Calorie deficit, building muscle?
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Lucille4444
Posts: 284 Member
This is supposedly difficult. Why? Can't the muscles use ketones? What exactly happens to a muscle when it is used in strength training and there is a calorie deficit?
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Think of your body like a house that you're trying to renovate. You can build on it by adding bricks (surplus), or demolish by taking them away (deficit), but is very difficult to do both at the same time.0
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Muscles can use ketones, although when you fully adapt they prefer free fatty acids instead, but that isn't the reason it is hard to build muscle and lose fat. Both goals require opposite hormonal states. It is like trying to boil water and make ice cubes in the same container. Your body doesn't (easily) compartmentalize these things. If you are losing weight due to an energy deficit, you aren't going to have the energy surplus to put mass on in a different area.0
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I appreciate the answers but I would like someone who is more physiology savvy to provide an exact scientific explanation.0
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Look up protein synthesis and protein degradation... protein synthesis (the creation of new muscle tissue) is metabolically expensive, and requires a surplus of energy in order to exceed degradation rates.
Also, you can condition a muscle to make it stronger without making it bigger. This is the essence of strength training. In order to make a muscle grow, you need to create hypertrophy within the muscle by breaking it down so it can be built back up.0 -
Building muscle is an anabolic process, it is how the hormones and molecules in the body increase growth. When you eat at a calorie deficit, this reduces fat, that is a catabolic process which is the opposite, it is a breaking down of molecules.
This is why body builders and fitness models go through cycles of bulking or cutting to create the look they want. They eat differently to increase muscle mass, which comes with added fat, then eat at a deficit to get rid of the fat. Getting sufficient protein helps spare the muscle mass while reducing the fat.0 -
Lucille4444 wrote: »I appreciate the answers but I would like someone who is more physiology savvy to provide an exact scientific explanation.
The more I thought about this, the more it made me laugh.... you came to MFP for an exact scientific explanation? Not that there aren't knowledgeable people here, but if you want an exact scientific explanation, go ask someone with a PhD in physiology.0 -
Lucille4444 wrote: »I appreciate the answers but I would like someone who is more physiology savvy to provide an exact scientific explanation.
The more I thought about this, the more it made me laugh.... you came to MFP for an exact scientific explanation? Not that there aren't knowledgeable people here, but if you want an exact scientific explanation, go ask someone with a PhD in physiology. lol.
Thanking people for their time but asking for something different that fits their needs, is a skill many women might find helpful. Too often, women settle. Being agreeable while asking for more help is a positive step.
It appears you are saying that your peers are ignorant? I don't think so. I've actually seen some pretty awesome explanations on here, especially the ones about low carb.
Have some faith in the members here.
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I swear I just listened to a podcast about gaining muscle while at a deficit not long ago but I cannot find it in my history anywhere. I listen to a lot so I'm sure I'm just overlooking it.
Anyway, I did spot this one about Keto and muscle building. I haven't listened to it so I don't know if it specifically addresses calorie deficit or not. Take a listen, maybe something will prove helpful anyway.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/livin-la-vida-low-carb-show/id324601605?mt=2&i=2848987400 -
Thank you!0
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Lucille4444 wrote: »Lucille4444 wrote: »I appreciate the answers but I would like someone who is more physiology savvy to provide an exact scientific explanation.
The more I thought about this, the more it made me laugh.... you came to MFP for an exact scientific explanation? Not that there aren't knowledgeable people here, but if you want an exact scientific explanation, go ask someone with a PhD in physiology. lol.
Thanking people for their time but asking for something different that fits their needs, is a skill many women might find helpful. Too often, women settle. Being agreeable while asking for more help is a positive step.
It appears you are saying that your peers are ignorant? I don't think so. I've actually seen some pretty awesome explanations on here, especially the ones about low carb.
Have some faith in the members here.
While her response was worded a bit harshly, she does have a point. Coming to MFP with a question is very likely going to get you an answer in layman's terms. It's not really because the writers are ignorant, bur rather because a) most people aren't interested in the full scientific details, and b) writing out all the technical details is pretty much like writing a novel (you're asking for others to do legwork for you for free, remember). Also, your response did kind of come off a bit condescending, since you dismissed the writers of the previous responses as not having "physiology savvy," which is probably why deksgrl responded the way she did. A better way to have worded it probably would be something along the lines of "thanks for the layman's explanations, but I'm curious about the more technical/scientific aspects of it. Do you have any such information?" Or, better yet, mention in your original post that you were most interested in the technical stuff.0 -
Also keep in mind that when you ask for the very technical aspects you're pretty much asking for a majors level physiology or biology class condensed to a single post. There aren't a whole ton of people here who have that understanding, and we don't know if you have the foundation to understand it. So we're not likely to write it up for you unless you really seem to get the layman's explanation. So, are you a junior or aBove in a life sciences field?0
