What happens to the fat?

_SABOTEUR_

I've been on here for a while losing weight and now I am looking to gain more muscle. I've seen lots of peeps saying that you have to eat surplus if you want to gain muscle from lifting. My question is won't I be able to convert my fat to muscle?

I still have about 35lbs of fat on my body and I was hoping to eat about my TDEE and start lifting heavy using SL 5x5. Will I struggle to gain muscle if I eat below my TDEE?

Maybe someone with a more scientific brain than mine can explain what happens when fat stores are broken down. I was hoping they would be broken down and go to feeding my muscles...but maybe not...

MissKalhan

Is it bad that when I read the title of this post my first thought was all my fat disappeared and managed to land on my exes belly? Heh I'm a bad person....
ANYWAYS Hope you find the answer lol

calisunrise

bump

Mighty_Rabite

Pretty much from what I've read, the fat cell is always there, but with fat loss the stored energy and most of the water are removed from the cell and it essentially deflates.

In muscle building, IIRC (it's been a while since I refreshed my mind), we have a pretty set amount of muscle fibers in each muscle and whatnot, but the actin and myosin chains present within them that causes contraction of the muscle can be increased.

To be short - fat is never converted to muscle or vice versa, but the reduction in body fat definitely leads to a much better ability for us to show off the muscle we do have!

EDIT: That all being said though, I'd maybe start off trying to eat at your TDEE with a good concentration of protein (I like the recommendation of your body weight or more in grams personally, has worked well for me) and see what happens. I haven't made efforts to eat at a surplus but I still find myself getting stronger as I go in doing that.

hesn92

you can't convert fat into muscle... when you burn fat I believe your body just disposes of it. Like through your sweat.

Yes you need a calorie surplus to build muscle. you can't build muscle and burn fat at the same time. You have to eat at a surplus to gain muscle then eat at a deficit to lose the fat.

Shannon2714

Is it bad that when I read the title of this post my first thought was all my fat disappeared and managed to land on my exes belly? Heh I'm a bad person....
ANYWAYS Hope you find the answer lol

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

shakarock

To put it simply, you have a set amount of fat cells and a set amount of muscle cells. You can either expand or shrink them. So, you can't convert fat to muscle.
So when you "burn" fat, it doesn't disappear, the cell just gets smaller.

Yogi_Carl

My understanding is that fat used for energy enters the bloodstream and, once the energy is used up the waste components including water and toxins are excreted in the usual ways.

OnionMomma

^^ Ditto^^

lucyford22

To put it simply, you have a set amount of fat cells and a set amount of muscle cells. You can either expand or shrink them. So, you can't convert fat to muscle.
So when you "burn" fat, it doesn't disappear, the cell just gets smaller.

you're right in that they don't disappear but you don't have a set amount of fat cells, you can produce new ones.

shakarock

That's true. I just wanted to explain it as simply as possible.

runlikeananna

I had a Dexa scan and it told me that I need to maintain my lean mass but burn 5 -8 kilos of fat off to achieve my perfect weight of 62 kilos. To do that they recommended nearly double the protein normally recommended for my weight as well as a certain amount of exercise mix of cardio and strength. It's slow and tedious but I am hoping I will see results at my next Dexa scan.

wild_wild_life

Pretty much from what I've read, the fat cell is always there, but with fat loss the stored energy and most of the water are removed from the cell and it essentially deflates.

In muscle building, IIRC (it's been a while since I refreshed my mind), we have a pretty set amount of muscle fibers in each muscle and whatnot, but the actin and myosin chains present within them that causes contraction of the muscle can be increased.

To be short - fat is never converted to muscle or vice versa, but the reduction in body fat definitely leads to a much better ability for us to show off the muscle we do have!

EDIT: That all being said though, I'd maybe start off trying to eat at your TDEE with a good concentration of protein (I like the recommendation of your body weight or more in grams personally, has worked well for me) and see what happens. I haven't made efforts to eat at a surplus but I still find myself getting stronger as I go in doing that.

This is correct, the energy from the fat cell is broken down and used to operate the metabolic functions of other cells. Muscle is built by using proteins (either those you eat (essential amino acids) or those those your body makes) to repair or support damaged/overworked muscle fibers. That is why you need a caloric excess and progressive overload to physically make more muscle tissue. You can gain in strength without being on a surplus though since you can gain strength without building more muscle.

AZKristi

There is no biochemical process to convert fat to muscle. It will stay in storage until it is needed for cellular energy. To use fat for cellular energy, you have to eat fewer calories than you consume. Its also helpful to maintain stable blood sugar levels because excess insulin can prevent your body from taking fatty acids from adipocytes (fat cells).

You can build muscle on a moderate caloric deficit. The bigger the caloric deficit, the more likely you are to lose muscle AND fat.

helenium

There are no nitrogen (a type of atom) in fat reserves, which are composed purely of oxygen/hydrogen/carbon. However, nitrogen is needed to make protein, which is the useful component of muscle. In fact, the body has no way of storing nitrogen and this is why it's passed out into the urine. So you need to get nitrogen (typically amino acids) from the diet.

