The Hidden Truth About Building Muscle: Can You Really Build Muscle And Lose Fat At The Same Time?
Most people usually have two main fitness goals. They are to lose body fat and increase muscle mass. Unfortunately, the two goals are, in fact, polar opposites of each other, which can make things much more difficult and tricky.
Unless you’re taking some sort of chemical supplement, you simply don’t have a choice: it takes more calories to build muscle. On the other hand, for your body to lose body fat will require you to consume fewer calories than normal. As a result, you are left with a dilemma.
These opposite ends of the spectrum make it a wasted effort to try to achieve both goals at the same time. You will end up getting nowhere if you do both at the same time.
All weightlifters are well aware that in order to build additional muscle they also need to gain some fat. Of course, the question is how much fat is gained.
How to gain muscle and gain little to no fat?
For you to gain muscle weight, you have two options available.
- Some people choose to eat as many calories as possible in one sitting. They think that by eating this large amount of calories, they will gain muscle mass more quickly and easily. However, this is not a good way to deal with the problem. The body can only make use of a certain amount of the calories that are ingested for the production of muscle mass. Anything else will be stored in the body as fat. This is an undeniable fact and no matter how much you wish otherwise, it’s just the way your body is designed. Some people “bulge” between three and six months at a time. And people who choose to consume 5,000 calories or more per day during this period will end up finding that they are left with a massive increase in fat weight, which is not what they expected to achieve.
- However, there is a better sensible option. Instead of maxing out, consume only the calories your body requires for muscle growth and no more. By following this path, you will be able to gain muscle mass without gaining a lot of body fat as well.
By now you are probably wondering how much muscle growth you can expect and how many calories you need to eat to achieve that muscle growth.
There is a guy who claims that he was able to add 20 pounds of muscle to his frame in just six weeks. Well, unless you’re blessed with an incredible set of genes and have the best possible training and diet program known, you’re not likely to achieve the same type of result.
Through proper training, you can expect to gain no more than half a pound to a pound of muscle mass in a week. This figure will be lower if you do not have great genetics or if you are not feeding optimally. The most you can reasonably expect is about 2-4 pounds of growth per month and this clearly shows that consuming large amounts of calories is not a good idea.
It all comes down to this. The more you eat, the more fat you’ll gain. You will need to eat 250-500 calories above maintenance in order to achieve muscle gain without gaining too much fat in the process. All you really need to do is keep an eye on your appearance and the level of body fat you have… and you’ll be able to judge whether to reduce your daily calorie intake.
There are a lot of promises out there. But there are no quick fixes. You’ll hear that there’s a certain number of calories you should eat, but it’s impossible to tell if that number is right for your body. You are different and your metabolism is not the same as other people’s. As the volume increases, you will have to make adjustments.
Be patient and don’t rush the process. You can add muscle, but you don’t want to end up having to deal with a fat problem instead. Struggling to lose body fat is not anyone’s idea of fun.
Take a slow approach and help yourself avoid disappointment that could very well be the reason you give up and turn to a less healthy lifestyle. Maintain your body fat percentage level and you should be fine.