How do I make sure I’m building muscle and not losing weight?
I’ve started exercising quite a lot (anaerobic) but am slightly underweight and female. I want to gain strength rather than be visibly muscular, but I’m scared that exercising like this might make me lose weight instead. Would using protein shakes prevent this from happening?
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May 31st, 2010 at 5:50 am
Focus on strength training, not cardio. Cardio burns fat, strength training builds muscle.
Also, eat plenty of calories (healthy ones!) to fuel your body for the workouts you are doing. Protein shakes are a plus when doing muscle building workouts as the muscles need protein to grow. Eat plenty throughout the day, and have a shake within 30 mins of your workout(s). My preferences are low calorie versions but since you aren’t watching your weight use whatever brand you enjoy the flavor of (some are quite nasty).
Good luck!
May 31st, 2010 at 6:34 am
If you are looking to become generally stronger and become slightly less skinny then i advise that you eat plenty of calories – no empty ones! Eat plenty of protein, minerals and vitamins.
Things such as speed skipping, the planking exercise, high knees, heel flicks and stomach crunches are all good for building strength and don’t show visible muscle growth, also trampolining is good for general fitness!
Hope this helps!!!
May 31st, 2010 at 6:43 am
Anyone trying to lost weight fast should look into the Acai Berry. It is one of the most nutritional foods on earth. The high vitamins and anti-oxidents in Acai contributes to rapid weight loss.
May 31st, 2010 at 6:57 am
Hey.. James here.. perhaps my story can be of some guidance/help to you…
I’m 6’2 and around a year and half ago weighed about 130 pounds or so. I was incredibly skinny and real flimsy looking. For a little over half a year I was trying everthing I possibly could to gain muscle mass. I’ve tried all kinds of different muscle building programs, all types of different supplements, and nothing seemed to work. I just stayed skinny and wasn’t gaining any weight or muscle at all and it seemed really useless to even continue trying.
Eventually one day I came across this site >> http://www.buildmuscle.pcti-system.com .. which a couple of friends of mine referred me to and which I kept hearing about from different people on muscle building forums and what not. It worked incredibly well for me.. it’s a muscle building program which seems to be more geared towards hardgainers… since I’ve been following it I’ve gained almost 50 pounds standing at around 180 now most of which is muscle and all of this happend very quickly. I still have about 20 pounds to go to reach my goal of 200… and it seems to be taking me a while to break this plateu of 180 but I’m sure I will make it there. I wish you all the best in your muscle building endevours and hope my story helped some. Take care!
May 31st, 2010 at 7:50 am
I found this on this website. There are more tips and info.
1. If what you are eating has less than 1 carb, count it as 1 carb just to be sure.
2. Totally avoid caffine at least for the first two weeks on the program.
3. Drink a MINIMUM of 8 glasses of plain water or seltzer daily.
4. Don’t weigh yourself more than once a week
5. Take starting measurements as well as weight – sometimes you’ll lose inches before pounds
6. Avoid any type of “low carb” sweetener for the first two weeks
7. Don’t compare your loss to someone else’s – this is a YMMV thing (your milage may vary)
8. Stalls are common around the third week so don’t panic
9. If you follow your plan to the T and don’t lose, consider Candida as a possibility and avoid vinegar, cheese, mushrooms and any other fermented food
10. Have bloodwork done before starting so you have a comparison
11. Cholesterol can be elevated in the first few weeks til your body adjusts – make sure your doctor knows that you’re doing low carb and when you started
12. Don’t blame the diet if you don’t read your plan book — blame the diet if you don’t read the labels — Don’t blame the diet if you don’t follow the diet
May 31st, 2010 at 7:53 am
Here are my ten top tips to tip the scales your way:
CREATE YOUR OWN VIRTUAL REALITY.
# EAT NUTRITIOUS WHOLE FOODS.
# ELIMINATE HIGH GLYCEMIC FOODS.
# DRINK PLENTY OF PURE LIQUIDS.
# MOVE YOUR BODY. BUILD MUSCLE.
# INCREASE HIGH FIBER FOODS.
# CUT OUT BAD FATS, ADD GOOD ONES.
# ENJOY DOING IT YOUR WAY.
# HAVE A SIMPLE ORGANIZED PLAN.
# FORGIVE YOURSELF AND MOVE ON.
May 31st, 2010 at 8:35 am
Loosing weight fast is always an unhealthy thing.
