You may be familiar with simply cutting calories to lose weight, but building muscle may actually be the key to long-term weight loss success.

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Weight loss is a prevalent topic in America, where over 42% of adults are considered obese. With obesity-related conditions on the rise, establishing a healthy weight loss strategy is more important than ever.

When it comes to weight loss, the focus is often on cutting calories. However, many weight loss programs can benefit from an increased focus on muscle gain. Burning fat while gaining muscle — known as body recomposition — can be one of the most effective modes of weight loss when done mindfully.

While burning fat and gaining muscle may seem like opposing endeavors, they can be achieved with the right diet and training regimen. Gaining muscle is a great way to help you lose weight long-term.

What is body composition?

Body composition can be described as the ratio of fat on your body to the ratio of muscle mass on your body. Typically, body composition can be measured as body fat percentage. A healthy range of body fat percentage is determined by your individual body.

There are several factors that impact the way your body regulates its weight. Because of this, it can be more beneficial to focus on building strength rather than obsessing over the number on the scale. No matter how you measure it, maintaining a healthy body composition can improve your overall wellbeing.

A healthy weight loss goal is to build lean mass — in the form of muscle — while dropping unnecessary fat. Instead of using strategies like bulking and cutting, which involves significantly increasing your calorie intake to gain fat and muscle before intensely cutting calories to highlight the new muscle growth.

Reimagining weight loss

When you focus on building muscle and strength to fuel weight loss, it helps to reimagine the ways you might typically try to lose weight and measure your progress. Many people are accustomed to simply cutting calories or boosting cardio to initiate weight loss. To gain muscle and burn fat, you may need to adjust your intake of calories or protein. While this can feel counterintuitive, building muscle can improve the function of your metabolism.

Tracking your fitness journey on a traditional scale can be inaccurate when the goal is to gain muscle and lose fat. Muscle mass is denser than fat, meaning you might maintain or gain weight even if you’re dropping fat.

Instead, it can be helpful to measure body composition through photos, measurements, or a specialized scale that measures fat and muscle mass. Ultimately, it can be difficult to let go of the weight on the scale when you’re tracking your progress, but the results will be well worth it.

Building muscle over time

It’s no secret that obesity can have a negative impact on your health, but how you lose the weight can have an impact on your wellbeing, too. For example, extreme calorie deficits or excessive cardio can wreak havoc on your heart health, metabolism, and more.

As many dieters have learned, fad diets don’t work for long-term weight loss and health. While many people continue to be drawn to the promise of a quick fix in fad diets, it is much more beneficial to use a sustainable program.

Using strength training to lose weight is a long process,but the results are often enduring. Beyond this, building strength to lose weight discourages binging and other disordered eating habits.

How to build muscle to help weight loss

While every individual should find their workout routine and establish their own dietary habits with a professional, the components of a body recomposition plan are straightforward. To build muscle in a way that helps weight loss, you will need:

An efficient cardio regimen

Studies show that prolonged cardiovascular exercise helps men and women lose weight when paired with a healthy diet. It’s no surprise that the American Heart Association recommends that healthy adults get two and a half hours of aerobic activity per week as a part of positive exercise habits.

A resistance training program

Studies also show that — when paired with cardio and a healthy lifestyle — resistance training can significantly increase fat loss when compared to diet alone. As participants gained lean mass in the form of muscle, their fat loss was maximized.

A strategy for tracking food

Depending on your current dietary habits, you may need to reduce calorie consumption or control your portions to lose fat. Another key component of body recomposition is maintaining a high-protein diet to support muscle growth. It can be helpful to use a log or food tracking app to improve your awareness of your eating habits.

Talk to your doctor about weight loss

When it comes to choosing the right fitness plan for your needs, your health care provider is the best resource. Your doctor can help you learn more about your health goals and how diet and exercise can help.

Before making changes to your diet, fitness plan, or lifestyle in order to lose weight, be sure to talk to your doctor about your options. Your doctor may ask you about your current habits or complete an exam to learn more about your current level of fitness.

Alpha Medical offers online diet and nutrition counseling with Registered Dietitians as well as prescription medication for weight loss. To get started, you will complete an online consultation and an Alpha Provider will work with you to help you achieve your health goals.

To learn more about the conditions Alpha addresses and start your online consultation, visit our website.

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