Building lean muscle mass while dieting

ahmommy
ahmommy Posts: 316 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm within a few pounds of my goal weight and I'd really like to switch my focus to strength training and building lean muscle mass instead of cardio. I do want to continue to lose weight if possible. I know that cardio in combination with dieting can cause you to lose lean muscle mass as well as fat, and I didn' t have the lean muscle mass in the first place. I don't want to stop cardio completely because it's good for your heart health.

I think that a lack of lean muscle mass has really been my issue all along. Before I had my daughter, I had a lower body fat percentage and therefore a higher metabolism. But during pregnancy and the infancy period, I think I lost a lot of the muscle mass that I had before, and so my metabolism suffered and it's been a struggle to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight and size.

All that said, I really want to build some muscle mass again to boost my metabolism and aid in keeping the weight off (or more honestly to help me not gain as much weight when I get pregnant again - ultimately in an effort to be able to get the weight off again after the next baby).

So is it possible to gain lean muscle mass while limiting calories? A lot of what I read online says the opposite, that you need to eat more calories to gain muscle.

Replies

  • Kay2Phat
    Kay2Phat Posts: 15 Member
    The more muscle you have the more calories you burn. You body needs fuel to burn but if you increase your muscle mass it will help you burn those additional calories you will need to take in. Hope this help just a semester of biochemistry to understand it lol :) good luck
  • LillysGranny
    LillysGranny Posts: 431
    I don't know anything but my own experience, but in the past I have dieted, done cardio, lifted weights and ultimately lost weight and ended up very lean and mean -- nice muscle definition and no flab. What worked for me was lifting 3 times per week in a variable routine--sometime heavy, sometimes more plyometric, sometimes interval training. I also increased the protein in my diet to 1 - 1.25 grams of protein per pound of body weight. It worked for me!
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    I don't think you can build muscle while on a deficit but I think you can definately hold onto what you have, and you can get stronger up to a point.
    If you really want to build more muscle mass you could try and stay on maintenance calories for a while while you build some, then go back to a deficit to lose fat and just concentrate on keeping what you have for that period.

    I'd suggest as you're so close to you're goal weight you could possibly just go into maintenance now, or only 1/2lb a week loss. Once you start the strength training you should tone up quite alot and you might find that your clothes are fitting better, and you're in better shape than you were even while remaining the same weight or more.
  • oddyogi
    oddyogi Posts: 1,816 Member
    You can still create a calorie deficit by eating between 1400-1500 calories per day. In order to build muscle you must get enough protein. I eat at least 90g a day, but most of the time I'm around 120 or so.

    You can't get TOO much protein, promise. (well unless you got like 250g, but you'd have to be downing men's protein shakes all day)
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    It is possible, but very difficult. I think if you set your goals for minimal weight loss, around 1/2 pound a week, you may see better results. Try HIIT cardio, and lift as heavy weights as you can. Try for about 6 reps per set. Keep trying to increase strength every workout, either by increasing the weight, try another rep, or add another set. Good luck.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    As long as you aren't eating more than your bodyweight in protein every day, you're not eating too much.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    I wouldn't say that concurrent fat loss and muscle gain is impossible. It's simply unlikely... at least to any significant degree. In theory, fat loss requires a calorie deficit while muscle growth requires a calorie surplus. However, some folks are likely to see some concurrent change and they're typically:

    1) carrying a lot of fat
    2) extremely deconditioned
    3) coming back from an injury
    4) genetically blessed
    5) using steroids
  • Dawntodusk
    Dawntodusk Posts: 262 Member
    From what I've read and experienced, I think you can up to a certain point. If you are a serious body-builder, you probably can't, but since you're a beginner, and have more modest goals, I'd say give it a try. Make sure you up your protein to at least 1gram per pound, and make sure you work your major muscles and lift to fatigue. You can probably start with 3-4 times a week, but not more, and I've found that as you advance, you can actually do less. Good luck!
  • ahmommy
    ahmommy Posts: 316 Member
    Thanks everyone for the feedback! I currently have my goals set at 1 pound per week loss and that gives me a daily intake of 1340 calories. Some days (like today) I seem to be struggling to meet my calories even without factoring in exercise. I know, strange problem to have, but it is what it is.

    Also, thanks for all the comments about protein. Mine is automatically set at 50g/day and I'm consistently over that, although not as high as 1g/pound.

