Diet & Exercise Tips for Gaining Muscle The Healthy Way

There are many reasons a person may need to gain weight. Being underweight can cause a range of health problems like infertility, osteoporosis, weakened immunity, malnutrition, and even developmental delays. But there are other reasons too. Bodybuilders and athletes may want to gain weight or build muscle.

Here are three tips for gaining weight safely and effectively:

How Many Calories Do You Need to Eat?

The first thing is to determine how many calories you need to gain weight. You burn some calories by just existing, and you can calculate how many using a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calculator. Next, you need to multiplying your BMR by your activity level using these guidelines:

sedentary: 1.2

light exercise 1-3 days/week: 1.375

moderate exercise 3-5 days/week: 1.55

hard exercise 6-7 days a week: 1.725

This is the number of calories that you need to maintain your current weight, but you will need to consume more to gain weight. To gain 1 pound per week, which is a safe rate to gain weight, consume an additional 500 calories per day.

Eating to Gain Weight

The way you eat can also help you gain weight. It might be tempting to gain weight by eating sugar and other empty calories but the weight you gain will be fat instead of muscle. To gain muscle, increase your intake of clean, organic protein. Protein shakes are an easy way to achieve this but, to convert this protein to muscle, you have to pair it with an increase in exercise. Healthy fats are another important addition, especially nutrient-dense fats from whole foods. Another tip is to focus on small but frequent meals, aiming for 6 meals per day.

Exercise For Building Muscle

When trying to gain weight, the kind of exercise matters too. Cardiovascular workouts are great for heart health, but it will not help you gain weight. To do that you will need to add weight training to your routine. Focus on strength training that works all of the major muscle groups in your body.

When you are trying to bulk up, it is best to do fewer repetitions with a higher weight. The repetitions should be slow and steady, which is safer and much more effective. It's also important that you rest your muscles for at least a minute between sets. You want to work your muscles to the point that you can't lift the weight without rest, which is called muscle fatigue. You should limit your strength training to three days per week and alternate your workouts to give your muscles time to heal. As you get stronger, you will need to increase your weights in order to continue to see gains.

Three Ways to Reset Your Adrenal Rhythm at Home

Addressing lifestyle and stress management is an important part of managing adrenal dysfunction. Both acute and chronic stressors place high demands on your adrenal glands, making it hard get through the day. Because imbalances in your adrenals disrupt your circadian rhythms, you might be adding insomnia on top of low energy. This compounding problem can spiral out of control quickly. Thankfully, the adrenals respond well to lifestyle changes, healthy routines, at-home treatments, and support through diet and supplementation. If you have been struggling with fatigue, your Naturopathic Doctor can run a 4-point cortisol saliva test to determine what your levels are throughout the day.

Below are three at-home tips that can help you sync up your adrenal rhythm:

1. Reset Your Sleep-Wake Cycle

Your body needs sleep to heal. Unfortunately, you may have trouble sleeping if you have adrenal dysfunction. Cortisol is the hormone secreted by your adrenals that gives you energy, and it naturally rises and falls as part of your circadian rhythm. For example, a few hours before you wake up, your body's level of cortisol will naturally start rising so that you wake up with energy. Cortisol levels peak in the morning and then slowly decline throughout the day. They should reach their lowest levels as you are trying to get to sleep at night.

This cycle can easily become imbalanced when your adrenals are chronically stressed. If you are having trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep, your natural rhythm might be off. You might wake up with low levels of cortisol, making you feel as if you have absolutely no energy to start the day. And instead of its natural rhythm, your levels might spike right as you are trying to go to sleep at night, leaving you in a "wired and tired" state. If you are activated by stress right before bed, you might experience racing thoughts that keep you from getting the rest you need to heal. Try calming your system with lavender essential oils, soothing music, meditation, or journaling.

There are several therapies you can try at home to rebalance your sleep cycle. In addition to practicing good sleep hygiene, the most important thing to do is limit light exposure at night, especially blue light emitted by electronic devices. Make sure to limit light exposure at least an hour before bedtime to naturally boost your melatonin production. Temporarily adding melatonin before bed can also help reset your sleep cycle. Then in the morning, try to go outside in natural sunlight to help stimulate the wake cycle with a natural boost of cortisol.

2. Know When to Exercise

Emotional stress is not the only thing that places high demands on your adrenal glands. Physical stress can also tax the body. If you have very low cortisol, you should not be doing strenuous exercises that deplete your body of the energy it needs to heal. Light exercise is good for keeping the body healthy but it should not put significant stress on your body.

Focus on exercise that is gentle and helps lower and release stress like yoga, tai chi, walking, or stretching. Listen to your body. It will tell you if the activity is too much. This is not the time to push yourself beyond your limits. As you start to heal your adrenals, you can set small stretch goals to begin building your stamina back up.

It is also important to be mindful of when you are exercising. If you try to exercise when your cortisol is low, it can be extra taxing to your body. You might find that your recovery takes longer too. If your cortisol tests show that your levels are low all day, exercise might not be the best thing until you recover. If you have high cortisol, exercise can help lower excess stress hormones. Knowing when you need to exercise can be tricky. Morning is the best time unless your cortisol is at its lowest. Avoid exercising right before bed. Try to put at least 4-5 hours between strenuous exercise and going to sleep.

3. Manage Your Stress Response

When it comes to adrenals, the key to getting healthy and staying healthy is learning to manage stress. Deep breathing is important for releasing stored up tension throughout the day. It is one of the best ways to switch the body's autonomic nervous system from "flight or fight" to "rest and digest". Journaling is another way to help release stress and tension. Research conducted by James Pennebaker shows that writing the days events in a journal for 10-30 minutes can lower stress and increase your immune system. Meditation, gentle music, and frequent breaks also help manage stress.

For more persistent forms of stress, you might benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, emotional freedom technique, and biofeedback. The effect of unhealed trauma can make us less resilient to everyday stress, and can contribute to chronic illnesses. These types of supportive therapies can help release trauma and increase your ability to cope overall.

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