This is a very important question, because muscle is the fat burning secret weapon. Most people have no idea how important it is to keep muscle, their goal is just to lose weight and that is the wrong goal. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, because muscle is a metabolically active tissue. Not only will you burn more calories while you sleep and rest, but also while you exercise.
Losing body fat without losing muscle is difficult for several reasons. The main reason is that people try to make progress too quickly and therefore lose muscle along with fat. The more you cut calories with food, the more likely you are to lose muscle. Some people cut their calories to starvation levels and when that happens, then muscle is the first thing that goes away. It is always better to burn calories with exercise, then it is to cut calories with food.
Excess cardio is also a possible cause of muscle loss. Cardio is necessary for losing body fat, but sometimes people can go overboard with it. It is recommended not to do cardio more than an hour a day. If you do cardio for 30-45 minutes a day, then you should have no problems. In order to burn more calories, you can always add more intensity or simply exercise more times per week. Needless to say, doing weight training is extremely important. Lifting weights stimulates muscle growth and people who neglect weight training sooner or later hit a fat loss plateau.
Probably the best way to make sure you lose body fat, without losing muscle, is to measure your body fat percentage. This way you can find out your fat weight and your lean body weight. If your lean body weight is dropping week by week, then you are losing muscle. Then you can make adjustments. You can increase your calories, decrease cardio or increase weight training. If you keep measuring your body fat on a weekly bases, then you will get quick feedback and make quick changes if you have to.
Losing body fat without losing muscle is difficult for several reasons. The main reason is that people try to make progress too quickly and therefore lose muscle along with fat. The more you cut calories with food, the more likely you are to lose muscle. Some people cut their calories to starvation levels and when that happens, then muscle is the first thing that goes away. It is always better to burn calories with exercise, then it is to cut calories with food.
Excess cardio is also a possible cause of muscle loss. Cardio is necessary for losing body fat, but sometimes people can go overboard with it. It is recommended not to do cardio more than an hour a day. If you do cardio for 30-45 minutes a day, then you should have no problems. In order to burn more calories, you can always add more intensity or simply exercise more times per week. Needless to say, doing weight training is extremely important. Lifting weights stimulates muscle growth and people who neglect weight training sooner or later hit a fat loss plateau.
Probably the best way to make sure you lose body fat, without losing muscle, is to measure your body fat percentage. This way you can find out your fat weight and your lean body weight. If your lean body weight is dropping week by week, then you are losing muscle. Then you can make adjustments. You can increase your calories, decrease cardio or increase weight training. If you keep measuring your body fat on a weekly bases, then you will get quick feedback and make quick changes if you have to.
Are you losing fat the wrong way?
The approaches you are using to lose body fat may not only be ineffective, it might be destroying your metabolism and even making you even fatter!
There is a better, easier and and more natural way to burn fat faster -- Not by a few percent, not by 50%, not even by 100%, but by up to 300% or more! Learn more at http://www.easyandfastfatloss.info.
The approaches you are using to lose body fat may not only be ineffective, it might be destroying your metabolism and even making you even fatter!
There is a better, easier and and more natural way to burn fat faster -- Not by a few percent, not by 50%, not even by 100%, but by up to 300% or more! Learn more at http://www.easyandfastfatloss.info.
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