Proper strength training can be a critical factor is facilitating improvements in body composition, but ultimately, no type of exercise is very effective in the absence of proper diet. In fact, low intensity, endurance type activities especially when overdone, have been shown to be counterproductive. While I am not a dietitian or nutritionist, I do offer counsel and support to help clients manage this area of their program as well.
While not necessarily optimal, for most people, a huge step in the right direction is to simply adhere to the following 3 steps:
- Track your food intake: I’m a big fan of the Cronometer phone app for this.
- Ensure your calories are at 2000 calories or a little less for men, and 1700 calories or a little less for women. Do not go below 1500 calories for any length of time.
- Strive to consume at least 100 grams or more of protein from quality sources every day, and if possible, spread this out throughout the day, but emphasize at least 35-40 grams at the first meal of the day. You can go as high as 1 gram or protein for every lb of target bodyweight, but don’t exceed the calorie goals above.
Once you take the first three steps, there are other adjustments to make to optimize (avoiding industrial seed oils or too many refined carbohydrates, and a few supplements) but above 3 steps provide an amazing “keep it simple” approach that will definitely yield excellent results.