does lifting weights and a good diet burn fat?
Apr 29th, 2009 by admin
Lift weights 5 times a week for 30 mins each session. I also eat healthy with little fat and do alot of walking. I’m underweight and need to put on weight. Will eating more calories while doing this put on muscle or fat?
I am a runner and triathlete. As such I’ve always been on the thin side. But I’ve always been really strong. I lift weights in the off season. But I have a different purpose for lifting weights. I lift relatively light weights with a lot of repetition. This gives me better flexibility, better tone, and prevents injuries from running. But the way I do it, I don’t gain weight, either fat or muscle. I big myth of healthy diets is that they are low in fats. The truth is, a health diet has a good balance of “good” fat. These good fats include nuts, avocados, fatty fish, etc. Your body needs fats to be healthy, and it will increase your endurance. Now, to answer you question. Lifting weights can burn fat, depending on your intensity. Your body burns calories in this sequence: First, sugars; Second, fats; Third, muscle. If you are “overlifing” in your thirty minute exercise, you are actually removing muscle and damaging your body. The trick is moderation. Keep your heart rate within range, and combine your weightlifting with sensible cardio exercise. Eating more calories while your lifting will probably put on muscle. Eating too many calories will put on a higher proportion of fat. There’s more mathmatics involvedss, as you need to figure out how many calories you burn in a day, then eat just a little more than that to gain muscle mass. Good luck. It sounds like you are on the right track.
When you put on weight, some of it will be fat, some of it will be muscle. Inevitably. The difference is that when you eat a lot and exercise, your nutrients are preferentially shunted to muscle building rather than fat storage.
I’m not 100% certain of the precise numbers, but without exercise, we’re looking at a muscle to fat ratio of about 20:80.
With exercise, the muscle to fat ratio can go up to 70:30.
References :
I am a physiologist, nutritionist and trainer. Those figures are from Dr. Lonnie Lowery, a professor of nutrition whom I highly respect.
The answer to your question is yes. Greater muscle mass means a higher metabolic rate. Are you following a split routine? Be sure not to train the same muscles on consecutive days and make sure you consume enough protein, you will gain some muscle. However if you are very underweight maybe you should cut down on the walking.
References :
I am a runner and triathlete. As such I’ve always been on the thin side. But I’ve always been really strong. I lift weights in the off season. But I have a different purpose for lifting weights. I lift relatively light weights with a lot of repetition. This gives me better flexibility, better tone, and prevents injuries from running. But the way I do it, I don’t gain weight, either fat or muscle.
I big myth of healthy diets is that they are low in fats. The truth is, a health diet has a good balance of “good” fat. These good fats include nuts, avocados, fatty fish, etc. Your body needs fats to be healthy, and it will increase your endurance.
Now, to answer you question. Lifting weights can burn fat, depending on your intensity. Your body burns calories in this sequence: First, sugars; Second, fats; Third, muscle. If you are “overlifing” in your thirty minute exercise, you are actually removing muscle and damaging your body. The trick is moderation. Keep your heart rate within range, and combine your weightlifting with sensible cardio exercise.
Eating more calories while your lifting will probably put on muscle. Eating too many calories will put on a higher proportion of fat. There’s more mathmatics involvedss, as you need to figure out how many calories you burn in a day, then eat just a little more than that to gain muscle mass.
Good luck. It sounds like you are on the right track.
References :
Triathlete.