The Seasons of Fat Loss and Muscle Gain

As we enter the month of March, I’m sure many people are getting excited for the season of spring. The flowers are beginning to bloom, the birds are returning, the days are getting longer, and the temperatures are getting warmer. 

There are aspects of each season that I enjoy, but personally, my favorite season is summer. I love the sunshine, the colorful flowers, the hot weather, barbecues with friends, and the days that you wish would never end. 

But without the seasons of fall, winter, and spring, there would be no summer.

Everything goes through a cycle, and it’s no different with your health and metabolism.

For example, you may enjoy a season of being lean and toned for a beach vacation, but it is not healthy to stay that way. If you want to be healthy inside and out, you must allow your body to restore, reset, and rest.

Many people claim that they would like to improve their body composition by losing body fat and toning up. 

A quick aside, let’s dissolve the misnomer of “tone”. Muscles themselves do not “tone”. When people think of “toning up,” what’s actually happening is an increase in muscle tissue as well as a low enough body fat percentage to see the definition and shape of the muscles and get rid of the “jiggle”.

Now that that’s out of the way, what most people actually want is to lose body fat and build muscle. It is possible for anyone to lose body fat and build muscle, but challenging to do simultaneously. Therefore, if you want both, it is in your best interest to cycle between the goals of fat loss and muscle gain. One of the best ways to do so is to approach these goals from the perspective of seasons.

Post-Season: Fall

The Post-Season phase is all about restoring the body to a state of balance. Most people will want to start in this phase to assure their body is holistically healthy before working toward the goal of fat loss or muscle gain. In this phase, the major focuses are on rest and recovery. You may have heard that to lose weight, you need to “eat less and move more.” This is mostly true, but if you take this too far, you can slow your metabolism down over time. For people with slower metabolisms, the focus may need to be on building up their metabolism by decreasing their activity and increasing their food intake. 

Off-Season: Winter

Once your body is healthy and feeling right, you can transition to the Off-Season phase. In this phase, the focus shall be on building strength and muscle. A wise approach would be to follow a sound strength-training program and assure you’re eating enough to allow for adequate recovery and muscle growth. Focus on building new healthy habits and cultivating an overall healthy mindset. 

Pre-Season: Spring

Once you’re ready for the Pre-Season phase, you can begin to transition to the demands of fat loss. Recognizing that losing body fat is a stress on the body, you will want to make sure that the rest of your lifestyle is optimized for this upcoming demand (for example, a busy and stressful work season may not be the best time to transition to this phase). It is recommended that you begin to track your food during this phase, specifically paying attention to your calorie and protein intake. You may also want to incorporate a bit of cardio into your routine. 

In-Season: Summer

The In-Season phase is the active pursuit of fat loss. You should have a consistent exercise routine in place, incorporating both strength-training and cardio. You should have your nutrition in check, with a consistent meal plan and meal timing in place to ensure consistency.

The reason why so many popular diets and workout programs fail is because they miss this concept. They may be able to get you to lose weight, but they don’t teach you how to determine if your body is even ready to lose weight, and they don’t teach you what to do afterwards to assure that you’re able to maintain your results.

The body is always striving to maintain a state of balance, so you must give it time to rest and reset if you want long-term, sustainable results. Using the concept of seasons will allow you to do just that.

If you need guidance incorporating the concept of seasons into your fitness and nutrition routine, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!