Lose Fat Gain Muscle - Fact or Fiction?

Lose fat and gain muscle. Can you really do it at the same time?

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about this, so it is time that you learned the truth about the "lose fat gain muscle" question.

1. You can maintain muscle while losing fat.

If you diet the right way and make strength training a part of your fat loss approach, then you can maintain or even gain a little bit of muscle while losing fat. However, if you go on an "extreme" diet such as 500 calories per day, then you will find your metabolism slowing down and your muscles feeling weaker.

Muscle can be your best friend when losing fat. Please don't confuse this with "getting big and bulky." When you gain muscle from fat loss training, you will not look like one of those huge bodybuilders. This is a myth that is important for you to understand.

Strength training for fat loss will result in maintaining and even adding muscle, but will not result in putting on more weight and being heavier than before.

So yes, you can gain muscle while losing fat. However, the result will be to a lesser degree than the typical "bodybuilder" most people associate with gaining muscle.

2. Fat cannot be converted to muscle.

This is another big myth about the effort to lose fat and gain muscle.

Muscle mass and fat (adipose tissue) are two entirely different things. Muscle mass is what your skeletal muscles are made of. You are born with these muscles, and will have them your whole life.

When strength training fat loss, these muscles get stronger and slightly bigger if trained correctly.

Fat (adipose tissue) on the other hand is stored energy from excess calories in your diet. When you "burn" fat calories, they are metabolically processed to be used as energy. This is similar to how your car uses gas for fuel.

At no point does fat tissue ever become muscle mass. If you do the right things, muscle will actually use stored fat for energy!

3. Gaining muscle and creating a caloric deficit has a synergistic effect on fat loss.

If you really want to lose fat and gain muscle, then creating a caloric deficit is absolutely crucial. This means that you are burning more calories than you are taking in. If you can raise your metabolism by strength training and cut back in calories in your diet, then your fat loss efforts will be all but guaranteed!

So in conclusion, I hope you learned about how the "lose fat gain muscle" question works. Combining a caloric deficit with additional muscle mass will turn you body into a fat burning machine.