Gaining lean muscle is not a complicated process. One must simply make the choice to exercise regularly as well as make dietary decisions that help to burn fat and gain muscle. Both weight loss and muscle gain require some knowledge of what good and bad foods are and how weight loss works. There is a simple calculation for burning calories. As long as the calculation is followed and the proper diet is used, gaining lean muscle can be fairly easy. It will also not take a long period of time to see results. Within 30 days the average person will begin to see drastic changes.
The first step in gaining muscle is to review eating and exercise habits. Foods that cause the body to gain a lot of fat should be replaced with things that encourage muscle growth. High protein foods such as eggs, fish, chicken, turkey, beans, and other meats should be consumed instead of high carbohydrate foods and products with high sugar content. Begin by making a list of fatty foods and junk foods and cutting them from the diet. For example, instead of having a bowl of ice cream, have a bowl of apples instead. Replace snack cakes with protein energy drinks.
Another part of the process of losing fat and gaining muscle is watching calorie intake. The body only needs a certain amount of calories a day in order to maintain weight. Use calculators and daily recommendation charts as a guide. If weight loss is desired, subtract 3,500 calories for each pound of fat that is to be lost. For instance, for a person who has a daily caloric intake of 2,000 calories, he or she might want to drop 500 calories each day throughout the week to lose one pound in one week’s time.
Finally, exercise will help to gain lean muscle. Cardiovascular activities such as running and bicycling will help get the heart jumping and burn calories. These processes will also help to lose fat. Area specific exercises such as weight lifting, ab machine usage, and leg lifting contraptions will put emphasis on certain groups of muscles. Area specific exercises should be done at the discretion of the person who desires to lose weight. Whatever area of the body the muscles are desired should be the areas worked after cardiovascular exercises are done.
