Building muscle and burning body fat does not require you to change your entire lifestyle. A few small changes to your diet and exercise plan can make a big difference over the days, weeks and months to follow. By giving your body the tools it needs to burn fat and build muscle, using advanced training techniques and even splurging every once in a while, you can achieve your fitness goals and learn to stay lean for life.
Six Meals
"Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson recommends you eat six smaller meals per day, two to three hours apart, to build muscle, burn fat and keep your energy levels high.
Protein Intake
Take in one to 1.5 g of protein per pound of your body weight to supply adequate amino acids for building muscle. "Optimum Anabolics" recommends you take in 25 percent of this protein after your workout, and spread the rest out in 20 g to 30 g amounts throughout the day.
Moderate Carbs
"Xtreme Lean" recommends eating moderate carbohydrates, rather than going low or high-carb. Choose low-glycemic carbs that digest slowly to prevent body fat storage. Examples include oatmeal, brown rice, whole-grain bread or pasta and sweet potatoes.
Healthy Fats
Nearly all of your dietary fats should come as functional polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fatty acids such as olive oil, omega-3 fish oil, flax seed oil, nuts and seeds, avocados or peanut butter. "Combat the Fat" recommends four servings per day.
Negative-Accentuated Sets
Add negative-accentuated sets to your training by lowering the weight to a slow six-second count on every repetition of a compound exercise, such as bench presses. This technique increases metabolic rate for up to 72 hours, according to '"Xtreme Lean."
Cardio Timing
Time your cardio after your resistance or weight training workout to help to directly target fat as an energy source. According to "Combat the Fat," your body readily uses fat for energy after having used up all of its carbohydrate reserves during weight training.
Post-Workout Nutrition
When it comes to exercise results, your most important meal of the day comes immediately after your workout. "Optimum Anabolics" recommends 30 g to 50 g of whey protein, 30 g to 100 g of carbohydrates and 15 g to 30 g of healthy fats in this meal.
Cheat Meals
Have one cheat meal, on one day per week. By eating whatever you want on this day, you can speed up your metabolism and prevent the metabolic downshift that occurs as a result of dieting, according to "The Abs Diet." This does not mean that you can binge on cookies. Instead, have a few slices of pizza or a bowl of ice cream and then get back to your diet and exercise plan.
References
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; 2004
- "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; 2004
- "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2005
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
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