Your Diet Cheat Sheet to Staying Lean without Losing Muscle Mass

fit guy working out to stay lean

The hunks you see on TV looked nothing like that a few years or months ago. They were scrawny like you, but one day, just like you, they motivated themselves to lift up weights to begin filling their body with muscle. However, visiting the gym was not the only way they got result, but they modified their eating habits as well. Remember, one is useless without the other. Hence, you need to keep on working out and follow this diet cheat to have a killer lean physique:

1.     Limit Carb Intake, Then Boost

For four to five days, do not go near any carbs. In the last two days, boost your carb intake. By eliminating your carb intake for a few days to consume only 100 grams or fewer, your body shifts into a fat burning zone. When you increase your calorie intake to 250 to 300 grams for the remaining two days, you rev your metabolism into first gear.

2.     Drink Neurotransmitters

How can you drink neurotransmitters and how will they assist you get the perfect body? Green tea and caffeine contain neurotransmitters. They jump start the fat burning process and you should have your cup of neurotransmitters two to three times per day. Have one dose of neurotransmitters thirty to sixty minutes before working out.

3.     Eat Slow Burning Carbs

Slow burning carbs consist of whole grain pastas, oatmeal, pastas, breads, brown rice, beans, and sweet potatoes. You should eat more slow burning carbs during the day with the exception of not eating them in the morning or after an intense workout session. Increased intake of slow burning carbs will decrease more fat during the day as well as during your workout sessions.

4.     Snack the Right Way

Stick to eating cottage cheese and sugar-free yogurt to burn fat. They contain slow burning carbs that control and stabilize your insulin levels. Moreover, dairy products as a whole are extremely good for your body, as they contain a lot of calcium. You can keep this on standby at the office to avoid making the trip to the vending machine.

5.     Do Not Prolong Your Hunger

You need to eat every few hours. Long pauses will disrupt your digestive system, slowing down. You should consume after every 1 ½ hours to boost metabolism. When your body is feeling hungry, eat something healthy like carrots, celery sticks, or any other veggie you like.

6.     Do Not Eat Carbs at Night

Your body does not need all those extra carbs at night. When you hit the bed at night, your body will not digest those carbs. If you go to bed without any carbs in your body, your body will increase its GH output. The GH output will kick your metabolism in overdrive, causing you to burn more calories.

If you want to increase the growth of muscle, you should eat fast digesting carbs after your workout session ends. In doing so, your blood sugar will remain stable in the night while the GH goes to work.

7.     You Need Your Tea

If you want to get lean, you should never skip on your tea. Preferably, drink green tea, as it contains loads of antioxidants, which function to burn calories at a faster rate. You can also add ginseng to the tea to keep your blood sugar levels in check, which in return, will help you become and stay lean.

8.     Limit Your Fat Intake

You do not have to stop your fat intake completely, but you have to limit the amount of fat you put in your body. Each week, for four to five days, put down the burger, put down the fries, and any food that is high in calories. What should you eat instead? Think turkey breasts, fat free cottage cheese, egg whites, and protein powders. Since your body is adaptable to the changes in diet, you need to start eating foods rich in protein after the fourth or fifth day in the week. For instance, you do not eat food high in fat on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, but on Saturday and Sunday, you do. Follow this same routine the following week, and you get the idea.

9.     Skip the Fat Free and Low Fat Approach

People who take the fat free and low fat approach want to become lean, but you want to gain muscle mass and become lean at the same time. Hence, choosing the fat free and fat approach will only help you reach one of those goals and you want to reach both.

In your diet, you need to start eating low in fat, but not fat free food such as milk, yogurt, and cheese. The protein you will eat along with it will increase muscle mass. In short, 30 percent of calories from fat should come from food such as fish, egg yolk, seeds, and nuts.

10.  Don’t Forget to Spoil Yourself

Every once in a week, you can eat a good helping of burgers, pizzas, desserts, and fried foods. You might be thinking that this is ludicrous and you should not be cheating this much on your diet. There is an explanation for why you need to spoil yourself once in a while. Your body reacts by increasing the function of the anabolic hormones responsible for fixing injured muscle tissue. Moreover, by splurging, you will not lose your mind, as distancing yourself from all the food you once loved is harsh and not to mention an extremely difficult task.

11.  Take a Fat Burning and Muscle Building Supplement

You can also take bodybuilding supplements that will speed up the process of helping you achieve your goal of the perfect body. Along with your diet and exercising routine, a good fat burner will work like an aid, aiding you in your struggle to become lean.

If you want to keep your muscle, but stay lean at the same time, you need to adhere by this diet cheat sheet.