Loosing weight without gaining muscle

Question
Hey! I'm a horse rider and I need to loose some weight. I'm about 2 stone over weight but I have a fair bit Of muscle from being a competitive swimmer. I've given swimming up now and I'm taking my horse riding hobby more seriously. I'm ok with the muscle I have at the moment but I want to loose some of my fat. I know muscle weighs more than fat and recently I've been doing 20 minutes on a cross trainer every night but I'm putting on muscle and I have put on 6 pounds! I can't weight much more otherwise I will be restricted to what horses I can ride. Do you have any ideas on how I can loose fat
Thanks

Answer
Hi Lucy,
Just a few things to start with. I understand your desire to not build more muscle. However it is important to at least maintain what you have. I suggest you do light weight lifting at least 3 times a week. I only suggest this because as we age muscle breakdown. If you get in some resistance training with light weights it will keep the muscle tissue strong. This is important for all ages. It can help prevent a lot of physical ailments that come with age. that said I'm not trying to imply anything about age, just speaking generally.

also, muscle and fat weight the same actually. It is just that muscle is denser. Think of it like muscle tissue being like steel.

I really think you need to examine your diet. How often do you eat? Optimally you should aim to eat 5 times a day, every 3-4 hours. This keeps your metabolism working.
additionally avoid simple carbs like white flour (white bread, white pasta), white rice, and sugar. These are all empty calories that do nothing but cause your blood sugar to spike and can lead to fat gain.

Another thing you should try is HIIT cardio. High intensity interval training alternates bouts of high and low activity. Using a treadmill example...
You would do a 5 min. warm up at say 3MPH. Then run at 5 mph for 60 seconds and walk at 3 mph for 90 seconds. Do 10 60/90 splits and finish with 3-5 minutes at 2 mph.
HIIT is proven to burn more fat than steady state cardio. Plus the great thing about HIIT is it offers a continued post exercise burn.

All that said I strongly suggest analyzing your food intake. Be sure you eat regurally and eat enough. Eating less may always seem like the key, but eating too little causes the body to hold on to fat.

Feel free to write back and check out my site at www.bestfitnessnow.com
I have a lot of articles there about nutrition.

All the best

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