7 Tips for Losing Fat Not Muscle

By pairing a good diet with physical activity, you can lose fat and sometimes, muscle mass as well. If you want to burn fat while keeping your muscles in tact, check out our tips.

Exercising or following special diets aim to eliminate excess body fat. More often than not, people are looking to burn fat, not muscle. You’ll need to know a few key points to keep your muscle mass intact.

It’s easy to fall into the mistake of thinking that it’s an exact mathematical science. Boiling it down to just numbers, people cut down calories but still fail to see positive results.

Each body reacts differently because they’re in different physical conditions and live different lifestyles. However, there are certain things that are recommended for everyone who wants to lose fat.

Seven fuss-free tips for losing fat, not muscle

1. Set up realistic time goals

Losing fat isn’t a short-term goal. You have to let go of the one-week-body-transformation dream. Over time, reduce your calorie intake until you start burning fat.

When people suddenly reduce their calorie intake, their muscle mass will reduce along with their waistline. Their bodies will also lack energy and assume higher risks that affect their overall health. Time is an ally to anyone who wants to permanently lose fat and not muscle.

2. Diet and exercise always go together

Tailored meal plans need to go hand-in-hand with an exercise routine. Intense workouts help develop muscles. Muscles burn calories faster and, as a result, burn body fat.

On a similar note, exercising well but lacking the right diet isn’t beneficial for losing fat. If you consume more calories than you burn, you’ll run into a lot of brick walls.

3. Increase protein intake to burn fat, not muscle

Distributing proteins throughout your meals will help you stay on the right track. First, they’ll keep you full and help you avoid binges. Second, they’re imperative for keeping muscles strong.

Increasing your daily protein intake will help you reduce your overall calorie intake and burn fat. As a result, you’ll enjoy more energy for your daily activities.

4. Don’t skip meals

One of the biggest mistakes people make is skipping meals. A great meal plan tip is to not plan long hours without food. You have to choose the right meals.

Dividing your total portions into meal times is the first step. You can use them to create a snack as well. Additionally, you have to choose foods that offer more nutrients, fibers, and fat-burning properties. Great examples are water with lemon, grapefruit, apples, legumes, etc.

5. Burn fat, not muscle with a personalized diet

Thanks to genetics, everybody responds differently to a given diet. Similarly, our habits are just as diverse. Consequently, you really should consult a professional to establish a proper meal plan.

As we mentioned earlier, losing fat isn’t an exact mathematical equation but rather, a group of various factors. Some of these factors might be hours of sleep, dietary preferences, stress, and other health conditions. If you want to follow a successful meal plan, you have to personalize it first.

6. Set up the right mealtime setting

You have to break the habit of eating while working or watching TV. Mealtimes should be a moment of pleasure; you should be very aware of what you’re consuming. Eating lunch or dinner in a relaxed manner at a properly set table will help you to eliminate the fat.

On the contrary, people who eat at their desks or on the couch while watching a TV show end up eating more and poorly. On top of that, their digestion moves slower.

7. Learn how to prepare your own meals

Knowledge always opens doors. Learning how to cook is a huge plus in fat-loss endeavors. There are plenty of recipes that you can include in your diet. By cooking for yourself, you can understand which are the best dishes and what they’re made of.

If you reflect on your habits, you’ll find the ones you need to break. Reflection will also help you more easily recognize the ones that’ll help you reach your goals.

To wrap up, losing fat, not muscle mass is possible if you step up to the goal. Just set up a realistic, healthy plan and give it the time and organization that it needs.