How Can I Rebuild Muscles After Illness & Loss of Weight?

Rebuilding muscle following an illness can be a lengthy process. You'll need to boost your immune system to help conquer fatigue. This can be accomplished by taking vitamins, getting plenty of sleep and eating healthy foods. Also, a slow and steady workout routine will increase your energy and begin to tone and rebuild your muscles.

Things You'll Need

• Healthy food
• Dietician
• Free weights

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Instructions

• 1

  Exercise before you eat. By doing a low to moderate level of cardiovascular exercise such as walking, jogging or biking, you can boost your metabolism without hindering your appetite. If you overwork yourself, however, you run the risk of compromising your appetite and may experience nausea or fatigue. Low levels of exercise in the morning jump starts your metabolism and increases appetite. When your appetite increases, it's easier for you to consume more muscle building food such as protein. This will increase muscle gain more quickly.

• 2

  Eat healthy meals and snacks. Avoid soda, candy and fried or greasy foods. These foods offer little nutrition and, although they may help you gain weight, the weight will be in the form of fat and not muscle. Eat plenty of lean meats, vegetables, fruit and grains. These types of food will provide energy and will help strengthen your immune system and muscle-building capabilities.

• 3

  Eat more often. When you are hungry for a large meal eat it, even if it's at an odd hour. If you are wanting to build muscle it's important to eat when your body tells you too. If you find that this still isn't working, put yourself on an eating schedule. Practice eating three full meals per day with healthy snacks in between. These meals and snacks should include plenty of vegetables and lean meats such as poultry. Turkey and chicken contain high levels of protein and low levels of fat. This helps ensure that the weight you are gaining is largely due to an increase in muscle mass.

• 4

  Consult with a dietician. A dietician can establish a diet that is perfect for your recovery from illness and loss of muscle weight. Building muscle can be a battle if you're working against your body type or genetics as some people are naturally less muscular than others. Take a look at the body types of your immediate family members. This will usually give you a gauge of where you fall in the spectrum. By being aware of your muscle weight capacity, you can better gauge the appropriate muscle gain goals.

• 5

  Perform strength training exercises. If you do an excessive amount of cardiovascular exercise, you may find yourself unintentionally losing weight. By using free weights or performing toning exercises such as lunges, squats, crunches and push-ups, you can build muscle without a lot of equipment.

• 6

  Consume protein powder. Protein powder can be added to beverages such as milk -- and some powders can be added to certain foods like mashed potatoes. Protein is the main food component that will help you to build muscle mass. Consume protein several times per day, especially before you do weightlifting exercises. This will increase your muscle building capabilities and will provide you will added energy for a more efficient workout.