How do I put on muscle while still burning fat?

PattyTheUndefeated · June 2010

I'm sure someone has already posted a similar question but I haven't found any despite searching through various threads. Over the course of a year I've managed to lose quite a bit of weight and I'm now transitioning into a maintenance phase. Over the last two months I've added some intense interval exercises and heavy weight training to my routine. The weight training sent my hunger into overdrive so I was forced to up my calories to maintenance despite still wanting to lose a bit more weight (roughly seven pounds). My question is, how do you find a balance? How do you eat enough so that you are still giving you muscles enough nutrients and energy to repair and grow wihout having them break down for fuel in a calorie deficit?

I want to put on muscle but I still want to burn fat at the same time. I don't want my muscles to be used as fuel, so I need to eat more but I don't want to put on fat or break even either.

I've been told that if you eat enough, you won't lose muscle but doesn't that mean that your body fat won't go anywhere either? I'm confused and need some clarification on this.

And if it helps, I'm 5'2,127lbs and currently eating roughly 1600 calories a day.

amyfly · June 2010

Don't worry about the extra calories you've had to consume - by putting on more muscle you will increase you're metabolism and naturally burn more calories in the course of a day. And don't forget muscle weighs more than fat - the number on the scale might not go down as fast, so you are better off using how your clothes fit or your measurements as a judge of your progress. Good luck!

Also remember it takes time to build muscle so be patient - and make sure a good portion of your increase in calories is protein - thats what builds muscle. Check out http://www.bidmc.org/Research/Departments/Surgery/CenterfortheStudyofNutritionMedicine/AboutUs/GLB.aspx
Maybe it'll help!

sharonsylvester · June 2010

When you exercise your body burns the calories it needs. So you have to replace those calories with food for you body to work well. The fact that you are weight training means that you are building muscles which leads to burning a lot more calories. The fat will go away if you continue to train your body the way you currently are, you will be a very lean machine.

david1956 · June 2010

I'm on a really intense strength training program, and what feels right for me (to be honest I'm not sure even what calories I'm consuming which is kinda daft given the nature of this site) is tons of veges. Probably my favourite dinner now is simple stir-fries with lean beef strips and quite a lot of lightly cooked crispy veges. Probably incredibly bad advice as I am no diet expert, but my body feels as though I can eat a LOT of the right veges to increase strength but keep weight down.

rybo · June 2010

For many people it can be difficult if not impossible to both add lean muscle and lose fat at the same time. If you are doing intense lifting, you got to feed the engine and up the % of protein in your diet. For most people building muscle is a slow process. You can try going 4 weeks or so lifting hard, packing the protein and try to gain muscle. Then take 4 weeks or so, ease up on the lifting but maintain, add a little cardio & adjust the diet to try and trim up.

SHBoss1673 · June 2010

So let's quickly examine how the body determines it's ability to burn fat and create new muscle.

Distinctly building muscle and losing weight are two opposite sides of the spectrum, they exist as 2 states the body can be in, and you cannot be in both states simultaneously. Those states are catabolism and anabolism (respectively burning stored calories, and building more lean tissue). So in order to truly build muscle, you can't really be in a catabolic state, I.E. you can't really be losing weight and building muscle.

now this is where people become confused.

what you CAN do is burn fat while building lean tissue. It's not a fast process, and you can't measure it in weeks (at a minimum it's a "months" type of thing.) but it is possible and not all that complicated to do (note, I'm not saying it's easy, it's not!), you just need to follow the rules.

So why do people say you need to do weight training while you are losing weight. Well because the body is constantly identifying unused lean tissue for burning, the human body is an efficiency engine, it does not want to keep around metabolically active tissue (muscle) if it's not being used, fat on the other hand, takes very little energy to store and keep, thus the body does not see it as a priority to burn while in a catabolic state. So in order to keep existing muscle tissue you need to do exercise that has resistance and/or weight training in it. Thus the body will see this muscle as "essential" and not use it up and instead look for alternate means of energy to make up the difference (fat).

