Scientifically speaking, a calorie is the amount of energy that is required for 1 gram of water to rise 1 degree Celsius.  Err, great, right?

That doesn’t tell us too much, or at least tell us anything matters. Instead, what you need to keep in mind when you think of calories is energy. That is the guiding principle, calories are energy. As a result, everything will turn on how much energy goes into your body (through food) and how much energy goes out (through activity).

Every individual expands a certain amount of energy per a 24 hour period (we’ll use this time frame, because it’s the easiest to deal with), however, that obviously varies depending on how much activity you perform in that time frame. People who work in an office all day will not have the same activity level as someone who is working construction. Nonetheless, here’s the good part…every second you are burning calories, yes, even while sitting and reading this article (your basic bodily functions require them). The bad news? It’s not a whole bunch of calories, so don’t get too excited.

What’s important to grasp is that our body is constantly going through an energy process, where we feed it energy in the form of calories from food, and it then uses that food to expand energy to let you do whatever it is you want to do. Depending on your activity levels per day, your energy expenditure will differentiate or stay relatively identical each day depending on whether your days follow a regular routine.

Keeping this in mind, it is easy to see (at least conceptually) how an individual wishing to alter their body weight can do so through the manipulation of calories. If they’re trying to lose fat, they’ll keep their calorie amounts lower than their daily caloric expenditures (‘dieting’), while those trying to put on some muscle mass will up the amount of food they eat in order to make sure they feed their bodies enough to grow. How can you know how much you should be eating in order to lose fat or gain muscle? Check out our maintenance calories article, where we discuss how many calories are required to maintain your weight. Once you know your maintenance, you can then begin your journey and use calories to your advantage in order to achieve your results.

Calories are the building blocks, they’re what allow you to function. However, they also make you put on unwanted weight or keep you skinny because you don’t want to eat. Figure out your maintenance, and you can begin your journey towards achieving a great body. Good Luck!

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You’ve heard this, apparently it’s the holy grail of what not to do when you’re attempting to achieve results in the gym. Although it certainly won’t aid you in your quest quite like some grilled chicken can, it also doesn’t have to hurt you. Ah, bet you didn’t know that! Before you get overly-ecstatic, that doesn’t mean you can go binging every night and expect to upkeep a great physique, I think that’s obvious. However, for those that like to enjoy the night-life or anybody going out to get some drinks for an occasion, I’m here to tell you that alcohol doesn’t have to be your worst nightmare. Alcohol and Fitness don’t necessarily have to be polar opposites, as long as you are smart about it.

To re-hash the basic principle of whether one puts on weight or loses it, we need to understand that what truly matters is Calories In vs. Calories Out. Each person has a maintenance calorie amount that they require per day in order to stay at the weight they currently are, which means that that is the amount of calories required by their bodies to maintain them in their current state. As the principle suggests, the transformation of your body revolves around whether more calories come in, or out of your body. If the former, you’ll put on weight. If the latter, you’ll lose weight. Now keep in mind, over here we’re focused on fat loss if under maintenance and muscle gain if over, not simple weight fluctuations (Lose Weight vs. Lose Fat)! With that said, alcohol is evil in the sense that it is nothing but empty calories. Furthermore, it is higher than carbohydrates and protein (which are 4 calories per gram) and only lower than fat (which is 9 calories per gram) coming in at 7 calories per gram.

You can imagine that over the span of a few beers (which usually range from 100-160 calories) or shots (a bit less), things can get out of hand. This is where the main problem between Alcohol and Fitness lies, as alcohol can easily tally you way over your caloric expenditure for the day. Even for those going out one time a week, knocking in over a thousand calories from alcohol over the span of an evening will wind up harming your goals. Add in the fact that you are usually drinking mixed drinks or having chasers, the prospects only worsen. Fortunately, understanding how all of this functions can help in dealing with the caloric problems arising from the consumption of alcohol.

Since we’re dealing with total calories for the day, you can counter-act the expected extra calories from alcohol and either negate them fully or lower the overall damage for the day with a combination of dieting throughout the day and being smart when drinking. So, let’s make a bit of alcohol and fitness work. The day of:

1) Cut carbs for the day, and up your protein intake – carbohydrates are usually the easiest to cut out, having eggs solo for breakfast is a good start. Overload on veggies throughout the day as you take in some boiled/grilled meats. Your diet for the day should be stale, but it’ll be worth it. It’s not hard to avoid bread, pasta, rice, and even potatoes for the day. Meat and veggies should be your staples, with eggs, peanut butter, cottage cheese, almonds, also good additions. This will ensure you keep your overall calories down, yet feed your body right. Since you’ll be eating humble all day, your last meal before going out should be relatively bigger compared to the others (unless you’re down to get drunk extra quick).

