After you’ve been consistently working out at the gym for a few months and watching your diet, you’ll notice some changes in your body.

If you’ve lowered your calories and increased your cardiovascular exercise, for example, your weight might go down a few pounds. Or, if you’ve increased the protein in your diet and started a strength training program, you might notice your muscles looking bigger and more defined.

Those changes you’re seeing have to do with the amount of muscle and fat tissue in your body, which make up a large part of your body composition.

Gaining muscle and losing fat can be a complicated topic and there are quite a few misconceptions about it. In this blog, we’ll discuss the differences between fat and muscle and answer some commonly asked questions that we hear from members of our Thornton gym.

What Is the Difference Between Fat and Muscle?

You might have been told that muscle weighs more than fat, but this is not true. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same. A pound is a pound! One key difference between fat and muscle, however, is in their density.

There are countless examples of two objects that weigh the same but are different in size. A pound of cotton candy, for instance, will take up a lot more space than a pound of filet mignon.

The same theory can be applied to muscle and fat. Fat is bulky and fluffy, while muscle is hard and dense. A pound of fat is about the size of a grapefruit, while a pound of muscle is about the size of a tangerine.

How Do Fat and Muscle Affect My Weight?

While your weight can be an important indicator of your health, it doesn’t tell the whole story because not all pounds are created equal.

Two different people can weigh the same amount on a scale but look very different. That’s because one might have a high percentage of fat while the other has a high percentage of muscle.

Someone carrying 20 extra pounds of fat will likely have a softer, less toned appearance. But someone carrying 20 extra pounds of muscle will look more defined and sculpted.

Another way that fat and muscle can affect your weight is by how many calories these tissues burn while you’re at rest.

Over the course of a day, while you’re at rest, 10 pounds of muscle will burn 50 calories while 10 pounds of fat will burn 20 calories. This might not seem like much, but over the span of a month, that 10 pounds of muscle burns 900 more calories than fat. As you add muscle to your frame, the extra calories burned by that muscle tissue could result in more fat loss.

How Much Muscle and Fat Should I Have?

Many people think of fat as the enemy, but we all need some fat to survive. Fat plays an essential role in many bodily functions such as storing energy for future use, producing hormones, warehousing nutrients, and regulating body temperature.

Research has shown, however, that people with a higher percentage of body fat have a higher death rate, regardless of their weight. Excess fat also increases the risk of developing chronic, serious conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.

Even people with a low body weight but a high fat ratio are at higher risk for these conditions.

This doesn’t mean, however, that you need to build a lot of extra muscle. Muscle is never a bad thing, and you can’t build too much of it, but it’s also okay if you want to maintain an average amount.

Different organizations offer slightly different guidelines for how much muscle and fat people should have. The following guidelines come from the American College of Sports Medicine.

Athletes

Females — 14%-20% body fat
Males – 6%-13% body fat

Fit People

Females — 21%-24% body fat
Males – 14%-17% body fat

Average people

Females — 25%-31% body fat
Males – 18%-24% body fat

Obesity

Females — 32% and higher body fat
Males – 25% and higher body fat

How Can I Measure My Muscle and Body Fat Mass at the Gym?

AFAC gym is the only facility in the Thornton, Colorado, area with an InBody 770, a device that measures body composition including muscle mass, fat mass, and water.

The InBody 770 provides a non-invasive, easy test that only takes 60 seconds. After each test, you’ll receive a full-page report with a detailed breakdown of your body’s composition. You can keep and compare these reports over time to track changes in body composition, which can show you the results of your workouts at the gym.

Can I Gain Muscle and Burn Fat at the Same Time at the Gym?

Yes, you can. It’s called a body re-composition, or “recomp,” and it requires strict attention to your nutritional intake and strength-training workouts.

Tips for Increasing Muscle Mass at the Gym

To increase muscle mass, you’ll need to progressively overload your muscles by lifting weights and challenging yourself over time. After every gym workout, your muscles will build more fibers so they’re better equipped to handle the stress of the next workout. Once you get used to lifting a load, you must keep increasing the intensity to cause microtears in your muscle tissue, which prompts your body to build more muscle.

