How can i be sure then when exercising im losing fat not gaining muscle?

Question

Im trying to lose weight - following a healthy diet and have lost 17lbs but now i feel better and healthier i have started exercising - doing sit ups - cycling, walking and shadow boxing - but how can i do this to just burn fat not build muscle - i dont want to gain all the weight i have already lost.

Please help :)

Answer 1

rest assured you aren't building muscle with those types of exercises and especially not on a low calorie diet. building muscle is not as easy as the masses would like to believe. the only way to know for sure is to get your body fat analyzed,

Answer 2

Build Ripped Muscle Fast

Answer 3

It's not about the # on the scale. Gaining muscle will help you lose fat faster and change your shape. Muscle is what give you that tones look. At first you might gain a pound or two but once your body adjusts you'll see and feel a change. Not gaining muscle isn't healthy for your body.

Answer 4

Do cardio [20-30 minutes a day] first thing in the morning before you eat to help increase metabolism and burn fat. Either weightlifting regime you choose will work, but a lot of people work specific parts on different days because they can hit them harder. Also, on leg days, it really hits your nervous system and you are worn out. Muscle helps burn fat so you can't lose really.

Answer 5

Unless you exercise prodiciously (several hours/day) you will not gain "unsightly" muscle. But gaining muscle is helpful in losing weight. Muscle burns more energy. Muscle also turns your metabolism up - keeping you warmer in the winter & burning more energy even when idle.

Answer 6

If you do more reps with lower weights (cardio workouts), that will burn more fat.... if you do fewer reps with higher weights (weight lifting), that will build more muscle (like getting larger and stronger muscles).

In general, cardio workouts won't build much muscle very quickly... it's negligible in comparison to weight lifting, but you will build some whenever you work out. However, doing cardio will develop the muscles you're using (typically the fast-twitch muscles). You won't get really strong really fast with cardio workouts, but your muscles will typically get faster and more efficient (meaning they will burn more calories when you work out, which will burn more fat).
As an example, I've been in Tae Kwon Do for 3 months now (VERY good cardio workout, by the way). My muscles have gotten much faster, a little stronger, and much more efficient.

Answer 7

You should buy a body fat caliper to make sure that you're actually losing fat and not muscle.

If your diet does not have a sufficient amount of protein, you can risk losing muscle. So just make sure you're getting in some and you should be fine.

Answer 8

gaining muscle is a good thing!! It makes it harder for you to get fat. No one cares how much you weigh as long as you're a small size and healthy.

Answer 9

Please build muscle, muscle takes up far less space than fat, and burns 50x more calories. You will be leaner, and burn more calories even when you're not exercising.

Answer 10

When you do exercises repeatably theres no danger in gaining muscle.