Lose Weight & Put on Muscle Fast

The best way to lose weight and to gain muscle is through an effective diet program and regular strength-building activity. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. This requires both better eating habits and consistency. The addition of increased muscle coupled with losing weight will create a more healthy body and generate more natural energy.

Diet Plan
Never skip meals. To lose weight, you need to increase metabolism, which allows the body to burn more calories. To accomplish this, eat more often. When you skip meals, the body stores higher levels of fat, because of a defense mechanism the body uses when it feels deprived it of food. Adding snacks such as fresh fruit and low-fat yogurt can help to stave off hunger pangs and supply the body with healthy calories.

Eating breakfast is a must. "Not eating breakfast may reduce your metabolic rate by 10 percent," says Leslie Bonci, R.D., M.P.H., director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The major benefit of eating breakfast is your metabolism is provided with a powerful boost that helps burn calories and provides the body with energy. If pressed for time, you can eat a breakfast bar, a cup of fruit or oatmeal. None of these take longer than a couple of minutes.

Don't eat large meals. It's important to eat the correct portion size. Restaurants typically provide an excessive amount of food. Avoid eating everything on the plate. Your stomach is approximately the size of a fist. When you start to feel full, it is actually the expansion of the stomach that you feel. Don't eat until you feel that way. Eat the properly prescribed serving size for your daily calorie intake. Your recommended calorie amount is based on your height, weight and weight loss goals.

Strength Training
Strength training provides a tremendous weight loss benefit as well as a muscle building component. Lift light weights with a higher rep count to maximize your weight loss and muscle tone. The weight you select is largely dependent on your current ability. Pick a weight that creates muscle fatigue after the twelfth rep. When this becomes so easy that you can do fifteen or more reps, it's time to increase the weight. This strength building program should be performed no more than two or three days per week for about 20 to 30 minute sessions. Rather than going quickly through each exercise, focus on doing each lift and lower slowly and accurately. This provides the muscles with the most benefit.

Weight Training Options
To complete your strength building program, there is no need to join a gym or purchase expensive equipment. You can perform all the strength building exercises you need from using the resistance of your own body weight. You can do pull-ups, push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges and leg raises. With the addition of a couple dumbbells or a barbell, you can perform any activity within the comforts of your own home. However, if you gain motivation from attending a gym, you can complete your training there as well. Select exercises that work all the major muscle groups to maximize your weight loss and muscle building.