How to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time

There are many reasons to exercise, including to improve your health, burn fat, gain muscle, or just feel better. Many have multiple goals at the same time and, luckily, many of them go hand in hand. Losing fat and gaining muscle, however, seems a little conflicting.

Anyone trying to lose fat wants to get rid of some of their body mass; when you’re gaining muscle, you try to do the opposite and build your body.

So it makes sense to think: is it possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? Surprisingly, the answer is yes.

How to combine the two goals

In fact, working on both goals at the same time will maximize results — many of the same exercises that are good for burning fat are also great for building muscle. And it’s a domino effect: when you have more muscle mass, your body needs more energy at rest (ie it burns more calories when you’re not even moving).

But losing fat and gaining muscle requires a strategic approach. Here’s why: If you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.

However, when you restrict calories, the body needs to draw on existing energy stores — fat, carbohydrates, and even protein — in order to function. As a result, you end up losing fat, but…