2) If you have protein powder, create a shake before going out - leave it in the fridge or somewhere in your room. This serves a dual purpose. Upon your return from a night out, you want to always prevent a hangover by drinking a decent amount of water. You also want to get some protein in so your body has something good to work with overnight. Two birds with one stone here, this is a must.

3) Hard-Liquor beats Beer – shots are usually about half as caloric as beer, so if you wind up going out it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stick with hard-liquor. Even if you get drinks, you’re better off as long as you stick with diet drink variations (discussed more below).

4) Avoid regular soda/juice – if you’re going to get a mixed drink, stick with diet. If you’re going to get chasers, same deal. Diet is the way to go. Keep in mind you’ll be extra-dehydrated, so make sure you’re getting water in when you come home (again, shows the importance of point #2 above). Small thing to remember for big rewards. Those sugary juices and sodas can potentially cut your caloric intake in half.

5) Avoid drunk munchies – easier said than done, and this rule is food-based but alcohol-induced so I threw it in here. If you do wind up having something, well…thanks to following the rules above, it could’ve been much worse!

Overall simple points, but they are integral to your overall success of mixing alcohol and fitness together. You don’t want your hard work being impeded for no reason, yet you also don’t want to lose out on night life (if you’re into that). The two are certainly not brothers, but they are not worst enemies either. You just have to make sure you stick to the calories in vs. calories out principle, and be smart the day of your event. Furthermore, if you know you are really going to go at it that night, it’s important that you regulate that day diet well. For someone going out for a casual drink or two, their diet certainly won’t have to be as strict and low during the day as for someone who is fully attempting to not remember the night. The more you expect to drink, the stricter your diet during the day should be. Cut calories accordingly. Also, do not try to outsmart the system and starve yourself during the day or survive on a protein shake or two. Sorry, things don’t work that way. You are only hurting yourself by punishing your body instead of preparing it for the night. Good luck!

*As a tip, here’s some estimated calories for popular drinks:

Shot – 50-70 calories (gin, whiskey, tequila, vodka, rum)

Regular Beer – 150 calories

Light Beer – 110 calories

Red or White Wine – 80 calories (standard 4.2 ounce wine glass)

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Protein is an essential macro-nutrient that is absolutely vital to muscle recovery and growth. This is uncontested. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that it is almost inevitable that people will wind up buying protein powder if they are avid gym goers. It just feels like the right thing to do. Hit the gym, train hard, come home and down a protein shake. That’s perfectly fine, but many people misunderstand the role protein powder plays in helping them achieve their results. They believe the labels on the tubs, and think by drinking protein shakes they will “get big”, “lean”, or “muscular.” However, although a very common misconception, it is indeed a misconception. Let’s clear it up.

Whether you are trying to put on size, or you’re trying to lose some fat, caloric intake is your #1 priority. There are a certain amount of calories that, at your particular weight, make you hold that weight. Meaning, if you eat that amount of calories, you will stay at your weight because that is the amount of calories your body burns each day. Therefore, to make up for those burned calories, you must eat that same amount. Sounds simple, no? If you eat less, over time you’ll lose weight. If you eat more, over time you’ll put on weight. This is the concept of maintenance calories. Remember it!

With that said, there’s a certain amount of protein that you need per day. As a gym goer, that amount is higher than your average individual. Nonetheless, it is usually anywhere from 30-40% of your daily calories. How do you reach that amount? You usually eat foods that are high in protein (grilled chicken, steak, eggs, salmon, etc.). Many people, however, supplement with protein shakes. This is literally, the extent of a protein shake’s worth. Unlike the advertisements on the protein powder labels, or in fitness magazines, the only benefit they confer on an individual is provide them with added protein for the day. They are a supplement.

In other words, they don’t magically make you grow muscle. Well, they can certainly help. However, the mere act of drinking a protein shake will not magically make you grow muscle. There’s nothing in the protein powder you’ve chosen that makes it do anything other than give you a dose of protein (usually anywhere from 20-30 grams – or about 15-20% of what an average gym goer needs for the day). Protein shakes will not make you put on size, they will not make you tone, they will not make you lose fat. Protein powder is simply protein, the same protein that is in grilled chicken (let’s ignore the food vs. powder debate). Whatever grilled chicken does to you, that’s what protein powder does for you. It’s really that simple.

