Hardly any topic heats the minds of recreational athletes as much as the fat loss, In the face of the countless methods that can be found in the vastness of the Internet, a certain confusion is quite understandable, for each method claims to be the status of being the egg-laying woolly milk-horse of the sport of strength. Unfortunately, most of these techniques are not very effective. If you really want to drive your fat loss efficiently, you should follow the procedures of true masters of their trade. Accordingly, in the context of this article, we would like to provide you with a guide that will help you to achieve your goal with certainty.
How bodybuilders really lose fat
Serious competition diets that are not only effective in losing fat, but in the process of losing as little hard muscle as possible, are neither easy to plan nor easy to sustain in the long run. Accordingly, such a project requires detailed training and nutrition plans as well as the absolute will to persevere, even if this means that many amenities have to be dispensed with.
Below are some key aspects that bodybuilders pay attention to when it comes to losing fat.
- All macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fat) are closely matched to your own body weight so that the goal can be achieved with maximum efficiency.
- Bodybuilders drink at least one liter of water per twenty kilograms of body weight and day.
- The protein consumption is upheld to prevent muscle breakdown.
- The intake of healthy Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids provide the balance in the hormone metabolism and also serve as an energy source.
- The carbohydrate intake is often practiced according to the concept of the so-called carb cyclings to keep the metabolism on track. - A diet must have a duration of at least 12 to 16 weeks in order to achieve lasting results in a healthy way. - The strength training changes nothing. It should be as intense as in a mass phase.
- Cardio training is used to additionally stimulate the metabolism and burn fat.
- Bodybuilders make sure to record their progress on a weekly basis in order to be able to respond quickly to unwanted developments. - As part of the diet, the regeneration plays a particularly important role, since the organism is already stressed by the shortage of energy intake already.
- In fact, cheat meals are rarely used.
What you can do to burn fat like a bodybuilder
1. Make yourself a plan: By far the most important aspect of fat loss is that you are following a concrete plan and not simply "free muzzle". This behavior can easily cause you to consume significantly more energy than you need, so you can torpedo your own success. Of course, it is not necessarily easy for beginners to make a plan, let alone stick to a plan, but that is the key to success. Become aware that both muscle building and fat loss take time. Accordingly, you should take a close look at your eating habits and get rid of all the debauchery. Start building a meal structure so that you learn to eat regularly. Incidentally, the usual regularity not only facilitates the planning of micronutrients, but also the implementation of possibly necessary adjustments in terms of energy and nutrient distribution.
2. Stop your protein intake: The second indispensable aspect that helps you to lose as little muscle mass as possible during fat loss is a constantly high protein intake, as the body is thus prevented from attacking the protein structures of the skeletal muscle if necessary. As a benchmark in the field of weight training, the consumption of at least 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight and day has been proven. With very intense workouts or additional exercise from complementary sports, as many of us do, you can also increase your protein intake to 2.5 grams per kilogram of body weight to be on the safe side. Of course, it will be difficult for you in the beginning to absorb comparatively large amounts of protein. This is easier to do by adding a little protein to each meal or by using suitable protein supplements.
3. Support your workout: While we're on nutritional supplements, it's worth noting that they can not only help you meet your total protein needs, but also help you improve your workout performance. That is one of the reasons why bodybuilders have been swearing for decades to supply high-quality whey from Whey Protein, and sometimes even before training. In particular, after the training, the consumption of a so-called post-workout shakes is recommended because the nutrients contained therein quickly enter the blood and thus initiate the essential regeneration processes, which is especially important in the course of a diet of great importance. In practice, it is recommended to make a shake with about 0.5 grams of whey protein per kilogram of body weight.
4. Pay close attention to your fat consumption: Just a few years ago, many in the fitness community believed that reducing fat consumption was the key to success. Today, however, it is known that especially in the course of a calorie-reduced diet should not be saved primarily on the fat, because the organism needs this essential nutrient, among other things, to produce hormones and more generally, to keep the organism metabolic in balance. In addition, the body tends to reduce fat loss as soon as too little fat is supplied from the outside. Accordingly, as part of your diet planning, make sure that you consume at least one gram of fat per kilogram of body weight per day. Needless to say, it should largely be healthy omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
5. The quality of carbohydrates counts: It is obvious that dietary carbohydrates are the focus of attention as they are highly variable in the face of fixed protein and fat intake. Consequently, you should make sure that the carbohydrates that you eat are as complex as possible, which in turn means that you have to largely do without refined sugar and white flour products. Whole grains, vegetables, potatoes or brown rice serve as sources of complex carbohydrates. The complex long-chain carbohydrates guarantee that your blood sugar levels remain stable, so that the risk of suffering a food cravings decreases significantly, while your energy level also proves to be constant.
6. Use the principle of carb-cycling: We all know how difficult it is sometimes to do without carbohydrates. We humans are simply too polarized with this source of energy to consistently say no to a plate of rice or a wholemeal pasta. Some sports scientists, working with bodybuilders, have come up with a solution to this problem called carb-cycling. Carb-Cycling describes the variation in carbohydrate intake from day to day, so you can consume significantly more carbohydrates on a day than on a rest day, for example. In practice, this means that on a training day, for example, you take 2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight and reduce consumption to 1 gram the next day. The positive side effect is that the organism can not get used to a specific energy supply, which keeps the metabolism on the go and prevents energetic adaptation reactions.
7. Act responsibly with cheat-meals: Just because it's called cheat meal does not mean that this is a free ride ticket to overeating, because doing so can easily ruin the success of several days. A cheat meal that you can treat yourself to once a week should not be beyond the scope of your energy balance. So you can definitely eat a burger with fries and barbecue sauce as long as you adjust the rest of your diet so that your overall energy balance is maintained.
8. Discipline: The last but no less important aspect that helps bodybuilders achieve their success is their discipline, which ensures that the hard training and nutrition program can last for a long time. To stay motivated at all times, you should set yourself small intermediate goals on the way to the big goal, because it is much more motivating to see you slowly lose gram by gram or inch by inch than to wait for you to go in one fell swoop turn into an Adonis. Remember, Rome was not built in a single day. Stay on the ball, then you can do it.
Exemplary nutritional plan for fat loss
Below is an example nutritional plan for a 100-pound strength athlete who wants to lose his body fat according to the principles of bodybuilding. It goes without saying that you apply the concept of the low carb tag on non-workout days and the high carb tag on workout days.
High carb day
Meal 1: 50 grams of oatmeal, 2 teaspoons of peanut butter, 2 full eggs, 5 egg whites meal 2: 200 grams of turkey meat / fish with salad, 2 teaspoons of oil-based salad dressing, 75 grams of cooked whole grain rice, 30 grams of nuts Pre-workout: 1 apple, 40 grams WheyProtein Post-Workout: 1 apple, 40 grams of whey protein meal 3: 200 grams of turkey / fish, 100 grams of sweet potatoes, 200 grams of green vegetables
Low carb day
Meal 1: 30 grams of oatmeal, 2 teaspoons of peanut butter, 2 full eggs, 5 egg whites meal 2: 200 grams turkey meat / fish with lettuce, 2 teaspoons of oil-based salad dressing, 50 grams of cooked whole grain rice, 30 grams of nuts Pre-workout: ½ apple, 40 grams WheyProtein Post-Workout: ½ apple, 40 grams of whey protein meal 3: 200 grams of turkey / fish, 200 grams of green vegetables
