Burn Fat or Lose Muscle First?

If you are training for a fight or a competition, you want to increase your muscle mass, your body tends to depend on three major nutrients for all kinds of dietary needs. Your body breaks down carbohydrates, muscle and fats for energy and when you are obese and want to gain muscle and lose fat, you would want to burn fat rather than muscle. Here is what happens:

When fats are burned

Body looks for glucose and glycogen to burn and when they are not available, the body breaks down the fatty compounds like triacylglycerol from the fat tissues and adipose. Fats are a high energy source that gives nine calories per gram and this makes it an excellent fuel resource. So when you are training to be lean, you have to make sure that your fat resources are getting utilized rather than your protein which makes up the muscle.

When muscles are breaking down

Muscle gets breakdown when fat stores are depleted and body turning to muscle to get energy, which means utilizing amino acids for fuel. The body needs amino acids and at the same time, because the body doesn’t store them, muscle breakdown is needed to release them. So if you are eating regularly, your body doesn’t need to breakdown muscle, but when it’s not, you end up losing muscle.

Need muscle gain and fat loss? Here are some of the things you can do to avoid muscle loss and increase fat loss:

Step 1.

Eat fewer calories than usual, so your body gets used to the low amount of fat and instead of storing it, uses it. When the calories are depleted, the body tends to breakdown fats to restore that lost amount. It also makes you leaner. For example, if you burn 18 calories per day, reduce the calorie intake to 16 or 14 and bring down the number of consumed calories from 3600 to 2800 or 3200 in a day. Another way to keep the calories down is to put on your boxing gloves and throw some punches each day. This is a great way to warm and do upper body training.

Cut butter, oil, and salad dressings, when you eat chicken, remove the skin and use egg whites instead of whole egg. Use healthy fats like nuts, avocados etc.

Step 2.

Calorie control is very important, if you reduce the fat-storing hormones, you can see a huge difference in creating a body that depends on fats for energy. Control your carbs so they can moderate the insulin levels. This will give you a good weight loss method.

Example, if you eat a single bowl of pasta for dinner, eat half a bowl. Eat whole grains and you’ll see the difference.

Step 3.

Protein is your friend. Eat proteins so they help your muscle recovery after you’ve gone few rounds on the punching bag or ran a few miles. Fats give you energy because make you fat if they are non-saturated fats and carbs give you a slow burning energy boost. Protein builds muscle and this is why if you want to be lean, you must consume protein. It will enhance your metabolism because thebody takes more calories to process protein.

Eat lean meats like chicken, steaks, turkey, and tuna and use egg whites like said before.

Step 4:

Carbs. Focus on carbs intake. Don’t take carbs before sleeping otherwise they will make you fat rather than lean and don’t take them separately. Carbs need to be digested quickly so your insulin levels are moderate. Eat carbs in low quantity and with protein. For example, eat mashed potatoes and veggies with a steak and very low amount of fats.

Eat vegetables, enjoy meat with carbs like pasta and potatoes, and use green salads and green beans. They will help with digestion of both carbs and protein.

Step 5:

Eat more small meals than 3 or 4 big meals. Higher frequency of food intake and in small quantities will encourage the body to not store every fatty calorie that comes in the body. Your metabolism will gradually increase and speed up, which will help you become leaner, meaner and less fat.

Don’t let your body go into starvation mode. Keep the space between your meals no less than 3 hours. It will help you to avoid overeating. Keep in mind that you still need to focus on your calorie intake.

Eat adequately and see the difference between dietary changes and the way you lose fat and build muscle. You will be able to win the fight against weight gain in no time.

Author  :-

Nicola Anderson is a 25 year old sports journalist based in UK. She loves watching MMA and boxing when she is not writing for various websites and blogs on sports, fitness and nutrition. She is a metal head and works out to tracks by OzzyOsbourne, Pantera, AC/DC and Slayer.