Now, can you drink 4 shakes a day if you want? Sure, is it required? Not at all. Many people don’t even use protein powder, because they get enough protein from eating their daily foods. If you focus on foods that have high protein counts, and are consistent, protein powder isn’t even necessary. However, for most people it is advantageous to have a shake or two throughout the day to meet their protein quota. To supplement their protein intake. Whether they grow or not is not based on those protein shakes, but on the amount of calories they eat per day. This is the key distinction, don’t forget it.

To get results, focus on figuring out how many calories you need to eat to achieve your goals. Once you’ve figured that out, if you need to, supplement your diet with protein shakes in order to get the required amount of protein each day. If you’re eating a ton of protein-rich foods, you won’t even have to. Protein shakes are in no way essential, but they are often helpful. Next time you’re at the store, don’t count on those pesky labels that tell you the protein will do magic, and give you great results. You might as well slap those labels on that steak in the supermarket, how far will that get you? Well, to the same place. Protein is protein! For a very related topic that covers this and other similar concepts, visit our Supplements Surely Produce Results, Right? article. Good Luck!

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Calculating maintenance calories is the first and foremost step that needs to be taken before an individual can specifically target losing weight or building muscle mass. Maintenance calories, in this regard, are the fundamental starting point that can’t be omitted if you are really serious about achieving your fitness goals. After all, if you don’t know how many calories are needed to maintain your weight, how can you possibly know how many calories you need to lose weight or gain muscle? Let’s begin with the basics.

Calories In vs. Calories Out:

Following the basic laws of science, if you take in more calories through food per day than you wind up burning through activity that same day, over time you will put on weight. On the other hand, if you take in less calories than you wind up burning, over time you will lose weight. Of course, the key is consistency once you figure out your particular goal of weight loss or muscle gain. You can’t be all over the place (irregular) with your intakes if you wish to succeed.

Following this concept, how will you know if you’re over your maintenance calories or under if you don’t know that maintenance in the first place? Well, you can adjust your diet and weigh yourself each week, noting the results and making changes as you go along. However, that’s not exactly what we’re here for, right? Successful results take time, but with the same token, we can’t be wasting valuable time attempting to figure out if what we’re doing each week will yield results. It’s too troublesome, and often times you can wind up staying the same weight and losing a week of results in the process. Adding to this dilemma, irregularity in daily caloric intake can greatly hamper results, since you don’t bother counting calories as there’s no goal amount that you’ve established in the first place. Sounds like an escalating mountain of obstacles? It is. Fortunately, you’re here because you want to figure out your maintenance calories, and we’re glad to help you.

There are two very well known equations that you can use, and I’m not going to tell you which one is better because they are both popular equations for figuring out maintenance calories. Your best bet is to use both, and average out the final number for the best guesstimation.

Harris-Benedict equation: Maintenance (Men) = 66.47 + (6.23*your weight in pounds) + (12.67*your height in inches) – (6.76*age in years)

Maintenance (Women) = 655 + (4.34*your weight in pounds) + (4.69*your height in inches) – (4.68*age in years)

This method was the original method developed in 1919, it’s still very useful to this day (otherwise we wouldn’t be sharing it with you!)

Mifflin equation: Maintenance (Men) = (10*weight in kilograms) + (6.25*height in centimeters) – (5*age in years) + 5

Maintenance (Women) = (10*weight in kilograms) + (6.25*height in centimeters) – (5*age in years) -161

This method is pretty recent and takes into account our more modern lifestyle.

The two methods obviously have different measuring standards so here are the conversions:

1 inch = 2.54cm (Ex. Someone 6 feet tall (6*12 inches = 72 inches)(72*2.54cm =182.88cm)

2.204 pounds = 1 kilogram (Ex. Someone who is 180 pounds = 180/2.204 = 81.67kg)

______________________________________________________________________________

Before you go on with the calculations, you have to keep in mind that these numbers will be a guesstimate. You will not know the exact number no matter what you do, but you can definitely come close enough to where the difference is negligible. Furthermore, the end amount that will come from these equations will be determined without factoring in your activity levels. This is a very important problem, because although the calories needed to maintain weight may be the same for individuals with eerily similar stats, their activity levels might be extremely different and make that calculated maintenance quite a bit off. Clearly, the number you get from these equations will work better for an individual who lives a sedentary lifestyle (office job) as opposed to someone who does high a high level of activities (construction). We’re also not counting any gym-going.

