Losing weight "gaining muscle, reducing fat" requires a different diet? Nutritionist: Remember to "pick 3 and subtract 4" to avoid picky eating and reach your eating goals in one go

For those who are trying to lose weight, you have probably heard the saying: "70% diet, 30% exercise", which means that in addition to paying attention to diet, exercise is also crucial if you want to lose weight. Exercise can increase muscle, reduce fat, and sculpt your body. However, how can we control our diet to truly enjoy being “thin” and not gaining weight again? Nutritionists remind us that we should keep in mind the picky eating principle of "pick 3, reduce 4" to achieve twice the result with half the effort!

When it comes to losing weight, everyone will think of "gaining muscle and reducing fat", and everyone knows that it takes "70% diet and 30% exercise". If you pursue a high return on investment, of course you want to get the 7 points first. Although relying on dieting can make weight drop quickly, it will also gain back quickly, and you will still feel very hungry and life is difficult..." How can you achieve this "70% diet"?

The first step to losing weight is to be picky about food. Gaining muscle and losing fat are two different diets.

Zeng Yixin, a nutritionist at the Department of Nutritional Therapy at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that the first step to losing weight is to learn to be "picky with food." Everyone wants to increase muscle and reduce fat at the same time. In addition to knowing your weight, you should also understand your body composition so that you can "eat" according to your personal needs to increase muscle mass or reduce body fat. Because "muscle-building diet" and "fat-reducing diet" are different. Although both are based on prototyping foods and high protein ratios, the composition ratios of the three major nutrients are different (as shown in Figure 1). To build muscle, you need weight training combined with adjusting the ratio of carbohydrates and protein (3~4:1), while without weight training, diet alone can only maintain muscle mass; to reduce fat, you need to strictly control the total calories and reduce the ratio of carbohydrates and fat.

(Photo provided by Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital)

However, why can some people gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? That's because people with hidden obesity (those who are not necessarily overweight but have too much body fat and low muscle mass) have the so-called "sarcopenic obesity". As long as they change their diet and do an appropriate amount of activity, they can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

Nutritionist Zeng Yixin said that people who originally have high body fat but low muscle mass should follow the following "pick 3 minus 4" principle and "be picky about food":

【Pick 3】

1. Choose balanced nutrition

In addition to calculating calories and protein, every meal should be balanced, which means it needs to contain starch, protein, fat, and fruits and vegetables. Never deliberately avoid starch. In particular, fruits and vegetables provide key elements for human fat metabolism: dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc. At the same time, water (30 ml/day per kilogram of body weight) is one of the important elements needed by the body.

2. Be picky about nutrition labels

1. Sort ingredients by most and least, choose the ones with sugar and oil listed later.

2. The calorie content of a full meal (calorie content x total number of servings) is 400-500 kcal.

3. Avoid trans fats.

4. The recommended daily sodium intake should not exceed 2400 mg.

3. Choose the order of eating

Clear soup or water → vegetables → beans, fish, eggs, meat → starch. Studies have shown that for the same total amount of food, if the traditional order of eating side dishes with a meal is reversed to eating vegetables with rice, the rate at which food causes blood sugar to rise can be reduced, causing blood sugar and insulin to rise slowly, making it less likely to form body fat. However, please note that this eating order is not suitable for people with gastric ulcers or gastroesophageal reflux.

[Minus 4]

1. Reduce your intake of refined sugar

Honey, brown sugar, granulated sugar, sugar cubes, fructose and brown sugar and other added sugars are all refined sugars. The recommended daily amount should not exceed 10% of the total calorie requirement (less than 5% is better). For example, if the total daily requirement is 1200 calories, and 1 gram of sugar is approximately equal to 4 calories, the converted refined sugar should not exceed 30 grams (1200 calories × 10% ÷ 4 calories = 30 grams), and it is better to control it below 15 grams.

2. Reduce excess fat intake

The proportion of saturated fat in protein-rich foods is from low to high: beans < fish < eggs < meat, among which white meat (fish, chicken) < red meat (pork, beef, lamb). In addition to the fried foods and animal skins (chicken skin, duck skin, pig skin, pig's feet), etc. that we already know, we also need to find out the hidden fats in our diet: mayonnaise in the sandwich layers, layers of pastry in sesame cakes, puff pastry bread with stuffing, shacha sauce for hot pot, braised pork in braised pork rice, fried noodles in teppanyaki, sesame paste in cold noodles, peanut powder in runniang, etc.

3. Reduce excessive salt intake

In addition to seasonings or pickled foods such as pickled cucumbers that taste salty subjectively, hidden high-sodium foods include meatballs, fish dumplings, bird's nest dumplings, fish cakes, toast, soda crackers, etc.

4. Reduce processed red meat products

Meat that has been processed by salting, pickling, fermenting, smoking, etc. to enhance flavor and increase shelf life, such as hot dogs, sausages, meat floss, jerky, bacon, ham, etc.

Examples of meal combinations for those who eat out to gain muscle and lose fat (see Table 1)

(Photo provided by Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital)

Nutritionist Zeng Yixin finally reminded that people who eat out should remember the principle of "pick 3 and subtract 4" when choosing meals. Even if they choose food from convenience stores, they should be aware that it contains a high amount of sodium. Therefore, it is best to eat at different stores every meal to achieve a balance between nutrition and convenience.