The first of a two part article discussing the need for some type of weight resistance or strenght training exercise during any type of weight loss diet.

Did you know that strength training is crucial for successfully losing weight and keeping it off? I’m talking about weight-bearing exercise. It doesn’t have to be a huge,Guest Posting hulking workout where you’re trying to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime, it just has to be some basic strength training.

Why is strength training important for losing weight? Strength training is important because many people try to starve themselves into weight loss. They think it’s all about controlling calories. Unfortunately, a lot of dieticians and nutritionists don’t really understand strength training, and they also think that it’s just about calories: Calories in, and calories out. You consume extra calories, you’ll gain body fat. If you have a calorie deficit, you’re going to lose weight.

While this may be true, this approach is only part of the picture. Sure, you need a calorie deficit to lose weight, but how does your body actually use calories?It’s your lean body mass – that muscle mass underneath your body fat – that burns calories 24/7, allowing you to actually eat more calories without gaining weight.

Let’s say you happen to be quite obese and you have a high percentage of body fat. I used to be in that situation; I know what it feels like. Underneath that body fat you actually have a very strong skeleton and strong muscles. Your body has built up those muscles in order to carry all of that extra body fat when you move your body. Just the very act of standing up, walking across a parking lot, going up a flight of stairs or lifting your arms requires more effort when you’re overweight, especially if you’re obese. So the heavier you are, the stronger your muscles have to be just to allow you to do basic, everyday things.

Now this can actually work to your advantage – if you manage to keep all of that muscle mass and bone density in place while you are losing body fat, then you can maintain the high metabolism that’s associated with that lean body mass even while you are dropping body fat. But if you starve yourself, you’re going to lose all the muscle resources you already have. It’s a mistake a lot of people make. They try to lose body fat by starving themselves, and as the body fat vanishes from their body, their muscle mass also disappears. Why would the body get rid of muscle mass? Because, frankly, it doesn’t need it.

Your body adapts to the need. You see, the body is an adaptive system. It will adapt to whatever loads you place on it. So if you are a heavier person and you’re carrying around body fat, then your body will adapt by creating stronger muscles to lift your body. It’s almost like doing a leg press every time you get up out of the chair. If you weigh 300 lbs., you’re doing a 300 lb. leg press, you see? Now if you were to drop 150 lbs. of body fat, and end up at 150 lbs., your body wouldn’t need the same amount of leg muscle to lift you. It would eliminate those leg muscles through catabolic action.

While it is eliminating this muscle mass, your metabolism begins to slow. Remember, it’s the lean body mass that’s burning calories day in and day out, even when you’re doing nothing.  Fat Burner For Men  If you reduce that muscle mass by allowing it to go away (by not challenging your muscles), then your metabolism is going to slow. A lot of people end up at a place where they’ve lost the body fat and they’re lighter, but it’s suddenly so much easier to put on body fat. They don’t have the muscle mass they once did, they’re not automatically burning calories, and if they overeat just a little bit, they’ll start packing on the body fat again.

Strength train while losing weight. The solution to all of this – the strategy I want to focus on here – is to engage in strength training while you are losing body fat. If you do this, then you will be able to maintain the muscle mass that you already have underneath your body fat while you are in the process of losing the fat. This will leave you with a greater proportion of lean body mass to body fat, meaning that you will be slimmer, yet you’ll have the muscles that you had when you were overweight.

If you get rid of enough body fat in this way, then those muscles may begin to show – if you’re a man. If you’re a woman, don’t worry. You’re never going to bulk up. A lot of women are mistakenly afraid of strength training. They think that if they pump a few weights they’re going to turn into Lou Ferrigno overnight. They think they’re going to have this competition muscle-bound body from lifting a couple of weights. Believe me, that is not the case at all. Most bodybuilding women have trained for years, even decades, just to produce that kind of muscle mass. Women are not built to puts on lots of muscle mass, so don’t be afraid that you’ll bulk up. Women who are afraid of exercising because they think it’s going to make them look bigger have it all wrong.