Losing weight and building muscle

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marietivis
marietivis Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is it possible to lose weight eating in a deficit and build muscle? I am half way to my goal weight, and been doing cardio and strength training. The weight has been coming off about 4lbs a week. I have lost 16 lbs and my goal is to lose 30. I am still eating 1200 calories a day. My goal is to be fit and toned not just skinny. Should I increase my calories even if I haven't hit a plateau yet? I'm not sure how this all works, to get toned, do I lose weight first then build muscle or can it be done at the same time?

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  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    Is it possible to gain muscle when you have 15 pounds left to lose, eating 1200 calories per week/losing 4 pounds per week? No. Overweight beginners may be able to lose fat and gain a little bit of muscle. Even then, that's with a moderate deficit, training with a progressive overload, and meeting an adequate protein goal.

    You have an extreme deficit. Even with your weight training, you will be losing muscle. You should up your calories to .5lbs per week and try to maintain lean mass.

    You can lose fat and gain muscle in maintenance. It is called body recomposition. It is slow. If you are close to goal and ready for that, it is a good option.
  • CodyQuinlan
    CodyQuinlan Posts: 38 Member
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    I would do some research on "cutting". It is virtually impossible to gain muscle on a calorie deficit however! You can perform a "cut" rather than trying to just lose weight. A cut will be slow and you will see minimal weight loss each week however at the end up if you will have retained a majority of your muscle mass.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    CodyQuinlan wrote: »
    I would do some research on "cutting". It is virtually impossible to gain muscle on a calorie deficit however! You can perform a "cut" rather than trying to just lose weight. A cut will be slow and you will see minimal weight loss each week however at the end up if you will have retained a majority of your muscle mass.

    Actually, it's not impossible. In certain circumstances it's quite common.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10334857/muscle-gain-in-deficit/p1

    tl;dr version: if your deficit is less than 500 calories and you're fairly overweight, it's fairly normal to gain muscle.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Is it possible to gain muscle when you have 15 pounds left to lose, eating 1200 calories per week/losing 4 pounds per week? No. Overweight beginners may be able to lose fat and gain a little bit of muscle. Even then, that's with a moderate deficit, training with a progressive overload, and meeting an adequate protein goal.

    You have an extreme deficit. Even with your weight training, you will be losing muscle. You should up your calories to .5lbs per week and try to maintain lean mass.

    You can lose fat and gain muscle in maintenance. It is called body recomposition. It is slow. If you are close to goal and ready for that, it is a good option.

    This
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    edited February 2016
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    So, from these replies, its normally not possible to GaIN muscle at a calorie deficit. and, Its normal to lose muscle mass when weight is lost. So, eating in a calorie deficit, muscle will be lost along with fat.

    The best that can be done is to prevent losing muscle by eating nearly enough calories for maintenance, be doing some sort of body work to trigger muscle growth, plus eat a good amount of protein.

    Why does protein matter? Wouldn't any food eaten be digested and used to fuel the body for whatever its priority? I don't disagree with that idea, just asking for the reason protein calories would trigger muscle mass, not carbs calories. I mean, it all gets digested as energy, right?
  • marietivis
    marietivis Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks for the replies. I was never significantly overweight , I am 5' 10 female with starting weight of 177 currently 159 with a goal weight of 145 maybe 140. I started this just over a month ago with my settings set for a 2lb / week weight loss. Which put me at 1200 calories. I thought that was low because at my starting weight calculators suggested that to maintain that weight I would need to eat nearly 2400 calories a day. Which I realistically could see because of my daily bowl of ice cream which I'm sure was at least 4 servings. Anyway the weight I carried was and still is primarily in my stomach. I know that I can't spot reduce bUT obviously still have significant fat in that area. I've lost about an 1.5 inches from my waist ,so it is shrinking but have also noticed legs and arms have become scrawny and suspect muscle loss. I agree that I should increase calories but can I still lose fat and firm up, or do I need to get to goal weight since stomach still has fat to lose before worrying about building muscle? I'm not trying for a six pack or anything huge just more of a healthy athletic look. Thanks
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    marietivis wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies. I was never significantly overweight , I am 5' 10 female with starting weight of 177 currently 159 with a goal weight of 145 maybe 140. I started this just over a month ago with my settings set for a 2lb / week weight loss. Which put me at 1200 calories. I thought that was low because at my starting weight calculators suggested that to maintain that weight I would need to eat nearly 2400 calories a day. Which I realistically could see because of my daily bowl of ice cream which I'm sure was at least 4 servings. Anyway the weight I carried was and still is primarily in my stomach. I know that I can't spot reduce bUT obviously still have significant fat in that area. I've lost about an 1.5 inches from my waist ,so it is shrinking but have also noticed legs and arms have become scrawny and suspect muscle loss. I agree that I should increase calories but can I still lose fat and firm up, or do I need to get to goal weight since stomach still has fat to lose before worrying about building muscle? I'm not trying for a six pack or anything huge just more of a healthy athletic look. Thanks

    No. You lift NOW because in order to get that look you want, you have to save muscle as you lose. Like I think I stated above (haven't finished morning coffee, sorry), we lose fat and muscle when we lose "weight". And you're definitely losing muscle eating 1200 calories with your stats and not lifting.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    cloudi2 wrote: »
    Why does protein matter? Wouldn't any food eaten be digested and used to fuel the body for whatever its priority? I don't disagree with that idea, just asking for the reason protein calories would trigger muscle mass, not carbs calories. I mean, it all gets digested as energy, right?

    You need the amino acids from proteins to build AND repair muscles. You don't get that from carbs or fats (at least not a lot).

  • marietivis
    marietivis Posts: 5 Member
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    I'm eating 40% protein less than 20% fat and about 40% carbs. Arditarose you mentioned before to increase my calories to .5 lb a week so if I understand you correctly that will prevent further muscle loss but not necessarily build new muscle. Right? So my goal weight will still be attainable just at a slower pace.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    marietivis wrote: »
    I'm eating 40% protein less than 20% fat and about 40% carbs. Arditarose you mentioned before to increase my calories to .5 lb a week so if I understand you correctly that will prevent further muscle loss but not necessarily build new muscle. Right? So my goal weight will still be attainable just at a slower pace.

    You should set up your macros in grams. Start with protein at about .8g per pound of body weight. Some people do .8-1g per pound of lean mass. Then get your fat to at least .35g per pound of body weight, and the rest in carbs.

    Yes, you should not PLAN to build muscle in a deficit. There have been studies showing it's possible, but it's not common. And yes you will still lose, just at a slower pace. Your physique will look much better with this set up.

    What is your lifting routine?
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Oh, good. More untrained people can't gain muscle in a calorie deficit garbage. Look, OP. Lift weights, eat at a slight calorie deficit, and pick some type of cardio that you either enjoy or at least don't hate. Then give it time. You will take the weight off and gain some muscle in the process.
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Listened to Professor Stuart Phillips the other day on this podcast on this topic exactly. The link also references the paper and research of Dr. Phillips on this topic if you just want to see peer reviewed submitted data.
    http://guruperformance.com/episode-74-gaining-muscle-losing-fat-in-an-energy-deficit-with-professor-stu-phillips/
  • Shana67
    Shana67 Posts: 680 Member
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    First of all - at 5'10" - why on earth are you trying to get down to 140? That's like - 10lb underweight for your height at a minimum. I'm 5'9" and when I weigh 140, I'm a size 4. That's pretty tiny for our height.

    (Sorry to go off topic :) )

    I do hard cardio 6x per week and lift every single day after my cardio workout. I have plenty of muscle and definition, and eat at a deficit :)

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