To lose weight and gain muscle at the same time isn't all that hard. Without resorting to fad diets or extreme deprivation, you can build strength while slimming down. Just stay focused on your goals of losing weight and building muscle, and take your training one day at a time.
Step 1
Eat healthy. Choose fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, and use meat as a flavoring rather than a major feature of your meal. According to food expert Michael Pollan, following these tips will help you get the nutrients and fiber you need to feel healthy and full, while taking in fewer calories. Eat more whole-grain foods rather than highly processed and packaged products. Eating whole grains slows your digestive system and prevents you from the rapid highs and lows that sugary sodas and highly refined bread products can cause.
Step 2
Run, swim, bike or do some other exercise to get your heart pumping and your chest heaving. To lose weight, you'll need to work out more to burn more calories. Doing 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five days a week will help you shed the pounds so that your new physique shines through.
Step 3
Take on some body-weight exercises -- the walking lunge, plank, squat, plus crunches and push-ups are all part of Golds Gym's 30-day plan for getting a bathing-suit body, and you can do most of them in a basic gym or at home, if you have a few free weights on hand.
Step 4
Add difficulty by holding weights while doing the exercise in the case of the walking lunge or by doing more sets or repetitions for body-weight exercises. If you haven't lifted weights before, learn the basics. Ask a fitness specialist at your gym for help. Start slowly and take time to rest, advises the Mayo Clinic. Make rest time between sets, of course, and also rest time between weight sessions. Have at least a day of rest between workouts of the same muscle groups. During the second two weeks, add twists and a stability ball to these exercises to make them more challenging. Gold's advises you to do a circuit three times through, with 10 to 15 reps of each exercise, "using a weight that is challenging but doable for a high number of reps."
Member Comments