Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Burn the Fat and Keep the Muscle, It's Not Impossible!

By Ricardo d Argence

The reason why most people choose to go on a diet or exercise is not because they are concerned about the amount of unsightly muscle on their body. It is a sad fact that this is the idea that most people bring to losing weight.

Due to which, they reduce pounds but this is in form of reducing muscles size, whose weight is greater then fats. Fortunately, it is possible to maintain the muscle mass you have and still lose weight.

The mistake most people make when trying to lose weight is to dramatically cut down their intake of calories. On one hand this makes perfect sense, because every 3,000 calories you take in but don't burn off is going to add an additional pound to your weight. Unfortunately, this is the worst tactic you could try if you don't want to lose muscle.

In primary case there is storage of fat in your body, which is for the need as an energy supply depot in case you suffer from starvation due to short supply of food. That is what it is called when you are not eating enough to sustain your life.

Your body does not automatically use up its stockpiles because you have stopped your calorie intake. Those are the emergency, last resort rations.

So you don't need as many calories in the first place which makes it harder for you to lose weight,first, your body is going to convert your muscle mass into energy and that's going to slow your metabolism.

A better plan is to gradually reduce your calorie intake and let your body adjust to the changes. For example, you might reduce your calories by 10% the first week, another 10% the second week, and so on. This prevents your body from going into starvation mode.

Using proper types of exercise is key in burning fat instead of muscle. It is recommended by the majority of fitness coaches and health experts that one should focus on workouts geared toward the cardiovascular system. As your body becomes stronger, you are able to increase your workout, which makes your body even stronger.

However, you need to add some weight training to that recipe at least 2 to 3 times a week. That way you'll be replenishing lost muscle and adding new muscle mass. This is good because muscle requires more calories than fat. If you have a lot of lean muscle mass in your body, your metabolism is going to increase which means you'll burn off more calories and lose weight.

Muscle tone is another benefit you will see if you add some weight training into the mix. Many people end up flabby because they do not exercise properly or lose weight too quickly.

While plastic surgery can help with that problem a lot, those procedures are expensive and come with a lot of risk. Exercising while you lose weight is the best way to increase your muscle tone and to prevent loose skin. - 15995

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