Periodically, I get asked how to turn fat into muscle. In my younger (more cocky) days as a trainer, I used to answer (probably condescendingly) that you cannot turn fat into muscle. They are two very different types of tissue and one cannot be changed into the other any more than a dog can be changed into a cat. Now, I assume that the person asking the question really wants to know, how can Change my fat, flabby body into a lean, muscular one. Now that’s a legitimate question that can be answered.
I recommend you read my article Exercise for Weight Loss. It has lots of information you’d like. Here’ I will give you more general information on understand the basics of how our bodies work to lose fat and gain muscle.
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How to lose fat
The best way to understand how to lose fat is to think of fat as fuel stored in your body to be used for motion or activity. It’s stored in cells underneath your skin. Ideally, you only take (eat) in as much fuel as you will need in a certain day. If you take in more, the fuel will store on your body as fat. If you bring in less, your body will have tap into your storage for fuel. So, to lose fat you need to eat a little less than you need each day so you will burn your fat as fuel
How to gain muscle
To gain muscle, you need to engage in activities that will stimulate your muscles to fill back up to their healthy size. Check out our list of exercise options for ideas. The best way to gain muscle is to do strength training. Some people refer to this as weight lifting or resistance training. Again, this will stimulate your muscles to “perk up” and be more firm. You can see a list of strength exercises here and also a list of exercises for weight loss here.
Good News
Strength training has many benefits, but one of them is that stimulating your muscles increases your body metabolism which means your now burn even more fat for fuel. So, it’s a double benefit.