Focus on Muscle Gain, Not Fat Loss

There are two critical elements to aging well, keeping body fat off, and living independently, as long as possible:

1. Eating adequate protein.
2. Building and maintaining muscle mass.

We've spent all the live long days trying to lose fat.  How many of us have basically been trying to get "thinner" since we entered our 30's?  

Enough already.

Shift the focus to gaining muscle, and you'll be able to have your cake and eat it too, quite literally.  

You see, muscle is a hungry tissue.  It uses up a lot of calories throughout the day.  Even when we aren't exercising.   The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn throughout your day, and by default, the more fat you burn.

If we spend decades trying to eat less to lose body fat, the few short-lived bits of success we have, (if any), we tend to lose muscle as well as body fat as cut back on calories.  And this is the last thing we want.  

From our 30's on, we already lose a bit of muscle mass each decade.  This is called Sarcopenia.    Roughly 3-5% of our existing muscle just poof...disappears.  When we combine that with starving ourselves "skinny," our muscle mass takes a big hit.  And when we lose muscle mass, we burn fewer calories as we go through our daily activities.  

This sounds discouraging, right?  

Don't worry, we are able to combat this, and go on to live a strong, independent life.

Eat enough protein.  How much is enough?

• Active/athlete/heavy-duty exerciser?        1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.  So if I weigh 155 pounds, I'll try to eat 155 grams of protein each day.
• Somewhat active/like to hike/do yoga/go biking?   0.8 - 0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
• Not very active/sit at a computer all day/don't exercise?   0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight will do ya.

(Side note:  This post is mostly about eating adequate protein and building muscle, but I can't ignore our other two macronutrients completely.  Eating enough calories isn't just about protein.  You want to eat about as many grams of carbs as you do protein, if not more, depending on your activity level, and about halve that to get how many grams of fats you need to eat per day.  More to come in a future post on these specifics.)
                                                         
Move your body.  Ideally, lift weights.  This will build up more muscle mass than most forms of exercise.  And don't fear, you won't "bulk up," I assure you. 

Don't have access to weights?  Walk.  Hike.  Bike.  Lift milk jugs.  Just let your muscles move and work for you.

***Bonus fact:
Our ligaments, tendons, connective tissues, cartilage and pretty much every other body part that has to do with moving well is also made up of protein, which means eating the proper amount for your age and activity level will also make you feel GOOD when you move.  Eating too little, on the other hand, will set these important tissues up for injury.

Let's get tactical.

What foods have protein in them?  Well, many foods do, but the foods that have primarily protein in them and just a little bit of fats and/or carbs are:

• meats such as beef, bison, venison, pork tenderloin, chicken
• greek yogurt
• cottage cheese
• beef jerky
• seafood such as shrimp, fish, crab, lobster, oysters, mussels
• eggs

If the idea of getting your body weight in grams of protein from straight up meat sounds daunting, you can use protein powders and collagen to help you out.  Make these supplemental, not the majority, of your protein intake each day.  Here are a few of my favorite brands:

• Thorne Whey Protein
• Ascent Native Fuel Whey Protein
• Thorne Vegan Pro Complex
• Ascent Plant Protein Powder
• Vital Proteins Chocolate Collagen
• Sprout Living Pea Protein

Stop simply existing.  Eat enough, lift weights, and THRIVE.

Hit me up if I can help with either.