What is the best way to lose weight? That is the question thousands of people ask themselves everyday. The problem is that there are so many different methods one could use to lose weight that it is difficult to determine which will be the most effective for you. There is no replacement for a healthy diet when trying to lose weight, but diet alone will not usually allow you to lose weight effectively. In order for a healthy diet to work to lose weight, it must be combined with exercises that increase your lean muscle mass. The best way to build lean muscles is by lifting weights. But can you lose weight by lifting weights? The answer is yes, but you must follow a strict regimen that is designed specifically to lose weight.

Because weight lifting is normally thought of to bulk up and gain weight, it may be difficult to believe you can actually lift weights to lose weight. But by understanding how the process works, you will clearly see that weight lifting could actually be the best way to lose weight.

When you begin your quest for weight loss, the first thing you need to figure out is how to raise your Resting Metabolism Rate. The Resting Metabolism Rate or RMR is the rate in which your body consumes fuel when it is at rest. The fuel, or calories as they are more commonly known, comes from the foods you eat and are then burned to fuel your body. But do you know where your body burns most of the calories you take in? In lean muscle mass.

Because muscle is an active tissue, your muscles will continue to burn calories even when you are resting. This means that the more muscle you have in your body, the faster your body will burn calories. By the same token, the more fat you have the slower your body will burn calories. This leads us back to the question from earlier, of whether you can lose weight by lifting weights. After learning about how the body processes calorie intake, the answer is an obvious Yes.

Going back to diet for a moment, it should be noted that the reason many people never lose weight by dieting alone is because they do nothing to increase their RMR. You must combine your healthy diet with a good exercise program. But be careful, even exercises like aerobics or other cardio type workouts do little to increase your RMR. That is the reason most good trainers suggest you add weight lifting to your exercise program.

So how often do you need to lift weights to get the most benefit for weight loss? Well, most fitness experts will tell you that lifting weights 2-3 times per week will be more than sufficient to increase your RMR and get that fat burning off your body.

Start with a weight that is comfortable for you to lift 8-12 times or reps. If your muscles do not become noticeably tired by the 12th rep, the weight is too light for you. Gradually increase the weight until your muscles become fatigued around the 12th rep. As you begin to build lean muscle mass, you will need to gradually increase the weight. When you reach a point where your muscles do not get noticeably tired around the 12th rep, increase the weight around 10%.

The information provided in this article is meant for both men and women alike. There are no separate rules to increase your RMR. So for the ladies who are afraid to get too bulky from lifting weights, not to worry, the testosterone level in your body will not allow you to build muscles like a man. But men, the amount of testosterone in your body will actually help you by speeding up muscle growth and allowing you to increase your RMR much faster than women. So no excuses for not losing weight!

In closing this article I’d like to note that while weight lifting is the perfect exercise to build lean muscle and increase your RMR, it should not take the place of aerobic or other cardio exercises, it should be use along with them. Working hand in hand with your healthy diet, weight lifting and cardio exercises will increase your RMR thus allowing you to lose weight. Dieting by itself will actually slow down your metabolism and possibly cause you to gain weight. Don’t let that happen to you. Get out there and lift those weights.