please tips on preserving muscle!! thanks love💕
hi (: i just answered this question in my messages so im going to paste what i said there here. if you need me to explain better i will bc when i first read about body recomp i was like what the fuck.
i’m so glad you asked because i feel like people don’t understand how much better it makes one look! i can’t wait to reach my goal body and show people the difference starving and losing muscle mass between losing less weight but more inches. this may be long so i’m sorry lol but basically it’s called body recomp. 3 days a week you lift (low reps, high weight. it’s gonna be hard for u to complete 6-12 reps) and on those three days, you eat 100 calories over your maintenance calories (this was mentally daunting for me at first but trust the process) on the other four days of the week you’re in at least a 500 cal deficit, and you can do either cardio or HIIT. the most important thing is your protein intake. it needs to be 1 gram for every lb of body weight you have. this keeps you full, energized and preserves your muscles! you’ll calculate how many grams that is, by 4 because every gram of protein is 4 calories. you’ll subtract that number from your calorie target. 30 percent of your daily total calories need to be fat so you’ll multiply .3 by your calorie goal and divide by 9 because every gram of fat has 9 cals. so the number that leaves you with is the amount of grams of fat u need. subtract both the calories from protein and fat that you’ve gotten and you’ll be left w how many calories you have left for carbs! carbs are also 4 cals a gram so just divide that last number by 4 and there u go. if you need help i can show you an example equation of mine bc i know reading it is a little confusing. this process not only lets you preserve your muscle, it can help you build it (very little, but still. even the smallest amount of muscle makes your body look so much better) warning: you are going to feel full, and in the beginning you may even feel and be a bit bloated from protein intake raising. DO NOT STOP! this is what’s going to make your tummy flat! most diets make your water fluctuate and can often lead you to think you’re gaining at first before you lose- called the whoosh effect. so on top of lifting 3 days and cardio/hiit the others, i make sure i walk at least 15,000 steps a day (that’s the very very low end) because people don’t realize how important daily movement is. 20% of your calorie burn is from basic daily movement(walking, brushing teeth etc) while only 10% is exercise. u can track steps for free on myfitnesspal. i would start to try to just get 10,000 which is what i did and then i just went up and now a lot of days i’ll get even up to 28,000 steps. in the beginning, i would only worry about my steps and treat every day like a cardio/hiit day that way you don’t burn out from exhaustion lol. once you feel you’re ready to lift, change your cals up on those days the way i explained. also, don’t worry about cardio or hiit either at first if you’re out of shape or if staying active all day is already a challenge. you can work up to it! i lost weight only doing my steps and calorie deficit! so don’t rush it. be kind to yourself. also allow yourself 2 small snacks or meals a week that are treats. i always make a homemade pizza (so it’s healthier) or get a coffee and pastry or something. just be sure to treat yourself to avoid the perfection through the week then binge on the weekend type shit. it’s all very mentally challenging but holy fuck girl your body will prove to you that it’s the right way!! this allows u to avoid the fat gain and muscle loss people get from bulking and cutting, and it’s a lifestyle change (:
