Build muscle and shed body fat
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wils5150
Posts: 149 Member
It seems to be possible. After a 60 pound weight loss and day 1 of lifting on the left. 7 months later on the right. I put a inch on my arms and dropped 2 pant sizes. Not that I care about the scale but I did drop another 6 pounds. I am doing a 3-400 calorie deficit
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Replies
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Losing excess bodyfat can give the illusion of larger muscles. That's NOT to say it can't happen. Whenever anyone takes on a weight resistance program, their muscle size will always increase a little because the cells take up more water and glycogen. If one is a previous lifter or athlete, muscle returning is quite likely though not to as much as prior unless there's a specific program for hypertrophy and a slight surplus or maintenance eating. Eating in a calorie deficit rarely results in significant muscle gains with a couple of exceptions.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Nice work.
Slow rate of loss and good training produces good results.
Next job - smiling while flexing.
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Plenty of research out there says that it's possible to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously, IF you eat sufficient protein, don't diet too aggressively, aren't very low in bf% already, and use a well designed, progressive, lifting program consistently.6
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of course its possible2
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Am in same boat Wana get my lazy arss bk in gear ,💪💪💪 add away1
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It is absolutely possible.
Depending on where one is starting (training history, bodyfat level, etc), it can be relatively easy or extremely difficult/extraordinarily slow/highly improbable, but it is possible.1 -
I'm old but starting , so here goes.4
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This is my understanding: When a person is new to weight training, has more than 20% body fat, starts taking steroids (something I recommend against for health reasons), or significantly improves his or her diet, then gain muscle and losing fat is very possible. The longer a person has been lifting, the lower the person's body fat percentage, the more difficult it will be for a person to simultaneously gain muscle and lose fat. Then how do bodybuilders gain tons of muscle and appear for contests with miniscule amounts of fat? They usually eat with either a surplus or deficit of calories. By doing a good job of cutting, the person maintains most of his or her muscle. It took me a while to figure this out because I kept reading so many statements saying that a person can't gain muscle and lose fat. For many people who are both strong and lean, the statement is quite true. Renaissance Periodization has tons of videos about this on youtube.1
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Is this possible? Slight calorie deficit? For a recomp1
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@GymladmattGymladmatt wrote: »Is this possible? Slight calorie deficit? For a recomp
Yes, not just possible, really quite normal for the general population.
People in gyms have been simply "getting in shape" for generations long before it got called recomp.
It's really not at all remarkable assuming you aren't:- Very highly trained and near your genetic peak.
- Already very lean.
Keep your deficit small, keep your protein high and crucially train effectively. It's the last item that lets most people down, not their diet.
BTW - if you want to be geeky then a person dropping fat and adding muscle while staying exactly the same weight are actually in a small caloric deficit. It's because body fat has far more calories than lean mass.2 -
I think I recomp'd my arms. My legs were already muscled but I hadn't trained my arms in over a decade so whileI was losing weight on the scale and inches/centimeters everywhere else, my arms went up a full cm before they came down to my starting size. They never got smaller but they look more defined now, I can feel the muscles with my hands, I can see some muscles flexed and others even unflexed. I've been on a 550 cal deficit throughout most of this process. I've lost at least 5cm per thigh, 15cm off my hips, 9 off my waist, etc. but my arms have stayed the same size. The bingo wings or whatever people call them almost disappeared and I got a lot stronger.
Maybe I recomp'd elsewhere too a little because I can suddenly fit into clothes that stopped fitting a few years ago when I was 8kg lighter and I am smaller than I was at the same weight but gaining, though the only place I can somewhat confidently believe I recomp'd is my arms.
Anyway, OP you look great! Amazing work!2 -
I’m in half decent shape just have quite a bit of fat to lose to will stick to your recommendation 👍🏻
@GymladmattGymladmatt wrote: »Is this possible? Slight calorie deficit? For a recomp
Yes, not just possible, really quite normal for the general population.
People in gyms have been simply "getting in shape" for generations long before it got called recomp.
It's really not at all remarkable assuming you aren't:- Very highly trained and near your genetic peak.
- Already very lean.
Keep your deficit small, keep your protein high and crucially train effectively. It's the last item that lets most people down, not their diet.
BTW - if you want to be geeky then a person dropping fat and adding muscle while staying exactly the same weight are actually in a small caloric deficit. It's because body fat has far more calories than
lean mass.
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BTW - if you want to be geeky then a person dropping fat and adding muscle while staying exactly the same weight are actually in a small caloric deficit. It's because body fat has far more calories than lean mass.
??? where are you pulling out that body fat has more calories than lean mass??
