Can you gain muscle in a calorie deficit?

[Truck24hr]

I'm doubting the answe is simple, but?

 

[blkqi]

You definitely can build muscle in an average daily caloric deficit with the right diet and stimulus.

It is complicated, but don't over think it. Eat meat, lift weights.

 

[Truck24hr]

You definitely can build muscle in an average daily caloric deficit with the right diet and stimulus.

It is complicated, but don't over think it. Eat meat, lift weights.

That's what I figured, just wanted to make sure. Still dropping pounds, and was worried I may be going backwards.

 

[pattimusprime22]

I'd say a lot of it depends on where you're at. If you're already pretty muscular with a long training history, gaining muscle while cutting is unlikely. If you're currently under muscled and have higher bodyfat, and low training history, then sure, definitely possible.

 

[Truck24hr]

I'd say a lot of it depends on where you're at. If you're already pretty muscular with a long training history, gaining muscle while cutting is unlikely. If you're currently under muscled and have higher bodyfat, and low training history, then sure, definitely possible.

I would say I am muscular in general, but have never done any weight training until recently.

Stronger in legs, abs, cardio.

 

[pattimusprime22]

I would say I am muscular in general, but have never done any weight training until recently.

Stronger in legs, abs, cardio.

If you've never really done weight training before, then you may be able to put on some muscle while you lose some fat. I wouldn't worry about "going backwards" though. If you're already pretty muscular and you are prioritizing weight loss right now, even if you don't really gain that much muscle, the weight training stimulus will help to avoid losing too much muscle. If after you've lost the weight you want to and you decide you want to put on some more muscle, then try upping the calories a bit more to support that goal. To echo blkqi, don't overthink it, you'll see "gains" if you're new to weight training.

 

[4JRanch]

you can just need to count calories and protein. If your on semiglutide its easy to lose fat and muscle

 

[CliffordOM]

you *can* if you are providing proper stimulus and eating enough protein, however if your goal is to lose weight, dont worry about gaining muscle and instead just maintain what you have, gain muscle will happen when you start a surplus again

 

[sveltri]

Back when I was in college I was on a pretty dumb diet that had me in a significant caloric deficit. However, with my old friend Animal Stack (iykyk) I was able to get pretty jacked.

 

[AntelopeEater]

Sure, but its unlikely.

 

[5MilesBack]

I don't know about building muscle, but you can definitely tone it more in a calorie deficit. I do that every September while losing weight elk hunting.

 

[grfox92]

You 100% can. It's just a fine line if being in a calorie deficit and eating enough. Follow Layne Norton on Instagram. He also has a few books on how to do it. He is spot on with this type of stuff. I don't like him at all, but he's a scientist and he's never been proven wrong.

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

 

[rclouse79]

I do not think it would violate the laws of physics as long as you had enough body fat to use for energy. Eventually you would lose your fat and then start losing muscle.

 

[insanelupus]

How have you lost weight to this point?

I went through a significant weight loss (80+ lbs ish) and lost muscle with it. Cut calories to 1600, worked out like crazy. Dumb way to do it (I know now). Ended up around 185 at 5' 8", but looking lean and not as balanced with muscle as I wanted.

Changed my eating habits (eliminated highly processed foods, eliminated added sugar. Calories are king, protein queen, concentrated on protein and produce ((shoutout to @V2P for those tips)) and really cleaned up the nutrition.

I also began periodizing workouts and changing programs every 3-4 months.

While I gained about 2-3% bodyfat, I also saw strength and muscle mass increase in the first year. Was up to 200, now slowly whittling backwards, current average around 195.

Now, for me, it is a fine tuning process of dialing nutrition and balancing training for my goals. Strength is increasing slightly (almost 50 with decades of strength training), but I'm also noticing waist size reducing again, slowly. While I'm pleased with my lifts, my endurance is pretty decent and I'm also working on improving sprint speed. I'm back down to basically the waist size I was at 185, but noticeably better muscle mass and progressing, again, slowly.

I found it far better to play the long game and concentrate on one goal at a time, like many things with life. By prioritizing the goals in a sensible way, I'm certain the desired end result is attainable for me. YMMV.

For me, trying to be Goldilocks and make everything just right at the same time is a long slow road and it is difficult to see progress. By being sensible with nutrition selection and volume and appropriately training for strength, endurance, speed, and mobility by periodizing, I've conceded the asthetics will likely fall into place in an acceptable way.

So, yes, you can gain muscle in a calorie deficit seeking weight loss, but it's a difficult road.

