Building muscle and losing fat at the same time?

Microscopes

Different people keep telling me different things and it's getting confusing.

Is it possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time?

singingflutelady

It is under certain circumstances but it is a very slow process. It is called recomping and it mostly involves a slight deficit.

SonyaCele

my line of thinking is no. You can build strength and lose fat at the same time, but not build muscle and lose fat. If you are in a deficit which is needed in order to lose fat, your body will not allocate the limited calories needed to sustain your body to muscle building. It takes a lot of calories and nutrition to build muscle fiber , and that happens in a surplus. there are others that argue differently. Strength building and muscle building are not the same thing, although bigger muscles usually means more strength, there is much more that affect strength, so it is possible to gain strength in a deficit and people confuse strength with size all the time. thats my opinion.

Microscopes

This article is what got me thinking. He references many studies.

http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/gain-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/

SonyaCele

for as many studies as he references, i can list off lifters i know that have gone into a deficit to lose weight and change weight classes and their size and #'s dropped, and they are serious lifters on serious programs. I think someone who questions it should just give it a try themselves and see how it goes.

senecarr

SonyaCele wrote: »

for as many studies as he references, i can list off lifters i know that have gone into a deficit to lose weight and change weight classes and their size and #'s dropped, and they are serious lifters on serious programs. I think someone who questions it should just give it a try themselves and see how it goes.

The more serious the lifter, the hard it would be to put on or maintain muscle in a deficit. That level reflects a minority of people on MFP though.

Microscopes, if you are new or newer to lifting, you can probably gain some muscle while losing weight, even without necessarily having precision training, nor nutrition. It isn't just possible, it has happened repeatedly.

Azdak

Too often people conflate "gaining muscle" with "maximizing muscle mass gains". Yes,it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle. A recent study suggests that, with an overload of protein, it is possible to gain muscle and lose fat even with a sizable deficit and heavy exercise load.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292154332_Higher_compared_with_lower_dietary_protein_during_an_energy_deficit_combined_with_intense_exercise_promotes_greater_lean_mass_gain_and_fat_mass_loss_a_randomized_trial

The amount of muscle mass gained will not be huge and it will not be maximal, but it could very well be sufficient for plenty of recreational exercisers.

SonyaCele

senecarr wrote: »

SonyaCele wrote: »

for as many studies as he references, i can list off lifters i know that have gone into a deficit to lose weight and change weight classes and their size and #'s dropped, and they are serious lifters on serious programs. I think someone who questions it should just give it a try themselves and see how it goes.

The more serious the lifter, the hard it would be to put on or maintain muscle in a deficit. That level reflects a minority of people on MFP though.

Microscopes, if you are new or newer to lifting, you can probably gain some muscle while losing weight, even without necessarily having precision training, nor nutrition. It isn't just possible, it has happened repeatedly.

his study also referenced elite athletes gaining muscle in a deficit.