Leaner Body

dani12cabral

Hello,
I am working out with a personal trainer, and we work out pretty hard, I am almost 40 years old. What is the best diet to loose the fat and gain muscle?

roger711

Hi Dani, I am also a weight lifter and body builder. It is how I stay in shape. i know nothing about your situation and am not a medical doctor. So no medical advice.

I will tell you what I do though. In order to build muscle, lose fat and be healthy, one of the things you need to do is know and control your macros. By macros I mean fats, carbs and protein. A general rule of thumb is to eat one gram of protein for every pound of body weight you have. So I weigh about 188 Lbs and I eat approx 200 grams of protein a day. Also your carbs are important too. To lose weight or maintain weight I eat 100-150 grams of carbs a day. I eat 6 smaller meals a day. I try and eat fibrous carbs, from veggies like broccoli, asparagus, etc. Don't cut out carbs. Your nervous system needs at least 65-70 grams of carbs a day minimum to function properly. When I say carbs I mean complex carbs.

Some of the foods I eat are steel cut oats, my go to bread is Ezekiel Bread. If you are not familiar with it, here is a link. I think it is the best bread on the market. http://www.foodforlife.com/about_us/ezekiel-49

Also, get plenty of sleep and drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

I also eat healthy fats in moderation. My go to fats are EVOO and organic extra virgin coconut oil.

I might eat a little differently then you might eat because I am a guy. But the concepts are the same. You have to find what works for you.

TO MINIMIZE FAT STORAGE FOLLOW THESE RULES

Eat complex carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates are found in whole foods like brown rice, potatoes, whole grain cereal and oatmeal. Complex carbohydrates should make up the bulk of your daily calorie intake because they form muscle glycogen, the long lasting fuel that your body needs to train hard. Complex carbohydrates are slow burning which means you get longer lasting energy. They also help keep your blood sugar levels constant, this reduces fat storage and fatigue and promotes the release of insulin. Insulin is the body’s natural anabolic hormone and is essential for muscle development.

Eat carbohydrates directly after training
When you train hard you reduce your blood sugar level considerably. Eating carbohydrates straight after a training session provides your body with an insulin spike. This insulin spike puts your body into an anabolic (muscle building) state. If you do not get the right nutrients after training it’s possible that your body could enter a catabolic (muscle breakdown) state. This is why post workout nutrition is so important.

Eat small amounts of carbohydrates more often
Eating smaller servings of carbohydrates more often helps keep a steady flow of insulin into the body. If you eat large amounts of carbohydrates in one sitting your body is much more likely to store them as fat. Eating to much is one sitting is unnecessary; your body doesn’t need that much nutrients at one time.

Eat high fiber carbohydrates
This goes hand-in-hand with point number 1 because most sources of complex carbohydrates are rich sources of fiber. Fiber helps to build muscle by making muscle tissue absorb amino acids faster and more efficiently.

Eat fruits in moderation
This may sound insane because we all know that fruit is high in vitamins, low in calories and very good for general health and well being. But, fruit contains fructose which is a very simple sugar. The body converts fructose into glycogen which is used as a building block for fat tissue.

Have carbohydrates and protein in the same meal
When you mix protein and carbohydrates together in the same meal you minimize the chance of the carbohydrates being stored as fat. Protein is harder for the body to process, so it increases your metabolism. Also, carbohydrates help transport the nutrients from protein to the muscle cells which aids in muscle growth.

I hope I answered some of your questions. Please get back to me with anything else. it is an extensive subject.

Deb62_rocks

Do all the points below have the same effect if you want to lose weight as well as build muscle? I know that fat burns more readily if you have a higher lean/fat ratio but I've also been told that I shouldn't eat right after I work out because this will cause weight gain. After reading the points you have posted I am now questioning that. What you said makes sense but now I'm confused.

roger711

Deb, I will tell you what I do. Now it will be a little different from what you would probably do, but you can get some ideas. You need to eat after your workout because you need to refuel your muscles. Every meal I eat is geared towards my next workout. That is my mindset. I eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight. I eat about 150 grams of complex carbs, most of them coming from fibrous carbs like broccoli and asparagus. Fresh of course. Before my workout I drink a whey protein shake. I use whey protein before a workout because whey is a very fast absorbing protein. To the shake I add creatine and BCAA's (branched chain amino acids). That is to fuel my muscles for the workout. I am sureyou wouldn't use creatine or BCAA's. They are body building supplements. Within 30 minutes after my workout I have another protein shake that is a combination of whey, cassien and egg protein. they are absorbed at different speeds. I actually make the shake in the blender with the protein powder, Creatine, BCAA's and 1/3 cup oatmeal. I use the oatmeal for the complex carbs. I make these shakes with water and I put ice cubes in the blender. Makes it real thick, like a smoothie. Again I wouldn't expect you wouldn't use creatine or BCAA's. I eat 5 times a day. About 3500 calories a day. But what I do is different from what you would do. You have to find what works for you.

I train 4 days a week and each workout is about 90 minutes of weight training and it is followed by 30 minutes on either an elliptical machine or treadmill. On either the treadmill or the elliptical I don't hold onto the sides or the handles very much because then it also works my core and because you are using more muscles, you burn more calories.

There is no secret to losing weight. You have to burn more calories then you take in, but you still need to feed you body.

All of this is assuming that you are a healthy individual and have no underlying conditions like diabetes or heart disease, or something like that.

Deb62_rocks

Thanks Roger. Not confused anymore.