Lose weight and build muscle. A myth? Can this work at the same time? And if so, how can it? This post clarifies the myths around building muscle and getting rid of body fat, and shows how you can weigh less and get a toned body at the same time.
Those who start training usually want to get high right away. So losing weight and building muscle are the focus.
We women are usually a little impatient when it comes to weight loss and muscle building. We want both and preferably at the same time.
The usual process to achieve this ideal: You forbid yourself almost everything when eating (too many calories).
And increases his trips to the gym along the way. As logical as that may sound. This will not lead to the desired body image.
We show you here what it is about weight loss and muscle building and how you can achieve the goal.
Table of contents
If you try to get a lean, toned body this way, you will not only get frustrated, but you are also at risk of giving up quickly.
Because as motivated as you may be at first, not eating a lot and exercising a lot is unhealthy, demotivating and difficult to incorporate into your daily routine.
But it doesn't have to be that way. With enough time, patience, good food and workouts that you enjoy, you can achieve your fitness goals. Without starving and bad mood :)
This is what women need to know about muscle building!
Why muscle building and weight loss do not go together
What is the saying? Step by Step! For us women, visible muscles are very much in vogue. Everyone wants defined arms and legs. Some go one step further: the abdominal muscles must be visible.
We are bombarded with beautiful photos on Instagram and would now also like to achieve our goal of losing weight and building muscle. And then the disillusionment: The look in the mirror. The belly is almost gone, but the arms are thin.
But why is that?
Losing weight and building muscle are mutually exclusive. They are like fire and water or summer and winter. Building muscle requires completely different processes in the body than losing body fat.
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Build muscles: The basic principle
If you want muscles, you need a surplus of calories, so you need to eat a lot. The body must be supplied with more energy than it can consume.
You need the extra energy for training and to be able to build muscles. So if you want to build and maintain muscle mass, you need to eat a lot.
Reduce body fat: The basic principle
It is different when losing weight. If you want to get rid of body fat, you have to create a negative energy balance. Only when the body gets less energy than it needs does it resort to fat cells. Over time, the excess pounds melt away.
As you can see, losing weight and building muscle are two goals, not one. They cannot take place in parallel. But you can implement both goals one after the other. And get to the goal that way.
That is why muscle building is more effective than any diet!
Lose weight first or build muscle first?
Your body decides. Better said, your body type. To find out the best plan for you, it's best to use your body mass index (BMI) as a guide.
BMI over 25
If you have too many kilos on your ribs, start with a mixture of strength and cardio training in combination with a small calorie deficit.
By the way, those who are just starting their workout benefit from the beginner's bonus. If you haven't done any sports for a long time, you will reduce your muscles to a minimum. If you then start again with fitness, you will benefit especially in the first 6 to 8 weeks. You get fitter and stronger faster.
These are the nutrition tips you need to follow if you want to build muscle!
BMI under 25
If you are slim and have a body with a high percentage of body fat, you urgently need muscles. They are the power plants of the cells. The more muscles, the higher your calorie consumption.
By the way: If you are slim and yet have a high body fat percentage, you will Skinny Fat called.
First lose weight then build muscle
You start with a calorie deficit. That kills your fat pads for the time being. But strength training is also necessary here. After all, you don't want to lose your basic muscles.
The right thing for you is a balanced strength-endurance workout. It will make you sweat, work your muscles and help you burn calories.
If your weight loss phase was successful, you take time for a first interim balance. Only then you can start to build up muscles.
You'll love these muscle building snacks!
Often the muscles that you have anyway are enough. Under your fat pads, they just could not come out.
Purely visually, small and well-defined muscles really make a difference for us women. Large mountains of muscle are desired only by a few ladies.
Many people will be surprised how well they are in shape after the first few weeks of strength and endurance training. Once the fat deposits are gone, you feel really good.
Muscle building and nutrition
But if you want a few more muscles, start building them now. You should now eat 300-500 calories more per day.
But of course not in the form of chocolate or other sweet stuff. Muscles need high-quality food and lots of protein to grow. Very good protein shakes and tools for this, by the way, you can find at providers such as Foodspring.
The great advantage with Foodspring shakes is that there is one that helps with both muscle building and fat loss. It is low in calories and high in protein at the same time.
The protein keeps you full for a long time and provides the ingredients your muscles need. In Shape Shake from Foodspring contains 70 grams of protein per 100 grams, which is more than in any other shake.
If you are interested in Foodspring products, I can give you a Foodspring discount code give. With the code WGW15FS you get 15% on your order!
