Gaining Lean Body Mass & Losing Fat: Some DOs and DON'Ts for 2012!

By: Christopher Berger, PhD, CSCS, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science

When you step on a scale, what do you want to see? Do you want the number to be low because you are “losing weight”? Or are you somebody who wants to add muscle? A lot of people try to lose fat while gaining muscle. The point to remember is that those two goals compete with each other. To lose fat, you have to consume fewer calories than you expend which makes it difficult to gain lean body mass at the same time.

Setting realistic fitness goals and working day-in and day-out to achieve them is a great way to improve your physique and your self-esteem.

DO begin your program with the best body composition assessment you can afford. People often attribute fat loss to simple dehydration. What you need is a good baseline measurement of your body fat and lean tissue percents with repeated measurements as you progress through your training  program.

DO be patient and be willing to work. If a great physique were easy to get, we would all have one!

DON'T be too hard on yourself. Do just what this newsletter says and ‘focus on fitness’ because the consequences of healthy eating and a physically active lifestyle are often a great physique. 

DON'T cut corners with drugs and risky supplements. This one is easy; your health is fundamental and shortcuts are often dangerous.

Christopher Berger, PhD, CSCS, directs the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at GW and enjoys working with students on a wide range of exercise and body composition tests. Contact Christopher with questions or a request for testing at EXSC@gwu.edu or (202) 994-8240.