HOW TO LOOSE FAT AND NOT MUSCLE

First of all, let’s be clear that weight loss does not necessarily mean fat loss. 70% of your body mass is water. So one way to loose fat rapidly would be by zeroing your water intake However, this is extremely dangerous and should not be even attempted. So the goal should be to loose body fat and not body weight.

Now, loosing fat in itself is a cycle that involves discipline on the part of subject. It is simply not related to starving yourself but actually being aware what to eat and when to eat. The major principle involved in fat loss is ‘CALORIE BALANCE’ i.e (calorie intake – calorie burnt). To loose fat one has to go into negative calorie balance over a period of time.

Some techniques to achieve that are presented below:

FREQUENT MEALS:
The amount of calories burnt by one’s body depends on the metabolism system of the individual. High metabolism rate means more calories being consumed. To keep the metabolism of your body high, you have to eat frequent meals. Frequent meals imply eating, say every 3 hours. You don’t have to necessarily stuff yourself each time, but small nutritious meals will go a long way in maintaining an uninterrupted supply of protein to maintain your hard earned muscle.

Rather than eating three large meals, 6-8 evenly spaced small meals can be utilized better by your body. This keeps your body always in working mode in the sense that you are always digesting food (digestion of food also burns calories). Also, body will be in a good balanced state and so it won’t produce the chemical enzymes to convert food into fat storage. When you eat infrequent meals, the body goes into a panic mode and starts storing fats in order to withstand long time without food.

It’s kind of maintaining a trust relationship with your body. If it is assured that it will continue to receive energy through food every now and then, no storage results.

NEVER EVER STARVE:

Going into a negative calorie balance does not mean that you start to starve. Our body has this great adaptation mechanism which adjusts to food intake and thereby adjusts the metabolism rate. So if the body gets the impression that it is being starved, it starts conserving food in form of fat by slowing down the metabolism rate. Remember fats are the last source from which body derives energy in case you starve. It will first feed onto the muscle, then move on to fats. Reducing the calorie levels by 10-15% is generally considered safe, i.e if your burn approx 3000 calories per day then intake of 2600-2700 calories is good to maintain a negative calorie balance and hence loose fat.

You might have noticed people who go on strict diets (very little food), usually show good results in the first week, but then gradually the results taper off. Even in the first week, they have lost mostly muscle and not fat.

Also, starving yourself over a considerable point of time is not easy. At one point, one would get totally hopeless on fat loss and might start to eat normally again. But now his body has adapted to very less calories. So even 2000 calories would be excess for it and it will deposit it as fat under your skin. This is the most common mistake that people do and complain that their diet is not working.

CHEAT DAYS:

As stated earlier, human body has this amazing adapting mechanism. So if you keep your calorie balance negative always, the results will slow down and your body will simply adapt to the situation and will stop you from loosing weight and fat.
So, in order to carry on with the fat loss, we must learn to CHEAT. “Honest people don’t always end up on the winning side, but you will always find Smart people on that shore.”

Let’s learn to cheat then.. Cheat in the right sense.

After three or four days of continuous negative calories, your body might think of shifting gear and it will try to adapt to the situation, by slowing down the metabolism. But if you place a high calorie meal at this point, you will no longer be negative calorie balance. Instead you will be in a positive calorie balance. So your body won’t get adapted to the situation and will continue to support you in loosing fat. So that also gives you the reason to pamper your taste buds. Have that pizza, grab that finger licking pastry but limit it to once a week

For endomorphic people( who are obese by nature) , spacing of cheat meals by 6-7 days is suggested.

If you are obese by nature then space the cheat meals 5-6 days apart.

WHAT TO EAT n WHEN TO EAT:

As everyone knows, carbohydrates are the basic source of energy and excess of carbs is converted into fat. Now to derive energy from carbs, body needs to be set into motion. So try consuming more carbohydrates during your breakfast, before your workouts and even after your workouts. But it should be lesser during the night.

If we consume carbs and go to sleep, then the energy consumed could not be used up by the body. So in turn the body will try to convert it into fats. So we must consume more carbs before high physical activity hours of the day and try to keep it very low during the low activity hours of the day and in night.

Good Carbs and Bad Carbs:

Good Carbohydrates: Try to consume fibrous and starchy carbohydrates.

Bad Carbohydrates: Try to stay away from sugars, as they can increase your insulin levels and can spoil your diet.

But consuming sugar carbohydrates immediately after training can help you replenish the lost glycogen stores in your muscle.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

Drinking water has enormous good effects on human body. It not only gives u filled feeling (so you don’t crave for food in between meals) but also flushes out your system.

These are the basic steps, if followed religiously along with a active workout regime, might help you a long way in achieving that dream physique of yours.

GO FOR IT!!!!!