And the shakes are also delicious in taste. You can choose from 13 different flavors. My favorite is coconut :)
Just because you are allowed to eat more calories now, you still have to pay special attention to your diet. Because if you start eating unhealthy now, you will put on fat again. Your goal of building muscle and losing weight will remain unattainable.
Just don't let your scale confuse you. If you see the success of the diet and moderate training, you'll be happy at first. But at the latest when you start to build muscle, you'll go in the other direction again.
The kilos are getting heavier. No wonder: muscles are much heavier than body fat. That's why you shouldn't let your kilograms get in your way. It's better to use your body fat percentage as a guide. You can measure it with a body fat scale.
These foods contain particularly high levels of protein!
First build muscle then lose weight
Of course, it also works the other way around. You first build up muscle mass and later lose fat pads.
Here you may have a funny feeling at first. Because to build muscle, your body needs enough energy, even if you are overweight. To take more calories than you can consume is now mandatory!
However, it is also important that you eat healthy. That means lots of vegetables, healthy carbohydrates, healthy fats and protein. That means you don't have a free pass to feast.
And of course you also have to train a lot. Only those who do strength training regularly can build up muscles in the long term.
Instead of giving up calories, you just make muscle out of them.
Super succeeds you, with our "Belly off training plan". Here you will find 66 pages of recipes and workouts to help you build muscle and lose weight.
Intensive training will also increase your basal metabolic rate. This is because muscles need a lot of energy and burn calories even when they are at rest. This is a wonderful side effect if you decide to build muscle and then lose weight.
Psst: Do you know the secret to building muscle as a woman?
Weight loss and nutrition
Once you're satisfied with your muscles, it's time to lose weight. Unfortunately, you can't just rely on your high basal metabolic rate. You also need to increase the calorie consumption in training.
So you switch from strength training to strength-endurance training. This means more repetitions and shorter breaks between sets. And regular running, cycling or swimming, i.e. cardio training.
Very good for this purpose is bodyweight training in the form of High Intensity Interval Training on. You'll really work up a sweat and can easily train at home.
Just like before when you were building muscle, you need to make sure you eat plenty of protein. A basic rule says that you should eat 1-2 grams per kilogram of body weight daily. This is the only way to maintain your muscles. If you eat too little protein, your body grabs the muscles as an energy reserve and breaks them down.
Try these delicious vegan protein sources!
Lose weight and build muscle: The right diet
No matter what order you choose, you won't succeed without adapted nutrition.
Did you know that your training success to 75% depends on nutrition?
You won't get to a slim body just by working out. Of course, what you eat plays a big role. As with everything in life, you should not overdo it when losing weight.
Why is losing weight too fast poison for the muscles?
When you drive your car, do you fill it up? Pretty sure, otherwise you won't get far. It's similar with our bodies.
Denying the body to replenish its resources after a hard workout will result in muscle loss rather than muscle gain.
In addition, rapid weight loss can cause the body to panic. It then thinks it must starve and clings all the tighter to your fat.
This makes it much harder for you to lose weight. Even if you eat very little. It is not recommended to lose weight too fast. JoJo effect and bad mood say hello.
According to a Study of the "International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism", slow weight loss, in contrast to fast weight loss, leads to a better preservation of lean muscle mass. Plus, you'll have more power and be able to maintain your new body weight more easily. Bye yoyo effect.
With these exercises you build up muscles especially fast!
Strict diet vs. healthy diet
You have to ask yourself: what am I doing all this for? To basically get fitter and healthier? Or do you just want to be slim in your bridesmaid dress the month after next?
A strict diet may be successful. But you will all too soon fall back into old patterns and then the whole thing starts all over again.
A healthy diet, on the other hand, will help you lose weight and build muscle in the long term. Food does not become the enemy and the more muscles you build up, the greater your basal metabolic rate will be and your fat will give way. Slowly but surely.
What to eat, what to avoid
If your goal slimming and muscle building is, of course, you should think about how you build your diet.
Those who start building muscle should have eaten more calories by the end of the day. And those who start losing weight should eat fewer calories.
Psst: Do you already know these juicy curd pancakes for breakfast?
Whether the calories come from cookies or salad. How many calories you need depends on your gender, age and weight. But even if the calories play a big role, you should simply give up some foods.
A Renunciation of carbohydrates is not necessary. Not even in a diet. However, you should primarily focus on foods that have a low or medium glycemic index have
This index describes how a food affects your blood sugar level.
You can find good carbohydrates in
- Legumes such as chickpeas, beans and lentils,
- Whole-grain products such as whole-grain bread, whole-grain pasta and brown rice,
- Oatmeal and potatoes
Of course, you can include vegetables in your diet without hesitation. You should too ;)
In order for you to build muscle on the side, you need to eat enough protein (protein).
