How do you make the perfect balance of diet and exercise for losing weight without also losing muscle? A mistake that many people often make is that they try to work out a lot while not eating enough. While this may seem effective, in the long term, it can strip you of your muscle gains and keep you from maintaining the healthy weight that you’re hoping to achieve. Here are some ways that you can achieve your fitness goals through a balance of diet and exercise:
Get your protein
If you want to be sure to get your muscle gains, your protein intake should be on par with those goals. If you’re trying to balance your diet in a way that allows you to build your muscles, it makes sense to incorporate enough protein into your diet.
A way to understand how much protein that you should be getting if you’re trying to build muscle is to get around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight on a daily basis. Your protein can come from a variety of sources, whether that is eggs, fish, dairy, or something plant based.
Hydrate well
Hydration is important for your overall gains at the gym and yet people don’t always pay that much attention to getting enough water. Hydration can also come from electrolytes and drinks designed to help you boost your hydration.
Whether you’re working out at the gym or you’re mountain biking to reach your fitness goals, make sure you have water bottles or hydration packs at your disposal so that you can always provide your body with hydration as needed.
Balance out your meals
When people hear that they need to get enough protein, they often have the tendency to overdo it with only protein in their diet. While that can help you get some quick muscle gains, it’s not necessarily great for your overall health and muscle gains in the long run.
A balanced diet is key for endurance and overall health, so while protein should be high on your list of what to eat, it should be balanced out with other foods like healthy grains and fats, vegetables, and even fruit at times. The portions that you choose to eat have a lot to do with your end goal. It could be that you want to bulk up, so you’d perhaps include more healthy grains, fats, and protein. But if you’re looking to lose weight, you’d maybe balance it out more with greens and protein and some healthy fats.
Be mindful with your calorie deficit
If you’re trying to lose weight, a calorie deficit is important. However, too much of a calorie deficit and you won’t build that muscle like you want. Muscle breakdown is something that you want to avoid, and a lack of sufficient food can lead to that. Instead, make a point of being mindful about how much food you’re cutting out. Strive for 250 to 500 calories beneath your ideal calorie intake for weight maintenance, so that you lose weight but in a healthy and manageable way that doesn’t impact your muscle strength.
Balance cardio and weights
Cardio by itself isn’t the best idea. While cardio is a benefit in weight loss efforts, you want to make sure you’re also gaining muscle so that you’re not only getting slimmer, but you’re building a stronger, better-looking body.
If you’re already a toned person, too much cardio may start making those muscles disappear. Instead, incorporate both cardio and weight-lifting routines into your daily workouts so that you get the benefits from both types of exercise. Weight loss without losing muscle is the goal here.
In Conclusion
Do you want to get fit? Are you looking to lose weight and achieve more from your efforts? With the right balance in exercise and diet, you can get the results you want.
