Get creative when adopting a diet and exercise plan to lose weight and gain muscle. While aerobic exercise melts fat and weightlifting builds muscle, neither activity effectively addresses both of these objectives. Keep your energy high for workouts by consuming a healthful diet with diverse foods. Complement your food plan with combination workouts that raise your heart rate while strengthening muscles. If you have health concerns, consult your doctor before beginning your weight-loss plan.
Calorie Restriction
Very low calorie diets do not give you enough nutrients to sustain your health in the long-term. Aim for moderate calorie restriction instead. Women should consume about 1,500 calories per day and men about 1,800 calories per day. Make those calories count by eating plenty of fresh produce as well as whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and yogurt. If you want to eat animal-based proteins, emphasize seafood and poultry. Eliminate trans fat and saturated fat, often found in fast food and processed food. Eat less than 35 percent of your calories from healthy fats found in olive oil, avocado, olives and nuts. On this type of plan, you can steadily lose about 1 to 2 lbs. per week.
Lifting Weights
Lifting light hand weights, dumbbells or kettle bells strengthens you but does not burn a significant amount of fat. To raise your heart rate higher, lift weights while doing deep squats or lunges. One simple way to add a muscle-building component to your cardiovascular routine entails pumping weights. Choose lighter weights and do not grip them too tightly. Avoid swinging the weights or locking your elbows. Move fluidly and purposefully. Do biceps curls, triceps extensions, pectoral presses and shoulder raises while walking briskly.
Combination Workouts
Combination workouts feature segments that burn fat and other segments that build muscle. Boot camp workouts are a prime example, featuring a series of intense but basic exercises such as jumping jacks, squat thrusts, burpees, kicking a punching bag, climbing a rope ladder, sprinting uphill, running upstairs, military-style pushups, skipping rope and situps. Circuit training often combines these types of exercises as well, and may include equipment such as resistance exercise machines, cardiovascular exercise machines, exercise balls and weights.
Lifestyle Changes
After losing weight and getting stronger, you have a new challenges. Maintaining your weight loss will feel like an uphill battle unless you adopt weight maintenance techniques that suit your lifestyle. Set healthy, achievable goals, such as replacing dessert with fresh fruit except on holidays, or filling half of your plate with fresh vegetables at every meal. Stay strong and active by choosing combination workouts that suit your preferences and your schedule.
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