So that's catabolism, but that's not what you asked about. You asked about anabolism. In THIS state, the body can actively build new muscle, but the same rules apply, the body does not see fuel as a limiting factor so it will not take muscle as a fuel (or very little of it, to little to worry about) But it also won't use much (if any) stored fat for daily activity. So you must force your body into some exercise that depletes your existing calorie stores (food or in this case, glycogen) and then makes it dip into it's reserve energy (fat stores). Since you're actively using the muscle, it won't burn much (if any) muscle, and it will burn fat. Generally, glycogen stores in the body are about 1 hour to 2 hours worth (depending on a whole host of factors including genetics, exercise intensity, muscle size...etc.) So to really dig into the fat stores while in an anabolic state, you must work out relatively intensely for longer periods (HIIT training is great for this as it usually adds some resistance in the mix, which can build muscle fibers as well). But be aware, this is a long term thing, it takes more dedication to do this right (as opposed to losing weight) and a more concise control over your exercise, food, and nutrition than does a normal weight loss program.

this is a very basic, and really overly simplistic review of the two states the body can be in, but it's enough to get you started.

Tamishumate · June 2010

So let's quickly examine how the body determines it's ability to burn fat and create new muscle.

Distinctly building muscle and losing weight are two opposite sides of the spectrum, they exist as 2 states the body can be in, and you cannot be in both states simultaneously. Those states are catabolism and anabolism (respectively burning stored calories, and building more lean tissue). So in order to truly build muscle, you can't really be in a catabolic state, I.E. you can't really be losing weight and building muscle.

now this is where people become confused.

what you CAN do is burn fat while building lean tissue. It's not a fast process, and you can't measure it in weeks (at a minimum it's a "months" type of thing.) but it is possible and not all that complicated to do (note, I'm not saying it's easy, it's not!), you just need to follow the rules.

So why do people say you need to do weight training while you are losing weight. Well because the body is constantly identifying unused lean tissue for burning, the human body is an efficiency engine, it does not want to keep around metabolically active tissue (muscle) if it's not being used, fat on the other hand, takes very little energy to store and keep, thus the body does not see it as a priority to burn while in a catabolic state. So in order to keep existing muscle tissue you need to do exercise that has resistance and/or weight training in it. Thus the body will see this muscle as "essential" and not use it up and instead look for alternate means of energy to make up the difference (fat).

So that's catabolism, but that's not what you asked about. You asked about anabolism. In THIS state, the body can actively build new muscle, but the same rules apply, the body does not see fuel as a limiting factor so it will not take muscle as a fuel (or very little of it, to little to worry about) But it also won't use much (if any) stored fat for daily activity. So you must force your body into some exercise that depletes your existing calorie stores (food or in this case, glycogen) and then makes it dip into it's reserve energy (fat stores). Since you're actively using the muscle, it won't burn much (if any) muscle, and it will burn fat. Generally, glycogen stores in the body are about 1 hour to 2 hours worth (depending on a whole host of factors including genetics, exercise intensity, muscle size...etc.) So to really dig into the fat stores while in an anabolic state, you must work out relatively intensely for longer periods (HIIT training is great for this as it usually adds some resistance in the mix, which can build muscle fibers as well). But be aware, this is a long term thing, it takes more dedication to do this right (as opposed to losing weight) and a more concise control over your exercise, food, and nutrition than does a normal weight loss program.

this is a very basic, and really overly simplistic review of the two states the body can be in, but it's enough to get you started.

I love your answers!! I knew it would be a good read too!

I have to say that in the last 18 months that I have been losing all my weight, I also I have been building lots of muscle. it does take a long time, but the muscle that I have amazes me. as the last of the fat melts away, my hard efforts in the last 18 months are really showing

Good luck!

david1956 · June 2010

SHBoss1673, that is great information, thanks for that.

Pattywantstolose, my honest opinion... not sure of you've done so already but if not I'd think about finding a good trainer. On and off I'd been to a gym a few times in my life and had a reasonable understanding of weight training techniques. Doing my own thing was fine for losing the big pounds and getting a superficially better physique. Nothing could have prepared me for discovering how radically more intense the program that I'm now doing (advanced each 4-5 weeks) is, and within weeks I discovered through the grapevine that other people in the gym were commenting to my trainer about what I am achieving. OK, great for the ego (and reassuring when you're frustrated at wanting even faster results) , but to the point.. most people I know who now have personal trainers all agree that they wish they'd done it ages ago. It can accelerate working towards those goals.

How do I put on muscle while still burning fat?

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