Column 84 | Optimal nutrition

ANSWER

Hello Valentina, first of all it is important to understand the biochemical processes of our body. You want to lose fat and build muscle, which is certainly the goal of many athletes. But unfortunately it is not possible to do this at the same time. To lose fat you need to create a negative calorie balance, i.e. you should eat less than you use at the same time. To build muscle it is exactly the opposite, because you need a positive calorie balance, i.e. you need to consume more nutrients than you use at the same time.

It is biochemically impossible to achieve both goals at the same time. This is only the case for complete beginners, as the training stimulus is so unfamiliar to the organism that it reacts by building muscle and at the same time increasing metabolism, which leads to fat loss.

Since you are no longer a beginner after 2 years of training experience, you have to decide on a goal. If your body weight is 56 kg, I recommend that you build muscle first. After this phase, you can start a diet. The newly gained muscle tissue, i.e. metabolically active mass, will increase your metabolism and fat loss will be much easier and faster.

FOOD

To build muscle, you need protein above all else, because without protein, building muscle is simply impossible. A reasonable rule of thumb for amateur athletes, which I count you among, is around 2.5 g of protein per kg of body weight per day. At 56 kg, this works out to just under 140 g of protein per day. 80 g is clearly too little for you, which is one of the reasons why you haven't had any success.

The next step is to optimize your carbohydrate and fat intake. Carbohydrates protect your protein reserves and give you energy for training, fat is important for fat metabolism and for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. When it comes to a sufficient carbohydrate supply during the build-up phase, you should consume around 4 g per kg of body weight per day, which comes to around 220 g. The daily fat intake should be around 1 g per kg of body weight, which corresponds to around 60 g. In summary, I recommend the following ratio:

This means you are consuming 2000 kcal per day, which is a good starting point. Maintain this energy intake for the next 5 days and if your body weight increases, everything is fine and you can carry on as before. Only when you have not gained any more weight for 4-5 days should you slightly increase the amount of calories by 300 per day to provide your body with enough "building materials" for further muscle building.

Only after 8-12 weeks of the build-up phase does it make sense to switch to the diet phase, in which you should lose as much fat as possible while maintaining maximum muscle mass. I wish you the best of luck!