Myths about building muscle and burning fat

You've probably done a bit of research on how to build muscle and burn fat, but there's a good chance you ran into some myths along the way. But don't let misinformation come between you and your fitness goals.

Here are six commonly held (but false) beliefs, and one truth, about gaining muscle and burning fat:

Muscle can turn into fat and vice versa

Not even a little bit true - they are two are entirely different tissues and can't magically morph into each other. Yes, when you're inactive, your muscle fibres will probably shrink while your fat cells will expand - and, when you're more active, the opposite is likely to occur - but that doesn't mean that the tissues are replacing one another.

Muscle weighs more than fat

A pound of fat and a pound of muscle weight exactly the same. But - and this is where the confusion usually comes in - the volume of muscle is denser and more compact. It takes four pounds of muscle to fill the space of one pound of fat. That's why you might see results in the mirror without the number on the scale dropping.

Eating fat makes you fat

Actually, the opposite is true - assuming you're eating good fats, that is. Polyunsaturated and  monounsaturated fats such as those found in nuts, fish, avocado, and olives are heart-healthy and fill you up, so you don't overeat.

The truth: watch your portion sizes - eating more calories than you use each day - healthy or not - does lead to fat storage.

You can spot-reduce fat

When your body needs energy, it pulls from all of your fat cells, not just the areas you want to target. So to lose fat from any place, you have to lose fat from every place. 

Interestingly, the first place where you gain fat (such as your tummy, thighs or bum) is typically the last place you'll lose it because when you put fat on easily in one area, it means your body is best able to store it there.

You can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time

To shed fat, you have to burn more calories than you take in (what's called a caloric deficit). But when you do that, your body also burns some muscle. As a result, it's common to lose some muscle mass as you lose weight.

The way to prevent this is to eat more protein whilst also lifting weights. People who do both are able to gain muscle mass while losing fat because getting enough protein provides your body with the amino acids it needs (without breaking down your lean muscle to get it).

Your body can only absorb a certain amount of protein at one time

You have probably heard the conventional wisdom: the body can only absorb 25 to 30 grams of protein at a time, so protein consumption needs to be spaced out over the course of the day in order to optimise muscle protein synthesis.

But the latest research suggests otherwise, with one recent study published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine showing that there’s no upper limit to the anabolic response generated by consuming as much as 100 grams of protein at a time.