Free Personalized Fitness Advice from Mikesfitnesscom



Q: What would I do if I wanted to remain at my current muscle mass but still lose fat

A: That's what this site is all about. All the articles and answers I write are targeted at this exact goal: how to lose fat while preserving your muscle (or its close cousin: how to gain muscle without gaining fat). If you're significantly overweight, as long as you lose weight reasonably slowly and have a healthy diet and workout program you'll be able to lose many pounds of fat without losing much if any muscle. However as you get leaner, it becomes harder and harder to lose the remaining fat without also losing some muscle. The amount of muscle lost depends on many factors, some are in your control and some aren't. These include your genetics, age, health, the quality of your diet and exercise programs, the discipline with which you follow them, and the speed of your weight loss. Look around this site to find many articles and tips on how to optimize the fat loss.

Q: What is better: beef or chicken I have heard you mustn't eat much beef because this way you have more chances for having cancer later.

A: Both are fine. With both you need to make sure to select leanest meat possible. For chicken that usually means skinless chicken breast (which is almost entirely pure protein) and for meat it's 90% or higher leanness (which is about half protein/half fat by calories, at 90% lean). If you're concerned about red meat, then you can skip entirely and go with only chicken or fish or other sources of protein.

All the studies I have seen that found a supposed link between red meat and cancer did not make any attempt to differentiate about the rest of the person's diet. A typical red meat-eater has an extremely unhealthy diet that's full of fatty meat, white bread, sodas, and other junk while nearly devoid of vegetables, fruits, or whole grains. I've never seen a study done where they examine red meat-eaters who eat only lean meats and a ton of green veggies along with fruits and whole grains (which is the kind of diet I recommend, whether you're trying to lose fat or build muscle). Such a study comparing health-conscious red meat-eaters and, say, vegetarians would be a lot more telling about the true dangers or lack thereof in red meat.

But as I said, if you have concerns about it, just substitute red meats with other protein sources.





Free Personalized Fitness Advice from Mikesfitnesscom