Best Things You Can Do To Maintain or Lose Weight (and Build Muscle!)

Building muscle and burning fat is easy once you get the hang of it, but there are things that you can do to accelerate your progress or even shed some remaining body fat if you've hit your weight goal but want to adjust your body composition. Here are a few tips.

Lift Weights
Schedule 3-4 times per week of heavy lifting and you will build muscle, while dropping body fat. Weightlifting has proven to have muscle preserving benefits when you are in a calorie deficit.

Increase Your Protein Intake
Eating protein can help you feel fuller longer and it requires more energy to tear down ingested protein sources, which means your body burns an extra 100 calories per day. 

Walk Every Day
Aim to walk 5 miles every day. It doesn't have to be all at once. 

Reduce Carbohydrate Intake Three Days a Week
Nobody is advocating for a low carb diet here, but plenty of studies have shown reducing one's carbohydrate intake here and there can promote fat loss. Drop your carbohydrate intake to 100 grams per day three times a week. This is simply done if you have fruit and veggies throughout the day with your protein instead of grains or potatoes.
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​Stop Drink Sugary Drinks
Sugary drinks will kill your progress. And not just sodas and juices; think chocolate milk (why do bodybuilders still drink that shuuugary stuff?), beer, wine, booze, Gatorade, and anything else with a syrup in it. Simply drink water because all of these drinks are empty calories that will prompt your body to put on weight.