In order to solve this problem, we can go about it in 2 different ways:

1) Shortcut Method:
Upon calculating your maintenance calories from the equations above, you can go buy the Jawbone Up3 Activity Tracker. It’s not necessary to do so, but if you want to cut the amount of work you are required to do, this is the most accurate gadget of the lot. The product basically allows you to wear a wristband which counts the amount of calories you are burning not only through activity, but even simple tasks such as breathing and sleeping. What’s good about it is that it actually does this accurately, and if you’re looking for something this precise the Jawbone Up3 is the best out there. Check out our Jawbone Up3 review if you want to know more about this. If you’re not inclined to spend money, no problem! Continue on with method #2 discussed below, it’s less precise, but it will certainly get the job done.

2) Trial and Error Method:
Upon calculating your maintenance calories, we have to do a little bit of improvising. This step is important, and it’s solely up to you. You have to account for your own activity levels throughout the day and guesstimate accordingly from there. If you hit the gym a few times a week, whatever your maintenance becomes, you’ll want to up it up to 500 calories (depending on how intense you are with your workouts, etc.) If you play sports, you do the same. For a ball park figure, I’d up the calculations 250 calories, and below you’ll learn what you can do from there.

Once you’ve estimated what your maintenance is (including the slight increase mentioned just above), it’s time to put it into action. Step on the scale and measure your weight for the next 3 days, each morning upon waking after using the bathroom. Take the average weight you get and use that as your body weight. For that next week, eat at the maintenance you’ve calculated here. Of course, you don’t need to hit it perfectly, round the number to the nearest 100^th. After a week, record your weight. If you’ve dropped a bit, it means you’re in a slight caloric deficit, if you’ve gained a little, you’re on a slight surplus. Since this article is simply about calculating, we’ll finish up by saying that whatever the result is after that week, it will determine your next step.

If you’re on a surplus, drop the calories a bit. If you’re on a deficit, up the calories a little bit. Do this for another week (remember, this is the trial and error part), and you should have a steady weight at the end of that week (anything up to a pound of a difference, because we have to account for possible water weight based on the type of food you eat). Also, keep in mind that you can skip this last step if you already know what you’re trying to do. If you are attempting to lose some weight, you don’t have to up the calories and adjust to find your maintenance…just keep going with the same amount you were using and balance from there as you continue to drop weight (less weight = less calories needed to maintain = small drops in maintenance to continue at the same pace). Of course, vice versa if you’re attempting to build size. However, the step is necessary if you first want to get your maintenance for sure, so that you can track your progress perfectly from the very beginning. Including the extreme that you wind up dropping weight during the time you’re trying to find your maintenance (and you’re attempting to build size), it follows that you’ll up the calories quite a bit more to not only remove the counter-productive deficit but also go above maintenance. It might sound confusing, but it’s not! Just stick to the Calories In vs. Calories Out understanding and you’ll be fine.

(Below you’ll find some guesstimated/rounded maintenance calorie counts – little to no physical activity)

Males:

Age: 20, Height: 5’10, Weight: 180lbs – 2,200 calories

Age: 25, Height: 6’1, Weight: 200lbs – 2350 calories

Age: 30, Height: 5’7, Weight: 160lbs – 1975 calories

Females:

Age: 20, Height: 5’2, Weight: 110lbs – 1,460 calories

Age: 25, Height: 5’7, Weight: 135lbs – 1670 calories

Age: 30, Height: 5’4, Weight: 120lbs – 1500 calories

Once your maintenance calories are figured out and you’re on the right track, for best results in regards to your specific goal, visit our Calories Per Day? article so you know what the best caloric surplus/deficit is for muscle gain/fat loss respectively. Good luck!

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Simply asking “how much should I weigh for my height and age” and checking the statistics on a numerical chart will give you an answer, but when dealing with something so complex (health), do you really expect the BMI Index to provide the right answer? You cannot quantify whether you’re healthy based on a numerical chart. At best, you can identify that there’s a problem if you’re grossly disproportionate. This is so because the BMI Index deals solely with weight, not health. Weight and health are popularly substituted for each other (which explains the BMI hype in the first place), but they are not one in the same. While weight is often an indicator of health, it is only one component in an overall analysis of whether an individual is healthy. You know this, after all, doctors would run out of business if we all determined our health based on a couple numbers, no?

