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Is Your Diet Suited To Weight Loss Or Muscle Building?

By Russ Howe


Despite the popularity of gyms around the world, most people do not know how to lose weight and keep it off. The same goes for building muscle - most people have no idea how to correct their diet in order to maximize lean muscular gains.

You needn't worry, though. Learning how to do this is not very complex at all.

Both weight loss and lean muscle gain can be attributed to one particular aspect of your diet and that is your calorific intake. If you consume less calories, the general rule is that you will lose some pounds. Likewise, those who increase their calorie intake should expect to see an increase when they step on to the scales.

When it comes to packing on lean muscle, we need to talk about things in a little bit more detail. Rather than just sorting out your calorie intake, it would make sense to look at how to optimize what those calories are made of. []

There is more than enough conflicting information out there to over complicate the process of dieting. That's why so many people at your local gym are completely lost. However, it's not very difficult to set yourself some proven, effective goals.

* Daily calorie target = your body weight in pounds multiplied by 15.

So for someone who wanted to be 180 lbs, they would multiply 180 x 15. This will give that individual a daily calorie target of 2700.

* Your protein intake = Total calories x 30%, divided by four.

So for the individual in question, we'd establish that 30% of 2700 is 810. Then we divide this number by 4 and it will tell us the number of grams per day of protein which would be optimal for our diet. The answer in this case is 202 grams.

* Carbohydrates = 55% of your calories for the day. Divide the answer by 4 to get this in grams.

Our highest intake when trying to bulk up is carbohydrates. We need 371 grams per day for the individual in question here. That's because we need 55% of our calorie target coming from carb sources.

* Fats = 15% of our calorie target, divided by 9.

Our body still needs to consume fats if we are going to achieve our fitness goals. It is a vital macronutrient. So to establish your fat intake, we need 15% of our calorie goal. This is 405. We then divide this by 9, which is the number of calories in one gram of fat, and we can see that our daily intake of fats should be around 45 grams.

The difference between bulking up safely and cleanly, as opposed to simply eating everything in sight, is the fine line which separates those who add good size from those who simply add a ton of fat. You don't want to gain size on your arms at the expense of your gut, of course. Learning the science behind how to lose weight and build lean muscle can be a confusing affair, so playing around with the principles is a key factor in striking a balance which suits your individual body.




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