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@azuki84BTW - if you want to be geeky then a person dropping fat and adding muscle while staying exactly the same weight are actually in a small caloric deficit. It's because body fat has far more calories than lean mass.
??? where are you pulling out that body fat has more calories than lean mass??
You must know that fat is the most calorie dense of all bodily tissues just like it is the most calorie dense macro?
Which is why there are more than double the calories in a pound of lard than a pound of lean steak for example.
9 cals per g of dietary fat and 9 cals stored per g of body fat.
If you want a good read this is by Lawrence Judd and Eric Helms which goes into more depth regarding calorie balance as opposed to simply looking at weight - https://muscleandstrengthpyramids.com/calorie-deficit-gain-weight/
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@azuki84BTW - if you want to be geeky then a person dropping fat and adding muscle while staying exactly the same weight are actually in a small caloric deficit. It's because body fat has far more calories than lean mass.
??? where are you pulling out that body fat has more calories than lean mass??
You must know that fat is the most calorie dense of all bodily tissues just like it is the most calorie dense macro?
Which is why there are more than double the calories in a pound of lard than a pound of lean steak for example.
9 cals per g of dietary fat and 9 cals stored per g of body fat.
If you want a good read this is by Lawrence Judd and Eric Helms which goes into more depth regarding calorie balance as opposed to simply looking at weight - https://muscleandstrengthpyramids.com/calorie-deficit-gain-weight/
ok now you're talking as if your original statement is based off of nutritional calories, which was obviously not (you literally said body fat and lean mass). make up your mind, so annoying.0 -
@azuki84BTW - if you want to be geeky then a person dropping fat and adding muscle while staying exactly the same weight are actually in a small caloric deficit. It's because body fat has far more calories than lean mass.
??? where are you pulling out that body fat has more calories than lean mass??
You must know that fat is the most calorie dense of all bodily tissues just like it is the most calorie dense macro?
Which is why there are more than double the calories in a pound of lard than a pound of lean steak for example.
9 cals per g of dietary fat and 9 cals stored per g of body fat.
If you want a good read this is by Lawrence Judd and Eric Helms which goes into more depth regarding calorie balance as opposed to simply looking at weight - https://muscleandstrengthpyramids.com/calorie-deficit-gain-weight/
ok now you're talking as if your original statement is based off of nutritional calories, which was obviously not (you literally said body fat and lean mass). make up your mind, so annoying.
Do you really still not get it?
Lets try again - a pound of body fat has more than twice the calories of a pound of lean body mass.
Thought that is perfectly clear. Or do you disagree?
Those calories obviously (I would have thought) originated from a person's food intake.
Someone maintaining the same weight but losing fat and gaining lean mass must now have less total calories in the body than before.
Extreme example for illustration - take a 200lb overweight/overfat person vs. a 200lb lean/muscular person and put them both in a bomb calorimeter and they will have very different total calories.
This is the third time I've said the same thing (in different ways) to help you understand so if you still struggle maybe read the Eric Helms explanation I posted rather than make snotty comments?
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@azuki84BTW - if you want to be geeky then a person dropping fat and adding muscle while staying exactly the same weight are actually in a small caloric deficit. It's because body fat has far more calories than lean mass.
??? where are you pulling out that body fat has more calories than lean mass??
You must know that fat is the most calorie dense of all bodily tissues just like it is the most calorie dense macro?
Which is why there are more than double the calories in a pound of lard than a pound of lean steak for example.
9 cals per g of dietary fat and 9 cals stored per g of body fat.
If you want a good read this is by Lawrence Judd and Eric Helms which goes into more depth regarding calorie balance as opposed to simply looking at weight - https://muscleandstrengthpyramids.com/calorie-deficit-gain-weight/
ok now you're talking as if your original statement is based off of nutritional calories, which was obviously not (you literally said body fat and lean mass). make up your mind, so annoying.
Do you really still not get it?
Lets try again - a pound of body fat has more than twice the calories of a pound of lean body mass.
Thought that is perfectly clear. Or do you disagree?
Those calories obviously (I would have thought) originated from a person's food intake.
Someone maintaining the same weight but losing fat and gaining lean mass must now have less total calories in the body than before.
Extreme example for illustration - take a 200lb overweight/overfat person vs. a 200lb lean/muscular person and put them both in a bomb calorimeter and they will have very different total calories.
This is the third time I've said the same thing (in different ways) to help you understand so if you still struggle maybe read the Eric Helms explanation I posted rather than make snotty comments?
just stop. please.0 -
New to this thread! Very relevant since I am trying to lower my % body fat while simultaneously losing weight! Thanks!0
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