A subject that's been one of the most difficult to address for weight-lifting or dieting advocates has been a diet to lose weight and build muscle at the very same time. There's always been debate suggesting that the two could never work together, but that isn't necessarily the case anymore.
From my experience, I've found that consistency with your caloric intake with continuous protein supply will maintain muscle growth while slowly cutting stored fat.
A Common Misconception Is Losing Weight Means Losing Muscle Simultaneously
There was a time when going on a diet meant sacrificing muscle simultaneously. Studies showed that the two could never exist together since anorexic teens were losing mass all over their bodies as opposed to just their stomachs. Obviously fat was reducing, but so was muscle tissue.
You have to admit, when you see a marathon runner jogging, they don't usually have large, toned muscles. I know that when I was a long-distance runner on my high school track team, I lost weight like crazy. I developed a thin physique that gave me better endurance, but I don't think I was ever described as muscular.
Cutting Body Fat While Maintaining Muscle Is Based On Strategic Weekly Caloric Intake
What's usually missing in the weight loss equation is consistent protein and strength training. When people commonly think about losing weight, they cut out a number of calories and hope for the best without much regard to what's actually happening.
Another way to organize your incoming calories is not to focus "day-by-day", but focus "week-by-week". When you attempt to eliminate calories based on a 24-hour period, the variations of your diet to lose weight and build muscle become restrictive. You usually have to cut out calories at each meal and most people think they need to exercise every day. However, when you consider the whole week's worth of calories, you can mix up different strategies like going on calorie deficits on certain days and easing your calorie restrictions on exercise days.
Plan To Have Your Lightest Meals On Days Without Exercise
Since you won't be burning that many calories on days when you don't exercise, it's best not to ingest that many calories to begin with. This will give your body a chance to use stored fat instead of hourly snacks as energy to sustain your normal functions.
One strategy would be to go on a short intermittent fast leading up to your evening meal like that described in Eat Stop Eat. Try replacing breakfast and lunch with a protein or meal replacement shake to keep your calorie count low while still supporting your muscles. I wouldn't necessarily go on a protein heavy diet for fear of long-term health risks, but supplying the normal amount that you lose at each meal is acceptable.
Increase Your Calories On Days Of Training
An effective diet approach aimed at tricking your metabolism is to over-eat during exercise days and under-eat on days off. This gives you the energy to complete your workout while maintaining a calorie deficit every other day.
As much as you might want to believe that building muscle has to do with diet, it actually has more to do with exercise. You can however, eat more carbs 2 hours following a workout since your metabolism will be running at a slightly faster rate, allowing you to burn more calories.
I wouldn't go crazy focusing on what foods help gain muscle, but instead I would strive to make steady improvements during training. Consistently increase your weight at each workout and don't cheat by taking longer breaks between sets than you know you should. And as a plus, if you're asking "Does muscle burn fat?", the answer is yes.
A Diet To Lose Weight And Build Muscle Just Takes Consistency Overall
Most muscle-builders go rogue because they just don't have a normal routine. Sometimes they'll exercise twice a week, then once, then 4 or 5 times to compensate. Maybe they'll fast a couple days and then overeat for 5 days. Whatever the variation, it isn't going to be as effective as a consistent routine. Maybe it would be easiest to try something new like the Cohen diet. Be open-minded.
Approach your plan to get cut with an analytical eye. The day that I decided to cut out a number of calories each day and record my progress at each session was the day that I visually began seeing improvements in my body.
The real reason most people can't get cut is because they focus too much on the diet and not enough on the exercise to lose weight and build muscle. If you can do that, you can begin looking awesome.
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