For once dump away what you have learnt in schools or books.  You can gain muscles and burn fats at the same time provided you follow the correct method of dieting. Regardless of whether  you are a newbie, intermediate or an advanced bodybuilder, anyone can also do it. Forget about calorie counting. For a fat person, he/ she can eat as much as he/ she wants and still lose fats at the same time provided he/ she knows how to manipulate his/ her hormone response by playing with the diet (the macro nutrients). Once, this fat lady friend of mine who became very over weight in spite of eating a low fat diet. She had only 3 small low fat meals a day. By calorie counting, she should be losing weight but instead she gained. I taught her low carb, hi protein and hi fat diet. She ate 5 hi protein hi fat meals a day.  She loved this diet because she could eat her forbidden foods and she ate more than what she usually did. She ate more fat and more calorie than before. Fat has 9 cal as opposed to carb and protein which have 4. Theoretically, she should be fatter. But she lost 30lbs in 1 year without exercising. She was a couch potato. Only calorie in no out.

The truth behind this are the hormones insulin and glucagon. Sugar raises insulin. Insulin converts sugar into bodyfat. Protein stimulates glucagon. Glucagon burns fats. Fat is neutral. It doesn’t affect both of the hormones. That's why you can’t get fat by eating lots of fats/ oil. Our body can’t store excess dietary fats and protein. They will be excreted out.

Calorie counting is flawed. If you try this diet with an open mind you’ll know what I said. But you need lots of discipline and patience to do this.  You can bulk without gaining fat at the same time.  I mean muscle bulk not fat bulk as most people are doing it.
Good luck.