Losing weight and gaining muscle mass, what is the relationship between these processes?

Many people start in the world of fitness and sports in order to lose weight while gaining muscle mass.

However, they are two processes that, although they can occur in parallel, do not always go hand in hand, since depending on how a person exercises, they can be difficult and both objectives cannot be achieved.

In this way, on some occasions they can be opposite processes, since in order to lose weight while gaining muscle, it is important to take into account the functioning of human physiology and analyze each case separately.

From Metropolitan, a chain of gyms with 22 centers in the main Spanish cities, they expose that our body does not always achieve the same objectives, since we must take into account the training methodology and calorie intake.

Thus, according to these experts, "in general, losing weight is not synonymous with gaining muscle mass at the same time" and they explain that we must understand what causes this phenomenon.

Weight loss vs. Increasing muscle mass

On the one hand, the increase in muscle mass is an anabolic, tissue-building process, for which you must train with the aim of stimulating muscle growth and minimizing its synthesis or destruction .

From Metropolitan they point out that "for this it is necessary not to be in a caloric deficit, and therefore ingest more calories than we expend, prioritizing the intake of foods that favor the construction of muscle tissue and help in their recovery after exercise, such as amino acids and slow absorption carbohydrates”.

On the other hand, fat loss is a catabolic process in which you seek to practice exercises that mainly promote the consumption of fatty tissue.

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In this way, the person who wants to lose weight has to perform general exercises, whether strength or cardiorespiratory with which they achieve adequate caloric expenditure.

In addition, this training should be accompanied by an intake that implies a slight caloric deficit, which minimizes the loss of muscle tissue. Thus, to lose weight you have to decrease the intake of carbohydrates and fat to consume fat tissue as energy and consume more amino acids to preserve muscle tissue.

How should one train to lose weight and increase muscle mass?

Metropolitan professionals point out that there are different types of training that are mainly oriented to the growth of muscle mass and, on the other hand, there are others that serve to promote fat loss.

As they emphasize, these exercises can and, in fact, should be combined, "and depending on the diet and small changes that we introduce in the training, the result will be more or less oriented to one or the other objective", so It is essential to rely on a nutritionist to advise you on the necessary energy requirements.

These experts indicate that "it is very difficult to gain muscle mass without this implying a slight gain in fat mass and it is difficult to achieve a loss of fat without this not being accompanied by a slight loss of muscle mass." However, it is possible to combine different periods in which one objective is prioritized over the other.

In this way, practicing aerobic exercises will make the muscular system more efficient in burning fat, thus favoring the loss of fat mass.

On the other hand, there are ways to practice physical activity that stimulates muscle mass to generate tension, either with weight training, such as muscle building, toning, medium and long distance running; or power, such as short-distance running, cycling or bodybuilding. This type of training will favor the growth of muscle cells and will make us gain strength.

“The mere loss of fat mass will favor the existing muscle mass to be more visible, but it does not imply per se that there has been a gain in muscle mass, although visually we perceive it that way”, they emphasize from Metropolitan.

In short, according to these professionals, "sports is one of the main ways to achieve both weight loss and gaining muscle mass." However, we must not forget "the diets adapted to each body and its needs to complement gym routines".

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