7 Things In Your Diet Can Cause You Muscle Loss
The objective of losing weight it is to burn the excess fat found in the body. This is usually achieved through various methods such as exercises like running, cycling or walking. Others may decide to start consuming healthy foods like fruits and vegetables in order to provide the body with anti-oxidants and other nutrients.
While losing weight is good, it might lead to muscle loss if done to the extreme. Muscles burn fat leading to lean muscles but they help support our bodies as well.
Below are 7 things in your diet can cause you muscle loss.
- Protein deficiency
Protein mainly from meat and other dairy products is usually considered bad for the body but it is also good to some extent. Lack of protein in your diet will lead to protein deficiency which is one of the causes of muscle loss.
The cell is the basic unit of life and it is made wholly of proteins. Many cells combine to form muscles which mean muscles are made up of proteins. While losing weight and counting the number of grams you have lost, you need to pay attention to your body.
This will allow you the opportunity of monitoring your body and preventing muscle loss.
- Eating too much veggies
Vegetables are healthy to eat and they provide the body with anti-oxidants, vitamins and other nutrients which are beneficial to the body. While they are healthy, it is important not to eat too much and neglect other food types.
As indicated earlier, muscles are made up of proteins which means by eating too much veggies, you deny your body foods that will help provide proteins and help avoid muscle loss in the process.
While veggies are healthy, they are not the only foods therefore you need to consume other foods rich in protein, moderately.
- Are you a calorie phobe?
Huge quantities of calories in a diet are known to contribute to obesity. This may lead others who want to be thin and healthy to have a calorie phobe. Calories are converted by the body into energy in order to power the body to perform different functions.
By not eating foods rich in calories leads to calorie deficiency which makes the body to start utilizing the muscles as energy. This leads to muscle loss. Being a calorie phobe leads to low metabolism which makes an individual to be less hungry which starts to fuel the vicious cycle.
To avoid muscle loss, you need to stop counting how much calories you eat and start consuming calories to avoid muscle loss.
- Exercises are not part of your daily routine
Exercising helps burn fat which leads to weight loss. There are different exercises that one can engage in like pushups, squats and lunges. Exercising helps to tone and build up muscles.
When you don’t exercise when you are on a healthy diet, you prevent your body muscles from building up and toning. This leads to muscle loss. Therefore to avoid muscle loss, you need to exercise.
- Loss of calcium
Calcium is an important nutrient for the body because it helps in strengthening the teeth and the bones. Milk has been advertised as a good source of calcium but it is not. Milk has been found to have uric acid which leads to calcium loss in the bones.
Calcium loss leads to muscle loss eventually. To avoid this, you need to consume nondairy foods rich in calcium such as vegetables, nuts and seeds.
- Doing cardio too much
Cardio exercises are good for the muscles and also for losing weight. Doing them moderately will provide the desired results but over doing them will lead to muscle loss.
You need to add some weights like hand weights or exercise on the gym machines or do some yoga as well.
- You have decided to be a vegan
Being a vegan is a personal choice and it is not bad. Many vegans decide to eat vegetables as their main meals while avoiding meat and dairy products. While vegetables are healthy, it is important to incorporate proteins into the diet.
As a vegan there are nuts and fruits like avocados which are a good source of proteins. Eating them will prevent muscle loss.
