How hard is it to convert fat to muscle

[Pex]

In case anyone is wondering about fat cells:


...people are not born with all of the fat cells they will ever develop. Instead, cell number continues to increase throughout adolescence. After this point, it is believed that fat cell number becomes fixed. However, if someone becomes extremely obese (60% body fat; more than 170% of normal body weight), not only will all existing fat cells be filled to their limit of about 1.0 microgram of fat per cell (normal is approximately 0.5 - 0.6 of a microgram), but more fat cells may be produced to accommodate for the extra fat that needs to be stored. Pregnancy also seems to permit formation of new fat cells.




fat cells are like balloons...and when someone gets ripped, all that happens is those cells shrink. but they are always there, waiting to be filled up again. thats why commitment is key.




http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1150.html

 

[ndee]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
It's times like these im grateful for my fast metabolism

same here

 

[TallBill]

drop 30 pounds, get a haircut.. you'll feel great. And higher chance to meet females.

 

[Carbo]

Originally posted by: TallBill
drop 30 pounds, get a haircut.. you'll feel great. And higher chance to meet females.

Why are you assuming he is heterosexual?

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Carbo

Originally posted by: TallBill
drop 30 pounds, get a haircut.. you'll feel great. And higher chance to meet females.

Why are you assuming he is heterosexual?

odds highly favor it, and he never insinuated that it was for heterosexual purposes - gay men meet women too

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: ndee

Originally posted by: Mo0o
It's times like these im grateful for my fast metabolism

same here

Yes, but at the same time, it's tough to gain weight and eat healthy at the same time... how much nasty-tasting healthy stuff can you endure ?! I need a list of good stuff to eat that won't make me puke.

 

[StageLeft]

How hard would it be for me to turn my fat into muscle?

Very, considering that it's impossible. Funnily enough I was thinking about that myth this morning, and the sister of it that muscle turns to fat when you stop working out. I don't even need to read the above responses to know that this has been covered.

Three months/30 pounds? Big goal, but doable, and you don't need to go on a POW-diet to accomplish it. Do that one hour of basketball at least 5 hours/week. You have no access to weights you said, so beyond pushups and maybe whatever you can do with some cheap barbells/dumbells if you can find them, you're a bit short on the strength training area, so you need to turn into a cardio monster. Picture cardio as something you can't get enough of. Also, make sure you're getting in enough good protein - a true vegetarian diet makes that hard. Don't starve yourself, but you could keep track of what you're eating and the calorie levels to make sure you're not cheating. I was a chubby kid and went through my transformation (using tony little as motivation from an infomercial - I sh*t you not) when I was 15. A friend of mine following my footsteps did it when he was 17. Go for it!

Unfortunately on the calorie deficient diet required to drop 30 lbs in 3 months you'd not be able to put muscle on even if you did have access to a full gym. Lifting weights at that point would be beneficial, but only to keep existing muscle. Since you'll be dropping calories like mad and have no access to weights you should expect yourself to lose a decent bit of musle. Unfortunately it will be unavoidable. I'd get a gym membership as soon as possible if you want, but skinny with little muscle is better than fat with a tiny bit more.

 

[ndee]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: ndee

Originally posted by: Mo0o
It's times like these im grateful for my fast metabolism

same here

Yes, but at the same time, it's tough to gain weight and eat healthy at the same time... how much nasty-tasting healthy stuff can you endure ?! I need a list of good stuff to eat that won't make me puke.

that's true, really tough to gain wait. Although my belly is getting bigger(beeeeeeeeeeeeeer). And I don't eat any vegetables anyway

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Paulson
I went from 220lbs to 185 in about 1 & 1/2 months... (5 weeks)...

I worked out every day (ran 2 & 1/2 miles and did about an hour on an eliptical machine, 40 minutes on an exercise bike, and then walked for 20 minutes... I weightlifted different muscles every day (so that muscles would be worked on every other day)... I cut back on my diet to only healthy foods... unfortunately it all fell apart once I had my wisdom teeth out and i got out of my routine... I'm starting it up again though...

3+ hours of Cardio a day plus weight training? No wonder you couldn't keep it up, even at your age.
Once you hit your goal weight you should have radically changed your routine so that you wouldn't be prone to giving up on it. At your age weight training 3 to 4 times a week and cardio for 45 to an hour 4 times a weeks should be way more than enough to keep you fit.

 

[Amused]

The solution to your problem is easy. Carrying it out and sticking to it is the hard part.

If you simply want to lose the fat and hold on to the muscle you have, you don't need anything other than running shoes and a place where you can do pull-ups.

First, while basketball is good, it isn't sustained long enough to burn fat effectively.

