“Exercise for Weight Loss” is an article series detailing the most successful exercise strategies that can be used to assist in speeding up the weight loss process, and help you end-up with a sleek, toned physique once your body weight gets down to your goal-weight. 

How to optimise your diet for building strength

If you’re dieting at the same time that you are trying to build strength, you’re in a tough situation. You’re really trying to build muscle tissue (anabolic) while reducing fat tissue (catabolic).

These two processes are almost impossible to achieve at the same time, except for complete exercise novices (for whom the training stimulus is so new that they are able, for a while, to do both). For the rest of us, the reality is that while you can get a little stronger while losing weight, you’re not going to significantly build muscle tissue if you don’t eat enough calories to do so.

So what to do? You want to be strong AND lean

Separate the two. Just for now!

Get strong first, and then diet the fat away after. This may not be the answer you were hoping for, but it’s the most effective way to do it. You see, building more muscle first means you’ll burn fat off faster later, and keep it off, too.

How do you do that, diet wise?

First, eat more calories in general. You should be aiming to have a moderate caloric excess every day. But there’s a secret to this: you need to eat a lot of protein, a decent amount of carbs, and then fill the rest of your total up with fat. Aim for around 150 – 200 grams of protein per day. This is for the muscle building process. The carbs will help with training energy and muscle growth too.

Most importantly, you need to be training HARD. You need to stick to a strict, no-nonsense weight training programme, and you need to be focussed on building strength where it counts. There’s no point in eating more and not using the calories for good.

Take three months to build strength and eat more, and then do a three month slim-down diet by keeping your protein high and your training levels up. You’ll be amazed at the results.

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Take a look at the articles below for more information exercising for weight loss:

• Exercise for weight loss – Why is strength training so important?
• Exercise for weight loss – Why it’s a bad idea to miss a workout
• Exercise for weight loss – Bored with your workout? Try this
• Exercise for weight loss – Get your perspective right
• Exercise for weight loss – How to get abs!
• Exercise for Weight Loss – DON’T do sport-specific workouts
• Exercise for Weight Loss – Make your exercise a non-negotiable
• Exercise for Weight Loss – Make your own ‘movie’ to check your form
• Exercise for Weight Loss – What if I get hurt?
• Exercise for Weight Loss – How to get strong without getting ‘bulky’
• Exercise for Weight Loss – Some BASIC strength guidelines
• Exercise for Weight Loss – There’s never going to be a ‘good’ time to START
• Exercise for Weight Loss – Rest days are important
• Exercise for Weight Loss – Does your exercise need a diet?
• Exercise for Weight Loss – What to do when exercise feels like a boring chore
• Exercise for Weight Loss: Can recreational activities help you lose weight?
• Exercise for Weight Loss: What counts as ‘exercise’?
• Exercise for Weight Loss: Get the right gear to avoid injury
• Exercise for Weight Loss: Get more T
• Exercise for Weight Loss: For REAL results, don’t exercise, TRAIN
• Exercise for Weight Loss: How to avoid injury
• Exercise for Weight Loss: Find a gym type that suits YOU
• Exercise for Weight Loss :Make a REAL effort, get REAL results
• Exercise for weight loss: How much is too much?
• Exercise for weight loss: Sweating – Does it equal weight loss?
• Exercise for weight loss: Digging yourself out of the ‘info avalanche’
• Exercise for weight loss: The value of stretching
• Exercise for weight loss: If you only do one exercise, do this one
• Exercise for weight loss: Your 4-minute exercise
• Exercise for weight loss: What if I skipped a few days?
• Exercise for weight loss: “How long must I exercise for?”
• Exercise for weight loss: What to do if you’re ‘older’
• Exercise for weight loss: Variety is the spice of life
• Exercise for weight loss: “But I don’t LIKE exercise!”
• Exercise for weight loss: Timing is key!
• Exercise for weight loss: Don’t take breaks in the gym
• Exercise for weight loss: Priority number one
• Exercise for weight loss: If you’re not dropping the kilos, you need to pick up the weights
• Exercise for weight loss: Get a little extra, for free
• Exercise for weight loss: Get your feet moving
• Exercise for weight loss: The ‘no equipment’ gym
• Exercise for weight loss: Walking is not sufficient exercise
• Exercise for weight loss: What sore muscles really mean
• Exercise for weight loss – Let’s start at the very beginning
• Exercise for weight loss: The single step to kick-start your journey

 

While All4Women endeavours to ensure health articles are based on scientific research, health articles should not be considered as a replacement for professional medical advice. Should you have concerns related to this content, it is advised that you discuss them with your personal healthcare provider.