If you want to turn fat into muscle, or, more precisely, lose weight and gain muscle mass, do not rush to spend time on long exhausting workouts in the gym. The body is not able to simultaneously work in the reserve mode and in the mode of energy expenditure.
Turning fat into muscle is not as easy as it seems. If you want to lose weight, first focus on controlling the glycemic index of carbohydrates (which is essential for weight loss), and then start gaining mass, which requires a high-calorie diet.
Regular exercise, without a doubt, can change the percentage of tissues in the body – reducing the amount of fat and increasing the amount of muscle. However, it is incorrect to say that fat can be directly transformed into muscle in any way.
How to turn fat into muscle?
Fat is a reserve source of energy, considered by the body as a passive balance, while muscle is a metabolically active element that requires energy to function. The more muscles in the body, the more calories are spent on maintaining them.
Even though muscles can be hidden under a fat layer that stores thousands of calories, during strength training, the body will never use the energy of the fat surrounding the muscle to power it. The reason is simple – the muscles do not work on fat, but on carbohydrates.
Strictly speaking, within the framework of one workout, it is almost impossible to get the body to first burn fat, and then turn the released energy into building muscle. These are two completely different and mutually exclusive physiological processes.
Glycogen and energy for training
In the first 30-50 minutes of any type of exercise, the body uses glycogen stored in the muscles which is a product of the processing of carbohydrates from food. It is believed that for one workout a person needs from 80 to 150 g of glycogen.
Only after spending glycogen stores, the body will switch to other sources of energy – proteins and fats. Or more specifically, muscle and free fatty acids. In this case, the order is most often exactly this – glycogen, muscle, fat. In other words, the body begins to convert fat into energy only as a last resort.
To shred or to bulk? Where to start?
Low levels of sugar (and insulin) in the blood are key conditions in order to “release” fatty acids from the fat cell and turn them into an energy source. In simple terms, it is easier for the body to turn fat into energy in the absence of carbohydrates in the stomach and glucose in the blood.
It is for this reason that a carbohydrate-free diet can lead to weight loss and weight loss without any exercise. In contrast, a can of cola contains so many carbohydrates and calories that you would have to run about 5-6 km to burn them off.
The first step is cutting carbs
Chronically high blood sugar levels, caused by the consumption of fast carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, gradually “wean” the body to use fat as an energy source. A person can begin to gain weight even with a moderate caloric intake.
For successful weight loss, it is necessary not just to “go on a diet”, reduce the amount of food consumed and exercise hard, but first review your entire diet and limit the sources of fast carbohydrates as much as possible. This is the only way to really help you lose weight and burn fat.
On the other hand, gaining muscle requires the consumption of carbohydrates – without them, the muscles will not be able to recover and grow. Moreover, carbohydrates with a low glycemic index play a significantly greater role in the processes of muscle growth than protein foods.
How to lose weight and get fit?
The greater the muscle mass of the body, the more energy and calories are spent on the needs of metabolism – accordingly, the body begins to convert excess fat reserves. In addition, regular strength training makes the muscles more receptive to insulin.
In other words, if you regularly engage in physical training, then the body gets used to the fact that it needs to have a certain amount of energy in the muscles – and prepares reserves. An increase in the intensity of training is directly related to the volume of energy depots.
How to train correctly?
Ultimately, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to lose weight and bulk at the same time depends on the realities of a particular person. If you want to lose 2-3 kg, you will need a month of strength training. If we are talking about 20-30 kg of excess weight – first it is better to do cardio for weight loss.
Among other things, professional athletes alternate between bulking and cutting cycles. In the first case, a high-calorie diet is required, in the second – a low-carbohydrate diet or intermittent fasting. Plus, the choice of exercises for training will also be different.