Try this Couch to 3K running program:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Print it out and pin it up where you see it on a daily basis. I followed this program (I added 10 minites a day and an extra day a week to it so that each workout was 30 minutes long, and did it 4 days a week instead of 3) and lost 20+ lbs of fat and 4 inches in my waist by the time I was running 4 miles a day (9 weeks)

Secondly, if you cannot join a gym or buy weight lifting equipment, start a calisthenic routine to keep your muscle. Pushups, pullups, situps and deep knee bends should be at the core of this routine.

Finally, do NOT starve yourself. Keep a healthy diet and don't go hungry. If you starve yourself, your body will simply learn how to more effeciently store fat for the next stavation cycle and your metabolism will slow to a crawl. This is why so many people who start out pudgy become obese... they destroy their metabolism by starving themselves over and over on yo-yo diets.

 

[Deeko]

You really need to do one, then the other. Why? Because to lose weight, you need to take in less calories than you burn. To gain weight, you need to take in more than you burn. First try to lose the fat...then work on building the muscle.

 

[ThaPerculator]

1) Don't fall for the atkins fad, you will just gain it back and you wont be losing fat anyway. Any fat loss is unrelated to cutting carbs, unless you don't replace them. A healthy diet has ~55% of energy from carbs, they are easy to digest and a good source of energy.

Dude, do some research before you diss ketogenics. A keto diet is a VERY powerful tool in cutting, and a majority of bodybuilders and models do a keto approach before contests/shoots/whatever. Personally I have lost >55 lbs of weight while gaining a crapload of strength while using smart ketogenics. And yes, I worked out all the time before I started a controlled diet regimen.

When you are cutting, consider doing interval training as it stimulates fat loss without making you TOO calorie-deprived. The last thing you want to do is lengthy endurance work, as your body generally has no favorite when it comes to burning muscle or fat after your initial energy stores are depleted. Lots of endurance will make you 30 lbs lighter, but probably close to the same body fat %.

What you really should be doing is phases of cutting and bulking, or a 'zig-zag' diet approach. Research cyclical ketogenic diets. Basically CKD's are a 'strict' diet regimen that is tailored to your exercise patterns to either help you bulk your best or cut your best while you are doing it. Most people say that a CKD is really hard to get on, but honestly most people have no will and a lack of dedication <ahem the majority of people who claim to be on atkins but have no clue what the hell they are doing and don't exercise>. Look into a book by Lyle McDonald called "The Ultimate Diet 2.0" as it basically goes into depth about a CKD and how exactly your body/hormones/etc react while on a CKD.

While on a CKD, you won't generally get the 'scale weight' results of weightloss as fast as you would a strict cutting diet, but the 'looks' results will be very very prominent and thats what counts. The whole idea is to reduce bodyfat while keeping or increasing lean muscle mass.

No matter what you do diet-wise, if you start up lifting weights you will probably get the 'beginner strength gains' that are very common. When first starting out, most people can have an absurdly retarded diet regimine and still make noticeable gains in strength and muscle mass. It takes a little while before your body realizes what you are trying to do and starts fighting back (your body doesn't want you to be ripped, as a low bodyfat % is naturally like starvation and increased muscle mass eats up more food/energy on a daily basis), so until that point feel free to experiment with different lifting routines, etc.

Another thing that people overlook is:
If you're gonna lift weights, do it right and do some leg work
Your legs are some of the biggest muscles in your body, and increasing the muscle mass there will burn way more energy when you are sitting on your ass. Not to mention working out your legs as well helps to trigger more of a release of growth hormones/etc into your body so that it's easier to make muscle gains all around.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: ThaPerculator

1) Don't fall for the atkins fad, you will just gain it back and you wont be losing fat anyway. Any fat loss is unrelated to cutting carbs, unless you don't replace them. A healthy diet has ~55% of energy from carbs, they are easy to digest and a good source of energy.

Dude, do some research before you diss ketogenics. A keto diet is a VERY powerful tool in cutting, and a majority of bodybuilders and models do a keto approach before contests/shoots/whatever. Personally I have lost >55 lbs of weight while gaining a crapload of strength while using smart ketogenics. And yes, I worked out all the time before I started a controlled diet regimen.

When you are cutting, consider doing interval training as it stimulates fat loss without making you TOO calorie-deprived. The last thing you want to do is lengthy endurance work, as your body generally has no favorite when it comes to burning muscle or fat after your initial energy stores are depleted. Lots of endurance will make you 30 lbs lighter, but probably close to the same body fat %.

