How to Cut Fat and Build Muscle

Eating well and exercising are the best ways to lose fat and gain muscle.

Trying to lose extra fat and gain muscle at the same time may not be easy, but it is possible if you do it right. Eating healthy meals while working out regularly will keep your body running efficiently so you can get results. Your body needs energy to perform, and it also needs the right amount of exercise to build muscle, so giving it the fuel it needs will get you to your goal. Strike a balance in your exercise routine and diet so that you can stay healthy while toning your body.

Instructions

1. Eat fat-burning foods. Eat foods that not only are low in fat but also increase your heart rate and help you build muscle. Foods such as lean meat, chicken, eggs, oranges, apples, garlic, fish, yogurt and spicy foods such as chili peppers are all healthy foods that are low in calories and fat but rich in the vitamins and protein needed to build muscle.

2. Lift weights. The easiest way to build muscle is to lift weights, but this is also the easiest way to burn fat as well. Your body needs more calories to maintain muscle than it does fat, so adding more muscle to your body will cause your body to burn more calories. Your body burns fat before muscle, so it will start to burn off your fat to get the calories it needs.

3. Perform cardiovascular exercises. Cardiovascular exercises such as running, hiking, biking or aerobics will help help increase your heart rate and burn off extra calories as well as tone your muscles. Do these exercises for at least 30 minutes a day on days when you are not lifting weights.

4. Eat more frequently. Skipping meals and cutting back on food slows your metabolism and can lead to binging. Eat small meals frequently throughout the day, or eat healthy snacks in between meals to keep you feeling full. This will also prevent your body from storing calories, which it does when it is not getting enough calories in between meals.

5. Set a workout schedule and stick to it. Schedule cardiovascular exercises one day and then weightlifting the next day with one or two days off each week to rest. Alternating days will help you strike a balance between muscle-building and fat-burning exercises and will give your muscles time to rest and rebuild between weightlifting sessions.

References

• Body Building: Build Muscle & Lose Fat Simultaneously
• Fat Free Kitchen: Fat Burning Foods