Dieting for fat loss and dieting for muscle gain are two very different approaches to achieving your goals when working out and knowing what to eat as part of your diet. Understanding what you should be eating and how you should be training to gain muscle, or to lose fat, can be confusing. Knowing when, or if, you should switch between fat loss or muscle gain can be a difficult decision, so when should someone stop trying to do one, and do the other?
It is very important to remember dieting for fat loss and dieting for muscle gain are two different, individual approaches to achieving your physical goals. Making the decision to switch between fat loss and muscle gain can be a difficult decision, but committing to either is the key.
When it comes to dieting for fat loss, the focus is on reducing caloric intake to create a negative energy balance, which means that the number of calories you consume is lower than the number of calories you burn throughout the day. A negative energy balance creates a caloric deficit, which forces your body to use stored fat for fuel in order to make up for the lack of calories. Being in a calorie deficit is the most effective way to reduce fat stores in the body. Reducing caloric intake gradually over time can help to reduce hunger and cravings as you get used to dieting, making it easier to stick to a fat loss diet. When a person is in a consistent caloric deficit and has also been training consistently for some time, they will achieve significant fat loss results, but this also does not create an ideal environment for growing muscle, largely down to the lack of energy or ‘fuel’ available to the body. It is always best to keep protein intake relatively high, even on a fat loss diet specifically, as this will help retain as much muscle as possible. You can use supplements such as Slim Whey protein to keep your protein levels high to keep and build more muscle whilst losing fat with its added fat burners.
Muscle gain requires a different approach to fat loss. Building muscle, nearly always requires a caloric surplus, meaning that the number of calories you eat is higher than the number of calories you burn throughout the day. Only people new to training can achieve muscle growth in a calorie deficit, due to the superior response to training the muscles for the first time. A caloric surplus ensures that your body has the energy it needs to build muscle, as the additional calories supply the fuel for the muscle to grow. Having a high protein intake is very important for any, and all muscle growth, as proteins are the ‘building blocks’ of muscle. So increasing the daily protein intake with supplements such as LA Whey Gold Diet and LA Luxe Lean Protein, could benefit you greatly in increasing your daily protein intake resulting in greater muscle mass achieved. Sufficient protein contributes massively to recovery and provides the nutrients a muscle needs to repair and become stronger after a gruelling gym session. Protein intake is especially important when trying to gain muscle, as it helps make sure you are consuming useful calories as opposed to just excess empty calories.
So when is the best time to switch from dieting for fat loss to dieting for muscle gain?
Generally, it is best to switch from fat loss to muscle gain when you have achieved a level of fat loss that you are satisfied with and feel content with how much fat you are carrying. If you are conscious of your body fat levels being too high, it might not be appropriate to attempt to increase your calorie intake. If you feel as if you are happy with your body fat levels, or even that you are too lean, it could be an ideal time to switch to a muscle gain diet in order to develop a stronger, more muscular frame.
It is important to note that when you switch to muscle gain dieting, you will likely gain some fat, depending on how lean the calories you consume are, and how far over your daily calorie expenditure you go. By using supplements such as LA Whey Gold Diet and Norateen Heavyweight II, you can ensure that you are not putting on any fat whilst trying to build muscle.
An important additional point to keep in mind, is that supplementation can help massively when looking for useful contributions to your overall calories, especially when trying to gain muscle. Whether you are looking for additional calories from high quality protein supplements, assistance in the form of other supplements that will help with muscle growth and improved recovery, or even something you can take to improve performance and get the most out of every visit to the gym, you can get something for every goal at LA Muscle within their wide range of top quality supplements.
