The human race is putting a great deal more emphasis on health lately, and one of the issues that we face is getting to a healthy weight, without losing healthy muscle. If this is a concern of yours, you need to know how to get more muscle from healthy foods.
Why We Lose Muscle Dieting
We tend to lose healthy muscle when we are dieting because we severely limit foods. The body is self preserving, and when you deprive it of food, it will literally start feeding on itself – primarily from muscle.
This is why eating is such an essential part of any weight loss program. You want to supply your body with the food that it needs to burn for energy, and foods that will more or less direct the body to burn fat for excess energy sources, instead of muscle.
Nutrition Information to Retain Muscle and Lose Fat
If you want to eat healthy to build or retain muscle, you need protein. Protein comes from poultry, meat, eggs, fish, nuts, and beans. You also need vegetables, and green vegetables are the healthiest. Fruit is important for the vitamins and minerals that it contains, and experts agree that you should include one fruit with each meal. You also need whole grain foods to use for energy. This includes oats, rice, breads, and even pasta, but these foods should be greatly limited.
Surprisingly, your diet needs fat as well. The best type of fat to consume is fat that contains Omega 3 fatty acids, such as fish and olive oil. You also need to make sure that you are hydrating the body properly with water. Experts agree that you need approximately one liter of water for every 1000 calories that you burn.
You Must Exercise for Healthy Muscle
You can eat healthy all of the time and still not have healthy muscle. You must combine healthy food with healthy exercise to obtain healthy muscle, and there is no way around this. Additionally, you must be doing the right type of exercise.
The best exercise for building muscle is strength training exercises, such as lifting weights. You should be participating in strength training exercises at least three times per week, for thirty minutes at a time. You must also do exercises that get your heart rate up, such as aerobics two to three times a week. What this means is that for overall great health and healthy muscle, you need to be exercising at least five times a week.