Most people think they have to choose between losing fat and building muscle. While it can certainly be difficult to strike a balance between the two, it is possible. Working towards this goal over time is key to seeing results, as there is no quick fix.
Combine Cardio with Strength Training
In order to lose fat and build muscle, both cardio and strength training must be incorporated into your workout routine. Increasing cardio can do wonders for your weight loss journey because of the high amount of calories it burns.
On the other hand, when you burn more calories than you consume, your body will turn to protein as an energy source. Because protein is the building block of muscles, burning too many calories means less opportunities for your body to build muscle. This is where strength training and an adequate diet come into play.
Examples of strength training include lifting weights, using resistance bands, squats, hinges, push-ups, pull-ups, crunches and other core exercises. The main areas to focus on when strength training are the hips, glutes, thighs, chest, back, shoulders, arms and core. As far as an adequate diet, it is generally recommended that protein make up 10-35% of total calorie intake in order to facilitate optimal strength building.
How to Include More Protein in Your Diet
Some creative ways to get your protein fix include snacking on cheese and almonds or jerky from grass-fed animals throughout the day, trading in the bowl of cereal for a bowl of eggs in the morning, swapping out traditional yogurt for Greek yogurt that contains twice as much protein, adding some extra protein to your salad, making a whey protein shake, snacking on cottage cheese and edamame and eating canned fish.
Soza Weight Loss also offers a variety of weight loss programs with nutritional plans to help you reach your goals. With our programs, you will learn how to monitor your body’s response to various foods and ensure long-term success. If success for you means less fat and more muscle, our team will work by your side to create a nutritional plan to meet that goal. We have set ourselves apart from other weight loss programs in Louisiana by helping you focus on losing stored and excess fat. This is done by naturally boosting your metabolism and keeping it at that level.
Extra Tips
When it comes to reaching your fitness goals, your mindset is what matters most. Goals that require your body to strike a healthy balance take time, so patience and perseverance are key. Keep in mind that if you are losing fat and gaining muscle, you won’t necessarily see the number on the scale go down, so there’s no need to focus too heavily on that. You’ll be living in this body for your whole life, and our team at Soza Weight Loss wants to help you make lifestyle changes that will be sustainable for the entire journey. Don’t forget to give yourself room to mess up, grow and enjoy the process, that way you can enjoy the results even more.
To see what Soza Weight Loss can do for you, set up a free consultation by calling us at (504) 475-9817 or contacting us online today!