How to Build Muscle Without Gaining Fat

Eat less and increase cardio to lose fat.

According to Men's Total Fitness, gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is nearly impossible, with an exception: beginners. "People who are just starting a weight-training program can gain a significant amount of muscle mass while losing fat," the site states. The problem is that the body requires opposing types of training to achieve each goal. Building muscle requires energy--consuming more calories than you are burning in a day, or overfeeding. To lose weight, the exact opposite is required--eating fewer calories that you burn, or underfeeding. Trying to do both at the same time is frustrating for most people. Alternating muscle-building and fat loss goals different weeks or months is a good way to achieve maximum muscle size and weight loss without getting discouraged.

Things You'll Need

• Workout shoes
• Free weights
• Paper and pencil
• Nutrition journal

Instructions

Lose the Fat

1. 

   Keep a food journal.

   Keep a diet journal to become familiar with your own eating habits. Try the online food tracker SparkPeople; it is free, easy to use and has an abundance of resources.

2. 

   Eat frequent small meals.

   Switch to a diet of 40 percent carbohydrates, 40 percent protein and 20 percent fats as recommended by the Bodybuilding website. Reduce calorie intake to below maintenance level. Eat every 3 hours to keep metabolism pumping at maximum efficiency.

3. 

   Green beans are a good source of carbohydrates.

   Keep simple carbohydrates to a minimum, focusing instead on complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, whole grains, sweet potatoes and green beans. Dairy products and fruit should be all but eliminated from the diet at this time because they contain simple carbohydrates. Remove sugar, candy, soda and sweets from the diet. Good lean sources of protein are fish, chicken, turkey and tuna.

4. 

   Cardio is a necessity.

   Do more sets using less weight during weight training during the fat loss phase, according to Bodybuilding. Another recommendation is to include high intensity interval training to burn the most fat for at least 45 minutes six times per week to produce the best results for fat loss.

Build Muscle

1. 

   Eat extra protein to build muscle.

   Eat more food, but not junk. Increase calories by a few hundred. Add about 2 g protein and 2 g carbohydrates to add muscle tissue.

2. 

   Increase amount of weight.

   Increase weight and do fewer repetitions. Increase rest periods between sets.

3. 

   Build muscles.

   Switch up the exercise routine every month to avoid plateauing. Muscle confusion is important to continued progress. Reduce cardio training to two to three times per week.

Tips & Warnings

• See your doctor before starting any diet and exercise program.

References

• Bodybuilding for You: How to Lose the Most Fat and Build the Most Muscle in 30 Days
• Men's Total Fitness: How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time
• The Facts About Fitness: Lose Fat, Gain Muscle: How to Do It

Resources

• Weight Loss HQ
• SparkPeople