People go to the gym and exercise regularly for two main reasons – building muscle mass, and losing fat. The detailed exercise and nutrition plans that your trainer chalks out for you are built with these specific purposes in mind. In most cases, this is a simultaneous activity, as you burn more fat, your muscles get developed. And the more muscles that you have developed in your body, the easier it will be for you to burn fat in the future. Gaining muscle but not losing fat is a result that many people have noticed in their time though, and this has them perplexed and confused.
First and foremost, you must know if it is possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. The answer is no, this is not possible. The human body cannot perform both these tasks at the same time, though ideally everyone would be absolutely delighted if this were the case. As a result, many people start panicking when they begin to notice that they are not losing fat.
Everybody who goes to the gym has a particular purpose in mind. Some are there to solely get rid of fat, whereas some are focused primarily on building muscle. Everyone would love to achieve both these results simultaneously, but sadly this is not the case. Seasoned and experienced gym visitors are well aware of this, and as a result plan their exercise routines in a balanced manner. They know how to gain muscle without losing weight, and know how to go about fat burning as well.
The Reasoning
The reason is the process of anabolism. Anabolism refers to the requirement of the human body to have a supply of more calories than those that are expended, in order to build muscle mass. This is one of the fundamental tips to gain muscle fast. This can only be effective if the body is receiving more calories than it is releasing.
On the other hand, the process of losing weight or burning fat, requires the human body to burn more calories than it is receiving. The contradiction between the two processes is the reason that people find that they are gaining weight in terms of muscle but not losing any body fat. The human body only knows how to gain muscle without losing weight.
Carefully analyze the processes of losing weight and gaining muscle separately. Losing weight requires you to do more cardiovascular exercises, consume a low fat, low carbohydrates, and low calories diet. Conversely, for building muscle, you need to do absolutely no cardiovascular exercises, eat a diet high in carbohydrates, calories, and proteins, and of course, lift weights. Both the processes are completely contradictory to each other, so obviously the end result is that people will have the same amount of fat, or they will be losing fat but not gaining weight. This is also why many people fail to see results in their exercise regimen, and as a result they just give up.
The Solution
There is a possible solution to this contradictory situation for you. First of all, you need to accept that you cannot lose fat and build muscle at the same time. You need to alter your exercise regime and focus on both goals separately. Dividing your exercise plan into phases will be a solution that will help. One way for you to go about this is by dividing your phases based on the season. Winter season is a good time to bulk up your muscles and focus on gaining muscle, as the extra fat on your body will be welcome. In the summer season, you can focus on burning up the excess fat and developing a leaner look.
Eating a proper and healthy diet will also aid you in this process. You need to reduce the amount of dietary fat that enters your system. This adds up in an increase in your body’s rate of metabolism. Having an increased rate of metabolism helps you to gain muscle quicker, and also enables you to lose fat more efficiently. Increase the consumption of vegetables, and decrease the consumption of foods rich in starch as well.
It should not discourage you from visiting the gym, and it should not leave you feeling frustrated or depressed. You need to understand how your body works, set goals for yourself, and then work hard to achieve it. Time and patience will give you the required results that you wish for.