There are many diets who tell you that you can loose a lot of weight in no time. And it is working, but you are doing no good to your body. And there’s also the Jojo-effect.
The best thing to loose and hold a healthy weight is healthy food, less sugar, lots of drinking water, and sports.
Diet has to begin in your head. And you already started to think about your nutrition. That’s an important step. It is too easy just to make a magazine-diet for 2-3 weeks and loose some weight. But it will come back soon again. If you are over-thinking your nutrition and activity, you will have a constantly good result. Isn’t that much better and healthier than a crash-diet ?
Take care,
🙂
May 31st, 2010 at 8:35 am
Hi there,
I think you might be getting a little mixed up with what you want exactly. You say that you want to lose “weight” but that means you might want to get rid of some muscle too. You then say that you’d like to “shape” (I’d call it tone) your body a little which implies you want to build some muscle. I’m not trying to pick at your question – I just want to clarify the point for you.
To answer it in the best way, I am going to look at it as if you want to get rid of fat AND build muscle at the same time. If you’re looking to “trim” and “tone” your body, and espectially because you suggest you are not that overweight, I would suggest you start performing more intensive aerobic exercises such as jogging. I wouldn’t think you need to change the whole way you eat or go on a diet because if you’re wanting to build muscles – it’s better to do it all with exercise.
Exercises like jogging won’t exactly “build” your muscles on your stomach but they will help reduce the extra fat around there. Depending on how fit you are, you should go on daily or bi-daily jogs of around a mile. To build muscles, you should concentrate on anaerobic exercises such as sit-ups to help build muscles.
These muscle-building exercises will give your muscles the toning and training they need to grow and become more prominent. To start to see a real difference with sit-ups, you should be looking to do no more than 100 every day (more than that will often hurt your muscles).
If you stick to doing those two forms of exercise – jogging and sit-ups, you should see real improvements in a week or two. Remember, you should do them as often as you can (I.E every single day).
May 31st, 2010 at 8:39 am
Loosing weight fast is always an unhealthy thing.
There are many diets who tell you that you can loose a lot of weight in no time. And it is working, but you are doing no good to your body. And there’s also the Jojo-effect.
The best thing to loose and hold a healthy weight is healthy food, less sugar, lots of drinking water, and sports.
Diet has to begin in your head. And you already started to think about your nutrition. That’s an important step. It is too easy just to make a magazine-diet for 2-3 weeks and loose some weight. But it will come back soon again. If you are over-thinking your nutrition and activity, you will have a constantly good result. Isn’t that much better and healthier than a crash-diet ?
Take care,
🙂
May 31st, 2010 at 9:26 am
Weight loss is a tricky topic. Lots of people are unhappy with their present weight, but most aren’t sure how to change it – and many would be better off staying where they are. You may want to look like the models or actors in magazines and on TV, but those goals might not be healthy or realistic for you. Besides, no magical diet or pill will make you look like someone else.
So what should you do about weight control?
May 31st, 2010 at 10:17 am
Weight loss is a tricky topic. Lots of people are unhappy with their present weight, but most aren’t sure how to change it – and many would be better off staying where they are. You may want to look like the models or actors in magazines and on TV, but those goals might not be healthy or realistic for you. Besides, no magical diet or pill will make you look like someone else.
So what should you do about weight control?
May 31st, 2010 at 10:22 am
Weight loss is a tricky topic. Lots of people are unhappy with their present weight, but most aren’t sure how to change it – and many would be better off staying where they are. You may want to look like the models or actors in magazines and on TV, but those goals might not be healthy or realistic for you. Besides, no magical diet or pill will make you look like someone else.
So what should you do about weight control?
May 31st, 2010 at 11:17 am
as long as u eat the right foods, and excersice regulary i don’t think u have much to worry about
by nikki
May 31st, 2010 at 11:38 am
Loosing weight fast is always an unhealthy thing.
There are many diets who tell you that you can loose a lot of weight in no time. And it is working, but you are doing no good to your body. And there’s also the Jojo-effect.
The best thing to loose and hold a healthy weight is healthy food, less sugar, lots of drinking water, and sports.
Diet has to begin in your head. And you already started to think about your nutrition. That’s an important step. It is too easy just to make a magazine-diet for 2-3 weeks and loose some weight. But it will come back soon again. If you are over-thinking your nutrition and activity, you will have a constantly good result. Isn’t that much better and healthier than a crash-diet ?
Take care,
🙂