Gaining muscle while trying to loose weight.

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zehrjordan
zehrjordan Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 6 feet tall and weigh about 205 lbs. my goal is to get down to around 180 lbs. I am currently eating at a caloric deficit in order to reach that goal. I would like to however gain some muscle mass in the process. I've read numerous articles and journals and they all seem to say diffrent things on whether it's actually possible to gain muscle in a caloric deficit. does any one have any real life experence on this ? or have any insight into whether or not this is possible for me ? or will just be lifting to try and desperately maintain the muscle mass a currently have.?

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  • FlyingMolly
    FlyingMolly Posts: 490 Member
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    My understanding is that while you can get stronger, you can’t add much actual muscle in a caloric deficit—just a bit right in the beginning of strength training. But it’s worth doing it anyway to keep what you have, because as you lose fat your muscles will be more noticeable. :)
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited March 2018
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    Check out the gaining weight and bodybuilding forum - the subject comes up quite a lot there. This thread in particular is an excellent recent read: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10646439/building-muscle-while-cutting-what-s-working-for-you/p1

    ETA: Here's another good one: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10611633/gaining-muscle-in-a-deficit/p1
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    If you’re brand new to lifting it’s possible. But even if you don’t gain any, you’ll be doing what you can to maintain the muscle you already have.
  • jflongo
    jflongo Posts: 289 Member
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    I would recommend only setting your weight loss to 0.5 lb / week. That will give you a better chance to maintain muscle and build strength vs 1 - 2 lb / week.

    But as others say, don't expect a ton of muscle gain at a caloric deficit. Now if you are like me, who hadn't lifting in a ton of years, then yes you will still build some at a caloric deficit.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    If you arent going to get multiple dexa scans it wont even allow you to know what the actual results are.

    So if anything, moderate deficit, adequate protein and follow a structured lifting program to get stronger. At best you can enjoy how you look
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    edited March 2018
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    djeffreys10 wrote: »
    You will not add muscle mass on a deficit. Period. You will get stronger for a little while, but that's more just your body becoming more efficient at performing the lifts. Eat at a calorie deficit, lose maybe a pound a week, and when you get where you want to be transition into a small calorie surplus to gain muscle mass with minimal gain of fat.

    Just the way it works. Accept it and put in the time.

    False. Period. The science says otherwise.


    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10611633/gaining-muscle-in-a-deficit/p1
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited March 2018
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    zehrjordan wrote: »
    I am 6 feet tall and weigh about 205 lbs. my goal is to get down to around 180 lbs. I am currently eating at a caloric deficit in order to reach that goal. I would like to however gain some muscle mass in the process. I've read numerous articles and journals and they all seem to say diffrent things on whether it's actually possible to gain muscle in a caloric deficit. does any one have any real life experence on this ? or have any insight into whether or not this is possible for me ? or will just be lifting to try and desperately maintain the muscle mass a currently have.?

    It is possible to gain muscle mass in a small caloric deficit if you are new to weight-lifting (so called noob gains) or if you are in caloric maintenance (recomp). But if your main goal is fat loss and you are in a large caloric deficit the best you can hope for is to minimize your muscle loss.

    That said gaining strength does not require gaining muscle mass if you are untrained, you can still vastly improve your overall strength and conditioning through lifting while losing fat.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    When in deficit just think of it as strength training and fitness. You are not going to "bulk up" but it doesn't mean don't do anything.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    When you say that you want to gain muscle while losing weight, what does that mean to you?

    If it means you want to get stronger and lift more weight, you can absolutely do that.
    If it means you want to see more muscle definition, you can absolutely do that.
    If it means you want your muscles to look larger, that's really subjective, but you can probably do that.

    If it means you want to increase the literal amount of muscle that you're carrying on your frame, this may be possible. It won't be a lot of muscle mass, and it may or may not be visible. If you want to lose 20 pounds of fat and also create 20 pounds of new muscle, well, THAT'S probably not going to happen. But you can potentially put on small amounts of new muscle tissue while losing fat.

    FWIW, my n=1 experience is that I am not untrained, and I have two Dexa scans four months apart showing a loss of 6.1 pounds of fat tissue and a gain of 1.6 pounds of lean tissue, while eating at a deficit and losing body weight. (Who knows, really, though. That lean tissue could be anything. Stronger tendons FTW!)
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    djeffreys10 wrote: »
    Yeah, good luck with that. Check back when it doesn't work.

    No one's saying it's easy or optimal, but it does seem like settled fact that it is possible to build some muscle while also losing fat. This guy seems like an expert to me: https://bretcontreras.com/eat-lift-and-condition-to-lose-fat-and-maintain-muscle/

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