How to Build Muscles With Weight Loss

Lean muscle mass is the secret ingredient to losing weight. The reason is because muscles burn calories. One pound of muscle burns about 50 more calories per day than other types of tissue. According to Christian Finn, an expert in the exercise science field, it can be difficult to build muscle mass while also losing weight as both things have different demands. Building muscles generally involves consuming energy in the form of calories. Alternately, losing weight involves consuming less energy in the form of calories. It is possible to build muscle while also losing weight. However, the results are not likely to be equal; there may be more muscle gained than fat weight lost, or more fat weight lost than muscle gained.

Things You'll Need

• Gym membership or free weights
• Protein-rich foods
• Protein powder or shakes (Optional)

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Instructions

Instructions

• 1

  Add more protein to your diet. Protein is integral in building lean muscle mass. Consume 1/2g of protein for every pound of body mass. Some good sources of protein include chicken, eggs and beans. If it's difficult to consume enough protein through food alone, try supplementing your diet with protein shakes. You can purchase them in powder form or premade.

• 2

  Drastically reduce the amount of carbohydrates and sugar that you consume. One reason that this is important is that if you are going to consume the amount of protein necessary in your diet, you will have to restrict calories in other areas so as not to gain fat weight along with muscle. In addition, reducing nutrition free carbohydrates will keep your blood sugar stable, which also reduces hunger and cravings. This will help you attain your weight loss goals.

• 3

  Incorporate weight training. This can be done at home using free weights or home gym equipment, or at a commercial gym. The exact fitness plan followed is not as important as consistency. Aim to weight train three days per week. One day can be a full body weight training day. Another day can concentrate on the upper body and the other can be reserved for the lower body. That is just one option to follow. The key is to give your body sufficient rest in between workouts to allow it to build your muscles, while working out often enough to challenge your system.

• 4

  Move your body. While weight training is a key to building muscle, as well as burning calories and fat, aerobic exercise is important as well. However, it's important to not do too much aerobic exercise as muscle needs to be retained. There are several types of aerobic exercise that can be done including jogging, swimming and biking. Aim for three to four sessions per week at 45 minutes per session.