When it comes to losing fat, there are a zillion different diet programs and exercise plans available on the Internet for one to read. There is one glaring problem however that many of them continue to ignore. Namely, how to lose fat and not muscle.

This is typically how it goes. Joe wants to desperately get rid of excess weight that he has put on as a result of years of binge drinking. He starts following a healthy eating plan, starts cycling everyday and in due course of time, sees a noticeable reduction in body fat.

Encouraged by this healthy development Joe decides to take it up a notch and join a gym, only to realize that while he was losing all the extra pounds, he was also letting go of the muscular mass of his body. All that lean mass he built up while running track in college is just gone. As any bodybuilding expert will tell you- fat is easy to lose but muscles are difficult to build.

How to lose fat and not muscle is a problem countless people face on a regular basis and it is a shame that the so called health experts do not put more emphasis on it.

Learn how to lose fat and not muscle

When you are learning how to lose fat and not muscle, you are not just getting rid of the extra fat content of your body. Weight can be made up of water, muscle, glycogen and of course, fat. For instance, if you go on a Keto diet, you might see yourself shedding 4-5 pounds in the first couple of weeks itself. In reality that is nothing but water weight.

When someone says that they want to lose weight it really means that they want to lose fat and not the muscular mass. For many who jump on to the weight loss bandwagon a bit too quickly and without empowering themselves with the right know how, it is often not so.

Most diet plans rely on creating a caloric deficit, a concept wherein you eat less than your body requires, thereby forcing your body to find an alternate source of energy to burn for producing energy. In an ideal world your body would chose fat as the energy source but sadly it is not so. In reality, it also sets its attention on the lean muscle tissues that you have worked so hard to acquire.

With that being said, fortunately there are ways in which you can ensure that while you lose weight, you do not rid your body of the lean, mean muscles that you want to build upon in the gym. So can you lose fat and gain muscle? Yes, you surely can. There are six easy ways in which you can do that.

Remember to eat enough protein

More than anything else, this dietary requirement will ensure that you maintain the muscle mass that you currently have. Even if you do not undertake a workout plan, simply by consuming more protein in your daily diet, you will ensure that when a caloric deficit does occur, the body will use much more of fat as an energy source.

There is no need to fret over meal timings or how many meals you should eat in a day. No need for expensive supplements or fretting over what food items to eat. The ideal daily protein intake for most people should be within the range of 0.8-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. To make it easy, it is safe to say that eating 1gm of protein per pound of body weight should suffice. This unofficial ‘rule’ has been in existence for as long as the concept of bodybuilding and has proven itself over time.

You do not even need to buy special food items as many of the things in your refrigerator like eggs, fish, beef, pork, beans, nuts and even cheese are excellent sources of protein. Just ensure that you are eating enough of them daily.

Start working out

Countless research papers have reinforced the fact that the single best way to retain and build upon your current muscle mass is to indulge yourself in some strength training. When you start working out while restricting your caloric intake then you trigger fat loss while maintain muscle.

If you are a complete beginner to bodybuilding (do not let the term phase you!) then you are in for good news. While it is difficult to gain muscle mass while cutting on the calories, beginners actually see much faster muscle gain while losing the fat.

Now this does not mean that you have to be a gym rat and be pumping iron 2 hours daily for 7 days a week. Pick up a simply 3 days a week routine (like the excellent Starting Strength by Mark Rippletoe) and stick to it religiously. Devoting an hour every other day to working out will ensure that you do not end up losing any muscle as you shed the excess fat.

Cut down on carbs

When you are eating a diet that is rich in carbohydrates then your body starts using carbs as a primary source of fuel. Once you cut down on it, it automatically shifts to using body fat instead. This is the main premise of successful diet concepts such as the Ketogenic Diet.

The key here is to cut carbs out of your diet gradually and not all of a sudden, as it will completely shock your system. You can start out by cutting any carb consumption at night, replacing the breads and rice with salads or other high protein meals instead. Over the next few weeks, cut the amount of carb intake to the extent that you are only eating as much your body requires and not more.

Not only will this help you loose weight much faster it will also give you more energy and a clarity of mind which is often clouded by the daze brought upon as a result of eating carb rich meals.

Forget the cardio

When someone talks about going to the gym, the first thing we picture is a person slogging it on the treadmill. It is a common myth that doing cardiovascular exercises like running or cycling in the gym can burn calories much faster.

In reality, such a low effort activity burns only a fraction of calories than strength training does. It is not uncommon to see people spend 45 minutes daily for months on the treadmill and then wonder why they are not losing the stubborn fat.

This does not go to say that cardio is entirely bad. It’s not, as it builds stamina but if your aim is to lose fat while gaining muscle then strength training is the way forward. Use cardio as a warm up, warm down tool instead and if you must indulge in some running or cycling, do it on the days that you are not lifting in the gym.

In conclusion

When you want to start your journey of learning how to lose fat and not muscle then you must learn how the process works. Retaining and even building upon your current muscle mass while losing fat is more than possible, you just have to be careful about what you eat and how you work out. The 4 tips mentioned above should give you a head start and even by themselves, they should garner you pleasing results over a period of time.