How to Choose the Right Weight Loss or Muscle-Building Meal Plan

Nutrition is more than half the battle when it comes to reaching your weight loss or muscle-building goals. Here's how to pick the right meal plan for either.

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When it comes down to it, the best diet is one you can stick to. Otherwise, you won't be able to see the full benefits it provides. With this in mind, choosing a meal plan to either help you lose weight or gain muscle is relatively easy. 

Here are a few key things to consider and keep in mind when selecting a meal plan for your unique goals: 

• Choose a diet that has foods you like to eat
• Continue with the diet if it makes you feel good both mentally and physically
• Select a diet that you can commit to for the longest
• Give yourself time to see results and be consistent with your diet regardless of the one you choose

Now let's get down to the nitty-gritty of how to choose the right weight loss or muscle building meal plan for you and your goals.
 

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Selecting a Meal Plan for Weight Loss

Weight loss is primarily dependant on calorie control. Basically, you need to burn more calories than you consume. This will lead to losing weight. Despite recent trends that espouse the benefits of macros and how we metabolize food, such as the keto diet, a calorie deficit diet approach is still the most trusted route with the most research backing it up. 

The first step is figuring out how many calories you can consume in a single day. From there, you can then work towards burning more than you ingest to help aid in your weight loss efforts. Some tips to achieve this include eating fibre-rich and nutrient-dense foods that will fill you up for longer while providing the energy you need to exercise. Think fruits and vegetables along with lean proteins. 

Essentially, losing weight boils down to:

• Lowering your caloric intake
• Increasing the number of calories you burn through exercise

Any diet or weight loss meal plan that helps you do this will work for your needs.

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Selecting a Meal Plan for Muscle Building

If you want to build muscle, then you need to increase your protein and calorie intake. You will also want to be very judicious about the quality of the calories you're ingesting as you don't want to add body fat but muscle weight instead. 

Protein is what turns into muscle. Knowing how much extra protein you need to eat is the key to bulking up. A good rule of thumb is to follow the one gram per total body weight rule. That means if you weigh 200 pounds, then you need to ingest 200 grams of protein every day. It's an easy way to keep track of your protein intake and it should steer you in the right direction for muscle growth. 

While fat is the most calorically dense nutrient out there, experts advise you should only consume it in moderate amounts. This gets back to our first point about being judicious about the quality of your calories. While it will certainly help boost your caloric intake — which is what you need when building muscle — it is also more likely to be stored as fat compared to carbohydrates and protein. This will counteract your muscle-building efforts in the gym.

If you're looking for an easy guide to follow when it comes to a muscle-building meal plan, stick to the following:

• Consume more calories than normal (roughly 10 per cent)
• Consume lots of protein
• Perform muscle-building workouts at the gym

If you find a meal plan that ticks off all the above boxes, then it's worth giving it a shot as you try to bulk up. 

Related

• How to Pick a Bodybuilding Personal Trainer That Will Help You Win Competitions
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Stay the Course

No matter if weight loss or building muscle is your main goal, staying the course and sticking to a diet for a prolonged period of time is critical to your success. Those who can remain consistent with their diets tend to see the best results, so make sure you pick a meal plan that you can adhere to. 

Should you need any extra help with your weight loss or muscle building goals, be sure to contact us today. Our personal training in Calgary is tailored to your unique circumstances and goals and features in-depth nutrition planning and coaching along the way. We also have some of the best personal trainers in the city who can help motivate you to achieve greatness.
 

Call Us Today

Are you ready for a total body and life transformation? To find out more about our online personal training and fitness programs, and how our highly qualified personal trainers in Calgary can help you achieve incredible, safe, and sustainable results, contact us by calling 403-200-0199 or by filling out our online contact form.

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FAQs

Q: What is the best nutrient for weight loss?

Believe it or not, fat is one of the best nutrients for losing weight. Healthy fat that is, such as the fat that is found in avocados. 

Q: What is the best nutrient for building muscle?

Without a doubt, protein is the best nutrient for building muscle.

Q: How much weight should I aim to lose per week?

Weight loss is supposed to be a gradual process. While you may shed more pounds after instituting healthy habits, you should realistically aim to lose one to two pounds per week on a weight loss diet.