Summer is approaching unstoppably and with it, most of us are once agains trying to get in shape so we can show off our flawless six-pack on the beach.
But do you know how to lose fat properly without losing your earned muscle mass?
If you don't know, the following article is just for you, as we will present 13 tips on how to lose weight and sculpt muscle.
- Don't underestimate your fiber intake
- Ensure optimal protein intake
- What should a diet plan look like?
- You can't do it without cardio and exercise
- Lift heavy weights
- Set a goal and don't discount it at any cost
- Enrich your meals with vegetables
- Follow a drinking regime
- Make room in your diet for healthy fats
- Rest at least one day
- Don't exercise stereotypically
- Include regular fasts
- Measure and record your progress
1. Don't underestimate your fiber intake
Fiber, although indigestible, is a very important component of our food, as it cleanses the digestive tract, eliminatestoxins out of the body, lowers cholesterol and, last but not least, can be very useful for weight loss.
Some scientific studies have shown that more frequent consumption of oatmeal, beans or otherfoods containing fibre, you will lose excess weight faster and keep the weight off.
2. Ensure optimal protein intake
As you know, protein is one of the essential nutrients for human beings and is not only important for weight loss, but also for gaining muscle mass. That's why it's a good idea to divide your daily food intake into several smaller portions and try to ensure that each meal contains protein.
As some studies have shown expert studies have shown, eating protein, for example from eggs, for breakfast can improve the functioning of the metabolism and thus promote fat burning.
However, protein intake should neither be too high nor tootoo low, as both have some negative effects. If you don't know what the optimal protein intake should be, check out our article dedicated to this issue. If you are not able to get the necessary amount of protein from regular foods, you may find it helpful to Proteinthat don't contain any unnecessary calories.
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3. What should a diet plan look like?
It is surprising how often this problem occurs in people trying to lose weight. Almost everyone has heard that they shouldn't drink Coke or Fanta during a weight loss diet, but few people realize that thissweet coffees, iced teas, or certain performance-enhancing "sports" drinks.
The main disadvantage of these liquid calories is that they don't fill you up and therefore when combined with food, you go into a caloric surplus that leads to weight gain.
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4. You can't do it without cardio and exercise
And now we come to one of the most important points of this article. If you're trying to lose weight, without exercise, it simply and simply won't work.
After strength training in the gym, the ideal choice is Cardiowhere you try to keep your heart rate at a moderate intensity to achieve maximum fat burning.
If you don't go to the gym and don't have the ability to measure your heart rate, you can incorporate walking in thenature walks, which improve insulin resistance and have been shown to relieve depression.
5. Lift heavy weights
We'll stick with exercise for a while, although this time with a slightly different kind of exercise. Most recreational exercisers don't even want to hear about lifting heavy weightsyet they are extremely important for sculpted abs. Many scientific studies have confirmed that regular heavy lifting improves hormonal response and kicks your metabolism into a much better fat-burning mode.
We definitely recommend incorporating core and multi-joint exercises into your training, such asBench press, deadlift, squat and various variations of these exercises. These exercises have the best hormonal response, but also replicate the basic movements to which man is naturally attuned in a certain way (push, pull, squat, etc.).
An important factor, and for most exercisers the Achilles heel, is unfortunately technique. Never lift heavy weights at the expense of proper technique, as any good powerlifter or bodybuilder should be able to maintain good technique even at maximum power.
6. Set a goal and don't discount it at any cost
We've already explained that proper diet and heavy training are important criteria. But equally important is motivation and a meaningful and well-set goal. What should a good goal look like? Let's look at the three most basic points.
- It should be neither too difficult nor too easy, because only such a goal will make you try hard.
- It must motivate you - tell yourself what you really want to achieve, not what you should or are expected to achieve
- It must be time-bound - Ask yourself when you want to achieve visible results and stick to it. If you don't limit yourself by time, you will continually put your goal off.
The important thing is to choose it wisely and then don't deviate from the path at any cost.
7. Enrich your meals with vegetables
There is probably no need to write essays on the benefits of vegetables. They contain a wealth of vitamins, minerals and the aforementioned fibre. But apart from that, it has almost no calories. And that is precisely the reason to include vegetables with every meal.
Some scientific studies have even shown that eating salad regularly before meals fills your gut and reduces your calorie intake. It's also important to note that it's not a good idea to get specific about a certain type of vegetable just because it contains a minimum of calories.
Try to rotate the different types of vegetables regularly so that you don't clash with any of them and can eat vegetables with every meal.
8. Follow a drinking regime
Water has given the basis for life on earth and controls a huge number of reactions in our body, including, for example, our digestion.
By following a drinking regime, you not only avoid many health problems, but you can also eat fewer calories, as some studies have shown. studies. From our own experience, we recommend drinking at least 2 to 3 litres of water a day, mostly in the morning and early afternoon.
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9. Make room in your diet for healthy fats
Getting your caloric intake right is important when creating a diet in a weight loss diet. We recommend making room for healthy fats, which you can find in fish, nuts, avocados or olive oil, for example. These fats are have been shown to help maximize fat burning on a weight-reduction diet.
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10. Rest at least one day
The body is not a machine, so it is necessary to include at least one day off a week, on which you avoid the gym. However, it's a good idea to include other forms of active rest, such as a walk in the woods or a short run. At least 20 minutes of walking a day will bring you a considerable number of benefits, such as:
- Better mood
- increased vitamin D levels
- helping with weight loss
- prevents some cancers
- reduce the risk of obesity
And last but not least, they also help regenerate muscles tired from the gym. The pace doesn't have to be overly fast, just walk for a while for fun and you'll see your body reward you.
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11. Don't exercise stereotypically
When training regularly, it is extremely important to avoid stereotyping. Once the body adapts to the load, it will stop burning fat or gaining muscle mass, so we recommend making small changes in each workout.
Including dropsets or supersets, changing the intensity and volume of the workout and shortening the breaks between each set are suitable. However, it is important to structure the whole workout in such a way that you enjoy it, because this is the only way to keep you going.
12. Include regular fasts
On the subject of targeted fasting, a great commentator has said Pavel Beranwho compared the body to a sponge, which you first wring out properly and then it uses all the nutrients much better. We do targeted fasts regularly and cannot praise them enough. The body is perfectly cleansed of all harmful substances, digestion improves, and in themin some cases it can also get rid of some tumor or cancer cells.
Fasting does not have to be long at all. If you can't stand not eating all day, you can try eating only one meal during the fast.a meal a day, as this also has a considerable number of benefits. The most important ones are well presented in this English video by Dr. Erik Berg, a renowned and popular nutritionist:
13. Measure and record your progress
Finally, one very useful piece of advice.
Measuring your progress is extremely important for your psyche. If you can see the results of your work, you will enjoy the diet more and are more likely to stick with it in the long run.
If you want to get rid of fat as quickly and efficiently as possible, it is definitely a good idea to use natural fat burners as well. We have selected the best ones for you in our independent ranking. It is important to note, however, that they only work if you have the right training and diet.
For this article that would be all from us and if you have any questions regardingabout dieting, feel free to ask us in the comments, we'll be happy to answer!
Why can you trust us?
Hey! Hey! I'm Mirek and I've been working at World Fitness almost since the beginning, except for a small break. But before that I lived only in the gym for a few years, doing deadlifts and power triathlon, going to competitions and winning a few medals.
Probably the one I value the most is the national record in the WUAP federation. But besides working out, I was also interested in food and supplements, I liked to enjoy my free timeI used to read different researches and professional books in my free time to know as much as possible.