What you really should be doing is phases of cutting and bulking, or a 'zig-zag' diet approach. Research cyclical ketogenic diets. Basically CKD's are a 'strict' diet regimen that is tailored to your exercise patterns to either help you bulk your best or cut your best while you are doing it. Most people say that a CKD is really hard to get on, but honestly most people have no will and a lack of dedication <ahem the majority of people who claim to be on atkins but have no clue what the hell they are doing and don't exercise>. Look into a book by Lyle McDonald called "The Ultimate Diet 2.0" as it basically goes into depth about a CKD and how exactly your body/hormones/etc react while on a CKD.

While on a CKD, you won't generally get the 'scale weight' results of weightloss as fast as you would a strict cutting diet, but the 'looks' results will be very very prominent and thats what counts. The whole idea is to reduce bodyfat while keeping or increasing lean muscle mass.

No matter what you do diet-wise, if you start up lifting weights you will probably get the 'beginner strength gains' that are very common. When first starting out, most people can have an absurdly retarded diet regimine and still make noticeable gains in strength and muscle mass. It takes a little while before your body realizes what you are trying to do and starts fighting back (your body doesn't want you to be ripped, as a low bodyfat % is naturally like starvation and increased muscle mass eats up more food/energy on a daily basis), so until that point feel free to experiment with different lifting routines, etc.

Another thing that people overlook is:
If you're gonna lift weights, do it right and do some leg work
Your legs are some of the biggest muscles in your body, and increasing the muscle mass there will burn way more energy when you are sitting on your ass. Not to mention working out your legs as well helps to trigger more of a release of growth hormones/etc into your body so that it's easier to make muscle gains all around.

While you make some good points, I would not trumpet cutting diets as "healthy." In fact, pro body builders are some of the unhealthiest people you'll ever meet. Ever see how weak they are in the weeks leading up to a show? Hell, all that muscle and a PMSing Girl Scout could kick their asses. No matter what you say, you will never convince me that that is healthy.

 

[MikePanic]

you really don't "convert" - you loose the fat then add muscle mass... if you try to loose fat AND gain muscle mass at the same time, you'll find yourself fighting an uphill battle.

loose weight by taking in under 2k calories a day and trying to burn off more then that w/ lots of cardo, low weight high rep sets

gain weight by upping your calorie intake and protien intake (still ditching fatty foods) and do higher weights w/ less reps

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Amused
While you make some good points, I would not trumpet cutting diets as "healthy." In fact, pro body builders are some of the unhealthiest people you'll ever meet. Ever see how weak they are in the weeks leading up to a show? Hell, all that muscle and a PMSing Girl Scout could kick their asses. No matter what you say, you will never convince me that that is healthy.

You can see the pain through their fake smiles on stage, because all they're thinking about is lying down and gorging on a huge pizza.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Amused
While you make some good points, I would not trumpet cutting diets as "healthy." In fact, pro body builders are some of the unhealthiest people you'll ever meet. Ever see how weak they are in the weeks leading up to a show? Hell, all that muscle and a PMSing Girl Scout could kick their asses. No matter what you say, you will never convince me that that is healthy.

You can see the pain through their fake smiles on stage, because all they're thinking about is lying down and gorging on a huge pizza.

Actually, they are all suffering from dehydration and extremely low blood sugar. Most are on the virge of passing out.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Amused
While you make some good points, I would not trumpet cutting diets as "healthy." In fact, pro body builders are some of the unhealthiest people you'll ever meet. Ever see how weak they are in the weeks leading up to a show? Hell, all that muscle and a PMSing Girl Scout could kick their asses. No matter what you say, you will never convince me that that is healthy.

You can see the pain through their fake smiles on stage, because all they're thinking about is lying down and gorging on a huge pizza.

Actually, they are all suffering from dehydration and extremely low blood sugar. Most are on the virge of passing out.

The OP wants to drop 30 lbs in 3 months. I seem to recall a famous case of a bodybuilder after a competition putting on something like 30 lbs in two days. Obviously it was mostly fluids, but I think the guy just went totally nuts on the eating afterwards.

 

[ThaPerculator]

If you simply want to lose the fat and hold on to the muscle you have, you don't need anything other than running shoes and a place where you can do pull-ups.

Ever see how weak they are in the weeks leading up to a show? Hell, all that muscle and a PMSing Girl Scout could kick their asses. No matter what you say, you will never convince me that that is healthy.

I would pay a TON of money to see a guy that only runs and does pull ups go up to even the lightest weight class bodybuilder right before a meet and start talking mad $hit... don't fool yourself, you would get crushed.

 

[Jay59express]

You might want to check out HIIT (high intensity interval training) .. good for burning fat and takes less time (though its intense )

johnstonefitness as someone mentioned is great. You can also check out wannabebigforums and forum.bodybuilding.com, all excellent sites. They will help you set up a proper diet. They will tell you to break your diet up into 6+ small meals per day, each about 300-400 calories. They will help you break down your macronutritients as well (protein, carbs and fat).

