- Learn to create a balanced diet for muscle building and weight loss.
- Use a proper training program for effective weight loss and muscle building.
- Discover the importance of resting when building muscle.
How to Create a Balanced Diet for Effective Weight Loss and Muscle Building
Creating a balanced diet for effective weight loss and muscle building can be difficult to do. From figuring out the correct amount of calories to build muscle, to the number of calories you need to cut out, all that macro math can get complicated—quick.
At Rocks Discount Vitamins, we can help tailor your diet to your specific needs. With nutrition tips that help you stay in a caloric deficit and emphasize protein intake, this spring break, your body goals will be within reach.
Calories In and Calories Out
Your body requires a calorie deficit to stimulate fat loss, but when you attempt to gain muscle and lose fat, it’s important to set a limit on your deficit. You don’t want an aggressive, unachievable calorie deficit. An optimal caloric deficit should be somewhere between 200-500 calories—with 200-300 calories being the sweet spot to maximize muscle growth while still ensuring fat loss. So, if the Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests a daily intake of 1,600 to 3,000 calories for men and 1,600 to 2,400 for women, you’d want to be 200-500 calories under that.
Protein, Protein, and More Protein!
Protein plays a central role in any balanced diet, but it is especially important for those looking to build muscle. Since you’ll be in a caloric deficit, protein is key in your muscle-building diet plan. When attempting to gain muscle and lose weight, less of your protein intake will be used to build muscle, which means you have to pay extra attention to how much of it you’re eating. If you’re not eating enough protein, you’ll lose some of the muscle mass you’ve built. This means that when creating a nutrition plan for muscle gain and fat loss, you’ll want to be consuming somewhere between 0.8 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight to maximize muscle growth.
Pump Some Iron
It’s impossible to build muscle without working out. To maximize your balanced diet, it’s crucial to complement it with a proper strength training program. While everyone’s workout regimen may look a little different, there are key elements that everyone should incorporate to stimulate muscle growth and fat loss.
Training Smart
It is essential to train hard and smart to build muscle. But how hard should you train? This all depends on varying levels of expertise, but a good rule of thumb is to train until failure, meaning short of not being able to lift your weights, otherwise, you stand to slow your progress. We recommend trying out the following activities:
- Weight lifting
- Pilates
- Crossfit
- Calisthenics
Workout the Important Muscle Groups Twice a Week
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends working out the important muscle groups twice a week. This allows each muscle group to build muscle without over- or under-training. The major areas of focus include the following:
- Chest
- Shoulders
- Legs
- Arms
Stay Consistent
The key to any workout plan, muscle-building diet, or weight-loss meal plan is to stay consistent. You can’t follow one step one day, and then skip it the next. A good way to hold yourself accountable is by creating a schedule, tracking your progress in a notebook or your notes app, or bringing a friend to tag along with you. It may be discouraging to not see immediate results, but you’ve got to see it through.
Catch Some Zzzzzz’s
An often overlooked aspect of anyone’s routine is sleep. Whether you’re working out or not, quality sleep can help muscle building and weight loss. It is necessary to get the recommended eight hours, in order to let your body recover, and function at full capacity. This holds especially true when working out, as resting allows your muscles to fully recover and heal from an arduous workout.
Let’s Rock Your World
At Rock’s Discount Vitamins, we’re driven by a passion for health and an unwavering commitment to your fitness goals, so let us help you achieve them! With a wide selection of top-of-the-line protein powders and weight loss supplements, we can help ensure you meet all your daily nutritional goals. Let your fitness start today!
