Gaining Weight and Muscle Mass
How to properly gain weight

If all the extra calories you may be consuming to gain weight just goes to your waist, you may be consuming the wrong foods. As one famous body builder says "feed the muscle, burn the fat".

That is true for body builders and those that are trying to lose weight. Ironically the same methods used by dieters can also be used by people trying to increase body weight.

Gaining weight and building muscle mass are closely related. The problem with exercise alone is that you burn a lot calories but not much fat. Sure working out helps you add muscle mass but you need to feed that muscle too. Many nutritionist and body builders recommend consuming a lot of protein before and after working out. This will help you keep and build up your muscle mass.

This may sound contradictory but those high protein nutritional shakes that people drink to lose weight have the opposite effect for people who already have a proper diet and exercise regularly.

Protein shakes and drinks in addition to a healthy diet and exercise can help you to gain weight. So, yes exercising does help you to build muscle but if done in excess it can burn muscle tissue. When proper nutrition and moderate exercise are combined you should see your weight go up in the right places, and your fatty areas decrease.

If you are just adding inches to your waist and no where else your digestive system may not be working at top efficiency. If food isn't processed through the body quickly most of the nutrients in the food are not absorbed and leads to hunger and more eating. The problem is the fat in food has more opportunity to be absorbed into your body. Then it just hangs out in all the wrong places (i.e. love-handles, spare-tire and thunder-thighs).

Again, this may sound contradictory but those body cleansing programs people use to lose weight are also recommended by many body builders and nutritionist for people who want to add weight. The idea is that body cleansing detoxifies the body. This allows you to absorb more nutrients and eliminate more waste, which leads to building muscle and less fat absorption.

Remember this credo "to lose weight, you need to consume less calories than you burn". The corollary to this is "to gain weight, consume more calories than you burn". But, too gain weight in the right places requires a muscle building program. Many bodybuilders and nutritionists recommend balancing protein intake with proper nutrition and exercise to lose or gain weight. Again, when you combine proper nutrition with moderate exercise and extra protein you should see your muscle mass go up and your waistline go down.

Good luck, hope this helps.

See Also:
Herbal Enhancers - Supplement your healthy lifestyle
Meal Planner Guides - Learn about proper nutrition for weight gain or loss.
Herbal Nutrition Store - For all your nutritional needs.
Vitamin Facts more information on vitamins and minerals.

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