As was also mentioned, try not to drink calories .. go for about a gallon+ of water per day. Good foods to eat include fish, lean beef, chicken, natural peanut butter, peanuts, whole wheat breads, sweet potatoes, green veggies, etc. There is a sticky in the diet/nutrition forum at wannabebig.

Good luck (I just started to change my life also).

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: ThaPerculator

If you simply want to lose the fat and hold on to the muscle you have, you don't need anything other than running shoes and a place where you can do pull-ups.

Ever see how weak they are in the weeks leading up to a show? Hell, all that muscle and a PMSing Girl Scout could kick their asses. No matter what you say, you will never convince me that that is healthy.

I would pay a TON of money to see a guy that only runs and does pull ups go up to even the lightest weight class bodybuilder right before a meet and start talking mad $hit... don't fool yourself, you would get crushed.

That doesn't change the fact that what body builders do to cut is VERY unhealthy. And the level of body fat they drop to is also extremely unhealthy.

Many times you'll see body builders passing out right before and/or after a meet due to dehydration and fatigue. So yes, even a skinny wimp could kick their butts.

 

[Kipper]

Eating right is pretty easy. All you have to do is follow the directions your mother gave you (presuming she didn't raise you on Big Macs and supersizing).

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: rezinn

1) Don't fall for the atkins fad, you will just gain it back and you wont be losing fat anyway. Any fat loss is unrelated to cutting carbs, unless you don't replace them. A healthy diet has ~55% of energy from carbs, they are easy to digest and a good source of energy.

That's crap because I lost 25 pounds on it (quick- in like two months), then switched to a low fat diet when I got to my goal weight. I've kept it off by doing 15 minutes of cardio 3x a week + 1 hour strength training. I hate it when people dis Atkins as a "fad" when it actually works. Fad diets don't work.

2) Excercise. 20 minutes a day of cardio is good, but an hour is better. Two hours is even better. You can split your days doing weighs or cardio if you want.

I'd like to see someone overweight do 2 hours of cardio LOL! 20-30 minutes 3x a week should be fine. Your body will continue to burn calories at an increased rate for up to an hour after you stop cardio, so it's a good time to do other exercise during that time (it's like getting two for one! )

3) As said above, don't drink calories. Don't drink soda. Drink lots of water. You'd be surprised how big of a difference this can make.

This is good advice. A lot of people can loose weight just buy cutting the Pepsi and Mountain Dew from their diet. Look for drinks sweetened with Splenda---this stuff is a mircile product. It's amazing how close to sugar it tastes, and there's no calories in it. A lot of fruit juices are coming out with "lite" versions that are sweetened with Splenda (Minute Maid and Tropicana already have products out). These are are a good alternative.

4) Eat healthy. No instant noodles, microwave dinners, cheetos. Eating fresh is a good way to eat healthy. Don't snack on things throughout the day.

I live on microwave Healthy Choice and Weight Watchers dinners for lunch. They're pretty good, large portions, and they're nutritionally balanced, so it kind of "trains" you on what to eat at other meals. I can usually pick up two meals for $5 on sale, so it's cheaper and healthier than going out to lunch every day.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Carbo

Originally posted by: TallBill
drop 30 pounds, get a haircut.. you'll feel great. And higher chance to meet females.

Why are you assuming he is heterosexual?

odds highly favor it, and he never insinuated that it was for heterosexual purposes - gay men meet women too

He didn't say he wasn't an axe murderer either.

 

[toy4x4]

Go here for some more excellent information.

Men's Health Forums

 

[CrazyDe1]

Originally posted by: hypersonic5
So I have decided to finally get off my fat ass and turn it into a lean, muscular one. I am about 30 pounds overweight and most of it is concentrated in my upper body. Now, realize that I am a 17 year old without a car or any type of gym equipment (Well I do have a basketball hoop, if that counts). How hard would it be for me to turn my fat into muscle? What types of exercises should I do? I want to lose all of my weight by this fall. Is this goal possible? I already play basketball 20 minutes a day but I am thinking about bumping that to an hour a day. I'm also going to be cutting out all of the fatty foods from my diet. I'm already a lacto-vegetarian and I am considering temporarily going Vegan, but I'm afraid it would have more negative consequences than than positive.

I know most of you will just link me to geekfitness...

uumm....20 minutes a day. It's probably just shooting around too isn't it? We used to play 4 or 5 hours a day hardcore 2 on 2's or fullcourt 4 on 4's. THis is after lifting for 2 hours. We weren't trying to get in shape or lose weight...just bored in teh summer.