While muscle workouts and strength training exercises can help you slim down, it will be hard to lose the weight with muscle workouts alone.  While muscle can help burn fat, cardio is the best exercise for anyone wanting to shed a few pounds.  Do cardio exercises 4-5 days a week for at least an hour and then do strength training on the other 2 days.  Mix up the intensity of your workout to get the most out of it too.  The elliptical is a great machine for weight loss, but you can also do sprints on a treadmill for an added punch to your workout.

Once you’ve dropped a few pounds you can add more strength training to your muscle workout.  3-4 days a week is good because your muscle tissue needs time in between workouts to rest and repair in order to create bigger and stronger muscle.  If you still want to continue with the weight loss though, don’t drop the cardio.  Protein shakes can help build and repair muscle after an intense workout, but cut out extra calories during the day or you’ll just be consuming more than you should.  Above all, drink lots of water, get lots of rest and try to cut back on sugar and fast food.