So to lose weight, we all know we need to increase our energy expenditure (that is, more calories must be burned than calories consumed). Therefore, it would be wise to burn as many calories as possible during the time we dedicate to working out each day. For simplicity, burning calories can happen in two ways: directly and indirectly. Direct energy expenditure is exactly what you think it is: the calories you burn running on the treadmill, or performing X hours of exercise to burn X amount of calories.
Indirect energy expenditure, on the other hand, isn’t quite as obvious. This is dictated by the amount of lean muscle mass you have, and is also know as "resting metabolism." The important thing to take note of is that your indirect energy expenditure is the bigger contributor to overall caloric expenditure. Getting the “metabolism up” is the key to shedding a substantial amount of body fat. Because lean muscle mass allows us to increase indirect expenditure, shouldn't we focus on increasing our muscle mass? Yes. So now you ask, how do I accomplish this? The answer is simple: WEIGHT TRAINING AND ADEQUATE PROTEIN CONSUMPTION ARE THE TWO OF THE BIGGEST FACTORS FOR INCREASING LEAN MASS.
For the majority of females who do endless cardio or light weight training (you know, 5lb biceps curls with 5 minute texting breaks) to lose fat and get "toned" this is a dead end approach (even if we are controlling for diet). When you start weight training with heavy squats, deadlifts, and the explosive olympic lifts, you will increase lean muscle mass because when muscles are used over time they start to adapt and change. Muscle hypertrophy, or muscle growth occurs primarily through chronic anaerobic, high-intensity resistance activity, like that which happens from lifting weights. Resistance training causes neural adaptations, which result in changes in muscular endurance and muscular strength, and eventually, the size of the muscles as the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the muscle fibers increase. Although both fast and low velocity resistance training increases muscle CSA of muscle fibers, fast velocity training induces greater development of the muscle (like explosive olympic lifts and heavy deadlifts 75% and above your max).
Your growing muscles will help increase your metabolism, so you can eat more and train harder. Your body composition will start to change, and desired results are will be seen. This is because the body burns more calories maintaing muscle than it does fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you will naturally burn each day, thereby increasing your metabolism and closing the energy gap between intake and expenditure. Thinking about lifting in another way is like asking "Do you want to greatly affect your body’s ability to burn fat ALL THE TIME, or just for an hour a day?"
Once you have muscle to “strip” fat off and train with decent weights regularly, cardio is an excellent tool for getting leaner. Fore example, bodybuilders use cardio to shed some body fat, but they know that increasing the size of their muscles through intense weight training sessions every day and is the most important way for them to get to extremely low levels of body fat (lets leave the drug use argument out of this post, you can see what I am trying to say).
The Best Diet While Weight Training
Protein helps build muscle and bone, as well as keeps us feeling full longer after a meal. In order for muscles to develop in size, protein synthesis (anabolism) must exceed protein degradation (catabolism). Protein synthesis and protein breakdown account for approximately 20% of RMR (Rasmussen and Phillips, 2003). Protein synthesis is additionally stimulated by a high amino acid supply, aka protein being consumed. I recommend eating at least 1g protein per bodyweight. So if you weight 150 lbs, you should be consuming at least 150 g of protein a day. I eat a high protein diet of 145-155 grams/day, weighing somewhere in the range 142-144lbs on any given day, and moderate fat of 50-60 grams/day. I chose high quality protein sources, eating grassfed beef and organic poultry when possible. I am not going to sit here and say it's fine to eat fast food grade, growth hormone injected meat in order to gain muscle, so please make an effort to stick to healthy sources of protein. My favorites are eggs in the morning, wild caught salmon or ground beef for lunch, and grilled chicken or 90% lean ground turkey for dinner after weightlifting.
Carbs are also important! Paleo diets tend to naturally eliminate carbs from the diet since wheat, legumes, and dairy is a no-no, and sometimes people tell me they end up consuming only 50-100 g a day while training daily in CrossFit or weightlifting. Since we already discussed how we only utilize glucose when we train anaerobically, ensuring your glycogen stores in your muscles are full is crucial for training to the best of your ability. In addition, eating carbohydrates provides a “protein-sparing effect”; a person who eats too few (like a diet low in carbohydrates) would need to use some protein for energy, rather than for building and repairing muscle from resistance exercise. Fueling for athletic activities makes an increased carb intake important, and consuming these carbs while training will not make you fat, I promise. I try to consume 200-300 grams of carbs almost every day (I am training almost everyday). My favorite sources of carbs are sweet potatoes, jasmine rice, brown rice, quinoa, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, fruits like bananas and apples, pumpkin, and other carb-dense veggies like beets, cauliflower, zucchini, and carrots.
There you have it, protein and weightlifting to decrease body fat, build muscle, and feel healthy and strong. Cardio has its place, but focus on having a solid foundation of muscle first. You will be able to eat more calories and train harder, and the body fat will just start to disappear.
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Never Quit and Never Be Satisfied,
Leighann