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5 Habits to Lose Fat While Gaining Muscle

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Is there an effective way to lose weight while gaining lean muscle? Reducing fat means consuming fewer calories than you’re burning. Dropping kilos means that you might lose lean muscle together with fatty deposits. You need to be smart in terms of losing weight since you need lean muscle mass to perform physical activities like exercising.

It’s a fact that muscle burns more calories than fat, hence, having less muscle slows your metabolism as well. Once you lose that hard-earned muscle mass along with fat, it will become a bit more difficult to reduce weight the proper way. Don’t worry since there are ways to preserve lean muscle while you reduce weight.

1.) Stimulate Your Muscles Through Working Out

Working out will definitely maintain your muscle mass, but you need to be consistent so your body will continue to build it and make it toned and firmer. So, if you’re on a low-calorie diet but you’re not doing resistance training then you might add more fat than muscle. According to a 2015 Harvard study, lifting weights is a better fat-reducing technique compared to cardio exercises.

Your Muscle-Building Fix: You don’t need to lift weights on a daily basis. Reserve two intense weight-lifting session that will incorporate whole body movements such as squats and deadlifts. Determine how much you can lift so you can gauge the volume of reps per set.

2.) Consume the Right Amount of Calories

Once your body enters a starvation mode, you won’t be able to gain and sustain muscle mass and can add fat in the process. Eating an ample amount of calories will help maintain your metabolic rates. In a nutshell, you need enough energy not to go in starvation mode in order to perform physical activities.

Your Muscle-Building Fix: We recommend that you consume around 500-1,000 calories of protein from your current daily intake. This will help you maximize muscle-building while losing fat. Keep in mind to keep your daily calories intake about half your daily need and half for your exercise activity.

3.) Minimise your Cardio Exercises

Do you think spending an hour on the treadmill or elliptical for an hour will only make you reduce fat? Your hard-earned muscle might be compromised spending too much time on the treadmill. This is what makes weightlifting exercises very effective in building lean muscle mass since cardio doesn’t engage muscle fibers in movements.

Your Muscle-Building Fix: We’re not saying cardio exercises aren’t good, it’s a matter of doing them at a moderate pace. Schedule low-intensity cardio exercises 2-3 days weekly, and then schedule high-intensity cardio intervals to shock your system and protect your muscle as well.

4.) Observe your Post-Workout Action Plan

A post-workout plan is as important as your weight loss action plan. So where do you start? After a grueling yet fulfilling session at the gym, it’s important to refuel with the right food for your muscle fibers to recover. Aside from proper nutrition, you need ample sleep for your body to recover and build muscle overnight. Both aspects are important when it comes to the actual muscle-building process.

Your Muscle-Building Fix: Make sure to consume a high-quality protein meal after your workout. This will enable your body to replenish nutrients and send amino acids to your muscles. Also, keep in mind that you need 7-8 hours of sleep for your muscle to begin repairing itself and even building new ones as well.

One of the principles of weight loss isn’t only about how much you eat but what you eat as well. In a 2015 study, people went on a low-calorie diet for a month and those who consumed more protein decreased their body fat around 27 percent. It’s because the protein found in meats, eggs, and poultry which contain essential amino acids to build and sustain lean muscle mass.

Your Muscle-Building Fix: Consuming 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight will sustain your lean muscle gains. The idea here is to spread out your protein throughout the day and include in each meal.

 

Let’s get started towards your weight loss, lean muscle-building and fitness goals. The OneBody Wellness team have more than 40 years experience coaching clients on fitness, health and wellness and would be more than glad to talk to you about your fitness goals. For a chat, Click Here to know more.

 

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How to Activate your Weight Loss Hormones

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Taking advantage of female hormones have shown that it may support your fitness and nutrition goals. You might blame your intense period cravings on your hormones but they’re helping in terms of muscle-building and metabolic processes.

Women have always felt vulnerable to hormonal cravings and sluggish metabolism due to stress and period. It’s a good thing that science is now discovering how female hormones are related to weight loss and increased metabolism.

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In this post, we will be sharing tips on how to activate these hormones to support weight-loss and revving up metabolism. Here are 4 ways to turn on your hormones to reduce weight and unwanted fat.

1.) Discover the Staying Power of Protein-Packed Meals

Did you know that you have hormones that slow down the movement of food through your GI tract? This is called cholecystokinin which are released by your intestines whenever you eat. It’s a glucagon-like peptide 1 and peptide YY that helps in gradual digestion of food intake. The big idea here is that slow-moving food makes you fuller after a meal.

