Burn Fat Without Losing Muscle - find out how

A common concern amongst beginners in particular is that they can burn fat without losing muscle. This is a legitimate fear as it can happen if the right program is not followed.

There are a few approaches that can be taken to help with reducing fat while still reducing the likelihood of muscle loss. Firstly it is important to not reduce carbohydrate consumption too fast, it is important to manage this consumption, not eliminate it entirely. One approach is to reduce carbohydrates by up to twenty percent of recommended daily requirements for two days and then go back to the required amount for the third day.

An allowance will need to be made that it is likely that the level of carbs consumed prior to the program is already above the level advocated.

If you can reduce carbohydrates for the two days and then eat at recommended levels for the third day you will burn fat without losing muscle. In essence there are two fat loss days, and then a regular day. This also gives you something to look forward to and may help strengthen your resolve; keeping with the program has a huge psychological element.

The two days will see a fat loss of between 1-2 lbs per week (0.5-1kg) how-ever on the regular day carbohydrate intake will be sufficient to maintain the muscles. The other advantage is that the glycogen that is stored in the muscles will be maintained and available for physical exercise and you will be able to put some effort in. This is often not the case on a normal low carbohydrate diet.

The 2nd idea to burn fat without losing muscle is to workout on the carbohydrate day in preference to the 2 fat loss days. It is good to the more intense program on the carbohydrate day. The benefits of exercise tend to occur following the exercise not during, and are influenced by how they are fed after the workout.

The third tip to burn fat without losing muscle is to exercise around 2 hours after eating. Many athletes load up before a strenuous event with the food being available for the event. To move towards losing fat the exercise program is undertaken when the blood sugar and insulin levels are in decline.

Straight after eating the blood sugar level will increase followed by insulin. The cells move to an anabolic state being the portion of metabolism that deals with the build up of complex substances from basic materials, with the consequent absorption and storage of energy.

As the blood sugar levels drop the body moves into a catabolic state which is the part of metabolism dealing with the chemical decomposition of complex substances into simple ones. Following the reduction in blood sugar insulin will also decline. Insulin is a hormone and as the levels drop the pancreas is stimulated to produce the hormone glucagon which in turn causes the release of the energy from fat cells.

This change in blood sugar and insulin levels can be utilized in a program to lose fat by exercising when the levels are declining and the muscles receive energy from the fat cells. Finally food should be eaten after the workout to provide energy for the muscles so that you can burn fat without losing muscle.

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