gaining muscle at a defifcit

shmoony

I know, I know, you need extra calories because muscle can't be created out of thin air. But here's a point I need clarification on. My BMR is 1700 and TDEE is 2300. I lift at the gym for an hour, pushing that TDEE to 2500 and I eat 2300, why would my body not use some of those cals to build muscle if I have fat available to burn. If I put my muscles under an extreme amount of stress and tear them down like crazy, and I am at a slight caloric deficit, wouldn't my body rather use excess fat to take care of my basic needs and use my dietary protein to restore and build muscle?
Altough I am phrasing this in a theoretical fashion, I am living proof of this to a certain extent. I have maintained a low body weight for 5 months while drastically increasing my strength and muscle mass / density. The key is finding the "sweet spot" of caloric intake, and kicking your own *kitten* at the gym, wherein your body has no choice but to use some of the calories you eat to repair and build muscle. There are a lot of guys at the gym bigger and stronger than me, but the majority of them are what I would consider pudgy. Not fat, but no striations, no vascularity, no deep cuts. I guess if thats what you're going for, fine, but I think most guys would rather be cut up than puffy.

shmoony

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that typically a few hundred cals come from alcohol each day, so I'm actually "eating" less than that.