I’m carrying some excess weight and probably have around 30-40 pounds of fat to lose. Everyone at the gym just says to train hard, eat clean and be disciplined and eventually all of the fat will turn into muscle. This sounds a little weird to me and I was wondering if it’s actually possible to turn body fat into lean muscle tissue. Is this true?
It sounds weird because it’s completely false. It’s impossible to turn body fat into lean muscle tissue. That’s like saying you’re going to turn gold into silver. It just doesn’t happen like that. You can “burn fat” (actually decrease fat cells) and build lean muscle mass with proper nutrition, strength training and cardio exercise. Some people like to either focus on building muscle (bulking phase) and then burning off the excess fat (cutting phase). The only issue with doing phases like this, is that you might gain a little too much fat during the mass phase and then have a tough time burning it off when you get into the cutting phase. When this happens, the person might need to do excess cardio or cut calories a little too much which usually results in sacrificing a little hard-earned muscle in the process.
Burning Fat
Ideally a person should include around 3-5 hours of exercise every week to burn fat and lose weight. Some body types are more stubborn than others so make sure you know what body type you are so you can do the most effective exercises for your physique (ectomorph, endomorph, or mesomorph). The amount of exercise that you have to do will depend on the amount of weight that you need to lose. If you have any questions or concerns, it’s always smart to consult with a certified personal trainer in order to have a custom strength training and cardio routine setup for you.
Building Muscle
While you are working hard to burn fat and lose weight with cardio exercise, you should also focus on building muscle with resistance training exercises. Weight training is the most effective way to stimulate muscle growth. Getting into a weekly 3-5 day weight training regimen that targets all of your major muscle groups is the best way to structure your program. As you slowly build muscle, your metabolism will start to increase which will help burn more fat. A pound of muscle burns around 6-10 calories, so if you can add an additional 10 pounds of lean muscle to your physique, you will be burning an extra 60 to 100 calories every day, even at rest! This is because muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in your body. It’s basically the engine that burns calories, so you always want to try to build lean muscle mass by including strength training workouts in your overall routine.
Modifying Your Diet
Burning fat while building muscle is a difficult task. This is why your body needs proper nourishment every day with the 100% natural nutrient dense whole foods. Focus on eating lean meats, clean starchy carbs (yams, oatmeal, brown rice), vegetables, fruits and nuts.
If you really want to strip off body fat, choose lower carbohydrate foods and reduce your overall starchy carb intake, especially later at night after around 5-6pm. It’s also important to choose good carbs over bad carbs. Instead of white bread, eat whole wheat bread. Instead of regular pasta or white rice, eat brown rice and whole wheat pasta. If you have a hard time setting up a meal plan, you might want to consult with a nutritionist or dietitian so you can have a meal plan custom created with the proper amount of food that will optimally fuel your body, build muscle and burn fat.
I also recommend adjusting your calories very slowly either up or down depending on your goals. You can adjust them plus or minus 300 to 500 calories a day. If you do it slowly, then you should be able to monitor your body fat levels closely.
Staying Hydrated
Water is absolutely crucial for reaching your fat loss and muscle building goals. People are always reminded to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. If you have an intense cardiovascular routine and weight training regimen, you need to drink a lot more than this. You should focus on taking a bottle of water with you everywhere you go during the day and try to consume around 1 gallon of water each day to optimally hydrate your body. This amount of water also helps to fill you up and keeps you feeling satisfied between meals.
Remember these key elements: burn fat, build muscle, modify your diet and stay hydrated. Perseverance is the key here. Do not get frustrated if you do not see any huge results in the first few days or weeks. Give it some time. It takes about 90 days (3 months) to really start to see changes!
