Losing weight and building muscle?

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Annaneedstolosesome
Annaneedstolosesome Posts: 5 Member
edited June 2016 in Fitness and Exercise
My brother has recently gotten into fitness and told me that it is essential to gain weight/ not be calorie deficient when you are building muscle, otherwise it doesn't work. Is that true? I've seen people slim down and build muscle, but is it toning only the existing muscle? Do you really have to go through a bulking phase to build extra muscle? I'd really appreciate some thoughts and knowledge over this :) thanks!

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  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    You can gain a little muscle while in a deficit or maintenance but it is a very slow process. Women can maybe gain 1 lbs of muscle in a calorie surplus while doing a progressive overload lifting program and doing everything right so you'll gain less than that while recomping.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
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    It's a modern fashion to say you need to be gaining weight to gain muscle. And it's a silly generalisation of a complex subject that has huge variations depending on the person and their situation.

    If you are highly trained, lean and close to your genetic potential then that's probably true. But look around you in everyday life (as opposed to looking around the gym) and you will see that's a minority. But a very vocal minority!

    For fastest muscle gain then yes a surplus will optimally support your training stimulus - remember that growth starts with your training and your diet (including calorie level) only supports that. But for the vast majority of people that gain of muscle in a calorie surplus would be accompanied by gaining fat.

    You might like to read this...
    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/gain-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/

    But is this a general question or do you have specific goals for yourself?


    PS - toning isn't really a meaningful term, that "toned" look often just means people are fairly lean.
    You can also add loads of strength without adding any muscle purely by neural adaption.

  • b7mapile
    b7mapile Posts: 9 Member
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    You can lose weight and gain muscle if you are a newbie to fitness. It's what many call the "noobie gains." But after some time that becomes difficult, and then you'll start noticing a plateau. Once this occurs you'll have to balance cutting, bulking and maintaining.
  • danhib
    danhib Posts: 290 Member
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    Being toned can make your muscles looked bigger. I think people find it easier to bulk & burn fat than try to do both at the same time
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    You can build some muscle without being in a calorie surplus, but it wouldn't be a major amount.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    If you have fat to lose, eat in a deficit. Lift weights. You'll get the look you want whether you gain muscle or not. You'll reveal the muscle you do have, and maintain that muscle be lifting weights. Don't over complicate things.
  • Annaneedstolosesome
    Annaneedstolosesome Posts: 5 Member
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    Thank you all for your replies and help <3 and yes, it is for myself but I have never been into the bulking idea. I want to make little gains :)

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