Can I lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?

MaximalLife

Usually, those claiming this is possible are selling something.
Just advance the minefield carefully.

gumby101ca

fat can be lost weekly , muscle takes more time to build , but yes you can build and lose at the same time

BrettPGH

This argument always interests me. I'm always one to go along with the science. It makes sense to me if you're losing weight you can't also be gaining muscle.

But here's what confuses me personally. I'm stronger. I know that I am. I don't measure myself but my chest, shoulders, back, arms.. I'm seeing pretty good results all over. (Yes I just started working my legs too don't yell at me!) I get that most of that is probably just fat coming off so I look more defined.

But if I'm not gaining muscle how am I stronger? Especially since I guess I should be losing muscle actually, I'm still in a calorie deficit and losing weight.

Thanks.

erickirb

This argument always interests me. I'm always one to go along with the science. It makes sense to me if you're losing weight you can't also be gaining muscle.

But here's what confuses me personally. I'm stronger. I know that I am. I don't measure myself but my chest, shoulders, back, arms.. I'm seeing pretty good results all over. (Yes I just started working my legs too don't yell at me!) I get that most of that is probably just fat coming off so I look more defined.

But if I'm not gaining muscle how am I stronger? Especially since I guess I should be losing muscle actually, I'm still in a calorie deficit and losing weight.

Thanks.

You can condition the muscle you do have, which results in strength or endurance gains without any additional Mass.

LorinaLynn

But many people on this site say that you need a calorie deficit to lose weight, and a calorie surplus to build muscle.

Well, losing fat and gaining muscle isn't the same as losing WEIGHT and gaining muscle.

If someone is losing fat and gaining muscle, they might be gaining weight.

kekl

bump!

mabug01

bump

Rae6503

I don't think you can. I tend to agree with Lyle McDonald on most things.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

I'm doing a traditional bulk / cut cycle and I am not an advanced body builder. Basically when you are dieting your body is being given less energy than it needs to survive, so it breaks down fat cells. It can't use the fat to build muscle and it certainly isn't going to use what little calories you are giving it to build muscle.

But I do think you should go for a half pound a week to a pound a week in order to PRESERVE as much muscle as possible.


Also, although, I can't prove it and don't know for sure myself I've heard that Scooby is not a very reliable source.

david_swinstead

Wow, what a response. Thanks guys for all the feedback.

Although there's a hell of a lot of info in here that I shall have a proper sift through when I get home this evening, it seems pretty clear that the main bit of advice everyone agrees upon is that there's no way I can do both while I'm losing 2lbs per week, eating 1700 calories.

I will change my goals to lose 1/2lb per week, giving me more calories to eat (and as suggested I will up my protein intake too).

Acg67

Generally speaking, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time if you're in one of the below categories;

Obese
New to resistance training
Starting resistance training after a long layoff
Using steroids

Some people may also be able to do it on a cyclical type type like UD 2.0 or Leangains

wellbert

Ah, but do your bones still gain density in a calorie deficit?

redfox43

Bump

AddA2UDE

"Losing weight" and "losing fat" aren't synonomous. You need to pick one or the other. They are two different animals.

PepeGreggerton

This argument always interests me. I'm always one to go along with the science. It makes sense to me if you're losing weight you can't also be gaining muscle.

But here's what confuses me personally. I'm stronger. I know that I am. I don't measure myself but my chest, shoulders, back, arms.. I'm seeing pretty good results all over. (Yes I just started working my legs too don't yell at me!) I get that most of that is probably just fat coming off so I look more defined.

But if I'm not gaining muscle how am I stronger? Especially since I guess I should be losing muscle actually, I'm still in a calorie deficit and losing weight.

Thanks.

There's more than one type of muscle growth, Myofibrillar (Strength, density, power) and Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (Size, volume, endurance).

Your muscles are kind of like water balloons. They are 80% water. There's the protein structure that makes up the outside of the balloon if you will, and the glycogen store within.

Some strength gains come just from learning how to use the muscle properly, training your nervous system to contract it. If we could use the unchecked power of our muscles they would snap our bones. The nervous system limits this.

crazedcujo

bump..bump

ANeWcRe8N

when reading your title, Scooby came to mind lol. Good stuff!!

MikeSEA

Do what works for you, but I've found that if I'm focused on both those goals at the same time, neither one works out all that well. It's easier to lose fat than it is to gain muscle. I'm just cutting now to reduce the fat, and hopefully maintain as much muscle as I can, and then I'll go on a slow bulk..then cut..etc. So it goes.

brianz72

It's definitely possible - to an extent. I am a 39 year old man, 5'9, and on Jan 1 I was 181 pounds. I got an Omron body composition scale that showed me as having about 31% body fat and 32% muscle. Since Jan 1, I have been running a daily 300-500 calorie deficit in order to burn fat, and I also have been doing serious lifting for the first time in my life. Now, I weigh 173 pounds, my body fat is down to 26.5%, and my muscle is up to nearly 35%. I've lost over 10 pounds of fat and gained nearly 2 pounds of muscle, and the 2 pounds of muscle are visibly noticeable and already evident in my actual strength when I lift.

I believe this is only because I was coming from such a high fat, low muscle place... I would strongly suggest that other high fat, low muscle types consider weightlifting despite running a deficit, especially at the beginning, to get your body to prioritize fat burning over muscle wasting. I think the body really does know that if the muscles are being taxed, they can't be consumed.

Of course you can't get huge doing this. The idea to have in mind should be to lift weights to avoid muscle wasting, not to build massive bulk... for serious bulking, I think a calorie surplus is definitely necessary.

brendahearn

I recently joined a fitness center and the personal trainer told me that to lose weight you have to reduce calories even if your exercising. So that is in agreement with your statement about losing weight. I'm no expert but if you want to gain muscle your workouts need to be weight lifting, and increasing the weights probably every 2-4 weeks (so that you are always exhausting the muscles you are working on with each workout), and I would think increase your protein. I'm sure that your calories are going to have to increase because when lifting you are going to be burning calories, so if you don't increase your calories, eventually when there is no more fat to lose you will begin to lose muscle mass. The link below gives you the formula. Pretty interesting.

http://www.musclehack.com/how-many-calories-per-day-do-i-need-to-build-muscle/

yopeeps025

bump for info