    So now I guess I have a choice to make. Would I rather lose a couple more pounds and then up my calories, or increase calories now and focus more on strength training? My goal on MFP is set at 140 but my true goal is 142-143. I'm at 143.5 now. I set my goal a couple pounds low to give myself a little bit of cushion anticipating a little bit of gain when I go back to maintenance.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    If you are wanting to increase lean mass, You really should go more for a range, instead of an actual weight. Some people actually recommend up to 2 grams of protein per lb of lean mass. Many also carb cycle; putting most of their carbs around their workouts, then for the rest of their meals eating a lean protein, and fibrous veggies.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Yes, of course you can build muscle while dieting, you just burn more fat. Make sure you eat the fuel you need within 1/2 an hour of exercise (protein to build muscle and carbs to replace your glycogen so you don't just metabolise the protein for energy).


    I did exactly this when I was 17/18, doing 5 sessions of cardio per week (rowing) and 2 sessions of heavy weight training. I got to about 14% body fat with great muscle def.
  • achmatov
    achmatov Posts: 4
    Its very hard to gain muscle AND loose fat.
    At the start of a diet its possible...but later on u will stuck.

    Our body doenst like to build up muscle with calorien deficit.

    In diet your body runs the standby mode, no massive muscle gain.


    for effective muscle gain u need 200-400 kcal more u need.
    its very importent to train all muscles, get a Routine.
    you should train a small and a big muscle...eg bizeps and latz (back).

    for effective fat loose u need 200-400kcal deficit.
    cardio over 45-60min will cause a muscle loose, because our body uses muscleprotein to produce energy.


    so u have to switch between MASS- and Fatred. - Phase.

    i like that low carb diet, because i <3 meat. massive protein will save your muscles in fat-loose phase


    eg routine: monday: bizeps,back tuesday: HIIT Wed: chest,trizeps Thursday: HIIT Friday: shoulder, neck, legs


    Get Jefit, its a android app to plan your routine and exercise animation
  • monky13grl
    monky13grl Posts: 55 Member
    The trainer told me that cardio should be done at least 5-6 times a week for 30-45 minutes. You should weight train with each muscle group 3x a week for 3sets of 15 each time (I am a woman, less time/more weight for men). I think the trick is to make sure that you are balancing both cardio and lifting so that as you lose the fat, you fill in with muscle.
  • tolygal
    tolygal Posts: 602 Member
    I was in the same situation as you. I spent a year focusing all on losing fat (cardio cardio cardio - and a lot of it). Unfortunatly, I didn't like what I saw when I got close to my goal (which is still 12 pounds away - 20 at that time) - I think I lost a lot of muscle - and I had completely stalled out on losing. So I decided to try to build back some of that muscle and started to focus on lifting heavy weights (yes, women should be lifting heavy weights, just like men). I also changed my cardio. I went from 60 minute steady-pace (but pretty high intensity) cardio to much shorter 25 -30 minute HiiT cardio (high intensity intevals). I had been completely stuck for at least 2 months, and when I did this I finally started losing again. And I swear that I'm building muscle - I mean you can see it, so I think I'm building it. I was eating 1500 calories a day at that point (and still am except that I add 300 calories on lifting days).

    I think that in order to gain muscle and lose weight, you may need to focus more on heavy lifting and for cardio, do shorter HiiT workouts. But keep your deficit low. Adding muscle will ultimatly increase your metabolism and burn more calories for you. So you will probably drop those last couple of pounds, even with a much lower deficit. But you do need to eat enough protein in order to build that muscle. I set my goals for 40-30-30 (carb-protein-fat) and most days I come pretty close to that. That means I'm eating around 115 grams of protein a day (more on my lifting days since I've started to eat back 300 calories those days).

    So my personal opinion based on my results is that it's possible. You just have to change your focus and keep your deficit very small (and make sure you get enough protein). I'm definetly not a professional - this is just what seems to be helping me.
  • Dawntodusk
    Dawntodusk Posts: 262 Member


    Get Jefit, its a android app to plan your routine and exercise animation

    Thanks for this tip. I just downloaded it. It looks great!
  • achmatov
    achmatov Posts: 4


    Get Jefit, its a android app to plan your routine and exercise animation

    Thanks for this tip. I just downloaded it. It looks great!

    it rly is ! i manage all my pumpin routine there. u can even start break timer, that 30-60 sec between your liftig sets

    that app works good with myfitnesspal.
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