A Simple Guide to Building Muscle and Losing Fat: Part 2

In Part 1 of this series I offered you a couple of very simple and generic muscle building routines.  These routines are by no means the end-all-be-all, nor are they "optimal;" they're merely suggested starting points that will likely prove very effective for a beginner or an intermediate lifter.  In that same spirit of a starting point, the following outline for fat loss is a far cry from the only or best way to lose fat; it's one potential option among many.

With that said, let's get on with it.

Losing fat and achieving optimal health are two concepts that seem, on the surface, entirely contingent.  However, for the time being, I'll suffice it to say that fat loss and optimal health are not necessarily equivalent (this is an issue for another article).  For now, I'll focus solely on fat loss; which in and of itself is quite a simple issue to tackle.

Have you ever asked, or heard someone ask, "what should I eat to lose weight?"

Can you pick out what's intrinsically rhetorical about this question?

Perhaps my answer to it will clarify:  "What should you eat?"  "Try eating less!"

All harshness aside, the underlying factors promoting obesity and poor health in this fair country of ours are indeed quite complex, but mathematically speaking, people put on fat because they eat more calories than they burn on average.  Now, a lot of factors drive this caloric imbalance, be it hormonal factors, emotional factors, lack of activity, stress, or the hyper-rewarding food comprising an industrially based diet; but, in the end, you can't defy the laws of physics.

People get fat because they eat too much.

It should seem fairly obvious where I'm headed with this:  I'm likely going to tell you to eat less food than you currently consume.

True, such is the gist of what I'm getting at here, but there are a number of things you should be aware of before you feel like I've just left you hanging so anticlimactically as I have.

Thing number A:  Don't buy into the myth that eating small, frequent, meals is somehow a necessary component of losing weight.  Meal frequency has virtually no discernible impact on metabolism.  Moreover, some evidence suggests that going up to 48 hours without food can actually cause a slight increase in metabolism (not that I recommend doing such a thing).

Eat at whatever frequency suits you and your psychology.  If you like eating smaller meals every few hours or so, then do it.  If you would rather eat larger meals at less frequent intervals, do it.  Fat loss requires an average deficit, not necessarily a well-timed one.

Thing letter 2:  Since you'll be weight training while you're in a caloric defiucit, you need to make sure that you're eating plenty of protein (and I mean high quality animal protein).  I recommend doing so for a number of reasons:

1)  Protein is essential for building muscle, and many people underestimate how much they should be consuming.

2)  Eating plenty of protein can improve your weight loss results.

3)  Protein is very satiating; meaning you won't be quite as hungry while eating less.

4)  A higher level of protein consumption is crucial for maintaining lean body mass while in a caloric deficit. 

Based on the available research, I recommend consuming 1g of protein per pound of target body weight. This number is actually on the high end of the recommended range for resistance trained athletes, but given the reasons listed above (especially 3), it won't hurt to aim high.

Also, even though you'll be eating at a caloric deficit, it's still possible for you to build muscle, especially if you have a lot of fat to lose and/or if you're a novice trainer.

And if you're worried about the supposed detrimental effects of high protein consumption on kidney health, you can rest easy.  Unless you have preexisting renal health issues, there is no substantial evidence to suggest that a high protein diet will negatively effect your kidney health (but you advisably should contact a medical professional to be certain you're not at risk for, or already have renal health issues, just to be safe).

In Part 3 of this series, I'll cover some of the basics of carbohydrates, and how you can effectively cycle their consumption to improve your fat loss success and your ability to build muscle.