Many people dedicate all is life to find that magic pill, that shortcut to finally have the body of their dreams.

But as you learn and search for a solution, with the time, you realize what’s really matters.

That’s it. I’m talking to you about fat loss.

And what’ means? Is just change your body composition, losing fat while maintaining muscle.

While weight loss is about generate calorie deficit (like bank balance, spend more than you earn), fat loss is about lower the proportion of body fat to lean tissue, improving overall body composition.

As you see this is a bit more challenging.

Some people have a decent amount of muscle but have not that “toned look” because they have a fat layer above. And they think if they focus on losing fat then they would lose muscle too.

If you take the decision to get the leaner aspect you may want to get as fast as you can. But actually, you must take the time if you want to keep muscle mass.

A drastic calorie deficit is unwise to achieve the toned look. Also keep your protein levels high is important to maintain muscle.

Let me tell you some hints that may help you.

First, weight training is crucial if you want a fit looking. The toned physique people desire doesn’t come with lot reps and low weights, comes from heavy lifting and low reps. To retain muscle while in the calorie deficit needed to reduce body fat will require regular strength training.

Second, have more muscle can accelerate the fat loss process, as increased lean muscle increases your resting metabolic rate (in other words, you are burning more calories when you’re in resting state). The more muscle you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate. This means the easier for you will be to keep the weight off once you’ve decided to move into maintenance.

Third, you don’t need to run out of breath and sopping sweat for a workout to be effective. Your body can function with many different energy systems, and we should train them all. There are times to finish sopping sweat, and there are also times to focus on training with quality and control.

The post Some Lessons to Cut Body Fat Without Losing Muscle appeared first on How to lose body fat.

Too Many Calories

Some people say as long as you avoid carbs you can eat more, but this is false because the fewer calories consumed in carbs are consumed in other nutrients.

I know, change the eating habits could be hard for someone.

That’s explain why there is a lot of products trying to evade this and look for an easier solution.

Too Much Fat

Please don’t make the mistake of the no-carbs diet. Some people think that cutting carbs is all you have to do and don’t worry about anything more. Lamentably you can’t just eat bacon and expect to get ripped.

Fat contains a lot more calories per gram than protein or carbs (more than twice). So, in the end, what’s matters is the total of calories beyond the source. If you eat more than your body requires then you will never get in shape.

Also don’t mistake this with a low-fat diet. Because this is as negative as too much fat.

For a healthy body, healthy fats must represent about 20%-30% of your total calories.

Remember, always keep in mind the total calories related to your sex, age and daily activities.

And don’t demonize all carbs because the good ones have an important role in your body health.

Only must reduce refined carbs.

Starving

The most effective way to lose weight is by a calorie deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than you expend.

But if your calorie intake is too low, your body could go into starvation mode. It will start to store fat because it thinks it is not going to get anything.

Your body will simply decrease its metabolic rate so it is burning fewer calories to conserve its energy stores.

The worse thing is this. When your body needs to fuel your daily activities then it will have to get it from somewhere else. Then your body begins to breaking down your lean muscle mass to convert it to glucose and burned for energy.

Training Without Enough Resistance

If you’re changing your eating habits trying to lose fat by a calorie deficit, the strength training goal is maintaining muscle mass. And this is a very important thing to keep in mind.

When your goal is weight loss, with the main focus on fat, the resistance training helps to avoid muscle loss. The reason is in the weight loss process is very hard to control what are you reducing, so this type of workout is very useful to avoid this effect.

Too much Cardio

Contrary to the popular belief cardio is not the main form of training to lose fat.

In fact, excessive cardio leads to an overproduction of cortisol which drives to more abdominal fat.

Cardio is good as a complement of resistance/weight training, but not the main focus.

Sleep

If you don’t sleep enough your insulin sensitivity goes down and your cortisol up.

Both affect negatively the fat loss, and in an extreme form can lead to fat gain.

Another important factor is the growth hormone which boosts during sleep time. If you want to get his benefits then more sleep will be necessary.

Some tips that may help you for better sleep: no caffeine before 6 hours you go to sleep, don’t workout too late and avoid screens (computer, TV, smartphone) two hours before sleep.

Stress

Do you know cortisol? If the answer is no let me explain.

When you get stressed your body produces a hormone known as cortisol. This hormone could raise up the amount of fat in your body if is not controlled. The effect even can counteract the benefits of diet and training.

So, the important thing here is to have good stress management. This may vary among people but there is a lot of options like yoga, meditate, walk at green areas, a pet, avoid negative people, or whatever makes you feel less stressed.

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