Is it possible to lose fat while gaining muscle

The group with slow weight loss was supposed to drop 0. For an athlete of 70 kilos, this is about half a kilo a week. Athletes in the faster weight loss groups were supposed to drop 1. The athletes who lost weight not only reached a lower fat percentage, they also increased what is called lean body mass LBM. LBM is your body weight minus the amount of fat you have in your body. LBM includes, among other things, the amount of muscle you have. But if you are going to build muscle, you naturally have to exercise your muscles.

Raastad explained that a strength programme where you exercise all the major muscles in your body is crucial if your goal is to increase your total muscle mass. Raastad says that weight loss often causes muscle loss. Strength training during weight loss can counteract this, which may explain why the athletes in the study described above did not lose muscle even though they lost four to five kilos in weight.

In addition, it is smart to eat enough protein. Olympiatoppen, which is a part of the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports that trains Norwegian elite athletes, advises their athletes to eat around one to two grams of protein per kilogramme of body weight a day. Although the athletes from the study described above were in a calorie deficit, it was not very big.

Having to lose weight and at the same time get stronger and build muscle is demanding. Raastad recommends setting other goals. This is the rapid muscle growth that occurs when someone starts lifting weights for the first time. Similarly, Carpenter said, those who have a higher body-fat percentage and are new to training might be able to make quicker progress. You may be wondering when I'm going to tell you to hit the treadmill, but the truth is you don't have to do lots of steady-state cardio like jogging or cycling at a consistent pace to reach your goals.

Of course, there are lots of other benefits of cardiovascular activity. In fact, if you're in a calorie deficit, doing lots of cardio will make you more likely to lose lean tissue, Servante said. So running isn't necessarily bad, but it's probably not the best option for your physique goals.

All that is not to say there won't be benefits to getting a sweat on. In fact, getting your heart rate up in the right way could help you get lean while building muscle.

That's why Ngo Okafor , a celebrity personal trainer and transformation coach, recommends following a program combining high-intensity strength-training circuits using light weights and high repetitions with cardio bursts mixed in. He told Insider that while lifting weights or strength training builds muscle, "your heart rate is not as elevated as it would be if you were doing cardiovascular activity.

Cardio, on the other hand, may blast calories while you're doing it, but this burn "slows down immensely when the cardiovascular activity ends," he added. An example of a lower-body workout that would fit Okafor's training style? Strength movements like squats and deadlifts at a weight where you can perform 20 reps along with cardio bursts like 60 seconds of high knees. With a goal like body recomposition, it's important to be patient and measure your progress in ways other than the scale, because you're not just trying to lose weight.

Measuring body composition without expensive equipment is challenging, but a couple of options are keeping waist measurements or using a tight-fitting pair of jeans to see whether they start to feel tighter in some places as you gain muscle and looser in others as you lose fat. Changing your body composition is a long journey, and you need to be prepared for this to take some time.

Instead of waiting for aesthetic results to keep yourself motivated, set training goals to work toward, like deadlifting 1. Essentially, there are many ways to get strong and lean, but resistance training, protein, and patience are key. As a senior lifestyle reporter at Insider and a self-described fitness fanatic with an Association for Nutrition certified nutrition course under her belt, Rachel Hosie is immersed in the wellness scene and here to answer all your burning questions.

Whether you're struggling to find the motivation to go for a run, confused about light versus heavy weights, or unsure whether you should be worried about how much sugar is in a mango, Rachel is here to give you the no-nonsense answers and advice you need, with strictly no fad diets in sight.

Rachel has a wealth of experience covering fitness, nutrition, and wellness, and she has the hottest experts at her fingertips. She regularly speaks to some of the world's most knowledgeable and renowned personal trainers, dietitians, and coaches, ensuring she's always up to date with the latest science-backed facts you need to know to live your happiest and healthiest life.

Have a question? Ask Rachel at workingitout insider. All questions will be published anonymously. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Research shows that beginners respond quickly and efficiently to both strength training and cardio. There's a similar effect if you've previously built muscle but have lost it. It's easier for you to re- build that muscle because your muscles "remember" what it was like to be larger. If you are an average exerciser who wants to improve your balance of fat and muscle , you can lose fat while strengthening your lean body tissue over time.

In fact, if you're a beginning exerciser, you are likely to get the greatest benefits of both fat loss and muscle gain. If you're an advanced exerciser or bodybuilder looking to gain large amounts of muscle while also losing large amounts of fat , you may find this challenging because those goals often conflict with one another. Simply put, building muscle requires eating more calories than you burn. Losing fat requires eating fewer calories than you burn.

When you're at a calorie deficit so you can lose fat, your muscles aren't getting the fuel they need to grow larger. If your goal is to strike a balance between fat loss and muscle gain, there are a few tips that can help you get there. The key is to incorporate both cardio and strength training into your exercise routine, whether you're a beginner or a more experienced exerciser.

Cardio with no strength training can compromise your muscle mass shrinking your muscles instead of building them. But strength training without cardio can compromise your fat loss. So do both. Even though you will include cardio and strength elements in your training, you don't need to prioritize both. If you're a marathoner, focus on cardiovascular endurance. If you're a bodybuilder, focus on muscle growth. For the beginning exerciser or average exerciser, having a balance between the two is the best way to maximize fat loss while preserving muscle mass.

Also, remember that you might lose fat without losing weight , so your scale may not be a good indicator of the progress you're making. Exercise matters, but fat loss happens primarily in the kitchen. The USDA recommends eating a diet that includes lean proteins, vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy, and oils vegetable oils and oils found in nuts and seafood when your goal is to maintain a healthy weight.

You may also benefit from seeking the guidance of a qualified nutritionist to help you come up with an eating plan to meet your goals. In most cases, the nutrition professional can help you devise a menu that allows you to eat foods you love but still get the nutrition you need to lose fat while weight training. While overtraining, or not giving your body enough time to recover between workouts, may not cause you to lose muscle, it can impact your muscle's strength and endurance.

It can also increase your risk of injuries, making it harder to exercise for weight loss. Overtraining can occur to both beginning exercisers and athletes alike.

If you notice that your workout performance is declining or that you feel fatigued, take a day or two off. Allow your muscles to fully heal so that you don't do any major damage. You may also benefit from adjusting the recovery times between your exercise sets. The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends these rest periods based on your exercise training goals:. Maybe you're not necessarily looking to build muscle while losing weight, but you also don't want to lose the muscle that you currently have.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to get rid of your fat while preserving your muscle mass.

One study of 39 adults found that eating a high-protein diet can help protect muscle when cutting calories in an attempt to lose weight. Although all participants lost weight by lowering their calorie intake, those who consumed more protein lost less of their lean muscle mass.

A study of 20 obese patients found similar results. Healthy protein sources include lean meats, seafood, eggs, and dairy. If you follow a plant-based diet , beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds are all non-animal foods that are also high in protein.

If you have a medical condition, consult with your doctor before starting a high-protein diet. This eating strategy can potentially impact kidney function, making this a consideration if you have a kidney-related disease.