Confused about muscles and weight loss.

spring913

I keep reading on here that it's not possible to gain muscle while in a calorie deficit. I don't understand why. For those of us who have gone from sitting on the couch every night to an active lifestyle, how can we not be gaining muscle? I feel stronger and I know I'm swimming and biking way faster and longer than I was 2 months ago. How can I be improving physically if I'm not gaining muscle? That being said, is there even a point to starting a weight regimen while still in a calorie deficit?

everyusernamewastakenso

Your muscles are getting stronger not bigger. If your gaining weight it's not because of muscle gain. It's either water weight, or overeating.

kimny72

Your body needs fuel to build new muscle tissue, and eating at a deficit means there is not much extra fuel for your body to use. You can still get stronger without "building" up muscles though.

The benefit of strength training while losing is to maintain the muscle you have while you lose weight. When you lose weight, you lose some fat and some muscle. Strength training limits the amount of muscle you lose, so you look better once the fat comes off. It's also good for your body in other ways, like bone health and feeling like a bada$$

adoette

I think a better way of wording it is that hypertrophy doesn't happen in a deficit.

A calorie deficit causes you to lose weight. But weight doesn't just mean fat, even if you do weightlifting in a deficit, you still lose some lean body mass along with fat.

Speaking from experience, you do get stronger, even in a deficit. But it isn't a gain in muscle mass, which can be thought of as an increase in number of muscle fibers, instead it's an improvement in each muscle fiber you have getting a little thicker and a little tighter (noob gains) and an increase in nerve response.

Exercise in a deficit is good, because it helps to preserve your lean body mass so you lose more fat than anything else, and because a healthy weight is nothing without a healthy body to enjoy it.

I'm only half way through my first cup of coffee, so I'm probably rambling, but I hope this both makes sense (in english) and helps!

spring913

Ahh!! Thanks!! I get it now. I wrongly thought that stronger muscles=hypertrophy.

cnbbnc

I can't add much more to what they said above. You simply can't create NEW muscle unless you're eating excess calories. But yeah...you can do a lot to improve on what muscle you already have now (gaining strength and endurance) and be ensuring you lose the least amount of muscle mass possible while losing weight. Starting a weight training regimen now is an excellent idea.

Mycophilia

I think an expert opinion is warranted here. Eric Helms hits the nail on the head when it comes to this sort of thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFo_wQq8M3Q

mecoconleche

Mycophilia wrote: »

I think an expert opinion is warranted here. Eric Helms hits the nail on the head when it comes to this sort of thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFo_wQq8M3Q

Beautifully said, I learned something today