Posted by Winston Salem | Posted in winston salem fitness | Posted on 07-08-2010
Despite what all the late night infomercials tell us, fat and muscle are two distinctly different tissues and one can’t be turned into the other.
Muscle will always be muscle and fat will always be fat. As to the second thought you mentioned, one pound of either is exactly that – one pound.
It is truly a myth that fat cells can change into muscle. You can burn fat and build muscle, but a fat cell will never turn into a muscle cell.
Body fat is a storage place where our body puts additional energy when we consume more calories per day than we burn.
When someone continues to consume more calories than the person needs, the size of their existing fat cells increases.
When we “burn fat” we’re actually shrinking the size of our fat cells by using the energy that has been stored there.
There are also have a fixed number of muscle cells so when we’re building muscle the individual muscle cells are increasing in size (bulking up).
Over time, you can gain muscle mass through a variety of activities including weight training and other forms of weight training.
When your main goal is to bulk up, you’re likely increase your muscle mass which can increase your overall weight. Remember that your weight also depends on what you eat and when you’re doing other kinds of exercise.
For instance, if you are doing lots of cardio, then you may ultimately lose fat and decrease your weight.
Instead of stepping on a scale, you could want to consider measuring your body composition.
Methods to assess body composition (lean body mass vs. fat body mass) can help give you a more valid idea of what comprises your body.
You can always talk with a Dietetics Professional or a personal trainer to help determine the weight and exercise plan that’s best for you.