A diet rich in protein promotes the Thermogenesis. Heat is generated here, which increases energy consumption and promotes fat loss (spicy food also has a positive effect here, so don't be afraid of hot chili).
Animal sources of protein are
- Tuna
- Turkey breast and chicken
- Beef
- Milk products such as cottage cheese, quark and yogurt
- Eggs
But there is also a whole range Vegetable protein sources
- Legumes
- Products with soy
- Nuts
- Whole grains
- Cabbage vegetables
- Spinach, broccoli.
Hands off: Low-fat foods, refined sugar, white bread, fried foods (bye bye chips...), fruit spritzers, sugary drinks, convenience foods.
You can replace refined sugar with honey or fructose (in moderation!). (Sweet) potato chips from the oven I find just as good as normal chips and you save yourself a lot of salt and fat.
You can replace the fruit spritzer well with "infused water" replace. Here you simply pimp normal water with fruits or vegetables such as cucumbers. This makes the water taste really delicious, but you save yourself some calories and sugar.
Workout and eat healthy to make your life better! Your life should be about other things than counting calories. With the right balance of healthy eating and days of indulging, you can go through life fit, happy and energized. That's how it should be. Not the other way around :)
Intermediate Conclusion
Lose weight and build muscle starts with the diet. It has been proven that slower weight loss helps maintain muscle.
Losing too many kilos too quickly is unhealthy. "Slow and steady wins the race" is the motto here. It's best to adjust your diet sustainably and not be too strict about calories. Because without sufficient energy intake, the muscles will not grow.
Lose weight and build muscle: The right workout
Many women who want to lose weight start jogging around like haphazardly. Of course, endurance training has its justification. But relying only on jogging will not help you build muscle. You're more likely to lose some (depending on the amount of training you do).
In addition to cardio training, you must not forget about strength training. After all, in addition to losing weight, it is also important to maintain and promote muscle mass.
Another beginner's mistake is the number of exercise sessions. In the beginning, you tend to start out fully motivated. And overstrain yourself and your body with it.
This is not recommended for two reasons. First, it is difficult to maintain this level of motivation over time.
How to start your sports career without muscle pain!
And secondly, your muscles need breaks to build. The more the better, that's not true here.
Basically, you should take at least one day off between strength workouts.
What you can do, however, is to train the upper body for a day and then train the lower body the day after. But also give your muscles a little rest!
Just listen to your body is the best thing you can do :)
Which sport is the right one if I want to lose weight and build muscle?
Jogging reduces stress, is healthy and makes you happy. But always doing the same laps is not optimal!
Those who rely mainly on long and monotonous cardio sessions will experience the following problems:
- Doing "too much" endurance exercise not only burns your fat stores, you start losing muscle.
- Weeks of monotonous training will make your metabolism slow down, which is definitely not supposed to be a goal.
- After a long endurance workout you will be hungrier than after a strength workout, cravings will occur more quickly.
Basically applies here: "The quantity makes the poison!". Demonize cardio also brings nothing. Along with other types of exercise as a change of pace, jogging is something very beneficial. It alleviates stress, lowers cholesterol, improves your immune system, and is a beneficial exercise.
Who on slimming and muscle building should consider jogging less and sprinting more. Keyword Interval run. This is more time efficient and if done correctly can be more effective than a longer jog.
The cardio workout you should do with HIIT, Bodyweight exercises and Theraband exercises connect. Besides, please do not forget to warm up and stretch :)
These workout instructions will help you lose weight and build muscle:
Build strength:
- 15 exercises for warm up before workout
- The 22 most effective HIIT exercises for at home
- The abdominal legs butt training guide (bodyweight exercises, no equipment required)
- Theraband exercises for a strong back
- Bye Bye Angle Arms: Dumbbell Training for the Arms
Cardio and endurance:
Stretch and release tension:
- Start the day with a gentle yoga workout
- Exercises against neck tension
- The yoga flow for more mobility
Our conclusion
You must first decide what you want to start your weight loss and muscle building program with. Depending on your choice, you need to follow different rules when eating and exercising.
Women who want to become thinner and more defined must not forget strength training in addition to endurance training. Because too much monotonous endurance training actually attacks the muscles in the long run! The best workouts in this case consist of high-intensity short sessions. This saves time and efficiently attacks the fat deposits. But even with HIIT exercises, you must not omit the warm-up under any circumstances. Otherwise you increase the risk of injury.
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