can you gain muscle while eating at a deficit?

jescamp9481

Take into consideration that I am 68 lbs above my goal weight.

I work out 4x week, 45 mins of strength training, and 30 mins of cardio. Can I gain muscle even if I am at a significant calorie deficit a day. I eat between 1500-1600 cals a day. I am not starving myself. Diary is open

I am doing a 12 week program starting next week that is progressive. 2 upper body workouts and 2 lower body workouts a week on alternating days.

ErinMcMom

I was just about to post this exact question. I'm not my goal weight but thought it might be a good idea to add some strength training into my repertoire, but if it isn't going to work while I'm eating at a deficit, I might as well wait till I reach goal weight right?

I'll be following this thread.

BigGuy47

if it isn't going to work while I'm eating at a deficit, I might as well wait till I reach goal weight right?

You won't gain muscle, but that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile.

When you lose weight you lose both fat and muscle. If you drop another 20 lbs, how much of that weight loss will be from fat? How much from lost muscles? Resistance training helps preserve muscle mass.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

If you're new to lifting you'll gain a few ounces. However the real benefit is to keep what muscle you have while you lose weight. Most people who only diet or do diet with cardio will lose equal parts fat and muscle. If you keep your muscle with lifting and eating enough protein, you'll arrive at your goal weight with a lower body fat percentage. That will give you a firmer and tighter look.

Cortelli

The short, generic, true-for-most circumstances is "no, you cannot." In fact, there are some exceptions, most notably (1) some either brand new to progressive overload resistance training or returning to serious training after stopping and putting on a bunch of weight, and (2) the significantly overweight. Note that "significantly" is pretty hard to define with any certainty in this context, and conceivably the so-called "newbie" gains might apply to someone who is an experienced lifter but focused almost exclusively on upper body ("I always skip leg day, bro") and then starts a more lower body program. In any event, the muscle mass you add if you fit into one of the exceptions is likely to be relatively little.

Are you overweight enough (that phrase sounds weird, I know) and / or new enough to training to fall into the exception? I don't know.

But here is what I do know -- you should try to find out by eating a lot of protein (at least 1g per lb of lean body mass and maybe as high as 1.5g), and regularly engaging in progressive overload resistance training (weights, on a pre-existing and proven program). Either you'll be one of the exceptions and actually add some real muscle mass, or not.

But the worst that can happen is you will preserve as much of your existing muscle mass as you are genetically capable of while shedding pounds -- or, in other words, the weight you lose will be made up of fat rather than fat + some of your already present muscle.

SideSteel

It's possible in some populations and very unlikely/ain't going to happen in others.

odusgolp

It's possible in some populations and very unlikely/ain't going to happen in others.

I feel like this should have been followed up by an old-school SS Meme...

kdiamond

if it isn't going to work while I'm eating at a deficit, I might as well wait till I reach goal weight right?

You won't gain muscle, but that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile.

When you lose weight you lose both fat and muscle. If you drop another 20 lbs, how much of that weight loss will be from fat? How much from lost muscles? Resistance training helps preserve muscle mass.

Agree with this poster. You could certainly get stronger and more fit, but you won't be able to gain muscle mass. You might see more of your muscles because you will be losing fat. Keep going.

hilts1969

Take into consideration that I am 68 lbs above my goal weight.

I work out 4x week, 45 mins of strength training, and 30 mins of cardio. Can I gain muscle even if I am at a significant calorie deficit a day. I eat between 1500-1600 cals a day. I am not starving myself. Diary is open

I am doing a 12 week program starting next week that is progressive. 2 upper body workouts and 2 lower body workouts a week on alternating days.

yes you can i have no doubt, the bulk boys will say no, don't listen

alereck

If you are doing strenght training and eating enough protein you are going to build muscle. You might not see it if you still have fat covering them but they will be getting stronger and bigger. Just watch your macronutrients, make sure to eat 40% protein and you should be ok.

If you were doing only cardio you would lose muscle for sure but keep doing the strenght training and make sure to alternate exercises and increase weight over time.