Lose weight and Gain Muscles

conkoskinas5

How is the best way to reduce stress,Lose weight and gain Muscles?

nossmf

There is no one "best way" that applies to everybody. Some people find peace through walks in nature, or through putting on a pair of headphones and walking/running for distance. Others prefer passive motions, like yoga and tai-chi. Still others prefer martial arts, or dancing, wall-climbing, playing organized sports, swimming…and the list goes on and on.

Personally, my therapy for both mind and body is weightlifting. Exerting my will on solid chunks of iron, making them move because I wish it. And for those days when stress is really rearing up, it's amazing how much better you can feel after a session with a medicine ball, slamming it as hard as possible onto the ground, imagining the source of your stress being pounded flatter with every heave…

Point is any physical activity can help reduce stress and encourage muscular activation, while proper nutrition takes care of the losing weight portion. That is, if you find an activity which you can enjoy, and thus continue to do regularly. (A rock climber who climbs every day and enjoys it will get stronger than a weightlifter who goes once a week and hates it.)

AnnPT77

Good advice from nossmf, as usual.

I'd add this: There are many options for stress reduction, and what works best can differ individually. Yes, exercise for sure is one.

Other options:

Get rid of the stressors where you can. Minimize contact with toxic people and things. Manage your own reactions to the stressors in ways that don't make the situation worse. I know that those things aren't always possible, but where possible they're the most powerful.

Beyond that, people use lots of tactics: Being outdoors in nature, prayer/meditation, absorbing hobbies (maybe creative ones, if that appeals), calming music, stretching/yoga, hot bubble baths (aromatherapy?), adult coloring books, and more. Experiment to find your formula.

To lose weight, I think the easiest and most direct thing is to eat a reasonable number of calories: Not crazy extreme low calories, because that adds physical and psychological stress, right? Manageably below current weight-maintenance calories is fine. Counting calories is a predictable way of accomplishing that, but not the only way. (I'm old. People lost weight even before calorie counting apps made counting practical. I saw it happen.)

For gaining muscle, any strength-challenging activity can be a good contributor. As nossmf points out, weight lifting is the most effective and efficient, but not the only way. It took a super long time and consistency, but my happy hobby of rowing boats added meaningful muscle for me . . . it just took a lot of time and volume. That was cool, because I wanted to do that activity that much anyway: The strength/muscle gain was a bonus.

One thing to know - a sad thing. Muscle mass gain is a slow process under the best of circumstances. Initial strength gains can be quite fast, and deceive people into thinking there's muscle mass gain. But initial gains are mainly from "neuromuscular adaptation", better recruiting and using existing muscle fibers. When that's mostly tapped out is when the body will really start being willing to add new muscle fibers. That's the slow part. But both strength improvement and mass gain are good things, useful in daily life, good for health.

On top of that, weight loss isn't the ideal context for gaining muscle mass. Strength training is still worth doing while losing, though. Did you know that overweight people tend to have more muscle mass than demographically similar, similarly active people who aren't overweight? It's from carrying that extra weight through the world every day. Strength exercise while losing weight helps keep more of that mass. So does choosing a slow loss rate, and getting good overall nutrition, especially but not exclusively ample protein. (As a bonus, many people find protein to be filling, which helps them stick with slightly lowered calories more easily.)

Success is out there, and I'm cheering for you to achieve it. With commitment and persistence, you can get there.

Best wishes!

nathan6smith

If you want to add muscle, best way is to consistently put them through demanding exercise with adequate rest after. Make sure to hit your protein goals, 1 gram per 1lb body weight daily. Carbs will also help to fuel muscles during workouts and recovery.

For stress, for me, decluttering my life, using a daily planner, finding faith, and admitting I cannot control everything went a long way.

To lose weight, put yourself in around a 500 calorie deficit from your maintenance, which is what calories you need to maintain your current weight. Focus on protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats.

Do not base results on what the scale tells you. Because you are putting on muscle and decreasing fat content the number shown on the scale will not be indicative of what is really happening with your body.

These are the basics that you should know, there are more complexities but they are not as important as what is listed above

AnnPT77

Someone who is very overweight does not need 1g of protein per pound of obese body weight. Using a healthy goal weight as the basis is reasonable. For overweight women, shooting for 1g per pound of obese weight can make getting other essential nutrition very difficult on even reasonable reduced calorie intake. (How do I know? I've been that obese woman.) I know OP is male, but the principle applies.

A good rate of muscle mass gain for an average-sized person would be around a pound a month for women, 2 pounds a month for men, under ideal circumstances. Ideal circumstances include that good progressive strength program faithfully followed, that good overall nutrition including the ample protein, favorable genetics, relative youth, and a calorie surplus (i.e., weight gain), among other things.

It's not that it's impossible to gain muscle mass in a deficit, or when lacking in some of those characteristics, but realistically it's likely to be slower. It's still worth pursuing.

I'm not trying to be complex or discouraging, but I think it's reasonable to tell people new to this that no realistic rate of muscle mass gain is likely to outpace any satisfying fat loss rate that will show up on the scale over a few weeks. During a calorie deficit, what shows up on the scale in the few-weeks timeline is mostly about body fat changes or water retention/digestive waste levels.

A true 500 calorie deficit is around a pound a week weight loss. Even if the person is male and gaining muscle mass at a stellar rate for those circumstances, say half a pound of new mass a week, they'd expect to be around two pounds lighter in a month.

It's important to understand that the scale doesn't accurately reflect body composition - even the BIA ones - but also to be realistic about the time scale it's reasonable to expect for those composition changes.