Body mass is the total amount of tissue you have on your body. When you are extremely skinny, you have a low body mass. When you have a high amount of fat, muscle or both, you have a high body mass. Being underweight and overweight can both have a negative impact on your health. Improve your body mass in either case by making the right lifestyle changes.
Reducing Body Mass
Step 1
Write down how many calories you take in for five days to get an average intake. Add all the totals together and divide by five. Subtract 500 calories from your intake to help reduce your body mass.
Step 2
Restrict your intake of fattening foods. Choose fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, beans and low-fat dairy products over deep fried foods, pizza, wings, ribs, candy and commercial baked goods.
Step 3
Consume five or six meals through the course of the day to stabilize your appetite and boost your metabolism. Include a serving of protein and high-fiber complex carbs with each meal to keep them balanced. A spinach salad with a chicken breast and piece of fruit is a meal example.
Step 4
Choose water as you sole source of liquids. Stop drinking beverages that are high in calories like soft drinks, beer, wine, mixed drinks and flavored dessert coffees.
Step 5
Exercise six days a week to further reduce your body mass. Perform cardio on four of those days and full body weight training on two. Cardio burns calories while you exercise and weight training builds muscle, which burns calories while you rest. Do any form of cardio you enjoy, such as running, kickboxing, jumping rope, inline skating or water aerobics. Aim for at least 45 minutes of cardio.
Increasing Body Mass
Step 1
Track your calories for five days, add your numbers up and divide by five to get your average. Add 500 to your average and aim for that number of calories every day.
Step 2
Include foods in your diet that are high in calories but still healthy. Avoid deep fried, processed and refined foods that have no nutrient values. Stick with avocados, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, nut butters, lean meats and low-fat dairy products.
Step 3
Eat more meals to meet your new caloric needs. Have a meal upon waking and continue to eat meals every two to three hours. Keep them balanced and eat larger portion sizes. Baked salmon with steamed Brussels sprouts, a baked yam and a small cup of yogurt is a meal example.
Step 4
Perform multi-joint weight lifting exercises to create a higher body mass. These exercises work more than one muscle at a time, leading to fast gains in size. Include such exercises as bench presses, upright rows, deadlifts, bent-over rows and squats in your workouts. Use the heaviest weights you can lift with your exercises and work out every three days.
Member Comments