Column 87 | More muscle, less fat

ANSWER

Hello Dennis, first of all it is important to understand the biochemical processes of our body. You want to lose fat and build muscle, but unfortunately this is not possible at the same time. To lose fat you have 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 this requires a positive calorie balance, i.e. you have to consume more nutrients than you use at the same time. Both goals are biochemically impossible at the same time. This is only the case for complete beginners, because the training stimulus is so unfamiliar to the organism that it reacts by building muscle and at the same time increasing the 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 you weigh 77 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, increases your metabolism and fat loss will be much easier and faster.

FOOD

To build muscle, you need protein first and foremost. A reasonable rule of thumb for amateur athletes is around 2.5 g of protein per kg of body weight per day. At 77 kg, this comes to just under 200 g of protein per day. 120-140 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 strength for training, while 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 5 g per kg of body weight per day, which rounds up to around 400 g. Daily fat intake should be around 1 g per kg of body weight, which corresponds to just under 80 g. In summary, I recommend the following ratio: This means you are consuming just over 3000 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 in order to provide your body with enough "building materials" for further muscle building. Only after 8-12 weeks of the building 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 with this!