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

i bet you can

yep so long as your eating and exercising right

You can make minor gains but for the most part your body just doesn't biologically work that way - it isn't going to break into its reserves and build new tissues in a deficit, why would it? The awesome transformations you see are the muscles that are already there becoming nice and defined because the layer of fat on top of them goes away.

Edit: Reading responses, it's worth noting that making strength gains doesn't necessarily mean muscle gains.

You can't build at a deficit....

However you can maintain and losing the extra fat and adding some volume to the muscle will definitely help...

Again, check out the forums for body building and ask them about losing weight whilst building and how effective that is... See the replies you will get. This place is the wrong place to ask as everyone says you sure can build muscle because they lost and have muscle still... Well what about the fact they had muscle before, and maintaining or slightly adding definition actually helped and they didn't in fact build that much... Lets be honest here...

Even while eating at an increased calorie intake it is HARD HARD HARD to even put on 5-10 pounds of muscle... So at a deficit which your body will also need to function and can't jump your body full of protein, amino acids hormones etc which are present in excess in excessive calorie intakes, do you honestly think your going to build that much if at all?... Be honest here...

yes! muscle building burns fat where as cardio exercises burn calories. The two work hand and hand.

It generally can't be done, but it can happen in overweight beginners, because of a combination of insulin resistance and the relatively rapid muscle building and improved nutrient partitioning that comes with being new to strength training.

It absolutely can be done

Three resources that talk about this are: Scooby's Workshop, Tom Venuto, and Stronglifts. There may be more. These are the three I have seen. A lot of other programs utilize similar methods, they just don't explain it quite as well. Being a weight lifting novice is also a plus, so enjoy and take advantage of that (I sure am).

I'm not eating at a deficit, though. I am eating at what is either maintenance or a small surplus. Also it can be confusing because people don't always explain the concept of eating at a surplus very well or what that even means (since it is different per person). Also when people say you gain fat along with muscle that can mean a barely perceptible amount of fat. I also found some good info from Mark Lauren. I'm still learning.

If you are doing resistance training, you will gain muscle, and muscle burns fat faster. So, yes!! One thing though, take measurements because you will lose size but your actual weight loss may slow down. I'm going through that very thing right now!!

Some can.. good on you for asking.

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

Thank you for that. What this article describes has been my experience exactly. When I first started I felt pretty strongly I was gaining muscle. Then those gains stopped while I dropped the majority of my weight. Now that I am trying to lose the last bit of my weight and have basically switched to an IF eating schedule and a very small deficit. I "think" I have seen some small gains in mass in a few different body parts. With that being said any mass gains or fat loss have been extremely slow for the last 3 months. Like I have been gaining and losing the same 3-4 lbs for months. I have decided to just drop the last few pounds with a bigger deficit and then start a lean traditional bulk next month.

If it is possible beyond the beginner stage, it is extremely slow and inefficient. But if you are not in a hurry and and dont want to put on much mass I guess it is an option.

YES, you can gain muscle and lose fat and here’s how:





1.Constant influx of protein. 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day taken 5-6 equal portions spaced evenly through out the day – otherwise your nuclear power plant will have to turn on between meals and burn muscle, you don’t want that.
2.Consume enough calories to keep your body from thinking its starving but not so many calories that you gain fat, 10% under your TDEE is a good value to use. My calorie calculator will tell you exactly what that is for your type metabolism. Make sure to set your goal in step 6 to “10% calorie reduction”
3.Proper nutrition, make every calorie count!1.eat unprocessed or minimally processed foods
2.eat lots of fresh vegetables
3.eat less than 30% of your calories from fat and eat only good fats like olives, nuts, and avocados
4.eat whole grains and low G.I. carbs – no simple carbs like sugar, alcohol, or white flour
5.eat omega-IIIs daily, flax or salmon are great sources

4.Hardcore, consistent weight workouts. You can use my custom workout plan generator to design a workout plan appropriate for you.
5.Daily cardio, 30-40min. Cardio will not burn muscle, it will help you gain muscle while losing fat at the same time.

Please go read some research and books regarding weight training and nutrition before posting this again. You are making my head hurt.

Well, honestly OP, reading this thread has done nothing but confuse me more. Not sure if I've gained muscle while losing fat, but I feel like I look a lot more muscular. Perhaps I have just shaped/conditioned my muscles while making them more visible with body fat reduction? Hell if I know, but my profile pic shows my progress from 7 months of heavy lifting, cardio, and healthier eating. Best wishes to you

Recomp is rather difficult for the average person, unless if you juice. However, there are some genetic freaks out there that can successfully pull off a recomp while being all natural.

I weigh 102 pounds and have a low bodyfat %, so there is no weight for me to lose. I put my calorie goals as being the most active (such as a construction worker), then I increased that by at least another 60 calories. And when I exercise I increase it even more (and anytime I am hungry I allow myself to go over on my calories). That puts me at least 300 calories and more above what Mfp would set as my maintenance calories. And I am seeing a slow and steady increase in my muscle size. Not dramatic, but it's certainly noticeable. My husband is a physicist and a mathematician, so we researched all the different calorie calculating formulas and what they were based on and calculated my calorie needs in multiple different ways, plus I tested it out over a period of time to see how it influenced my hunger, energy levels, and weight changes. I am a long time professional contemporary dancer and have had visible muscle definition for a long time (in my abs most dramatically). I have dabbled in lifting weights, but have only become serious about it recently. It is helpful as I am getting older and I have had 2 children. As long as I am making progress I'm fine with that. If I need to make a change I will when that becomes necessary. But, I don't think I am doing anything wrong. Just still learning and also dealing with an old injury. Also I am doing the NRoL4W program at this time.

As far as food goes. I eat nuts. I will eat a very large salad with chicken and dressing that has oil in it. I am eating high protein with the 40/30/30 macros.