A common misconception is that while losing weight, your fat will change into muscle.
Another misconception if you're skinny, is that you eat a lot and still can't gain weight.
Both are false no matter who you are
Both are false no matter who you are
Both of these misconceptions will be explained in this thread along with tips for each 'body type'.
You can change how your body looks
Most people know this but don't take action to change their lifestyle. Becoming who you want to be is all mental and up to you.
Most people know this but don't take action to change their lifestyle. Becoming who you want to be is all mental and up to you.
P1 Losing weight
In order to lose fat, your diet has to change. Your diet is the most important aspect of change in the process of losing weight. Simply put, if you eat too many calories, you'll gain weight. If you eat just enough calories you'll maintain the same weight. In order to lose weight, you need to eat less calories than you burn off in a day.
The best way to do this is to track the calories of everything you eat during the course of the day. Use a calorie tracking application or pen and paper. A food scale makes for much more accurate assessments. To get an estimate on how much you should be eating, you need to figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE (calculate it here or here). If you want to lose fat, eat under your TDEE. The better idea is to remain conservative and stay within 500 calories below, respectively."
Recording your weight every couple of weeks helps you gauge if you should eat more or less depending on your progress. If you're losing more than ~2lbs a week then you might want to eat a little more. If you're gaining weight you may want to lower your caloric intake.
Q: Can I lose fat and build muscle at the same time?
The ability to gain muscle while losing fat is dependent on the relationship between your fatness and muscularity. An overly-fat and under-trained person will be able to achieve simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain. The key word here is simultaneous, your fat will not become muscle but you'll be able to build a 'base' for yourself if you train and lose fat at the same time.
Once your diet is in place, you can start to exercise.
I found this on another website and it really helps with training depending on your goals.
Strength/Barbells
Starting Strength
Strong Lifts 5x5
Greyskull LP
The Average F'n Program
No Equipment / At Home
Startbodyweight Basic Routine
/r/bodyweightfitness Beginner Routine
NerdFitness' Beginner Bodyweight Workout
Bodyweight 666
Muscle Mass/Aestetics
Ice Cream Fitness 5x5
AWR's Beginner Workouts
Arnold's Golden Six Routine
FIT Beginner Mass Routine
Casey Butt's Beginner Routine
P2 Gain Muscle
In order to gain mass/muscle you must eat above your TDEE by ~500 calories.
The best way to do this is to track the calories of everything you eat during the course of the day. Use a calorie tracking application or pen and paper. A food scale makes for much more accurate assessments. To get an estimate on how much you should be eating, you need to figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE (calculate it here or here). If you want to gain muscle, eat over your TDEE. The better idea is to remain conservative and stay within 500 calories above, respectively."
Recording your weight every couple of weeks helps you gauge if you should eat more or less depending on your progress. If you're gaining more than ~2lbs a week then you might want to eat a little less. If you're losing weight you may want to increase your caloric intake.
This is the only way to gain weight. When you actually start counting calories you'll figure out that you never ate enough food before.
For training you also want to follow a training program that suits you. I recommend Strong Lifts 5x5 because there is a iPhone app that records all your workouts and tracks your progress since you started. Also, as a beginner, you'll gain muscle very fast.
In order to lose fat, your diet has to change. Your diet is the most important aspect of change in the process of losing weight. Simply put, if you eat too many calories, you'll gain weight. If you eat just enough calories you'll maintain the same weight. In order to lose weight, you need to eat less calories than you burn off in a day.
The best way to do this is to track the calories of everything you eat during the course of the day. Use a calorie tracking application or pen and paper. A food scale makes for much more accurate assessments. To get an estimate on how much you should be eating, you need to figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE (calculate it here or here). If you want to lose fat, eat under your TDEE. The better idea is to remain conservative and stay within 500 calories below, respectively."
Recording your weight every couple of weeks helps you gauge if you should eat more or less depending on your progress. If you're losing more than ~2lbs a week then you might want to eat a little more. If you're gaining weight you may want to lower your caloric intake.
Q: Can I lose fat and build muscle at the same time?
The ability to gain muscle while losing fat is dependent on the relationship between your fatness and muscularity. An overly-fat and under-trained person will be able to achieve simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain. The key word here is simultaneous, your fat will not become muscle but you'll be able to build a 'base' for yourself if you train and lose fat at the same time.
Once your diet is in place, you can start to exercise.
I found this on another website and it really helps with training depending on your goals.
Strength/Barbells
Starting Strength
Strong Lifts 5x5
Greyskull LP
The Average F'n Program
No Equipment / At Home
Startbodyweight Basic Routine
/r/bodyweightfitness Beginner Routine
NerdFitness' Beginner Bodyweight Workout
Bodyweight 666
Muscle Mass/Aestetics
Ice Cream Fitness 5x5
AWR's Beginner Workouts
Arnold's Golden Six Routine
FIT Beginner Mass Routine
Casey Butt's Beginner Routine
P2 Gain Muscle
In order to gain mass/muscle you must eat above your TDEE by ~500 calories.
The best way to do this is to track the calories of everything you eat during the course of the day. Use a calorie tracking application or pen and paper. A food scale makes for much more accurate assessments. To get an estimate on how much you should be eating, you need to figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE (calculate it here or here). If you want to gain muscle, eat over your TDEE. The better idea is to remain conservative and stay within 500 calories above, respectively."
Recording your weight every couple of weeks helps you gauge if you should eat more or less depending on your progress. If you're gaining more than ~2lbs a week then you might want to eat a little less. If you're losing weight you may want to increase your caloric intake.
This is the only way to gain weight. When you actually start counting calories you'll figure out that you never ate enough food before.
For training you also want to follow a training program that suits you. I recommend Strong Lifts 5x5 because there is a iPhone app that records all your workouts and tracks your progress since you started. Also, as a beginner, you'll gain muscle very fast.
Strength/Barbells
Starting Strength
Strong Lifts 5x5
Greyskull LP
The Average F'n Program
[size=medium]No Equipment / At Home
Startbodyweight Basic Routine
/r/bodyweightfitness Beginner Routine
NerdFitness' Beginner Bodyweight Workout
Bodyweight 666
Muscle Mass/Aestetics
Ice Cream Fitness 5x5
AWR's Beginner Workouts
Arnold's Golden Six Routine
FIT Beginner Mass Routine
Casey Butt's Beginner Routine
[/size]
High calorie foods to help you gain weight quick:
- Rice
- Chicken
- Peanut butter
- Milk
- Bread
- Olive oil
- Eggs
- Yogurt
- Cottage cheese
- Oats
- Granola
- Trail mix
- Crackers
- etc...
For more resources and info you can check out this link: Fitness Resources