With that said, even when it comes to predicting whether an individual is at the “appropriate” weight for their height and age, the BMI Index runs into problems. Yes, that’s right. It isn’t even great at what it is supposed to do. Now, this is largely due to the fact it is so simple. Its simplicity does not allow it to take into account very important factors. Here’s two of its most important limitations:

• It completely ignores body fat percentage. Weight and fat are two different things. By not differentiating between muscle and fat, the BMI quickly can lead an individual astray. In fact, body fat percentage is one of the most, if not the most, important components of gauging potential health status. Ignoring it, the BMI Index creates this scenario: Individual #1 works out and weighs 180 lbs. at 10% body fat. Individual #2 lives a sedentary lifestyle and weighs 160 lbs. at 30% body fat. Imagine they are the same height and age. Individual #2, according to the BMI statistics, would be in a “healthier” weight range. Individual #1, while ripped, would apparently be overweight.
• It ignores waist size. There would be more accuracy if individuals were told to measure their waist to hip ratios (weight/hip). This is also not ideal, but it would be a step forward. Men’s ratios should be around a .8 or .9, and women’s around a .7. Instead, as illustrated above, Individual #2 (highly likely to have a gut at that body fat percentage) is shown to be erroneously at a healthier weight.

Many individuals may claim that, even with these limitations in mind, the BMI Index is solid because it is appropriate for the majority of the population. The majority does not fall into the athlete/weight-lifter category and, after all, those are really the only people who will have false readings using the index. Although it is true that the average individual will not stray much from the pack, the BMI Index falsely assumes a very low level of muscle mass and a high level of body fat when coming up with its weight ranges. Therefore, even within the non-active crowd, there is much room for variation that the simplicity of the BMI Index doesn’t acknowledge. This skews the results for anybody.

With all that said, the BMI Index is not entirely useless. If someone understands its limitations, it can provide an individual with a quick answer to this common question. It will be a generic estimate, but it can at least provide someone with a way to gauge if there’s trouble looming because the resulting numbers are far removed from the BMI chart. The key, however, is not to simply rely on it as if it answers all the questions. Use it as a tool in your arsenal, nothing more. Good Luck!

Calculating BMI:

Recommendations:

1. Below 18.5 (Underweight)
2. 18.5 to 24.9 (Ideal)
3. 25.0 to 29.9 (Overweight)
4. 30.0 and above (Obese)

Formula: Take your weight (in pounds), divide it by the square of your height (in inches), and multiply the total by 703  (for conversion purposes). As an example we’ll use a 180 pound 6’0 individual:

• 180 pounds / (72*72) = .03472*703 = 24.41

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Yes, I did not make that up. Although to some it may seem ridiculous, for those who are unaware of the validity of this entire “absorption theory” it may not seem so. So how much protein can your body really absorb at once? Certainly more than you might believe!

The whole basis of the claim that your body has a limit on how much protein it can absorb at once is…well, unfounded. It really has no valid origin that it has been derived from, and I don’t really understand how it has become such a popular myth. Well, then again I could certainly see how the supplement industry would benefit from such claims. However, its origins are far from important. What we want to focus on is dismantling this myth with some common sense explanations.

The body is a wonderful thing, and its adaptive abilities have allowed us to become the efficient species we are today. Imagine the time before agriculture, when we still had to hunt for food and would go long periods of time in between our hunts. Would all that meat we’d devour in one sitting get tossed out by our bodies because we had too much protein at once? Would the body go: “oh look, that’s about 80 grams right there….25 will do, the rest is out!”? No, it would adapt the large feed to its needs and provide energy for a long enough period to allow for another hunt.

Putting the historical factor aside, think about how our bodies function on an every day level. You have to consider the average digestion rate when looking at the question of how much protein your body can absorb at once in its entirety. If you have a regular sized meal, it takes roughly 3 hours to digest (let’s assume it is regular in its proportions of protein/carbs/fats also). This means that the amount of protein you’ve given your body is going to be digested over the course of those 3 hours. That digestion rate, in and of itself, defeats the entire purpose of the absorption theory myth. You will never be digesting anything “at once” unless you drink down excessive amounts of whey protein.

If we look at a popular diet known as intermittent fasting (IT), where individuals eat all of their calories in a 4 hour window of time each day, it further illustrates how adaptive the body is and how digestion rates play a major factor. Imagine eating 3 thousand calories in a short time span, and fasting for the remainder of the day. Do you think your body will reject the food not knowing when you will eat again? No, it will adapt. Furthermore, the time it takes to digest all that food is going to multiply.

How much protein your body can absorb at once is a question that really shouldn’t even be asked. Just know it’s nowhere close to the ridiculous limits claimed by those who cling to this common misconception. For an individual who trains hard and stresses the body enough for it to need to recover several times a week, it is imperative to feed the body what it needs to recover well. The last thing on its mind will be sorting out whether you gave it 25g of protein or a supposedly “unnecessary” 40g. Worry instead about figuring out your Maintenance Calories and working off of that number to achieve your goals of building muscle mass or losing fat.

