Effective ways to lose weight and gain muscle

Question

I am a 21 year old male, overweight with BMI 27.6, body fat 21.5%. My goal is to lose weight and gain muscle. I am no expert in fitness so I'm here hoping to gain professional insight.

My plan:

I go to the gym Mon through Fri.

Mon, Wed, Fri I use the Peloton Spin Bike for 45 minutes, where following their spin classes I burn about 500 Cal. Then I lift weights for 30 minutes.

I then drink a protein shake: Pure Protein Whey protein, milk, one banana and one teaspoon of peanut butter.

Tuesday and Thursday I simply spin bike for 60 minutes (about 600 Cal) and do some ab workouts. No protein drinks.

1. Does drinking the shake itself work against my efforts to lose weight?
2. Am I going about this the right way? Is it ok health-wise?
3. Generally speaking, what else should I do to effectively lose weight and gain muscle? Would you recommend following a health-fitness mobile app such as MyFitnessPal? Perhaps something more detailed and accurate?

Answer 1

1. Does drinking the shake itself work against my efforts to lose weight?

It counts against your daily calories, same as anything else you eat. Other than that though, there's nothing specific to protein shakes that would inhibit weight loss.

Do be careful though; not all protein shakes are the same. Some of them, especially the "mass gainer" shakes, use a lot of sugar.

2. Am I going about this the right way? Is it ok health-wise?

If you're going to do both cardio and weights, then you want to lift weights first, and then do your cardio. You need a lot of energy to lift weights, and doing cardio first will rob you of that energy. Doing the weights first will allow you to lift heavier, which will lead to more muscle growth (which allows you to lift heavier . . .).

3. Generally speaking, what else should I do to effectively lose weight and gain muscle? Would you recommend following a health-fitness mobile app such as MyFitnessPal? Perhaps something more detailed and accurate?

Yes! You absolutely need a way to track your calories and macros (carbs, fats, and protein). My fitness pal is just as good as the next calorie tracker. It isn't perfectly accurate (none of them are), but it is VASTLY superior to guesswork and mental math.

As for fat loss in general, you need to find out what your daily caloric needs are. There are calculators (like this one: https://tdeecalculator.net/) that can help you determine how many calories you need per day.

Ultimately though, it all depends your body, genetics, and daily activity levels. So you need to experiment a little to find out what works for you:

1. Weigh yourself
2. Start with whatever daily calorie limit the calculator gives you.
3. Stick to that limit every day for one week
4. Weigh yourself again
   • If you weigh the same (or more), lower the calorie limit by 500 calories
   • If you weigh less, then continue with your current limit

And finally, a word on protein. Your muscles need protein to grow. How much protein per day? Anywhere from 0.5g to 1g protein per pound of body weight. Again, it depends on your body, and how much muscle you're looking to build. Adjust as needed, same as with your calories.

Best of luck.

Answer 2

If you want grow more muscle, i recommand to do more weightlifting. Cardio is good, but if you have a nice diet weightlifting will help you more than massive amount of cardio. Be sure to do basic exercices: pull up, rowing, squat (front is better for avoid injury), bench press, lunge, etc.

In long term, you will look better than just massive amount of cardio with a bit of weighlifting.

About your questions:

1. Yes i will not help to loose weight. But i will help to grow muscle if you don't have enought proteins by day (arround 1.5g/2g per kg per day is enough)

2. Yes it's health-wise, but like i said previously, if you want more muscle, do less cardio and more weightlifting (or start with weightlifting to have more energy).

3. Have a better diet is the key. Avoid all junk food, avoids all process food. Take a lot a fruits and vegetable, fish (omega 3), meat, eggs. An app is not necessary, if you want result, just don't skip workout and don't eat shit, and it will be good !