Tag:

proworkout

Weight loss and body recomposition: Lose fat and gain muscles at the same time

by qalfit July 9, 2020

written by qalfit

Weight loss and body recomposition: Lose fat and gain muscles at the same time.

Traditional weight loss programs focus on cutting body fat and hitting a lower number on the scale. Stepping on the scales and looking at trends can help you determine if you’re making progress and shedding fat. However, even if you don’t see the numbers on the scale going down, you might still be making progress due to body recomposition.

What is body recomposition or ‘recomp’?

While weight loss concentrates on losing fat, body recomposition refers to changes in the body’s ratio of fat to muscle. It focuses on body composition rather than weight. In simple terms, body recomposition is an approach to weight loss that not only focuses on losing fat but also gaining muscle at the same time.

How does body recomposition work?

Body recomposition is a phenomenon of simultaneously gaining muscle and losing fat. Although weight loss and muscle gain may seem to be in opposition to one another, they’re not impossible to achieve during the same period of time.

Basically, losing fat is a catabolic process (Breaking down) where the body breaks down stored fat for energy. This requires a caloric deficit through nutrition or exercise or ideally both. Gaining muscle is an anabolic process (Building up) that requires both exercise and adequate macronutrient proportions. By incorporating these two processes, one can easily lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

What is healthy body composition?

According to the American Council on Exercise, healthy body composition depends on the amount of fat in the body.

Essential body fat for men: 2%-5%
Essential body fat for women: 10%-13%
Acceptable body fat for men: 18%-24%
Acceptable body fat for women: 25%-31%
Overweight body fat for men: Over 25%
Overweight body fat for women: Over 30%

Body recomposition basics:

In general, body recomposition is more of a lifestyle than a diet. Whether your goal is weight loss or body recomposition, a healthy diet and regular exercise must be on your to-do list.

Role of Macros:

If you want to gain muscles and lose fat, you need to be counting macros. If your goal is to lose weight, you need to lower your carbohydrate intake by 10%. If your goal is to build muscle, you need to improve your protein intake by 20% while lowering your carbohydrate and fat ratios by 10%.

Role of regular exercise:

Health experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity for weight loss. If you’re focusing on body recomposition, you need to prioritize strength training to build muscle. You might encounter weight-loss plateaus initially, but you need to keep up with the momentum you had when you first started working towards your goal. If you’re not seeing any results try changing your strength-training routine or follow a high-intensity interval training plan.

If you want to lose fat and gain muscles at the same time, body recomposition is a great technique that you could follow. Try to find out your body composition and nourish your body proactively for better performance and function, add more protein to your diet, and focus on strength training.

July 9, 2020 0 comment

Fitness

Weight loss tips: Shift your set point weight

by qalfit June 3, 2020

written by qalfit

Do you struggle to lose weight and maintain your weight loss for a long period of time despite following weight loss tips? Do you feel like you’re hovering around a certain number on the scale despite your weight loss efforts? Then maybe it’s time to shift your set point weight.

What is ‘set point weight’?

Our body weight is determined by various factors including our hormones, genes and the environment. The set point weight theory relies on the concept of the genetic pre-set weight range.

The Set point weight theory suggests that our bodies have a predetermined weight embedded into our DNA, and our bodies are programmed to ‘fight back’ when we try to change our weight. This means your weight may go up or down temporarily but ultimately, it will return to its pre-set weight. So, whatever strategies you try to lose weight, your body will try to maintain the set point weight. Since it’s tightly regulated by our genetics and differs for everyone, we have very little control over it.

5 ways to shift your set point weight and achieve your weight loss goals:

Here are a few weight loss tips you can try to shift your set point weight to align with your goals.

1. Lose weight in Phases

If you’re losing weight and constantly returning back to your set point weight, try losing weight in phases. For example, if you want to lose 15 kgs, try losing 3 kgs initially and maintain your new weight for 3 months before starting your next phase. This way you give time to your body to adjust to the new weight.

Read more: Losing fat vs losing weight

2. Remember the 5% – 10% rule

The 5% -10% rule states that a smart approach to weight loss is by losing 5% -10% of your total body weight at a time. Because, losing more than 10% of your body weight at a time would be a big change to your body and naturally, your body’s metabolism will urge the body to fight back Thus, it will back the weight to the set point range. So, always follow the 5% -10% rule.

