Losing weight or reducing body fat levels requires you to control your caloric intake. Gaining muscle also requires you to control what you eat. To accomplish both at the same time requires careful attention to your diet and training program, and can only be maintained for a short period before you have to focus on one goal -- such as fat loss or muscle gain. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
Protein and Fat
You must have both protein and fat in your diet, and you need nearly twice as much protein as someone who doesn't exercise. Get most of your protein from whole foods such as lean cuts of beef, chicken, oily fish, milk and eggs. If you don't, you won't be able to add muscle. You need fat for hormonal production, including testosterone -- which is responsible for your ability to build muscle. Get most of your fats from essential fatty acids sources such as oily fish, nuts and seeds. Essential fats are required to properly regulate your hormone levels. If you don't get enough essential fats, your body will struggle to hold onto the fat you have instead of allow you to lose weight.
Training
You should train your entire body every workout, but no more than three times per week on nonconsecutive days. This allows you to train with intensity yet get plenty of rest so you can recover. Use compound lifts such as squats and deadlifts as the basis of your routine to build muscle. Heavy lifts for the upper body -- such as chinups, rows, bench presses and military presses -- work the remaining muscles. Train hard, with at least 75 percent of your one-repetition maximum on each exercise. Keep your rest periods under two minutes between sets. This allows you to keep your testosterone levels high but cortisol levels low. If your cortisol levels climb, you risk losing muscle tissue and gaining fat.
Cardiovascular Work
You should do cardiovascular exercise to burn extra calories, but not to excess. Marathon sessions of cardiovascular work can eat away at muscle tissue instead of just burning fat. If you lift in the evening, you can do your cardiovascular work in the morning. Start with 30-minute sessions three times a week and work up to six times if necessary. You can judge this by the weight on the scale as well as body fat levels. The more fat you have to lose, the easier it is to build muscle and gain fat, but eventually you have to carefully regulate your cardiovascular work.
Body Composition
Unless you need to make weight for some sort of competition, it's healthier to focus on fat loss instead of weight loss. If you build muscle, you will gain weight, and even though you can burn fat at the same time, you may not lose much in terms of total weight. You might be able to get a quick body fat analysis at a gym, which can tell you how well you're progressing -- and far more accurately than the scale. Long-term training is not just about appearance. It's about health.
References
- Journal of the American College of Nutrition: "Beyond the Zone: Protein Needs of Active Individuals, Individuals"; Lemon; 2000
- Journal of Steroidal Biochemistry: Decrease of Serum Total and Free Testosterone During a Low-Fat High-Fiber Diet; Enko Hämäläinen et al.; July 1983
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation Increases the Rate of Muscle Protein Synthesis in Older Adults: a Randomized Controlled Trial; Gary I. Smith et al.; Feb. 2011
- Journal of Applied Physiology: Successive Time Courses of Strength Development and Steroid Hormone Responses to Heavy-resistance Training; Roger C. Hickson et al., Feb 1994.
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