Muscle toning and weight loss: everything you need to know

Edited by Doctor Davide Cacciola

Muscle toning and weight loss are two factors related to training that cannot be considered separately.
Coupling is necessary because unfortunately still today it is believed that losing weight means losing weight and that's it. A weight loss is not necessarily synonymous with a decrease in fat, especially when it occurs in a short time, such as following an uncontrolled diet. case, first of all, the body water and the protein mass, that is the cell mass, and not the fat mass vary.
Properly losing weight means decreasing fat mass while maintaining or increasing lean mass. Conversely, a weight gain following a period of training in the gym is not always correlated with an increase in muscle mass.
Unlike what one might think, the element to refer to is always lean mass not fat, since the metabolism is essentially linked to it. It is the lean mass that produces metabolism and therefore must be controlled, well fed and stimulated to avoid cases of malnutrition. It is "through" increased metabolic activity that the reduction of excess body fat is achieved, thus preventing an overweight from degenerating into obesity. Often, however, the attention falls erroneously and obsessively on the fat mass.
C "it must also be said that adopting the classic" bi-compartmental "model Lean mass / Fat mass does not give any indication on the state of nutrition and hydration of the subject: it is possible to meet healthy, sick, decompensated, malnourished, well fed, dehydrated obese individuals o edematous and from the estimate of the lean and fat masses it is absolutely impossible to trace or monitor any of these states.
Desiring precision in the estimation, a more adequate body composition model is needed, which divides the body into several compartments, sensitive to hydration and nutrition, with which to explain all changes in weight, regardless of whether they occur in fat mass, in mass muscle or body fluids.
For this purpose, the “three compartmental” model to which one of the most sophisticated assessment methods for body composition refers, Bio-impedancemetry (BIA), is certainly more suitable.
The model consists of:

1. Fat Mass: Expresses all body fat ranging from essential fat to adipose tissue.
2. Cell Mass: Compartment that contains the tissue inside the cells, rich in potassium, which exchanges oxygen, which oxidizes glucose.
3. Extracellular mass: Component that includes extra cellular tissues, therefore plasma, interstitial fluids (extracellular water), transcellular water (cerebrospinal fluid, joint fluids), tendons, dermis, collagen, elastin and skeleton.

The extracellular water represents the volumetrically most significant compartment of the Extra Cellular Mass and is the space subject to the most rapid and significant variations.
The Lean Mass is the result of the sum of the Cellular Mass with the ExtraCellular Mass.
After having performed an initial evaluation of the body composition, we will proceed with the setting of a training program, of variable period. Specifically, factors such as intensity, volume, loads, series, repetitions and recoveries will be modulated in order to develop constant and progressive adaptations to training.
The risk to be encountered is to lose kg of lean mass, which lead to a reduction in the basal metabolism, with a consequent slowdown in the weight loss process.
To avoid this unpleasant inconvenience, which is unfortunately very common due to misconceptions about training, I will list below some general rules to follow to set up a training program:

1. Train intensely but in moderation: by this statement I mean that you don't need to go to the gym every day, 2-3 workouts per week are enough, as long as they are intense enough to stimulate the metabolism and cause adaptations.
2. Train first in the weight room, then move on to aerobic work: The type of effort required in the weight room is "anaerobic", intense and of short duration. Therefore the energy source required to carry out these efforts is purely of the "carbohydrate" type. To make the most of your carbohydrate reserves, work in the weight room must precede the aerobic one.
3. Always select exercises that allow you to use multiple muscle groups at the same time: So, green light for bending on the legs, arms, pulling, pushing movements, etc. These "global" movements force our body to a higher caloric expenditure and also increase strength, coordination and balance more than isolated movements.
4. Do not overdo the aerobics: The aerobic activity (prolonged running, exercise bike) must be moderate, even in this case it is not necessary to run for hours on the treadmill, 10 to 20 minutes after training are enough. I do not agree very much with the theory of "activation of fat metabolism after 30" -40 "of low-intensity aerobic activity. If it is true that in this way the metabolism of fat is activated, it is also true that there is a huge loss of liquids and sometimes of lean mass.
5. Avoid overtraining: As mentioned above, overworking in many cases causes loss of muscle tone. This is just one of the signs of overtraining. Stubbornly ignoring the signs of overtraining has only one consequence: making training counterproductive. This is why it is important to listen to your body: at the first symptoms of loss of appetite, joint pain and general feeling of weakness, it is important to take a few days of recovery.

Other important rules to follow concern nutrition. No training program produces significant results in a short time if not accompanied by correct eating habits. Therefore the following dietary advice must be combined with the rules listed above:

1. Divide the meals into 5-6 daily meals every three hours: Then add two snacks to the three main meals of the day, mid-morning and mid-afternoon. If necessary, also include a meal before bedtime.
2. Increasing the daily protein quantity if you practice moderate / intense physical activity, is necessary to counteract catabolism, thus maintaining lean mass; choose protein sources such as meat, fish and low-fat dairy products
3. Decrease sugars, refined carbohydrates and saturated fats: the intake of sugars creates a rapid increase in blood glucose levels (blood sugar). This phenomenon stimulates the release of a hormone called insulin, which promotes the absorption of glucose into the cells . The latter, if in excess, is transformed into fat. Saturated fats are harmful as they increase cholesterol levels.
4. Replace them with low / medium glycemic index carbohydrates, mono and polyunsaturated fats, such as whole foods, fruits, vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, walnuts or almonds.
5. Drink at least 1 ½ / 2 liters of water per day.