The latest fad diet or drink will not turn your fat into muscle. You must reduce your caloric intake if you want to get rid of the fat. You also need to give your body the right nutrients needed to build muscle.
It takes time and dedication, something that many fad diets do not require. Here are some tips to help you quickly convert your unwanted fat to muscle.
Reducing Your Caloric Intake
This is the first step in turning fat into muscle. Unfortunately, many people think they can simply lift weights and see results. However, when you consume fewer calories than your body burns for energy, it will reduce the amount of fat on your body.
While it certainly won’t happen overnight, you will notice that your muscles look more defined. You will also notice that your body mass index will decrease.
It’s vital that you know how many calories you consume and how many you burn each day in order to start converting fat to muscle.
How to Determine Your Caloric Needs?
In order to burn fat, you have to eat fewer calories. However, if you don’t want to eat fewer calories, you can increase your activity level. The fastest way to reduce fat and increase muscle mass is to do both.
A reduction of 500 calories is all that is needed to start seeing fat loss. Muscle does not build as fast as fat, so you won’t see all your fat replaced with muscle right away. Because muscle grows slower, you need to start building muscle while you are losing fat. Don’t wait until you have lost fat to begin building muscle.
Nutritional Requirements
One of the main nutritional requirements to build muscle is protein. You will need to give your body enough protein to build muscle, but it also must be from a good source. Currently, the recommendation of protein is .36 grams per one pound of body weight.
The only time you may need more than this is if you are training extensively, such as for a marathon. Protein is made up of amino acids. Not all amino acids and protein are the same. Foods such as a steak and beans contain different types of protein.
Complete Proteins
Your body needs complete proteins to build muscle. Incomplete proteins are found in beans, nuts, peas, and vegetables. These do not contain essential amino acids. Your body cannot produce these essential amino acids.
They are only found in animal products, such as eggs, fish, meat, and dairy items. The best sources of these proteins when you are trying to turn fat into muscle are poultry, low fat dairy products, and fish.
Stick With It and Don’t Give Up
While you won’t turn your fat into muscle overnight, you can help speed up the process by combining your workout program with the proper healthy diet. The exercise will help you get rid of the fat by burning more calories, but also build your muscles to give you a more toned appearance.