I'd personally rather perform better and feel better at my prioritized aspects of life and worry about what I look like as a very tertiary goal. Again, YMMV.

 

[Professor]

Yes. You have to consume a lot of protein and lift. On a calorie deficit it is difficult to keep on doing that because your energy will eventually drain to the point where working out is overwhelming.

 

[Truck24hr]

Hey guys, appreciate all the replys. My goal isn't losing weight to be honest, more of improving cardio first, and a bit of muscle gain 2nd. Then when i feel like my cardio is good, maintain that and make muscle gains my main goal.

I try to eat healthy, and due to my schedule, it just makes it hard to eat healthy and get enough calories every day.

I've lost about 12 pounds over the last 3 months. 5'10", about 177 right now.

Diet lately while working is usually an Atkins shake and some bran for breakfast. Then usually 2 chicken fajitas and some yogurt for dinner.

 

[Soj51hopeful]

You need more food than that for improving strength or cardio!

 

[V2Pnutrition]

I've not read all the replies above, so I apologize if there's any redundancy in this...The answer is "it depends"- here's a few things to think through

1. It depends if you're 'well-trained' or brand new to training.

I would say I am muscular in general, but have never done any weight training until recently.

Stronger in legs, abs, cardio.

This is your saving grace and why for you, the answer is yes, you can build muscle while being in a calorie deficit. Well-trained folks will have a much harder time putting on any meaningful muscle while in a calorie deficit- though possible to keep what they have while losing body fat.

We recently did an entire nutrition program in the Mtntough app reviewing this. If you send me a message, I will get you access to the nutrition section to learn more.

2. "Just lift and eat protein..." is not the answer. In fact, neglecting the other nutrients (carbs and fat) will ensure you don't achieve your full potential. Consuming other macronutrients 'spare' the protein to ensure it does repair the muscle and you have ample energy for the muscle to recover. The ‘dreaded’ insulin spike is what triggers muscle break down to stop and begin the rebuilding process.

3. Strength or 'building muscle' is relative to body weight. Many folks (not all) think because they're moving less weight on a bar, they're 'getting weaker'. That's not true. Here's an example:
Someone who weights 250lbs can bench 225lbs. They lose 100lbs and now weight 150lbs. Their bench drops to 185lbs.

They're not weaker. In fact, they're MUCH strong benching 123% of their body weight vs 90% of their body weight in the previous example.

So, if you DO notice you can't lift 'as much', don't let that be your barometer for success. Instead, use a gauge of noticing whether or not you have enough gas in the tank to get through a whole workout with thorough intention and good energy (vs gassing out mid-way through).

Hey guys, appreciate all the replys. My goal isn't losing weight to be honest, more of improving cardio first, and a bit of muscle gain 2nd. Then when i feel like my cardio is good, maintain that and make muscle gains my main goal.

I try to eat healthy, and due to my schedule, it just makes it hard to eat healthy and get enough calories every day.

I've lost about 12 pounds over the last 3 months. 5'10", about 177 right now.

Diet lately while working is usually an Atkins shake and some bran for breakfast. Then usually 2 chicken fajitas and some yogurt for dinner.

This might be where you're shooting yourself in the foot, however. It's going to be extremely difficult to build muscle if your training is aimed at cardio. Not only are you likely not devoting enough of your training time to strength, but you're doing strengths greatest antagonist in the time you do have.

I admit I'm making alot of assumptions here about how much time you devote to each discipline, but generally speaking, it's going to be tough gaining muscle with a heavy emphasis on improving your cardio.

 

[Ken Swenson]

May be different for every person’s body, but I can only gain muscle when eating a higher protein to carb ratio, and usually this means a caloric surplus.

When I go high protein/low carb, and even high fat, my body tends to maintain muscle mass and strength, but not make any “gain” per se.

Regarding cardio combined with weights, I’ve seen some intriguing literature out there about ending your weightlifting sessions with a few minutes of cardio for optimal fat burning. The idea makes sense to me, as lifting depletes your glycogen stores, which are basically your body’s carb storage. Once those are burned, your body has to burn fat for energy. Any cardio done after this glycogen depletion would in theory be solely fat burning. I can post some links from studies on this.

 

[*zap*]

It would be best to get good/adequate nutrition and get the deficit from low intensity long duration steady state aerobic capacity training. Swimming would be great.....work up to 1 hour non stop low intensity swims 3-4or5 x a week or walk the same..but swimming would be better.