What you eat also matters. Since your muscles are made of protein, you’ll need to consume plenty of lean protein (chicken, fish, Greek yogurt, eggs, etc.) to give your body the building blocks it needs to increase muscle mass. Eating protein also helps you feel fuller, longer.

Practice whole-body strength training exercises 3-4 days per week at the gym.
Don’t be afraid to push yourself by lifting increasingly heavy weights until the muscle group you’re working goes into failure.
Eat a high-protein diet that will fuel your muscle-building goal. Aim for about one gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. If, for example, you weigh 150 pounds, aim for eating at least 150 grams per day of protein.
Consider working with a personal trainer at the gym who can show you how to lift effectively and safely.
Participate in other activities that will help you build muscle like yoga, biking, or climbing.

Tips for Losing Fat at the Gym

If you’re trying to lose fat, you’ll need to eat fewer calories than you burn, also known as a calorie deficit. But, if you’re also trying to gain muscle, you’ll need enough calories for your body to build mass after those tough strength-training workouts. Gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously is a difficult process that takes some trial and error, but it is possible.

To lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, eat at a slight calorie deficit while making sure you’re consuming the nutrition necessary to grow muscle. In theory, if you’re in a calorie deficit, your body will use its fat stores for the energy required to build muscle instead of relying on the calories you’re eating, resulting in a loss of fat and gain in muscle.

Remember that, if you restrict your calories, you won’t put on as much muscle as you would if you ate more calories than you burn. That means you won’t significantly bulk up while you’re focused on losing fat, due to the calories required to build muscle.

Based on current literature, eating 200-400 calories below your maintenance is ideal for body re-composition.
You can calculate your maintenance calories by using an online calculator. Keep in mind, this number will change depending on your workout routines.
Since online calculators don’t know the ins and outs of your metabolism, it can take some experimenting to find the right balance for you. Don’t get discouraged if you’re not seeing results right away.
Eat a balanced diet that’s full of nutritious foods. Ideally, everything you eat should be fueling your mission. Increase your intake of vegetables, fruit, and lean protein so you’ll feel fuller longer. Reduce or eliminate empty calories like sugary drinks, chips, cookies, and ice cream.
Avoid undereating too much, as this can put your body into starvation mode and slow down your metabolism.
Exercise every day. In addition to your strength training workouts, cardiovascular exercise is a great tool for burning calories and maintaining fat loss. This doesn’t mean you need an intense sweat session daily, but try to keep your body moving during recovery days with active recovery exercises.
That said, avoid overtraining. Rest muscle groups after you’ve worked them hard and get plenty of sleep. Those rest days are when the real magic happens – your body is building muscle so you’re strong enough for the next workout.
Work with a doctor and/or nutritionist. They can help you tweak your diet and portion sizes, and create realistic goals for your fat loss plan.

How to Tell if You’re Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat at AFAC Gym

Aesthetically, it should be pretty easy to tell if you’re gaining muscle and losing fat. When you gain muscle tissue, your muscles will look more defined and visible. Your muscles will feel harder and will be larger in size. You’ll also be stronger!

Losing fat will give you even more muscle definition, as the layer of fat that’s covering your muscles will be disappearing. That means if you want to see those six-pack abs, losing belly fat is most of the battle. (How many times have you heard the phrase, “Abs are made in the kitchen”?)

Where you won’t see many changes is on the scale. As you lose fat and gain muscle, your clothes will feel looser and you’ll look leaner, but the scale probably won’t budge much. You might even gain a pound or two! That’s because muscle weight is replacing your fat weight. And, since muscle is denser than fat, it appears smaller, even though it weighs the same.

If you’d like more information about creating a workout and diet regimen to achieve your goals to lose fat and gain muscle, please stop by and speak to our team at AFAC gym. We can give you a tour of the gym and tell you about our cardio machines, strength training equipment, full schedule of fitness classes, and InBody 770 body composition assessments. As the best gym in Thornton, Colorado, we are here to support each member’s fitness goals. For more information and assistance, you can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.