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Weight Loss Questions - Gaining Weight
Quickly and Losing Weight Slowly
Weight Loss Question:
Why do I gain weight really quick but I have an
extremely hard time losing the pounds and building the muscle? I wish I could
have a nicely toned body!
Weight Loss Answer:
When you tend to gain weight very quickly, you need
to really focus on your food intake and your level of activity. It may be from
overeating junk food or high sugar food. Or, it may be from cutting back on your
physical exercise. The worst case scenario is the combination of eating a poor
diet and being sedentary (no exercise). This will really start packing the pounds
on.
Always remember this:
- Fuel The Body with
a nutritionally dense diet
- Build The Muscle with weight training
- Burn The Fat with cardio exercise
I would not recommend
losing more than 1 pound per week for healthily weight loss. The reason for this
has do to with the issues which quick and drastic weight loss can have on your
body's metabolism and muscle mass. When you lose a lot of weight quickly, you
really need to strictly monitor where this weight is coming from. Is it water
weight, body fat or muscle mass? The majority of the time, it unfortunately comes
from lean muscle mass and this is exactly what will cause serious issues with
your metabolism. Muscle is your body's most potent and active tissue for burning
calories and body fat. Its basically your body's "furnace" which you
want to always keep burning hot. When someone loses a lot of weight, which usually
comes from crash dieting or some other unhealthy way of dropping the weight, the
body's lean muscle mass is cannibalized and you lose some of your biggest "power"
tissue for keeping a lean body.
The worst thing is when the person finally
decides to get off the diet and start eating again. Their calories go back up,
but since their BMR (basal metabolic rate) is lowered and they have lost muscle
mass, the end result is they pack on the body fat very quickly! Ever heard of
the term "yo-yo" dieting. This is the reason why tons of people have
issues and hard times with their weight loss plans.
My advice is to focus
on creating a max 500 calorie deficit per day which equates out to an overall
3,500 calories per week (1 pound of body fat). Create this overall 500 calorie
deficit through a 250 calorie drop in your diet and another 250 burned with an
exercise routine. This is the healthiest way to lose body fat while keeping your
muscle mass and having your body run at an optimal level. It will also provide
you with a much better plan to permanently keep the weight off forever!
For your diet, focus on getting enough protein throughout the day by choosing
lean items like chicken breast, egg whites, turkey breast and fish. Also, make
sure to eliminate all empty calories like soda, high sugar fruit juices, candy
and fast food. Try and eat several small and nutritious meals throughout the day.
By cleaning up your diet, you should see a vast improvement in your physique.
Its also extremely important to keep a diet journal of your nutritional intake.
This way you will be able to track where all your calories are coming from and
really monitor your intake. You can download our free diet journals here:
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