3. Increase your daily activities

One of the weight loss tips we keep hearing about is about increasing your workout if you want to lose more weight. Meanwhile, most of us would be surprised to know that the number of calories we burn through our daily activities is more than what we burn during our workout. Even small activities we do daily like cleaning our bed, walking to another room, and cooking burns more calories than a 1-hour workout period. So, if you increase your daily activities, your body will adapt to losing more calories daily and it will eventually impact your set point weight.

4. Try losing 1 kg per week

Health experts say that losing 0.2 kg – 1 kg per week is realistic, and anything more you set would result in failure. Even with all the strict diets for weight loss and hard workouts, it is less likely that you would lose more than 2 kgs per week, and more often, the weight loss you experience due to your crash diet in a short period of time is definitely not permanent. So, aim for realistic goals and try not to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time.

5. Concentrate on your sleep schedule:

Your set point weight is controlled by biological signals. Thus, it becomes important to balance your hormones to maintain your weight at a steady level. A regular sleep cycle not only refreshes your body but also balances the hormones that support your weight-loss efforts. So, try maintaining a regular and quality sleep schedule to shift your set point weight to align with your weight loss goals.

Whatever strategies we try to lose weight, our body fights to maintain the set point weight hardcoded in our DNA. But with a little effort, we can manage to shift our set point weight to align with our weight loss goals.

June 3, 2020 0 comment

Fitness

Weight fluctuation- why does it happen and what’s the deal with it?

by qalfit May 15, 2020

written by qalfit

When you are new to any fitness plan, may it be weight loss or weight gain, you will be tempted to step on that weighing scale at least twice a day to see your progress. Usually, in this case, you won’t see the same numbers or any constant graph of weight loss or weight gain. This is because of weight fluctuation that your body goes through on a daily basis.

Is weight fluctuation normal?

Health experts say that weight fluctuation is normal and in fact, an average adult’s weight fluctuates up to 2.5 Kilograms per day. While most of the fluctuation is due to the change in the water composition in your body, it comes down to eating, drinking, and elimination process you do each day. So, seeing the scales go in the opposite direction doesn’t necessarily mean that you are doing poorly on your weight loss program or weight gain program over the long term.

Why does my weight fluctuate?

To be specific, there are a number of reasons why your weight fluctuates. Here are some major reasons why your weight fluctuates.

1. The physical weight of your daily meal

Diet is the most important part of any weight loss or gain program. The food and drinks you consume daily supplies the nutrients that your body requires to maintain your health, and you have to remember that this food and drink you consume not only has calories but also has an actual mass that may show you a different number when you step on the scale. So, it is best if you weigh yourself in the morning on an empty stomach to get a proper number on the scale.

2. Carbs and sodium

One of the major causes of sudden weight fluctuation is fluid retention in your body. Our body requires sodium and carbohydrates to function properly, and if we are prepping up for a workout, we usually load carbs to provide the muscles and liver with glycogen to burn. Each gram of these carbohydrates requires 2-3 grams of water to make it do its job. Also, we use sodium as salt in our meals daily and sodium is a very good water retainer (It stores more water in your body). This is how carbs and sodium cause weight fluctuation.

3. Sweat

Water loss as sweat is another important factor that causes quick weight fluctuation. When you work out intensely for long hours, you sweat a lot. These lost fluids account for a sudden decrease in your weight you see right after your workout. So, always replenish yourself after your workouts and step on the scale to get more accurate results.

4. Hormone changes

Apart from food and water, hormones can also cause weight fluctuation. Cortisol or the stress hormone that is elevated in times of high physical or mental stress increases inflammation in the body that affects your fluid retention, digestion, and metabolism. This causes weight fluctuation. Also, some female hormones in women make them more prone to weight fluctuations. This is why women seem to have gained more weight on the first day of their menstrual cycle.

Read more: 5 effective tips to reduce stress

5. Day of the week.

Surprisingly, your weight fluctuation also depends on the day of the week. This is because our eating habits change throughout the week. We usually start our week on Mondays with a healthy diet and slowly lower the healthy meter over the week to binge eat junk foods on weekends! This eating cycle may also contribute to your weight fluctuations.

Read more: How to stop eating junk foods?

It is not feasible to eat, drink, and exercise the same way daily to have a relatively stable weight. Weight fluctuation is inevitable and everyone experiences it. You just need to cope with this weight fluctuation and be sure that it is not affecting your fitness journey.

May 15, 2020 0 comment