The Best Way to Burn Fat and Build Lean Muscle, Part II of II

In Part I of this II-Part post, I discussed the diet and nutritional considerations for effective fat loss. I delved into why diet is important to achieve leanness; why eating too little, too much, or the wrong foods all together can derail your efforts; and touched on why the persistent "calories in, calories out" paradigm is not an effective approach for fat loss. In this post, I want to further explore what is inherently wrong with the "calories in, calories out" model; the difference between weight loss and fat loss; and the type of exercise that is scientifically-proven to help you lose fat and build muscle simultaneously. In other words, you must both EAT and MOVE to achieve the optimal conditions for fat-burning and muscle-building!

In my previous post, I alluded to why the "calories in, calories out" idea as an effective fat loss tool is flawed. I also explained that creating a calorie deficit can be an effective way to spur fat loss when/if you hit a plateau. While these two ideas may seem contradictory, they are not. Case in point: If you eat well and enough; exercise for fat loss (more below); and aren't seeing the results you want, monitoring your portions and/or counting macros may enlighten you to the fact that you're actually consuming more than you think. In such a case, a moderate calorie deficit may do the trick to get you where you want to be. Once you're there, it's a matter of maintenance and you can probably be more flexible with your diet. When you ascribe to the method of "calories in, calories out" as the primary way of creating a calorie deficit that you run into problems (pun intended).

Take this advice to tweak your regiment and you'll be on
track in no time!

First of all, there is a difference between losing weight and losing fat. When you lose weight, the number on the scale always goes down because you have reduced the force that your physical body generates against gravity. When you lost fat, however, you may not lose weight. Depending on where you're starting out from, you may even gain weight as you get leaner and lose inches. This is because when you lose fat, you replace it with muscle tissue which is much denser. We've all heard the phrase "Muscle weighs more than fat" and likely seen some iteration of the photo below:

Credit

While it's not true that muscle weighs more than fat (5 lbs is 5 lbs, after all), muscle takes up less space than fat. This is why building muscle makes one look more fit and "toned." For example, observe the following picture:

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I am willing to bet that this woman did not achieve her results by ascribing to the method "calories in, calories out." This type of transformation occurs only when certain environmental conditions are met, specifically related to diet and exercise. You simply cannot eat whatever you want and expect to build muscle and burn unwanted body fat, even IF you burn it all off during exercise...dare I say ESPECIALLY if you burn it all off during exercise.

What do you think?!

The long and short of it is this: When you ascribe to the "calories in, calories out" paradigm, you are less inclined to pay attention to what you eat because, "Heck, I'm gonna burn it off anyway!" Theoretically, you could count calories in and calories out meticulously, and if you end up with a deficit at the end of the day, you will lose weight. But remember that there is a difference between weight loss and fat loss. When you're locked in a constant battle between your intake and your output, your body is falling over itself trying to keep up. Humans are not adapted to withstand the sheer volume of intense physical activity required to keep up this charade. After awhile, your body starts to rebel because it can't make heads or tails of what you're putting it through, chasing away the calories you eat. It rebels by holding onto fat and catabolizing precious muscle tissue to sustain the amount of physical demand placed on it; it slows your metabolism wayyyy down; and, in a cruel twist of irony, it unleashes the hormones that tell your brain the body is starving. You've essentially put yourself in a position to fail because willpower will only last so long before it breaks down and you reach for that bag of Oreos. The hunger pangs and powerful cravings you experience on this type of eat/exercise regiment is called exercise compensatory hunger, and it's common among chronic cardio exercisers. I definitely experienced this when I was an endurance runner training for distance events. I would often feel so ravenous that I could eat a cow. When you're that hungry, it's close to impossible to make a healthy meal choice.

This was me...more times than I'm willing to admit!

I was a slave to this cycle of "calories in, calories out" until I discovered a much more effective and efficient way to move my body. I discovered strength training, and the rest is history. I learned I could achieve the results I wanted by moving heavy weight around in functional ways. I also discovered metabolic resistance training and conditioning workouts which ended up replacing traditional cardio for me almost exclusively. I became a HIIT proponent and aficionado, always eager and enthusiastic to see what variables (tempo, rest, volume, etc.) I could manipulate to achieve a desired affect. The best part of this type of training, IMO, is that it's efficient (less time spent working out means more time to enjoy my life!); effective (combined with a healthy diet, it's transformed my body completely); and fun. I look forward to my workouts and the way they make me feel utterly capable. Now my focus is on what I can do, rather than how I look. Training this way has changed my mind--without having to exert much mental effort--so now I feel like moving my body is a privilege, not a chore.

Case closed...

As cheesy as it sounds, I feel transformed. The former me was a slave to the scale who fretted over every last morsel that passed her lips. Ironically, this mindset kept me trapped and left my goals out of my grasp. I experienced compensatory hunger and cravings like WHOA, and my diet was piss-poor. I hardly experience hunger and cravings like I used to, now that I've adopted this new training regiment. I feel much more in control of my diet, and discovered that eating for performance and for vibrant health are not mutually exclusive! For me, changing my training changed everything. It made me more open to changing my diet when that seemed like the single largest obstacle in my path. Once  I welcomed the thought that I could and should be strong into my life, I started a transformation into a woman who is physically, emotionally, and mentally strong. It doesn't hurt that I'm leaner and have less body fat than I've ever boasted before, either :-)

Wise words from Jill Coleman @ Jillfit

Like what you read? Disagree? Please leave a comment, or email me! I love hearing from you! If you want to see these transformations for YOURSELF and live in the greater NYC area, CONTACT ME for personal training and coaching!