Bodybuilders tend to devote certain months of the year for mass gaining and other periods for fat loss. There are 7 steps- laws, if you will- to fat loss that are nutrition driven. Training plays a significant role as well and should be integrated into any weight loss plan. Implementing bodybuilding diet strategies into your lifestyle can shed unwanted body fat from your midsection so your six-pack will show. These 7 laws of fat burning can help you reach your weight loss goals.

Step 1: No matter what diet approach you take, weight loss revolves around simple math. You must eat fewer calories than your body expends throughout the day in order to drop body fat. When a calorie deficit is created, your body is forced to tap into fat stores to make up the difference.

Step 2: The easiest way to cut calories is to eliminate excess dietary fat. Meaning no butter, choose low-fat or fat-free salad dressings, substitute egg whites for most of your whole eggs, avoid marbled red meats such as rib-eye, remove the skin from chicken, and eat low-fat dairy products. Your body does need some healthy fat sources, however, be sure to include almonds, peanut butter, salmon, and avocados into your diet.

Step 3: Calories govern weight management, but hormone control is nearly as important. Curtail your carbohydrate intake to keep your insulin levels in check. Insulin is the hormone responsible for driving fat storage and inhibiting fat breakdown. Consume fewer carbs by simply cutting your carbohydrate portions in half to moderate insulin levels.

Step 4: Eat slow-digesting carbs, this is crucial to insulin control. The vast majority of your carb consumption should consist of low-glycemic carb sources such as sweet potatoes, oatmeal, legumes, green vegetables, whole-grain breads, and brown rice. Fruits (e.g. apples, grapefruit, berries) that have low-glycemic indexes (55 and below) can be included into your diet in moderation.

Step 5: Never eat carbs by themselves. To control insulin levels, you must slow the digestion of carbohydrates. One way of doing this is to consume carbs with protein and small amounts of fat. For example, accompany your bowl of oatmeal in the morning with scrambled egg whites or cottage cheese.

Step 6: Eat small mall meals throughout the day, spaced 2 to 3 hours apart. Don’t go longer than three hours without eating. Frequent feedings will prevent you from going into starvation mode, where you will have the tendency to overeat and make rash decisions. If you eat 5 to 7 meals per day, you will experience metabolic surges all day that will enable you to burn more calories.

Step 7: Stress protein in your diet. More calories are burned processing protein, known as the thermic effect of food, than processing carbs and fat. Protein also builds muscle, which is key to boosting your metabolism. Eat 0.75-1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight each day. Low-fat protein sources include chicken, turkey breast, tuna, egg whites, protein powder (whey or casein) and low-fat cottage cheese.

Tip

Empty your glycogen stores once every two weeks by limiting your total carb intake for two consecutive days. Glycogen is the unused and stored form of carbohydrates in your muscles and liver. Consume less than 100 grams of carbohydrates for two days to deplete glycogen stores and increase fat burning.

Tags: Bodybuilding, lose weight, weight loss