There is a magical fairy named Glimmer that flys around in your body zapping fat cells with her pixie dust, making them disappear into thin air! … Boy do I wish! Actually, you never lose your fat cells. Say what?? Yep, you are stuck with them FOR-EV-ER, which means I have to pay tribute to one of the best all-time films.

Anyways, I digress. So if your fat cells don’t go anywhere, what happens to them when you lose weight? I know what you are thinking…they turn into muscle cells right? WRONG! This is a very common myth floating around. That would be amazing if it were the case, but alas it is not. When you lose weight, the fat cells simply shrink in size (atrophy), and likewise, when you strength train, your muscle cells increase (hypertrophy). It may seem like fat is turning into muscle, but looks can be deceiving. Your fat cells are just smaller, and the muscle cells are bigger, taking up more of the space.

Fat cells and muscle cells have an entirely different cellular structure and therefore, can never convert into each other. Think of fat as jello (watch it wiggle, see it jiggle!) and muscle as diamonds (a girl’s best friend). I don’t see you running to the grocery store to stock pile on J-E-L-L-O to make sparklers wrapped up in Tiffany blue. So yes, it is highly disappointing that you can’t just be rid of that pesky fat by turning it into muscle, but hey, at least your muscle can’t turn into fat. Half cup full my friends.

This concept is exactly why spot training  is as useful as a pogo stick in quicksand. I can’t even tell you how many women think that the way to get a flat stomach is doing a thousand crunches all night. Well, ladies, don’t hold your breath because you might die. It ain’t gonna happen that way. If you want to lose fat in a specific area, doing a thousand exercises targeting that area will help you build muscle, which is great, but it won’t get rid of the fat cells in that area. You didn’t pick where the fat went on, and you don’t get to choose where it comes off! Well, this is quickly turning into a debbie downer. So seriously, what is a girl to do?!

Take heart. I have the solution for you. You get rid of fat everywhere through consistent, dedicated clean eating and exercise. Specifically, you need to be eating real, whole foods, avoiding added sugar and processed foods, which will provide your bodies with the nutrients you need. Additionally, intensity training workouts 3-5x per week will simultaneously torch fat and build muscle.

This is the whole equation you guys, and you need both sides for it to work, and you have my word that this equation will equal results!