How to Lose Weight without Gaining Muscle

How to Lose Weight without Gaining Muscle

How to lose weight without gaining muscle... sometimes, when people seek to lose weight, they change their diet and incorporate a variety of exercises to burn excess body fat. As a result, some people put on muscle mass when they embark on a new fitness or weight loss regimen. If you're already pleased with the amount of muscle your body has, or you're concerned about gaining muscle mass while trying to shed weight, there are some things you can do to limit the likelihood of adding muscle to your frame.

Step 1
Create a daily calorie deficit in your diet. To lose fat without gaining muscle, the most important thing you can do is diet. There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, so creating a daily calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories will help you shed one to two pounds per week. If you create a bigger deficit to lose weight faster, you will likely lose both fat and muscle, with less permanent results. Eat a diet of lean proteins, fresh produce, whole-grain carbohydrates and healthy fats.

Step 2
Avoid resistance training and high-intensity exercises. Weight training is an effective way to build muscle. In addition, high-intensity cardio exercises, such as sprints, circuit training and plyometrics, are likely to stimulate muscle growth and should be avoided.

Step 3
Perform low-intensity, steady-state cardio. Any form of exercise has the potential to generate muscle, but long, steady sessions or low-intensity exercises like walking or cycling will help you burn fat without acting as intense catalyst for muscle growth.

Warnings
Talk with your physician before making any changes to your exercise or diet regimen. Make sure your weight loss goals remain focused on health and well-being. Concentrating too hard on getting "skinny" can put you at risk for developing an eating or exercise disorder.

Tips
Remember that muscle isn't necessarily a bad thing. If your primary concern is your jean size, you can lose fat and reduce your size while putting on a little muscle. In fact, even a small amount of extra muscle mass will raise your metabolism and help you to burn more calories at rest.


http://www.livestrong.com/article/37119-lose-weight-not-gain/ - How to Lose Weight without Gaining Muscle