Despite what all the late night infomercials tell us, fat and muscle are two distinctly different tissues and one cannot be turned into the other.

Muscle will always be muscle and fat will always be fat. As to the second thought you mentioned, one pound of either is exactly that – one pound.

It is indeed a myth that fat cells can change into muscle. You can burn fat and build muscle, but a fat cell will never turn into a muscle cell.

Body fat is a storage place where our body puts additional energy when we consume more calories per day than we burn.

If someone continues to consume more calories than the person needs, the size of their existing fat cells increases.

When we “burn fat” we are actually shrinking the size of our fat cells by using the energy that has been stored there.

There are also have a fixed number of muscle cells so when we’re building muscle the individual muscle cells are increasing in size (bulking up).

Over time, you can gain muscle mass through a selection of activities including weight training and other forms of resistance training.

When your main goal is to bulk up, you are likely increase your muscle mass which could increase your overall weight. Don’t forget that your weight also depends on what you eat and when you are doing other kinds of exercise.

For  instance, when you’re doing lots of cardio, then you might ultimately lose fat and reduce your weight.

Instead of stepping on a scale, you could want to consider measuring your body composition.

Methods to assess body composition (lean body mass versus fat body mass) can help give you a more accurate idea of what comprises your body.

You can always consult with a Dietitian or a trainer to help determine the weight and exercise plan that’s best for you.