Transforming fat to muscle

tigersword

So, if I were a person that chose to stay on a caloric deficit, losing muscle mass and fat as part of that loss, is it more difficult then to build that muscle back up (I am assuming on some level that a caloric surplus would be needed because of the muscle loss)?

How much of a muscle loss can we assume for an obese person losing weight?

Again - I am all for weight loss. I am just trying to understand here.

Adding muscle mass is incredibly difficult. It's much easier to maintain the muscle you have. It can take several weeks of heavy lifting and eating at a caloric surplus just to add one pound of muscle for a man. For a woman it could take several months to a year, if not longer.

ninerbuff

OK, hopefully that caught the right people's attention. I know you don't turn fat into muscle! But, I do have a question about muscle.

I do not at all dispute the benefits of weight training, and I include it in my weekly activity. I am confused about one thing though, and it may just be a symantics thing.

I see many posts saying that you can't bulk up or gain muscle when in a caloric deficit, but you can 'wake up' existing muscle.
What does this mean? If I am in a caloric deficit, and weight training, what does that do exactly? What 'benefits' are there for weight training while in a deficit?

Again, I do not dispute the need for weight training. I am just trying to understand what it does while in a deficit vs. maintenance calories vs. surplus of calories.

Muscle that's unconditioned and "dormant" is flabby and soft. When you start a strength training program, you start to condition that muscle and "harden" it up by filling it up with glycogen and water. It also "awakens" the mitochondria in the cells to perform more work.

Goal_Seeker_1988

bump

liftingbro

So, if I were a person that chose to stay on a caloric deficit, losing muscle mass and fat as part of that loss, is it more difficult then to build that muscle back up (I am assuming on some level that a caloric surplus would be needed because of the muscle loss)?

How much of a muscle loss can we assume for an obese person losing weight?

Again - I am all for weight loss. I am just trying to understand here.

With good nutrition you can minimize muscle loss. The more BF you have the less problems you'll have losing muscle. The leaner you get the more of an issue it becomes. Building muscle becomes more difficult as you become more conditioned to lifting weights. So where you might see fast gains early after you've been lifting for a while the gains will slow down.