If you want to achieve the holy grail of fitness perfection, losing body fat while preserving (or even adding) muscle mass is what it’s all about. There are several pieces to the body recomposition puzzle, and they involve… you guessed it: nutrition, training, and supplementation. Here’s how you can put it all together.
How Do You Lose Body Fat While Maintaining Muscle Mass?
To lose body fat, you need to go into a caloric deficit, so your body can turn to fat and use it as fuel. But, here’s where it becomes tricky: if you go into too much of a calorie deficit, you can start to lose that hard-earned muscle mass. So, what on earth can you do if you want to change your body’s composition? Luckily, we’ve researched for you and listed the best ways to accomplish this.
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Using Diet to Help You Lose Fat and Maintain Muscle
So, what can you do to ensure you achieve the body recomposition you’re looking for (i.e., less fat and more muscle)? It starts with proper diet and nutrition. This is one of the best ways to change your body without sacrificing muscle mass. Ironically, you need to feed your body properly if you want to lose body fat. But don’t just eat whatever you see; you must eat strategically.
- Your diet should have a combination of quality protein, healthy carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
- Stay in a calorie deficit of up to 500 calories a day for fat loss without compromising muscle mass.
- To promote muscle growth, consume at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight daily. Since tough workouts break down muscle tissue, you must provide your body with what it needs to rebuild and maintain muscle mass.
Note: It’s not a good idea to dip much lower than a 500-calorie deficit per day, as this can cause your body to 1) tap into muscle tissue for energy, and 2) slow your metabolism (the opposite of what you want).
Supplementation for the Body Recomposition Win
Next up is using the right supplements to support your goals to lose fat and maintain muscle. These supplements can help you get there:
- Creatine—tried and true, creatine has been used by athletes throughout the world to support muscle, both building and maintaining. It hydrates the muscle fibers by drawing water into the cells, which, in turn, helps boost muscle strength and build muscle size. This supplement is not just for bodybuilders; it’s also a potent tool for those looking to lose fat and maintain muscle mass.
- MCT Oil—this supplement contains some of the “good” fats and is very helpful for dieters, keto followers, and people using intermittent fasting as it promotes the support of ketone production. It also makes adhering to a keto diet more manageable and provides a feeling of satiety. Or, if you do decide to partake in additional carbs, MCT oil can help you better process them. MCT oil also offers a host of other benefits, including improved mental clarity, better energy, a more robust metabolism, and superior recovery.
- HMB—this supplement helps you prevent the breakdown and ramp up the building of muscle tissue and is especially helpful when you’re training hard. This amino acid metabolite (HMB) helps to break down the protein you eat into a usable form and signals your body to preserve and pack on that muscle mass.
- GLP-1 support—managing this hormone, which is produced in the gut and aids in blood sugar management and insulin release, is demonstrating some intriguing results, especially for its potential to decrease appetite and promote weight loss. This alone is not the answer to permanent fat loss, but when GLP-1 products are combined with a strategic exercise, diet, and supplementation program, it may make it easier to turn off hunger and stick to your healthy routine.
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Strength Training
This is the final piece of the puzzle. Our bodies naturally lose muscle mass over the years as we age, and double-whammy: we also tend to put on body fat simultaneously. The way to turn this bus around is to start a consistent strength training program. Lifting heavy-ish weights (you can do between 8 – 12 repetitions) will help you keep and build muscle mass.
What are two key takeaways when it comes to losing fat and maintaining muscle for body recomposition? Get the most impact from your workouts by doing compound movements that use your whole body. Some good examples include movements like squats, planks, push-ups, pull-ups, lunges, etc.
The second thing is to progressively add weight or difficulty with every successive workout. If your weight loads stay the same, then you’ll probably stay the same. The goal here is to build muscle and get stronger while simultaneously burning off body fat. So, keep challenging yourself.
Remember, it’s not just slow and steady that wins the weight-loss race; it’s slow, steady, and strategic! Use the best ways to lose fat and maintain muscle provided above, and you’ll be surprised how fast your body can change.
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