which comes first - muscle gain or fat lost

baileysmom4

That is pretty much my question. I'm not losing weight, I'm gaining a bit and wondering if its muscle. I'm following the plan and eating clean except for the occasional canned soup in a crunch lunch day. So do we gain muscle faster than we lose fat?

mazdauk

How much exercise are you doing? If you're doing lads of weight training I suppose its possible you're converting fat to muscle. More likely- have you checked your portion sizes? I always weigh things like pasta, potatoes, cereal as its so easy for potions to creep up and up. Try weighing things, checking the calories shown on packet AND how much of the packet the portion is (I can't be the only one to be fooled by those packets of filled fresh pasta into thinking "that's one portion" and finding its supposed to feed two!).

If canned soup is essential, try to pick the lowest-calorie one avaialble - even cup-a -soups can vary by 20-30 calories a sachet! (compare chicken with vegetable and leek and potato - scary!!)

Gunsentry

That is pretty much my question. I'm not losing weight, I'm gaining a bit and wondering if its muscle. I'm following the plan and eating clean except for the occasional canned soup in a crunch lunch day. So do we gain muscle faster than we lose fat?

You need to provide more information on your workout program to determine if you are actually gaining muscle.

However you loose fat faster then you gain muscle provided you are on a calorie deficit to induce fat loss.

Muscle growth takes much much much longer, years even.

sunsnstatheart

You provide virtually no information about yourself. How much do you weight? What's your body fat percentage? Are you lifting and getting stronger? How many calories are you eating? How many grams of protein are you consuming a day?

I will note that it's very hard, if not impossible, except for very overweight individuals and newbie gains, to gain muscle while losing fat. You also will gain fat while gaining muscle and will lose some muscle while losing fat.

baileysmom4

It was a general question not specifically towards me.

RunDoozer

It was a general question not specifically towards me.

Too many variables

Schmelvie

Neither and both.

sunsnstatheart

It was a general question not specifically towards me.

Too many variables

^^ This, if there even is an answer to such a question.

FullOfWin

either is possible depending on the previously mentioned too many variables

jimmie65

Both, either, or neither/

Crankstr

yep

now_or_never13

How much exercise are you doing? If you're doing lads of weight training I suppose its possible you're converting fat to muscle.

Sorry but the above is false. YOu do not convert fat to muscle... it cannot happen.

You lose fat much faster than building muscle. To build muscle you have to eat at a surplus and lift heavy heavy weights to gain muscle. And it takes a very very long time to build any real muscle.

Weight gain can be attributed to a variety of things... if you are eating at a deficit it is not actual muscle growth/gain.

Me48Plus2

True, fat does not convert to muscle. You can create lean muscle, and that takes up less room than fat. Doesn't weigh more or less than fat. A pound is a pound. If you look at a pound of fat, its MUCH bigger than a pound of lean muscle. You can weigh the same, but look completely different. Lean muscle is what shapes your body.

Summer_Lunatic

You can not build a significant amount of muscle on a deficit diet.