Burning Fat, Not Muscle

Speaker 1 0:00

Hey guys , this is Kourt from Redefining Strength . Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast . This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips . I'm not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything . All I ask in return is , if you're enjoying the podcast , to leave a review or leave a five star rating or , even better , share it with someone you think it might help . This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know . So let's jump right in .

Speaker 1 0:29

Have you been celebrating quick weight loss on the scale ? Maybe you shouldn't be . Why ? Because with these extremes , you're going to see the pounds fly off quickly . But there's a problem , a big problem and one that almost everybody overlooks . You're not controlling for if you're losing muscle one second or fat , because those extremes you're going to to try and see the pounds fly off are actually sabotaging your results . It's also why it feels like you have to starve yourself to get down to your goal weight , and the process just gets harder and harder .

Speaker 1 1:09

The sticky truth is your hard work . Trying to do more is hindering your progress . No one wants to work hard not to see the results they deserve . Most of us want to do less and get more defined and leaner . We want to lose fat , not muscle , but only strive for faster results on the scale . We sacrifice more muscle in the process Muscle like it's hard to regain and retain as we get older . So if you want to lose fat , it may be time to dish the scale . That's why I want to go over ways to tell body recomp is truly happening , that you're losing fat while retaining and even gaining the muscle . But first it's key we understand why this scale is a horrible measure of fat loss and why seeing fast changes to it is probably why all of our hard work is working against us . Because so many of us have to find being in shape to find what our ideal aesthetic is in relation to a number on a scale and letting that number go at times isn't easy , but it's necessary if you want to look leaner than ever before . So why is the scale holding you back ? Because being solely focused on the scale changing often leads to us doing extreme dieting and training practices . One's not only set us up for failure because they aren't sustainable , but also ones that hurt our metabolism , create hormonal imbalances and lead to us losing more muscle than fat .

Speaker 1 2:26

And while , yes , in the fat loss process , as we strive to get leaner , some muscle mass may be lost , but we can gain more control over what we're losing muscle or fat by how we adjust our diet and workouts . This means not creating extreme calorie deficit or trying to add an extra workout session when we don't have enough energy coming in , our body will find internal sources . This is why we do need a calorie deficit for weight loss . Less energy coming in our body uses what is stored , and of course , we'd love our body to use fat as fuel first . But when we don't focus on macros and we slash our calories super low , the opposite is going to happen . Instead of turning to our fat as fuel , our body will utilize muscle . It does this because breaking down muscle not only provides us with the fuel we need , it also saves us on the energy we require to survive , because muscle requires more energy to be maintained than our fat stores do . So from a survival standpoint , it makes sense to use a bit of muscle first as fuel and keep that fat store for later . This is why metabolic adaptations occur . We lose lean muscle mass because of our dieting practices and therefore we burn fewer calories a rest . That's why , if we're only focusing on losing fast on the scale , there's a greater chance that the weight we're dropping isn't fat , but instead it's muscle , as our body seeks to provide energy for the most important functions . So it's time to step off the scale , stop the extreme calorie deficits and focus on tracking progress in these other ways .

Speaker 1 3:52

So five signs you're actually burning fat and not muscle . You measure and you've lost inches , but then you step on the scale and your weight hasn't changed . You're frustrated because you've been so good all week . You think to yourself I'll just lower my calories more , or I'll cut out more of the insert food you've decided is bad here . Don't Losing inches while the scales and budging shows you're actually achieving amazing body recomb , so don't sabotage it by trying to do more . How is this possible , though , that you can be leaning down without the scale changing ? Some of us have heard that muscle weighs more than fat , but that's a slight misphrasing of what's going on , because one pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat , but one pound of muscle takes up less space , so if you're eating to fuel your training , you may gain muscle as you lose fat . Gain one pound of muscle as you lose one pound of fat , and you're going to look a lot leaner yet weigh the same . So while it may be frustrating to not see the scale change , this can actually be a sign that you're not only losing fat . You're not doing so at the cost of your lean muscle mass , and this will help you ultimately reach your goal not create metabolic adaptations and therefore be stronger and more able to sustain your results long term .