As an ending note, the only real time I can see the body really wasting protein intake would be when the individual doesn’t even train. At which point, what’s the difference? Unless you’ve just had a very satisfying meal and you decide to chug 6 scoops of whey for fun (as you can see, I’m trying to go as far off the wall as I can while still remaining realistic), how much protein your body can absorb at once is not something you should sit and contemplate about. Feed your body well, train hard and smart (Mind Muscle!), and the results will come. For something very closely tied to this topic, check out our How Much Protein Per Day? article. Good luck!

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If we’re dealing with fat loss, we can be on track for about a pound a week loss. If we’re dealing with muscle gain, we’re going to look at a pound gain (of course, not pure muscle gain but overall weight). To know what number you require in regards to remaining at the same weight (maintenance calories), you can use the link above, it’s all there. Once you establish that number, you add or subtract the 500 calories from that number for an overall estimate and judge yourself in the mirror/scale on a regular basis. However, like I mentioned, that’s the most common number that’s used because of the math described above. We’re going to alter that a little bit for a variety of reasons.

1) Fat loss – if you are cutting, 500 calories from maintenance per day is very doable. Your body can drop fat and retain muscle (if your protein is in check along with the calories per day) at a pretty good rate, if you are getting great results from this amount, stick with it. However, a range of upwards of 750 calories per day reduced from maintenance isn’t unacceptable. You have to be the judge, based on how you’re feeling. If you clearly feel tired and weak overall, and your gym workouts are suffering as a result, it’s time to cut back on the reduction. Some people may feel tired from a 300 calorie reduction, it all depends on the individual. My main point though, is that you don’t need to stick with the 500 calories like it’s a magical number. It’s a good number to start with for cutting, but doesn’t have to be set in stone.

On an additional note, make sure that you do not cut calories too fast. Going from eating around maintenance, or even over (if you’ve decided to change things around), to dropping upwards of 750 calories isn’t the best idea. Most people want quick results, and they attempt to cut calories excessively in order to see results in the mirror. As is always stressed, results don’t come in a flash. Cutting calories too severely without a gradual change will only make you crash and possibly cause some muscle loss (the last thing we want). Work your way to an upper limit of around 700-750 calories if you feel your body is up to it, or stick with 500 (or even lower), let your body decide for you.

2) Muscle gain – many people claim that a 500 calories per day increase when it comes to bulking is ideal. I don’t agree with this. Outside of those who have recently started to work out and will have more flexibility due to their body’s attempt to adapt to the new physical stress at an alarming rate (noob gains), going at a pace of a pound a week will probably result in some unwanted fat gain down the road. Of course, you can easily counter by saying that you will be monitoring your progress, and if it starts happening, you’ll cut back. That’s fine, but you can simply avoid that in the first place (you know what they say, better safe than sorry, right?). In my opinion, it’s much more advisable to start a very clean bulk that’s only about 200-300 calories over your maintenance for the day.

We are humans, and we have natural capabilities that have limits. You will not be putting on 1 pound of muscle a week, I don’t care who you are. However, the scale can easily go up a pound a week, the problem will be that over time it’ll move up with some unwanted fat gain. Many people make the mistake of going way overboard in hopes that putting on “weight” is good enough when it comes to muscle gain. That’s not the case, and they’ll wind up having to either cut back later on (wasting time) or require a cutting phase (the standard, but could be avoided if you’re as strict as I mention). Your body cannot keep up with how much you feed it if your calories are on the higher side over maintenance, and you’ll wind up shaking your head later. It’s best to limit fat gain by going just a bit over maintenance in order to give your body just enough to work with. Unless you’re on steroids, you can’t enhance your body’s muscle building abilities because you feed it more so work with realistic calories per day in order to get the best results. Good Luck!

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Most people tend to focus their progress solely on the scale. If their weight fluctuates, they act accordingly. Gained a couple of pounds? Time to diet. Lost a couple of pounds? Everything’s going great. The problem with this, however, is that actual fluctuations in weight that can change your body composition for the longer-term do not occur in a day or two (well, unless you’re participating in severe binges composed of cake-eating contests – we’ll assume that’s not the case). Therefore, looking at the scale from day to day to gauge whether you’ve lost or gained weight is not a proper way to assess what’s going on.

