are running. It means that we have to fluctuate between a period of a low caloric intake and strength training, and a period of high caloric intake and strength training .

The fitness expert Nash Jocic, author of The Ultimate Fat Loss & Muscle Building Guide, explains that in the diet and fitness world most people eat as much as possible during their “bulking up” (muscle, weight and size gaining period) phase, which is wrong. Instead, the goal  of the muscle gain phase has to be focused on “the building of a quality lean mass, while keeping fat gains to an absolute minimum. To do this, your daily calorie intake is increased so that weight is gained at an ideal rate of no more than 0.5-1 pound per week” combined with “an intelligently designed muscle building routine“ Durning the fat loss phase (or cutting up phase) the main objective should be “to lose fat as quickly and effectively as possible while at the same time keeping muscle loss to an absolute minimum.” Jocic says that in this period people do wrong by “drastically reducing the calorie intake and adding a ton of cardio”, which leads to muscle loss.

The expert explains how those phases should differ and stay the same: “In each phase, the main difference is just total calorie intake. Protein intake would usually remain about the same (1 gram of protein per pound of body weight is a good place to start), and fat would consistently stay at around 25% of your total calorie intake (including fish oil supplements). Carbs would then be used to make up the difference (more carbs to create more calories, less carbs to create less calories).”

For both muscle gain and fat loss, he advises us how to figure out which phase to start with. If we are skinny, it is up to us which of the two phases we will start with; if we are fat, starting with a fat loss phase first is the right decision, because “Trying to do a successful muscle gaining phase when you’re in an already fat state is just a recipe for disaster” he says. The most important thing is to give the first phase enough time to work and after that to switch to the other phase.

How to nourish our motivation:   

-  Measurement of body’s fats with a fat calliper

-  Blood testing to see the improvement of our body’s indexes

- Note taking of our achievements

- Weight measurement

- Don’t get disillusioned by TV and media stars – they are an illusion, or at least Photoshop makes their zero-pack stomach look like a six-pack stomach.

Finally, it is important to have a realistic expectation. Remember – good results need strong will, effort and time.

Read also:

• Staying in Shape. How much Exercise is the Minimum?
• Avoid Junk Food – Sweat Free and Unfat