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Here's How To Reduce Weight But Build Muscles

By Anshum Joshi

Have you ever tried to lose weight? Most of us will answer this question in "Yes", be it to look good on social media or to have a healthy body. Are you aware that while shedding the extra fat, your body also loses the muscles?

This happens because the body needs the energy to perform various functions that is derived by burning fat and protein. Since protein also provides glucose to the body along with carbohydrate, it is lost too. This makes it difficult to maintain a muscular body.

Build muscle and lose fat

So what should be done to maintain a fit body that is free from fat but full of muscles? All that is required is the right combination of diet and exercise. Given below are some of the points that can help in losing weight but building muscles.

Protein Intake

If you work out then you might be well aware of the fact that it is essential to improve the protein intake so that your body gets enough protein to both release energy and build muscles.

Protein stays longer in your digestive system making you feel full and stops you from overeating. Though many protein supplements are available in the market, if you prefer natural sources, then you can include protein-rich food such as fish, sprouts, or soy in your diet.

Calories In Your Diet

It is often thought that one must cut down on the calories in order to lose weight. Shifting to a calorie-deficit diet can create health problems, such as slow metabolic rate, reduced thyroid function, and disturbed sleep, instead of building muscles. Therefore, do not starve your body of the calories and maintain a moderate-calorie diet, gradually shifting your intake.

A low-calorie diet also affects the training and recovery cycle leaving you feeling lethargic and tired all the time. Feeding your body with enough calories is the key, but this does not mean that you can stick to your favourite desserts and cookies. You have to cut down on too much sugar and oil. Cutting down the calories in your diet alone will not help until you combine it with a regular workout regime.

Carbohydrates In Your Diet

Just like calories, carbohydrates are also required by the body to derive energy. Carbohydrates are needed for glycogen, which is required by the muscles, which means a low-carbohydrate diet will affect your strength. If you are lifting heavy weights to build muscles, low glycogen in your muscles will make you lose more muscles than building them.
The best time to consume carbohydrates is the first meal of the day which is also the period of high insulin that helps the body in absorbing as much glucose as possible. Grains, legumes, fruits, and dairy products are all rich sources of carbohydrates that you can include in your diet.

Workout

Do not overdo the cardio. Running or swimming indeed is a good fat burner but include some weight-training and strength-building exercises such as HIIT (high-intensity interval training) in your schedule. Doing HIIT twice a week can naturally boost your metabolism to burn fat faster, giving you strength. Gradually increasing the intensity and frequency of the weight training also has the same effects.

Eat little carbohydrate after your workout so that your body can be refuelled and muscle fibres can recover. Also, maintain the volume of your workout. There is no point in working hard to the intensity that your body doesn't get enough time to recover. Try to take one or two days off from your workout and keep the weight training sessions twice or thrice a week instead of lifting weight daily.

Proper Sleep

This might sound strange but proper sleep plays an essential role in your body fitness. In the process of cutting calories from your diet and pushing through the extra miles shedding too much sweat, you are stressing out your body.

Sleep is the time or the phase that helps the body to recover from this stress and when the body is cutting out the fat and protein from the body. So get at least six to seven hours of sleep every day. Also, our body secretes increased levels of growth hormones during the night than the day hours. This means better and faster recovery of the muscles and body stress.

Story first published: Tuesday, June 5, 2018, 11:52 [IST]
Read more about: weight loss diet muscles