Gain Weight to Lose Fat and Get Lean. Weight Loss Can Make You Fatter.
Weight Loss
People seem to be obsessed with weight loss. Lose weight and you will be better looking, healthier and more confident. That is what many people think but they are wrong. Fat loss is not the same as weight loss. I became leaner during the summer. When I checked my weight I was 20 pounds heavier. In the fall I noticed I was getting fat. I checked my weight and I had lost 16 pounds. It is easier for me to keep the fat off when I weigh more.
Being overweight means you have extra fat weighing you down but weighing yourself does not tell you how fat you are. When you step on the scale you are not just weighing the fat. Some people do need to lose weight but people that focus on weight loss often do things that are bad for them. They go on strict diets, starve themselves, exercise too much or take diet pills. Losing weight that way is bad for your health and it can make you look and feel like you are sick.
Muscle
When you build muscle you increase your muscle weight and you make your muscles bigger. You become heavier and bigger. However muscle burns calories. It is good for getting rid of fat. Getting rid of the fat makes you lighter and thinner. If you build muscle doing exercises like bicycling, running, swimming, jumping rope, push ups or weightlifting then you can expect to look and feel more like a lean muscular athlete and less like a couch potato. It is like taking off thick heavy clothes to reveal your lean firm body.
You should not bulk up unless you avoid exercises that burn a lot of calories and eat to gain weight. The difference between lean people and people that want to be lean is usually muscle. One of the best ways to get muscle is to compete with yourself. Each time you exercise try to do better than the last time.
If you no longer want to improve or your muscles are getting too big then switch to other exercises that focus on different muscles. For burning calories focus on the bigger muscles like the calf muscles in your legs. Biking is a great exercise for building muscle and losing fat. You could lose fat and become lean by biking.
Weight Gain
Gaining weight is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it is the only way to get rid get rid of the extra belly fat. To tell the difference between an increase in muscle weight and an increase in fat weight see how much loose fat you have on your body. Check with your hands and your eyes. Muscle is hard, fat is flabby. Also pay attention to how your clothes fit and how strong you are. There is no need to weigh yourself to see if you are losing weight when you are trying to lose inches. I know I lost inches of fat because I am too skinny for my jeans now. I had to get a belt.
Many people assume that if the exercise is working then they should be losing weight. Even cardio exercises like biking can cause a person to gain weight. It caused me to gain 20 pounds. If you are exercising enough to lose fat then you are probably exercising enough to gain muscle. Gaining or maintaining your weight does not mean you are not making progress. Exercising and building muscle can increase your appetite. You may find yourself eating a lot more food because your body needs more food. There is nothing wrong with eating a lot of food if your body needs it. Just don't consume a lot of junk.
Skinny Fat
Being skinny fat means the person is thin but they still have extra fat. Even though they are skinny the amount of fat they have could be bad for their health. It also makes them look and feel fat. If you focus on your weight then you could end up being skinny fat. You get to a point where losing weight would be bad for your health and make you look worse but you are still fat or still feel fat. A lack of muscle can make you feel fat when you are not.
Some people think losing more weight will make them like their body more but being thin is not enough. People need muscle to look and feel good. That means they need to exercise and maintain a healthy diet. Athletes don't usually have weight loss goals. They have fitness goals. Athletes exercise and maintain a healthy diet for a lean muscular body. For their size they weigh a lot and eat a lot.
Contradictions
- Eating less food can cause you to gain weight.
- Eating more food can help you slim down,
- Increasing the size of your muscles can make you skinnier.
- Losing weight can make you fatter.
- Gaining weight helps with fat loss.
- Exercising less can help you build muscle faster.
You want to lose weight so you eat less. Eating less means you burn fewer calories and have less muscle. That causes you to becoming fatter. People that don't eat very much are not very active. So they are more likely to be fat or skinny fat. The alternative is to do the opposite. Eat more, exercise more, build muscle and burn more calories. The result is that your muscle weight increases and you become leaner. Be careful when exercising more. If you exercise too much it can cause you to lose muscle.
Make sure you exercise enough to strain your muscle and then give your muscles time to recover before putting a lot of strain on them again. You don't build muscle when you exercise. You build muscle while your muscles are healing. If you don't have a lot of muscle then you should do things to increase your muscle weight to become leaner. Your body weight would increase if your muscle weight increases more than your fat weight decreases. If you have a lot of muscle then focus more on cardio exercises that burn a lot of calories. Eat as much as your body needs but don't eat a lot of junk or eat when you are not hungry.
My Experience
When I became leaner I was focused on increasing my strength and endurance. I started exercising more and eating more. My weight increased, my muscles were bigger and people started telling me I was eating too much but I was leaner and I felt great. It is a good way to slim down. Most people that try to lose weight make it harder for them to lose fat and keep it off. Weight loss can be a good outcome but it should not be your goal if you want to be lean.
I keep hearing "weight loss" over and over again in place of "fat loss" and it bothers me. That is why I wrote this hub. Thinking and acting like they are the same thing makes it harder for people to lose fat. It is the reason people think I am doing everything wrong when I am lean. Overweight people keep telling me that I should be fat because I am doing the opposite of what they think people should do to lose weight. Some of those overweight people can't understand why they are not skinny. Their thinking is off because weight loss and fat loss are not the same thing.
© 2014 Michael H