The fact that fat cells shrink rather than die is a non-issue here...

VeganZombie13

My understanding is that fat used for energy enters the bloodstream and, once the energy is used up the waste components including water and toxins are excreted in the usual ways.

^^this

Brunner26_2

Fat molecules are pretty much long chains of carbon and hydrogen. Fat cells release fatty acids into your bloodstream where your other cells use them, along with oxygen, for cellular respiration. The ultimate waste products are carbon dioxide and water, which you breath and pee out. You literally exhale fat.

As for why you can't use your fat as energy to build muscle, I'm not really sure. It would be great, nowadays, but perhaps it was not evolutionarily advantageous for us to do this. The body isn't 100% efficient, and you would lose some useful energy transferring it from one molecule to another every time you lift something heavy, especially if food isn't readily available (in a calorie deficit, perhaps because of famine).

T1mH

bump

derekj222

fat CANNOT turn into muscle. You can lose weight, and add muscle...2 separate things...The fats leaves through sweat, pee, poop, etc. That's why you always need to drink plenty of fluids when working out and you'll notice when you are losing like 2/lbs a week that you go to the bathroom a lot more often.

BlackTimber

To put it simply, you have a set amount of fat cells and a set amount of muscle cells. You can either expand or shrink them. So, you can't convert fat to muscle.
So when you "burn" fat, it doesn't disappear, the cell just gets smaller.

you're right in that they don't disappear but you don't have a set amount of fat cells, you can produce new ones.

You will typically keep the same quantity after puberty, other than in extreme cases of weight gain. Although when a fat cell dies it is replaced.

BlackTimber

fat CANNOT turn into muscle. You can lose weight, and add muscle...2 separate things...The fats leaves through sweat, pee, poop, etc. That's why you always need to drink plenty of fluids when working out and you'll notice when you are losing like 2/lbs a week that you go to the bathroom a lot more often.

Wow! Poop? Fat is an excellent energy source. It is not just a waste product.

busywaterbending

1.
My question is won't I be able to convert my fat to muscle?

2. Will I struggle to gain muscle if I eat below my TDEE?

Maybe someone with a more scientific brain than mine can explain what happens when fat stores are broken down. I was hoping they would be broken down and go to feeding my muscles...but maybe not...

1. no. muscle and body fat doesn't not convert. Either the fat and the muscle cells grow bigger or they shrink. You will never have more or less fat cells and muscle cells than what you currently have. You can make them shrink or grow. Fat cells shrink when you deplete them of the energy stored in them. They provide the body with energy in the form of triglycerides / fats. Fat cells grow when you have excess calories consumed. Muscles grow via insulin + amino acids + proper exercise. Muscles shrink via too much insulin + too much cardio + improper diet + too little exercise.

2. not if you eat complete proteins at every meal and have a proper diet. otherwise, yes, you will have a hard time gaining muscle if you are eating below your Daily Calorie Expenditure improperly. Feed the muscles the amino acids they need. That's all.

3. Body fat stores are broken down only when you are at a calorie deficiet AND are exercising properly. I.E. fat burning mode. Many people don't understand that improper exercise and over exercising can tear down muscle. So can a bad diet.

- happy training
Coach
Teresa, CPT

Mokey41

http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2008/05/04/fat-cell-number-is-set-in-childhood-and-stays-constant-in-ad/

Pretty good article about fat cells.

Leguman

For a more scientific answer :

Fat cells, scientifically called adipose tissue, store excess energy as tryglycerids. Those tryglycerids can be used by the body as fuel with a metabolical pathway called beta-oxydation, which converts the tryglycerids into acetyl-coa which can then enter the Kreb's cycle (this is the primary pathway to produce energy). This is really a short version of what really happens, but it can answer your question of what happens to you fat storage.

Why you can't use the energy created by the beta-oxydation of your tryglycerids to produce muscle is a bit trickier to answer. Your body has two main "state", anabolic (build things) and catabolic (break down things). Lots of hormones control which state your body is in. Those hormones generally have an effect on your body has a whole, and not just your muscle for example. So if you are in a calorie deficit, your body will create hormones that tell your body to be in a catabolic state to save a maximum of energy, and to not use too much of your reserve.

Please note that weightlifting while in a calorie deficit is great to minimise muscle loss, since weightlifting (or exercise as a whole) does promote hormones that will try to minimise this muscle mass. Please note that this is also a gross oversimplification of a really complex system.

_SABOTEUR_

Hmm...so do I have to make a choice between muscle gain or fat loss? Being a greedy human I would like to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time...any ideas?

hesn92

Hmm...so do I have to make a choice between muscle gain or fat loss? Being a greedy human I would like to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time...any ideas?

you can't

Leguman

Well technically he could, but it would involve some illegal substance with some bad side effects

Mighty_Rabite

You can gain in strength without being on a surplus though since you can gain strength without building more muscle.

Very pertinent bit here, and I can personally attest to this as I gained a substantial amount of strength all around in 2011, during which I was mostly working in slight deficits.