Speaker 1 5:06

The next sign I want to make you aware of is your clothes fitting better . If you aren't measuring , but your clothes are fitting better while the scale isn't changing , your body is telling you the same thing You're losing fat and not sacrificing your muscle . I even love having clients keep a specific pair of pants or a clothing item that maybe is a little bit too tight , just so they can use it as a reference . Each week or so , they try on this and they see how it fits , even taking pictures in it to help them judge . But as you feel that waist get looser on this pair of pants , you know you're losing fat , even if the scale isn't changing , and sometimes using clothes to judge is easier than measuring , because it's not easy to get the measuring tape in the exact same spot .

Speaker 1 5:46

Another sign you're losing fat and not losing muscle is that you're feeling fitter in your workouts . But what if you aren't feeling like your clothes are fitting looser ? Yet what if areas you want to change , like your waist measurements , aren't actually changing ? Often our most stubborn areas , the ones that we want to change the most , are the last ones to change , and it stinks . We lose from areas we don't care about and therefore haven't even measured first . This is why even tracking progress in your workouts is important . Not only does this keep you in the habit of staying focused and intentional with your training , but it allows results time to snowball . It allows you to see that you're on the right track towards body recomb .

Speaker 1 6:22

Think about how you often feel when you slash your collar super low and you try to out exercise your diets lose weight . You feel burned out , right Like your workouts are sometimes a battle and like your lifts start to drop . Your energy just isn't there and you start to feel like your hard work isn't paying off . But if we're focused on a smaller calorie deficit , clear progression and macros to see that body recomb , we're often going to see our strength and fitness improve . We feel better , even in our training , like we're able to tackle more and do it more easily . This is a sign we're building muscle in our training and if the scale isn't changing , this means we're also losing fat . So track your progress in your workouts to see those muscle gains and help yourself even want to stay more consistent with other healthy habits . The more ways we measure success , the more ways we have to be successful .

Speaker 1 7:08

Next , if you're seeing definition in the mirror , even if it's areas you don't care about as much , you're seeing that fat being lost . That's also why I like having my clients take progress pictures . This is a great way to see that definition popping out and the muscle gains from your training and strength improvements in the gym . We just have to remember that lighting does play a factor , so make sure to take pictures in the same place consistently so you can compare . And then make sure to take a variety of angles and pictures of areas you don't really even care about , because often we're going to lose from everywhere else besides where we want first . In this process of losing from everywhere else , it can even feel like our trouble spots look worse . So be conscious of this . If you're tracking your progress pictures , if an area looks worse , this doesn't mean you gain fat and you lost muscle . You just have to recognize that another area around it might have gotten smaller . Progress pictures , while not as objective as measurements or an item of clothing , because you can feel like you don't look as good are a great indicator of fat loss , as we not only retain but also gainly muscle . You may even see increases more easily in areas you've even wanted to build when you flex for photos . So even if you want to gain a little bit of muscle as you lose fat , progress pictures can be a great way to monitor

Gaining Muscle While Losing Fat

Speaker 1 8:21

body recomp .

Speaker 1 8:21

The final way you can not only see fat loss but even muscle being gained is that you're truly gaining weight .

Speaker 1 8:28

But the measurements , clothing and progress pictures all show a leaner physique .

Speaker 1 8:32

And while many of us have heard you can't build muscle as you lose fat because you can't build muscle in a deficit , this isn't fully true .

Speaker 1 8:39

It's why strength workouts , and especially a focus on protein , is so key .

Speaker 1 8:43

But this is also why we can't just so solely get focused on the goal weights , because we may be losing fat as the scale even goes up .

Speaker 1 8:50

You may actually look leaner and people may even ask you if you've lost weight while weighing more .

Speaker 1 8:56

This can happen because you're eating enough to fuel that muscle growth and build two pounds of muscle as you even lose one pound of fat . And the more muscle you build , the more you may see that metabolic rate increase and what once was a small deficit may get bigger . So you may even have to end up eating more to fuel that muscle growth to see the scale increase as you ultimately lose more and more fat . This is why those measurements , the pictures , the use of clothing to track is so key outside of just using the scale , because had you not had those other methods to see the fat loss occurring , may have just given up at the big jump up on the scale , even if that jump showed that you were actually achieving even better results than you thought possible . As hard as it is to let go of your weight on the scale , to forget that goal weight even if you have more weight you want to lose , it might be the secret to getting better results faster and being fit and strong till your final day on this planet .