Weight Loss and Training Tips ~ Extra Health and Fitness

Losing Weight and Gaining Muscle

Pretty much all of the fitness goals I see with my clients involve losing weight or gaining muscle (or both). So what's the most effective approach to both?
This article takes a no-nonsense look at the basic principles of weight loss and muscle gain. As you'll see, the two goals can go hand-in-hand, and are actually most effective when done together.
Let's take a closer look?
Losing Weight
Effective, healthy weight loss is essentially dependent on a few basic principles. I'm not a big fan of fad diets, as they're difficult to maintain long-term. Instead, I recommend some simple, basic lifestyle changes that will get you eating healthy and losing weight. Here's what you need to do:

• Reduce sugar, fat, and salt intake. This one seems pretty basic, but you really need to take it seriously. Fat may be the obvious one, but keep in mind that some fats are good for losing weight, like those found in avocados, fish, and nuts. Sugar is bad for weight loss because much of it is converted into fat, while salt retains water and makes you look bloated.

• Increase your protein intake. Protein is a big factor in losing weight. This is because protein keeps you feeling full longer, and also supports lean muscle mass, which naturally increases your resting metabolism.?

• Train More Intense. Moving your body and burning calories and fat is absolutely essential to losing weight. I do not support dieting alone, as it does not reflect an overall healthy lifestyle. Whether it's cardio, weight training, or both, you need to get regular exercise and you need to add variety to your workouts!?

Gaining Muscle
For many people, gaining muscle is just as difficult as losing weight. But it's another common fitness goal, whether for improving your athletic ability or your physical appearance. Here are some basic must-do's for gaining muscle:

• Lift weights. This is the obvious one, but you really need to take your resistance training routine seriously if you want to see real results. I recommend working out at least 4 days a week to see significant results, and make sure you change things up once in a while.

• Eat more protein. Protein is one of the most important factors in gaining lean muscle mass. It's estimated that you need to consume 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight daily in order to add on muscle mass.

• Give your muscles time to recover. Recovery is an essential step for gaining muscle. Make sure you're giving each muscle group 48 hours between workouts to recover.?

Losing Weight and Gaining Muscle: A Synergistic Effect
The ideal fitness goal should include both weight loss (or fat loss, specifically) and muscle gain.
The main reason for this is that increasing your muscle mass will increase your resting metabolic rate, which means your body will naturally burn more fat and calories over the long-term (not just during your workouts).
If we flip things around, a healthy, balanced diet is key to gaining muscle. Not only do you need to ensure adequate protein intake, but working out also depletes your body of important vitamins and nutrients. This is why a healthy diet is so important.
And the best part of it all? If you're working out hard and gaining muscle, you can actually eat more! This will make your dieting efforts much, much easier!

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