Any one got tips for someone who is just starting? I am doing some (just starting >.>) basic fitness to loose some weight and increase my fitness. But if I could somehow combine the weight (fat) loss and gain a bit of muscle that would be great.
I have been an athlete for a long time, and so it is important for me to know how to maximize productivity, maintain as much muscle as possible while losing water weight and fat. So I've read many articles scientific and bro science, and I've experimented a lot throughout years.
There are two parts to this. As an athlete you don't always walk around in the shape that you are when you are competing, but you have to maintain a logical fitness level and weight that is not too difficult to maintain, and at the same time it is easy to cut weight.
I'll tell you what works best for me to remain in good shape through out the year. You eat healthy 5-6 days a week and stay 200-500 below you daily caloric needs, then you eat whatever unhealthy foods you want 1-2 days a week. Healthy food includes protein, fat, and carbohydrate. Your body needs fat and carbs, it uses them to produce important hormones such as testosterone. Cutting carbs is not a good long term solution, because you mostly lose water weight and it reduces your testosterone levels. I eat 50% protein, 30% carbs, and 20% vegetables each meal, and fruits and nuts once a day. Never go more than 500 calories under your need, because it slows your metabolism down. Your cheat days are actually meant to give your metabolism a boost, while it also helps you to put off you cravings. It is important to have cheat days.
I normally weigh around 185 lbs, but for competitions I have to cut down to 170 lbs. So I follow an extreme diet for quick weight loss in a small period of time, then I go back to the normal diet.
I do intermittent fasting, which basically means you fast for a period of time and you eat for a period of time. I do not eat anything except water for 20 hours a day, then I eat all my calories in a 4 hours period. I eat 500 calories below my dietary needs, and I cut down my carbs significantly and increase my protein intake in order to lose water weight. Intermittent fasting helps with cleansing you body, and increasing your insulin sensitivity. Most of the foods we eat today have chemicals in them, which takes a toll on our metabolisms because our liver and so on have to break those chemicals instead of properly digest and burn food. When you intermittent fast, you give your body more time to get rid of toxins and chemicals, and it also retrains your body to use your stored fat deposits instead of the glucose that is in your blood after consumption of food. Scientific studies show that intermittent fasting increases testosterone levels significantly as well. I generally do intermittent fasting every day even when I am not cutting weight for a competition, because I feel better in general. But I eat for 6-7 hours off season, and I stop eating for the remainder of the day. Our ancestors where hunters and gatherers for millions of years, so they ate after hunting and then they starved until the next time they did hunt. So our bodies are actually adapted to that lifestyle for millions of years, while the lifestyle we live today has been around for 5000 years after agriculture. I feel more energetic and stronger after I was introduced to intermittent fasting.
But keep in mind that our bodies work differently, and you have to experiment and adjust it to fit your needs.
Also if you have diabetes or any other conditions you have to consult with a doctor, and I am serious about this. For example intermittent fasting can be really dangerous for people with diabetes.
I hope it helps
