![]() ![]() Research consistently shows that calories are king when it comes to bodyweight changes ( 5 ). And how does one get lean? By being in a calorie deficit. Remember, if you want to lose belly fat, you need to get lean all over. Surprisingly, the answer is not hours of abdominal training every day instead, the solution is a consistent diet, intense weight training, and moderate amounts of cardio to facilitate fat loss. So, what's the best way to lose belly fat and gain muscle at the same time? Needless to say, if longevity, health, and being lean matter to you, then carrying a large amount of belly fat is not helping. The excess belly fat also starts to "crowd" around vital organs situated in the abdominal cavity, hindering their function. As visceral fat accumulates in the abdominal cavity, the belly and all its digestive innards start to protrude outward. In the case of belly fat, much of it is white fat tissue that surrounds internal organs that lie on the dorsal side of (read: behind) the abdominal wall this "internal" white fat is "visceral fat" - the main culprit of obesity's numerous harmful effects on the body ( 4 ). ![]() Having a portly waistline has many ramifications in terms of health and longevity. The aesthetic consequence of excess belly fat is a protruding gut. (The physiological roles of brown fat extend beyond the scope of this article, so we'll save that for a separate installment.) The majority of the fat tissue in humans is white fat, which is in charge of secreting fat-derived hormones called "adipokines." Humans also contain brown fat, a "healthy" fat that actually increases metabolic rate hence, brown fat tends to be higher in lean individuals. Moreover, not all body fat is the same - humans carry several types of fat tissue with distinct functions ( 3 ). The biological roles of fat (adipose) tissue go well beyond insulating the body and serving as a long-term energy reservoir. Let's briefly talk a bit more about belly fat and why you need to be in a calorie deficit to get rid of it.įor starters, fat is a complicated organ system. Don't worry - this guide provides a calorie-cycling template to help with your body recomposition journey. Intuitively, the "workaround" is to have intermittent higher-calorie days to support muscle growth and consume fewer calories on other days to facilitate fat loss. ![]() You can't have excess calories and a deficiency of calories at any given moment. Well, doing so is incompatible with the laws of thermodynamics and what we know about human biochemistry: anabolic processes like muscle hypertrophy require a surplus of energy (calories), whereas catabolic processes like burning body fat necessitate an energy deficit. Many fitness enthusiasts take umbrage with the claim that it's not possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. While you theoretically can't build muscle and lose body fat simultaneously, body recomposition is possible with strategic calorie-cycling and diligent training. (Hence, fat-free mass (FFM) is synonymous with LBM.) For body recomposition, the goal is to increase FFM as this is a corollary of being leaner and more muscular ( 2 ). LBM is your total body weight minus fat mass. Another way to look at it is that body recomposition aims to increase the proportion of lean body mass (LBM) to fat mass. In other words, it's when someone wants to lose fat and gain muscle (thereby reducing body fat percentage). What is Body Recomposition?īody recomposition is the process of improving body composition. This guide will outline all the finer points of body recomposition and help you get started on the right foot with an 8-week diet and workout protocol to lose fat and gain muscle. However, this shouldn't discourage you! Body recomposition is achievable with the right diet, training, and supplement regimen. Countless hours of cardio and crunches aren't the answer, either (unless your goal is to be skinny/thin, which is not synonymous with being lean and muscular). If you want rock-hard abs, you need to be lean all over - generally under 10% body fat if you're a man and sub-12% body fat if you're a woman. (Sorry folks, spot-reduction is a mainstream myth that just won't go away.) Where your body holds onto excess body fat is unfortunately out of your control, and you can't gain muscle if you're in a chronic calorie deficit ( 1 ). Alas, body recomposition is not as straightforward as one would hope. If we could target stubborn fat deposits like we could isolate specific muscle groups, it wouldn't be that complicated to lose fat and gain muscle. Let's face it: belly fat is the bane of any fitness enthusiast. Can You Lose Fat and Gain Muscle at the Same Time? ![]()
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