Building muscle on a calorie deficit?

Now, on MFP, it is axiomatic that 'you cannot build any muscle on a deficit.'

Somebody please share the magic formula with me, because it very clearly is NOT heavy lifting three days a week and eating 1g of protein per pound of LBM or 0.7g per pound of total body weight every day in chicken, salmon, egg whites, walnuts, almonds, milk, and yogurt every day (in addition to oatmeal, orange juice, blueberries, broccoli, onions, lettuce, and V8) with some help from a multivitamin, whey protein and casein supplements and eight hours of sleep a night. Heck, I'd be content to just *maintain* all of my LBM while I lost 90 more pounds of fat. :sad:

Seems like your eating ok but it's not an easy task. I burn probably about 5-7k calories a week in cardio. I should probably add in more weights, looking at gyms atm. I'm only just maintaining lean body mass. Gone from 95kg, with 64kg lean body mass to 86kg with 63kg lean body mass. I know I've gained muscle in my legs from alot of cycling but probably lost it elsewhere.

Anyhow...

The Biggest Loser claim is even more extraordinary than just building muscle on a deficit. She lost 95 pounds in 11 weeks. (3500*95) / (11 * 7) = 4318. She had to run a deficit of 4318 calories A DAY on average to achieve that kind of weight loss.

I'll repeat that: they are claiming she built a quarter pound of muscle per day (as an 11-week average) running a deficit of over 4,000 calories a day.

Extreme figures like this seem a little hard to believe but maybe it's possible.

If you believe what you see on a reality TV show that encourages rapid and competitive dieting than weight is the least of your issues.

Hmmmm. Mighty suspicious about the information in this thread. How would you BUILD muscle in a deficit, exactly? How would that process work?

Very large people might be some sort of exception. But, forget that for a moment, and just think about the process.

Protein intake?

Not sure how it works, but I have experienced increased muscle weight, reduced body fat, and reduced overall weight during my 44 pound loss. The reason is simply increased activity over the same period combined with a sensible 500 calorie a day deficit on food intake. Tanita body fat scales rock!

There are 3 types of individuals that can do this short term: very overweight/obese people on a good resistance training program, athletes returning to lifting after a long layoff, newbies who have NEVER lifted before.
And even then the gains aren't very substantial.

A person needing to lose say 30lbs-40lbs isn't going to build muscle of any significance on a calorie deficit. To build muscle means to ADD MASS. To add mass you need to have a calorie surplus. You DON'T lose weight on a calorie surplus. People can recomp, but in almost all cases I've seen, weight maintenance or a 1lbs-2lbs loss has usually been the best results.

If people are saying they are seeing muscle they've never seen before and are much stronger, then chaulk it up to lower bodyfat and neuromuscular adaptation.

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Hmmmm. Mighty suspicious about the information in this thread. How would you BUILD muscle in a deficit, exactly? How would that process work?

Very large people might be some sort of exception. But, forget that for a moment, and just think about the process.

Protein intake?

Niner--- how long of a layoff for athletes constitutes "long"?

Glycogen replenishing when fully depleted measures as muscle mass. Who knows maybe this contestant binged , they do that sometimes. To gain 19lbs of actual muscle fiber in 11 weeks on a 4000 calorie deficit is a fairy tale.

I'd even say it's a fairy tale in a surplus with very few exceptions.

From what I have read, this ^^^^ For the morbidly obese, they can add muscle because they are so large. I am still a bit skeptical of the claims made on BL - though I must say that Danni is looking fabulous!! For those with a lower BF%, it is extremely rare to add lean muscle mass while on a calorie deficit. This doesn't mean you can't get stronger and have better definition while on a deficit - you're simply training what you already have and making it more efficient.. Lastly, it is my understanding that a calorie surplus of as little as 100 calories per day over TDEE is sufficient for the average person to be able to add new lean muscle mass. Since I'm still trying to get to GW, I will worry more about that when I get there :bigsmile:

Mu muscle mass has increased substantially on a deficit of 500 cals. I've never had arm and leg muscles like this before!

I think the main thing is eating the right food to build muscle as well as not having too much of a deficit.