Aimed at women - 6 tips to burn fat and build muscle

Women are still considered by many to be the weaker sex, often wrongly, just look around the gym - they often work harder than any man. They can be similarly hard on themselves when it comes to diet. We have therefore dedicated the following article to advice that can help them achieve their goals.

Proper diet must go hand in hand with proper training, if you cheat one or the other, it must inevitably show up somewhere - on your physique. Building muscle and burning body fat at the same time is not a simple process, the following 6 proven tips will tell you how to do it right.

1) Eat more protein

Don't be afraid to increase the protein intake in your diet, simply spread it out in all your meals throughout the day, it will help you protect your hard-earned muscle mass. For more information on how to calculate the appropriate protein intake depending on your physical activity and body weight, read the article Protein and your daily intake. According to recent research, higher protein intake has no effect on body fat storage. In addition, a diet rich in protein has a positive effect on the total number of calories burned during the day. These are the calories that the body has to expend in digesting, absorbing and distributing nutrients (this phenomenon is called the thermic effect of food - TEF).

What sources of protein are suitable? Meat, fish, seafood, eggs, Greek yogurt, cheeses, whey protein,..

What protein sources are NOT suitable? Unfermented soy - e.g. tofu, soy "meat", soy beans, soy milk - has a negative effect on thyroid function, contains antinutrients that prevent the proper absorption of important substances (e.g. calcium, iron), processed cheese - contains a variety of additives, salt loading and melting agents, low-fat dairy products if various thickeners are added - e.g. genetically modified corn starch.

2) Adapt your training to build muscle

If you want to build muscle mass and have a beautiful firm physique, endless circuit training with small weights is not the best way to go. Focus on complex exercises like squats, deadlifts and push-ups. You can lift heavier weights during these movements to stimulate most of your overall muscle mass, so they should form the basis of any workout. Increase the weights gradually and always aim to perform 5 - 8 reps in a set.

If you don't want to give up exercises with a higher number of repetitions at all costs, practice them, but always with a weight at which it will be difficult to complete 15-20 repetitions. The combination of strength training and high repetition training is the ideal choice for muscle growth.

3) Cut back on carbs

You've been waiting for this to come and it's here! Yes, carbs will need to be "cut back" a bit - not completely, just enough to the point where your body can use them effectively. It sounds easy, but giving up large amounts of carbohydrates is often an insurmountable problem for many people.

When to eat carbohydrates? Try to concentrate most of your carbohydrate intake at the times when it will provide the most benefit - 2 hours before and immediately after your workout. The rest of the carbohydrates consumed during the day should come from fibre-rich vegetables. Vegetables will help you maintain stable energy levels and stave off hunger. For weight loss, it is advisable to take in around 3 g of carbohydrates per 1 kg of body weight (for specific types of diets /e.g. keto/ the gram of carbohydrates taken in may vary). On a non-training day you can reduce your carbohydrate intake.

4) Eat healthy fats

It goes on and on, yet to this day many women still believe that by cutting out all fat from their diet, they will lose the fat that is so unpleasantly building up in their problem areas. A diet poor in healthy fats has an adverse effect on the condition of hair, skin and nails. If you are struggling with hair loss, weak nails and dry or problematic skin, think about whether you are kind of forgetting about fats. They are important not only for cells but also for optimal hormone levels. As an added bonus, they are wonderfully filling, which is highly desirable in a diet.

The recommended amount is 0.8 - 1 g per 1 kg of body weight (again, depending on the specific diet, as already mentioned for carbohydrates). There are a variety of sources of healthy fats, both plant and animal (e.g. salmon, sardines, coconut oil, nuts, seeds,...).

5) Consume a reasonable amount of calories

If you want to build muscle and burn fat, it's good to know how many calories to take in. We have already written about the amount of macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fats) you need per 1 kg of body weight in the previous points, you can study the specific procedure for calculating caloric intake in the series of articles on how to build a diet and set your caloric intake.

6) Think of cardio as a means to burn fat

I'm sure you know women who spend long hours doing cardio, eyes glued to the calorie counter, cheering on the next record number. Prolonged cardio at the same pace can put you in a calorie deficit, where your body starts burning its own muscle mass in preference to fat. You don't want that, do you! Try it another way - incorporate HIIT (high-intensity interval training). How is it better? It's been confirmed that with HIIT, the body uses body fat as a fuel source, muscle mass is preserved, and that's a winning combination!

What can HIIT look like in practice? After a 3-5 minute warm-up, perform an initial 30 second interval where you go all out and give it your best (e.g. sprinting, English lunges), followed by 1 minute of rest (e.g. walking). Repeat these intervals until the set time has elapsed, preferably around 10 - 15 minutes, on the contrary, too long HIIT can be counterproductive.

Want to read more about different forms of cardio? Check out the article Everything you need to know about cardio.

[Information sources: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed, bodybuilding.com, scienceofbodybuilding.com, ultimatefitnessmotivation.com, healthmindbodies.com