Losing weight is great but if you want to do so in the healthiest way possible, body fat is where it’s at. 

When you embark on a weight loss journey, it’s almost guaranteed that you will be saying “Bon Voyage!” to some muscle mass and for women over fifty, that’s a recipe for disaster. You can counteract this phenomenon by losing weight slowly, eating an adequate number of calories, while pumping up your protein intake, and working out. The goal with any weight loss plan is to lose fat and maintain as much lean mass, or muscle, as possible. 

How fast should you lose weight?

Almost everyone agrees, losing weight at a rate of one to two pounds a week is the best plan for taking off fat and keeping muscle. Dropping weight any faster puts you at risk of losing more than just excess fat. You’ll wind up losing muscle and bone mass too, which translates into a slower metabolism (which makes it easy to put fat back on) and an increased risk of osteoporosis for women over fifty. 

How many calories should you eat to keep your muscles?

Everyone is different. Most inactive women can successfully shed pounds on a diet of between 1200 and 1500 calories during weight loss. If you are a workout junkie, that may not be sufficient. A good rule of thumb is that you never want to run more than a 25% or a one thousand calorie deficit per day.

And keep in mind that it isn’t just the quantity of calories you consume that counts when it comes to muscle maintenance, it’s quality too. 

Besides eating, it’s really important to drink enough water.

Why is protein important to lose weight?

Protein is the not-so-secret weapon in the war on fat.

First, protein satisfies hunger and takes longer to digest so you stay feeling full longer and are less likely to snack or go back to the kitchen to refill your plate.

Second, protein helps regulate the blood sugar bounce you get from eating necessary carbohydrates by slowing how fast your body absorbs its sugars. (That’s one of the reasons I suggest you eat protein at every meal.) 

Third, protein is essential to repairing and strengthening your muscles after you exercise and/or are injured. Working out builds lean muscle mass which increases your resting metabolic rate or the ability to burn calories doing nothing. Booyah! 

Fourth, it takes more energy to digest protein which means you burn more calories eating. Awesome. 

Fifth, protein helps ensure you burn fat, not muscle. Eating protein will help preserve your lean muscle mass while your body uses your fat for energy.

If you want to lose fat and nourish your muscles, you MUST eat enough protein. Balanced nutrition is essential to building muscle and burning your stored fat.

What can I do to burn more fat?

Build more muscle. The key to maximizing your fat-burning ability is to increase your muscle mass. You do that by strength training and eating a balanced diet that is heavy on lean plant and animal proteins and fruits and vegetables. The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolic rate and the more calories you burn.

 

Want to burn more fat by strength training?

Contact me and we can set you up with either in-person or online virtual personal training.

So how do you nourish your muscles?

The first answer is to eat before or after you workout:

Many folks work out first thing in the morning. It’s just more convenient to get up and get it done before you get on with the rest of your day. So, for a lot of people, that means working out on an empty stomach. This is fine, so long as you’re sure to eat pretty soon after your sweat session. 

When you work out, your body gets its energy from glycogen. The carbohydrates from the foods you eat are stored in your body. They get converted into glucose in your blood (blood sugar) for use. The glucose you don’t use immediately is converted into glycogen and stored in your liver and muscles. It’s important that you replenish your glucose/glycogen stores around working out.

Additionally, muscles are not built in the gym. They are broken down while exercising and then built back up stronger during rest. This is why when you exercise for prolonged periods you get to a point where you physically cannot do any more without rest. The protein you eat is broken down into amino acids. And amino acids are the building blocks of muscle (and many other important tissues in the body).

What should you eat around working out? 

To maximize your fat-burning potential, it’s good to eat a meal that contains carbohydrates, fibre, protein, and healthy fat an hour to an houror two before you work out; or eat a decent meal without any fat immediately before, or immediately after your work out. Fat slows digestion. You want protein and carbs to reach your muscles as soon as possible after working out.

Some good pre-workout combinations include: 

• greek yogurt with walnuts and berries 
• scrambled eggs with veggies and avocado 
• a breakfast smoothie 
• whole grain peanut butter toast with sliced bananas
• grilled chicken and mixed veggies 
• grilled salmon and sweet potatoes 
• turkey avocado wrap 
• whole wheat pasta with chicken and broccoli 

Some good immediately pre or post-workout meals include:

• oatmeal with fresh fruit
• grilled chicken and mixed veggies
• water-packed tuna with whole wheat crackers
• Protein shake and banana
• sautéed veggies and non-GMO tofu
• grilled chicken and pineapple skewers

How do I get motivated to exercise? 

This is the age-old question and something that we all struggle with from time to time. While exercise doesn’t have a huge impact on weight loss, it has a drastic effect on your overall health and can be key to creating other good habits that DO impact weight loss. So just do it! Start one little step at a time.

The key to keeping your body focussed on losing all that wiggly, jiggly, deadly fat is to nourish your muscles at every meal and before and after every workout. Whenever someone sets out to lose weight, the goal is to burn fat. No one wants to lose muscle and bone, particularly women over fifty.

Fight back, by setting reasonable weight loss goals. Don’t try to lose ten pounds in two weeks!  It’s neither healthy nor sustinable. Eat enough calories and protein to make sure your body is targeting fat, not muscle, and strength train. Any weight-bearing exercise that helps you build muscle counts. If you’re not sure what to do, reach out. I can help with that.

Those beautifully sculpted, well-nourished muscles will help you keep you burning fat and living the happy healthy life you deserve!

Want to burn more fat by strength training?

Contact me and we can set you up with either in-person or online virtual personal training.