If you want to be sure you’ve gained or lost weight, you must check the scale on a weekly basis and see what the results are from week to week. Daily changes mostly occur based on the foods you eat, and are not an accurate depiction.  Without veering off track, the reason they’re not accurate is because they are based off of the amount of water weight that is in your system. Ever wonder why you look your best upon waking up? The amount of water weight in your system is low, because you have not eaten since the night before. As a result, your body’s glycogen stores are lower and your body has dumped some water out of your muscles and liver. This makes you feel leaner, and look leaner, albeit temporarily. Once you eat, you’ll start looking fuller and feel as if you’ve gained a couple of pounds in one day. Rest assured, that’s not the case.

Without writing a thesis on this topic, the reason we’re discussing water weight is because that’s the only thing that sweating affects. Sweating, in and of itself, does not help you lose weight. What it does, however, is lower the amount of water weight in your system. Naturally, if you’ve got a couple of pounds of water weight in your body and you begin to sweat profusely, you’re going to sweat some of that weight away. People mistake this slight fluctuation with actual weight loss, and that’s how this myth came about.

Now, a good benefit of getting people to sweat is the fact that producing sweat usually involves engaging in some type of physical activity, which will burn calories. By burning calories, you can aid your fat loss goals by increasing your caloric expenditure. Consistently being in a slight caloric deficit (by burning more calories in a day than you consume) is the key to successfully losing fat. To learn about the optimal caloric deficit, visit our Calories Per Day article.

Outside of pushing you to burn more calories by doing physical activities and sweating, sweating itself plays no other beneficial role in weight loss. As you’ve learned, water weight is a daily fluctuation that is based on what you eat, so even if you sweat some water weight away, it can be back after one meal. Imagine if sweating actually played a major role in losing weight, don’t you think people would simply sit in a sauna and come out 10 pounds lighter each day? Maybe some believe that’s possible, but they’re certainly misinformed. Sure, by sweating some people may quickly see a weight fluctuation, but it is a temporary difference. Always keep that in mind. The key to successful fat loss is not sweating, but consistency with diet (and physical activity, ideally).

In order to really focus on losing weight, you need to learn how to eat below your maintenance calories, and over time accomplish your goals in a healthy and satisfying way. Weight loss is a long-term objective, and sweating isn’t a long-term solution. Focus on the only thing that matters, the calories. Good luck!

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Let’s begin by clarifying what muscle symmetry is. We are not referring to one bicep muscle being slightly bigger than the other, for example (which is a smaller scale version of this problem). When we deal with muscle symmetry, we’re dealing with muscle groups as a whole when compared to other muscle groups. In other words, is your chest significantly larger than your shoulders and arms? Are your arms significantly larger than the rest of your body? (Think Situation from the Jersey Shore). Although they might not seem like the gravest mistakes you can fall into making (they aren’t), they still throw off your entire physique and often times make you look goofy. Since we’re not transforming our bodies so that they can be labeled as looking goofy, muscle asymmetry will certainly impede our overall goals and ambitions. So let’s make sure it doesn’t happen.

Often times, when people first begin going to the gym, they do not realize the importance of the Mind Muscle Connection. As a matter of fact, many experienced gym-goers also have trouble with this. This is the process of trying to isolate the muscle group you are targeting with that particular exercise, limiting the involvement of secondary muscle groups that help out. For a quick example, if you’re bench pressing to hit your chest, your shoulders and triceps can take the brunt of the weight if you don’t really try to focus on using your chest to lift the weight. This, over time, can lead to minimal chest growth but great shoulder/triceps growth. Was that your intended result? Probably not, but now your chest is lagging behind and you have to catch it up. Muscle asymmetry is easiest to bring about when you’re doing exercises by simply “moving the weight” instead of focusing on the proper muscle to do the work. Learn this key concept.

To look aesthetically pleasing instead of asymmetrical, it is also important to stop constantly favoring certain muscle groups over others. Someone who comes into the gym to work their chest and biceps every other day is not going to build an impressive physique when their other body parts get 1/3rd of the workout time. The only time favoring of particular muscle groups should occur is if they are lagging behind the rest of your body (usually a smaller scale natural problem that most people deal with as long as it isn’t ignored and doesn’t get out of control). This can happen even if you’re doing everything correctly because some muscles just require you to hit them more than others to grow at the same rate. Therefore, an individual on a training schedule hitting everything once a week (as an example) might develop imbalances because some muscles may only require one workout a week to grow while others need more. Once you’re able to figure out what grows faster and what doesn’t, adjust your workouts accordingly to prevent this from happening and preserve muscle symmetry.

