Not everyone has the same goals, and therefore no two goals are ever going to be approached in the same way! So today I wanted to cover how to tackle two very common (but different) goals in fitness: weight gain and weight loss. Keep in mind that these are general recommendations; there are many ways to accomplish a goal. But these are good places to begin with if you’re just starting out!

Ready to jump in? Let’s do this!

Weight Loss

 If you are eating healthy and following the zgym workout program, and still not losing weight, the explanation is simple. You are not in a negative energy balance. There are a few ways to fix that.

1) Eat more veggies and cut down on other carbs (pasta, rice, potatoes, whole grains, legumes, couscous, bread). I am by no means saying carbs are bad; it’s only that some people don’t metabolize carbs as efficiently compared to others. A lot of people that need to lose weight are also dealing with blood sugar imbalances and are looking to regulate insulin. A good way to do that is by adopting a low carb diet. 

I have two meal plans that you can look into: the first is my popular Z-Shred Super Food Meal Plan, which is a low carb-based diet. The other is my most recent release- the Keto Meal Plan for Fat Loss, which is based on a very low carb, high fat diet for encouraging nutritional ketosis. This is when your body is running primarily on fat and ketones, and it’s super efficient at crushing sugar cravings and evening out blood sugar. Both plans will definitely help you to shed unneeded weight!

2) Exercise More

 While the zgym workout schedule is enough exercise for most people, you still might be someone that needs a little bit more physical activity in order to get into a negative energy balance. I suggest you implement the following strategy:

Add one more workout a week to your regular zgym workout schedule (pick any workout from the zgym library of hiit workouts), or try to increase your daily activity throughout the day. This can be anything from adding a low intensity routine such as Stretch & Tone or Legs Like a Dancer workout, 30 minute walk,  or finding opportunities to do short “bursts” of activity (like taking the stairs, cleaning up the house, gardening, or even doing one of my 5-minute burnouts). (Read my post here on ways to increase your NEAT, or Non-Exercise-Activity-Thermogenesis for more info.)

Ideally, you’ll want to combine both diet and exercise for a one-two-punch combo to maximize your efforts.

 2. Weight Gain (aka, muscle gain)

 If you are interested in gaining more lean muscle mass, you’ll need a stimulus for growth. The way to create this stimulus is through intense and consistent resistance training. Once it’s in place, you’ll need the right amount of protein and calories to support the growth. It’s important to know that even with a high intake of protein, muscle growth will be very slow if your caloric intake is low. With building muscle, calories are a source of energy and information. If your body doesn’t have enough of either of those for going above and beyond keeping you alive, then your progress will fall into a turtle’s pace. 

The other thing to consider is HGH- human growth hormone. HGH has effects on body composition, not just growth. People who have a significant HGH deficiency (generally due to pituitary disease) tend to have higher amounts of body fat and low muscle mass and bone density. This hormone is incredibly important, especially since it’s been studied for its anti-aging, metabolic, and calorie burning properties. Boosting HGH can, therefore, support muscle growth, and doing just that involves getting sufficient sleep, and honing in on your nutrition and training.

With the ZGYM, aim for doing a lot of my strength-based series, or just follow the weekly workout schedule. My weekly program will work your entire body as well as include some cardio into the routine. However, the emphasis is mainly focused on building, shaping, and strengthening your body.

I’d also advise you not to overdo things with exercise outside of zgym; don’t attempt to run marathons or go above and beyond the workouts that are programmed in your weekly schedule. I recommend this across the board regardless of your goal; there’s no need to brutally condemn yourself into doing hours of cardio or resistance training. With the zgym, we’re training smarter. The workouts may be short and sweet, but they’re also intense enough to stimulate muscle growth. And no, you won’t be getting bulky, non-functional muscles from doing any of my workouts, not to mention picking up a kettlebell or dumbbell. (Ladies, this is crucial! We don’t have the capacity to build muscle the same way men do to suddenly blow up and turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger overnight. And even then, guys still need to train consistently for a long while in order to pack on significant amounts of muscle. The point is, doing so is a marathon, not a sprint. It isn’t easy for any gender! And even if you find yourself getting bulky or just want to maintain your current physique, adding a bit more HIIT training or more cardio-based routines from the zgym can help.)

With diet, I suggest you either start increasing portions or eating more often (you may need to do both in some cases). Depending on your dietary preference, you can try incorporating more of the following foods to increase your caloric intake:

For plant-based, vegan, or vegetarian eaters, include extra servings of legumes, whole grains, and starchy plant-based foods like squash, sweet potato, and potatoes. Adding an extra snack or dessert in the form of protein shakes, cottage cheese, and yogurt can also help.

For low carb and ketogenic eaters, those same snacks I just mentioned for the plant-based folks applies as well. You should also increase your intake of protein, too; it will not keep you out of ketosis and instead go towards building and preserving muscle (for more info on keto and protein, read my post here). So instead of having 4 oz of chicken, increase it to 6, 8, 0r 10 oz. Collagen powder and bone broth are two excellent additions to your diet as well, providing plenty of amino acids to nourish both your gut and your muscles.

Wrapping It Up

So, to summarize everything up, here are my recommendations-

For Losing Weight & Increasing Fat Loss: Increase your veggie intake, and experiment with either a low carb or ketogenic diet to maintain blood sugar and insulin (both of which are involved in maintaining a healthy weight). For exercise, go with more cardio-based activities, consider adding an extra short workout like my 5-minute challenges (if needed), and increase your non-exercise-based-activities (walking, chores, hikes, etc).

For Gaining (Muscle) Weight: Boost your food intake either by increasing portion sizes or adding in extra meals/snacks. With exercise, focus more on strengthening and stimulating muscle growth through resistance training. Don’t do as much cardio as you would for losing weight. And support human-growth-hormone production by getting adequate sleep and optimizing your diet and fitness.

Let these tips be your starting ground for your goals! If you’ve got any other tips for these areas, please share them with all of us in the comments below!