Your Hormone-Activating Trick: Integrate protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs for every meal. How do you make your meal feel you fuller? Consume around 20 to 25 grams of protein in each meal. High-protein meals increase these satiating hormones, but make sure to add some fiber from complex carbs and some veggies that contain healthy fats.

2.) Curbing Your Cravings

There’s a hormone that decreases your appetite called leptin. It’s also called the feel-full hormone or satiety which is released from your body’s fat cells once it is activated from your brain’s hypothalamus. High levels of the feel-full hormone can lead to leptin resistance since the more fat you have then the more leptin your body will produce. Most women have low levels of leptin which is making them super hungry.

Your Hormone-Activating Trick: People with sleeping disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia are struggling with weigh loss. Why? Sleep deprivation directly affects leptin secretion. To optimize your leptin levels, women should get around 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Manage your sleep habits to leverage on your leptin levels.

3.) Engage in Fat-Burning and Muscle-Building Exercise

The more lean muscle that you have then the more calories you burn even if you’re not doing any physical activity. How’s that possible? Your testosterone levels are at work even if you have a little of them. It’s a common notion that men have tons of testosterone but women have their share of it as well. It’s our body’s primary muscle-building hormones and you need to turn it on to lose weight

Your Hormone-Activating Trick: Weightlifting movements is an effective way to promote the release of testosterone. Performing compound movements such as pullups and squats will use more muscle fiber which will trigger the release of fat-burning testosterone.

4.) Support Your Thyroid

Our thyroid gland secretes a variety of thyroid hormones including T3 and T4. These hormones manage how many calories you burn by just being in a stationary position. Autoimmune diseases are the cause of thyroid hormone levels, and even healthy women experience a drop in thyroid hormones which result in reduced metabolic rates.

Your Hormone-Activating Trick: Iodine deficiency is the cause of thyroid malfunction. This means that you need to load up with iodine-rich food such as tune and cod. Seaweed is also a good source of iodine. If you take a close look, these can be included as a source of protein and fiber respectively

Do you want to learn more about creating an eating plan or an exercise routine that will boost your metabolism? Let’s get started towards your fitness goals. Chad of the OneBody Wellness and Transformation team specialises in female weight loss success and would be more than happy to talk to you about your personalised eating plan. Click here to know more.

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3 Fitness Essentials for Women in Their 30s and Above

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Most women don’t really contemplate about hitting their mid-30s, let alone their health and fitness goals. Once you do a reality check, growing older is an aspect which we can simply yield and follow. It’s like a current in a fast rushing stream. Before you know it, you’re past your 30s and you’ve already hit the 40-year mark.

Let’s be lenient though, 35 isn’t really considered as middle age. However, you’ll start noticing that your body will not be the same as when you were in your 20s. You’ll put on weight more easily, and not to mention, you don’t feel as energetic as before.

Worry not, there are more ways than not to cling on to your youth. You just need to invest a lot of smart effort to stay physically, emotionally, and mentally fit. Being young and fit is all about looking good and feeling great at the same time, right?

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Here are 3 fitness mindset essentials for women 35 and up:

1.) Eat Smart

It’s a fact that as we grow older, our bodies require fewer calories to function properly. Hence, when you continue binge eating the way you did back in your 20s then expect to gain some weight in unwanted places. So, don’t be surprised if suddenly you’ve put on a couple of kilos in a months’ time even if you haven’t customised your diet plan. It’s natural for everyone to notice their body reacting to the aging process. There’s no quick fix for this, the only practical approach would be to consume a diet with more nutrients and minimise eating just for the sake of eating.

2.) Adjust Training Intensity

Your fitness mindset hasn’t changed but your body is slower compared to to when you were in your 20s. It’s a must to do yourself and your body a favour by toning down the intensity of exercise routines. This will enable you to prevent injuries while you still enjoy doing your favourite exercise. Keep in mind that your bone density decreases which can make you more prone to early arthritis. The solution? Invest in strength training routines while minimising high impact activities to build greater bone density.

3.) Prevent Ailments

Keeping yourself healthy and fit is easier said than done. You need to walk the talk and focus on your health in every aspect. Regular exercise routines and a balanced diet will complement your health. However, you also need to have yourself screened regularly for gynecological disorders and breast cancer for prevention. It’s also advisable to give up vices such as drinking and smoking which can increase your stress levels. Remember that prevention and monitoring is always key to avoiding unwanted illnesses.

Let’s get started towards your fitness goals. The Naked Truth Fitness Team have more than 40 years experience personally training clients and would be more than glad to talk to you about your fitness goals. For an obligation free chat, Click here to know more.