Another problem that develops when muscle symmetry is ignored is the impact that occurs on your posture. Those people who do more pushing movements than pulling movements (more chest than back, in this case) may develop a forward-slanting posture where their shoulders droop down forward. Usually the body part that is most ignored in this popular version is the rear delt, which gets disproportionately less stimulation than the front delt and the chest. Many people experience this problem, which not only puts your physique in a bad light but further impacts your training. Those muscles which are stronger and create this imbalance will continue to get used more than the weaker muscles, and if the Mind-Muscle-Connection is not instituted it will continue to create a larger disparity between these muscles.

Muscle Symmetry is best tackled from the very beginning by learning your body and figuring out which muscle groups grow faster than the others. Adjusting your workout schedule to fix these growing imbalances will help keep all muscle groups growing at a steady rate and make sure that you don’t end up with asymmetry and unfortunate posture problems. Aesthetically Pleasing physiques require intricate tweaks and constant hard work and attention to the finest of details to build. These particular tweaks are very often ignored, and many people don’t realize until it indeed starts looking goofy. Pay attention from the start, so you don’t have to do catching-up work later. For more information on how to maximize training, check out our Bodybuild, Don’t Weightlift! article. Good luck!

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When people figure out the amount of calories they require for the day in order to slowly take their body in the direction they desire, they often overlook a key component: off days from the gym. This may seem like common sense to some, but many people set themselves on a calorie count and stick with it universally throughout each day of the week, regardless of whether they hit the gym or not. This can (over time) add unwanted fat gain when trying to gain size, or be a constant small road block when trying to lose body fat.

First, let’s look at the individual who is attempting to gain size. On days off from the gym, the calories stay the same as on days he goes. He or she might believe that while attempting to put on size, the few days of excessive caloric intake can be beneficial as the days are far and few in between, and the body is recovering from intense workouts and needs the nutrients anyway. Why does this not work? Building Muscle Mass focuses on explaining why bulking (adding size) faster does not produce more results, and is counter-productive. Even though the individual is not going over the top by stuffing his or her face extensively each day as is exampled in the article for best effect, the process is still the same, albeit on a smaller scale. Think about it this way:

If they are already eating 500 calories above maintenance on training days, they are on very good terms when it comes to giving their body the nutrients it needs to grow but not over-doing it by giving it more than it can handle naturally (assuming they are natural, at which point there is only so much your body can do to rebuild itself in a specific time frame). By matching that amount on days they are off from the gym, they are not essentially giving your body anywhere from 800-1200 (give or take) extra calories instead of the usual 500. In what way can this be a benefit? None. Unless they have been under-eating on other days and this can be used to help diminish the losses, this plan of attack won’t speed their intended size gain (muscle), and instead only speed the much-less optimal size gain (fat and muscle).

Second, an individual who is cutting (trying to lose body fat) must also realize that without gym on that particular day, their caloric total for the day will drop even more as they do not have that extra caloric expenditure to account for. What does this mean? Eating 2, 200 calories on training days may now turn to 1,800 calories on the off day. Don’t make the mistake of eating the same amount or you will halt your progress because you’re giving your body more than it needs (perhaps your maintenance is 2,200 calories and you’re using gym as the caloric expenditure that puts you under – in this scenario, you are not progressing calorically for the day if you eat the same amount on your off day). Again, on the other hand, eating the same amount would only make sense if you have been under-eating during your cut and need to make up some calories (I doubt this has been the case, as limiting calories on a cut is hard enough as it is, but you never know!).

A week off from the gym has to be accounted for in the same manner, you are no longer counting on that extra physical activity to burn some calories, so you must adjust accordingly for the week if you want to stay on top of your goals. Some people decide to ease up because of their week off, which is fine as long as you are aware of what you are doing. I’m not trying to come off strict, but there is a difference between knowingly easing up and doing it unaware of the consequences. Vacations can be treated the same way.

On an ending note, this sounds way more complex than it is. Simply be aware of the fact that your off days from the gym require a slight caloric change (eating a bit less – in both cases of fat loss and muscle gain) to counteract the loss of extra caloric expenditure that’s usually there from the gym, and you’ll be fine. Furthermore, if you slip up here and there it is not a big deal (don’t go crazy!). The important thing to note is that you should be aware of this, and not be completely universal with your caloric intake throughout the week. Good luck!

*I hope I’m not going to make you go insane with this little tip, but if you’re doing legs in the gym one can assume you can allow yourself a little bit more caloric freedom than on a day you decide to do arms. Just a thought. Good Luck!

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