Having gone through the hoops so many times with the same dreaded result – lose weight, gain weight. I tried every diet out there and though some were interesting, such as the Wildfit program, none were what I was looking for – or should I say needed/desired – you can ready my journey to abs if you want more detail.
They all helped me lose weight at great sacrifice but none taught me the importance of protein in the process, and so every time I lost weight, it was inevitably at the cost of losing muscle. As it turns out, our body seems to have a lot more fun eating up muscle then the fat – ironical really since its the adding fat that gave us all the love we so desperately sought. Comfort food they call it.
As an entrepreneur, I soon realised that the same mistake I made early on with all my companies was exactly the same I was now making with my food intake – I was ignoring the numbers. How can we be great at business and so poor at managing our weight? The answer is in understanding the link between financial literacy and nutritional literacy.
So when your body seems so intent on eating up your muscle when really what you want is to lose the fat, what do you need to know?
Welcome to our comprehensive guide on maintaining muscle mass. Below, we’ll delve into seven pointers designed to help you sustain your muscle gains and optimize your physical strength:
- Prioritize Protein Intake: When I started to control the amount of protein intake and benchmarked it against what I should be taking in, in order to preserve muscle and attack the stubborn fat, I realised how far off I’d been every other time. You need to ensure your diet includes sufficient protein from sources like lean meats, fish, and plant-based alternatives to support muscle repair and growth. Your focus will have to be on the protein and you will most certainly need the help of protein powder.
- Incorporate Resistance Training: If like me, you hate going to the gym, or even working out, what do you to ensure you feed those muscles. Well, either make resistance exercises a staple in your workout routine to stimulate muscle retention and prevent muscle loss over time or look for alternatives. Walking is one – avoid elevators or escalators. Do simple exercises that target the abdominal region, arms and chest. Doing press ups, sit ups and plank in the morning and in the evening is a small commitment that anyone can accomplish. It’s like brushing your teeth. Pretty low investment of time yet gives you long term results.
- Apply Progressive Overload: Continuously challenge your muscles by gradually increasing the intensity or weight of your workouts, promoting ongoing muscle development. If you are doing the basic exercises I described, start with push ups to failure for the first time – that point where you can’t do another one and collapse on the floor. Now add 1 push up every day to your last session. If one day you can’t, do the same as the day before until you can add another one. Don’t regress.
- Embrace Rest and Recovery: Allow your muscles adequate time to recover by incorporating rest days into your exercise schedule – unless you are doing the above exercises. Your muscles should recover during the day. If you find yourself sore, listen to your body and implement active recovery techniques such as stretching and foam rolling which aids in muscle recovery. Then go back to where you were.
- Maintain Hydration: Stay hydrated throughout the day to support optimal muscle function and recovery, as water plays a crucial role in various physiological processes. I drink 4 litres of water every day and I’m still surprised at how many people drink a litre or less. It’s not that difficult. Like everything else in life, it takes discipline, focus and the creation of new habits – and it doesn’t get any easier – just drink water during the day.
- Prioritize Quality Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to promote muscle repair, growth, and overall physical well-being. There is so much science out there relating to the importance of sleep yet some people get off on the idea that they don’t
needlook to sleep more. Much like their busy schedule, sleep seems to be for the lazy ones. - Monitor Nutrition: Pay attention to your overall nutritional intake, ensuring you consume the right amount of calories, protein, and essential nutrients to support muscle maintenance and overall health.
Though last on the list, monitoring your nutritional intake is the number one priority. Much like everyone that doesn’t have a budget only to find that their money disappears, as it turns out, they are also acutely unaware of how over they are in their calorie intake as well as the imbalance in their macros – protein, fat and carbohydrates.
By integrating these concepts into your fitness regimen, you’ll be well-equipped to preserve your hard-earned muscle mass and enhance your physical strength for the long haul. Keep striving for progress and stay consistent.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska
