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How many of us have thought how difficult it is to lose weight? I have been struggling since having kids and middle age. Whew!
Losing weight can be a lifelong battle. Particularly if you have reached a certain age. Don’t even get me started about being in my 40s! Once your body gets to a set point, it’s always going to be more difficult to bounce back. There are a multitude of reasons for the issues that people experience when they attempt to lose weight on a deadline or within a time frame that they think is acceptable. For one, it’s stressful!
Interestingly, the difficulty people have in building muscle or toning up is often completely ignored. People tend to assume that it’s easier to build muscle than to lose weight. This isn’t always the case and it’s actually far easier to put on muscle if you are able to convert fat stores. So, let’s look at some of the reasons why it’s more difficult for people to lose weight and the steps that you can take to solve the problems here.
Metabolism
First, you should think about issues with metabolism. Your metabolism will always have a huge impact on how easy or indeed difficult it is to lose weight and get in shape. Similarly, your metabolism also plays a part in how easy it is for you to put on muscle. If you have a fast metabolism, then you probably find it hard to put on any weight. This is good if you want to remain slim but not great if you’re hoping to build up muscle. Celebrities – in particular male celebs – have this problem all the time. That’s why so many of them resort to unconventional methods to build up the muscle and we’re not going to discuss that here.
So the question is, can you slow down your metabolism to ensure that it’s easier for you to gain weight, even over a limited period of time. The good news is that you can change the speed of your metabolism. But it will require you to make substantial changes to your lifestyle. We’re going to discuss some of these changes a little further down.
The Wrong Type Of Workout
Next, let’s think about your workout plan. It’s easy to assume that every workout is going to deliver the results that you hoped for. However, that’s just not the case. If you want to build up muscle, you need a specific type of workout otherwise you won’t gain the results that you were hoping for. If you’re not sure which type of workout is going to deliver the benefits that you need, then it might be worth thinking about speaking to a personal trainer. The benefit of using a personal trainer is that they can keep you on the right track with your exercise strategy.
Alternatively, you could also think about joining an exercise class. This will provide similar benefits because you will be surrounded by people who have goals that are remarkably similar to your own. As such, they can help push you forward in the right direction.
If you don’t complete the right type of exercise, then it’s likely that you are going to end up losing weight rather than putting on muscle. In the worst-case scenario, you could actually start burning muscle instead of fat, effectively, making your body far weaker overall.
Diet Trouble
Another key point to consider is your diet. If you are struggling to put on muscle, nine times out of ten, it’s going to be due to something you’re eating or that you’re not eating. It could also be connected to your diet pattern. For instance, it’s going to be harder to put on muscle if you eat food in the typical three sets of meal-a-day routine. Instead, you should be thinking about eating healthy meals far more regularly throughout the day. Small meals are a great way to ensure that you are boosting your body’s ability to break them down and convert them into muscle.
If you are quite slender, then you’re also going to need to think about eating large quantities of food. Essentially, you have to boost your calorie intake so that you can make the right changes to your physique overall.
In terms of what you should include in your diet, you need to make sure that you are getting the right amount of protein. It’s often quite difficult to ensure that you are getting the high levels of protein that you need to change your muscle levels. As such, you might want to think about exploring options like protein bars. You can get healthy protein bars that taste good. These are a great way to guarantee that you are easily getting the protein that you need each and every day without any issues.
Sleep
You might also want to think about sleep levels. The problem with low levels of sleep is that your body isn’t going to be getting the right amount of rest to build up muscle. To boost muscle levels, your body needs to be able to break things down. It can only do this while you are sleeping.
So, if you want to increase your muscle mass, then you need to think about how to solve the problems that are stopping you from getting the right night of sleep that you need. One of the ways that you can do this is by making sure that you do think about your sleep environment. Believe it or not, issues with your sleep environment are often going to be more than enough to keep you up and awake through the night. The good news is that this can be as simple as buying a more comfortable bed.
Exercising a couple hours before you sleep can also help ensure that you’re tired enough to get the rest your body deserves. This is why nighttime gyms exist.
Time
Finally, you need to make sure that you do understand how long it’s going to take to build up muscle. This isn’t something that is going to happen overnight unless you are using extra support methods that we don’t recommend. You need to be ready to commit to this possibility for the long haul.
For instance, you should think about looking at your progress after six months or even a year, instead of exploring progress after a couple of weeks. The likelihood is that you’re not going to see any substantial change after this amount of time that you can write home about.
Another point to consider is whether you are putting in the work to see the right level of results that you hoped for. In most cases, you won’t be because it’s all too easy to get side tracked or not stick with the routine that you planned out originally.
That’s why you should make sure that you are using a tracking app. The right tracking solution will ensure that you always know how much work you are putting into your fitness plan and whether or not you are on target overall.
These are just some of the reasons why you might be struggling to put on extra muscle and what you can do about it. Remember, the amount of noticeable muscle doesn’t dictate levels of fitness. You can be fit and healthy with very little noticeable muscle and the opposite can also be true. You can have an incredibly muscular physique and have significant health issues that are essentially being masked. Speak with a medical professional and a fitness trainer for the best tips to achieve your specific goals.
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