Can you gain muscle if your loosing weight ?
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siiil209
Posts: 13 Member
Hello , beginner here
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HELP2
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Can anyone see what I typed . It's not showing up when I view it1
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If you eat too little your body can use muscle for energy.3
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I think that you can loose fat and gain muscle at the same time however my (limited) understanding is that this is a slow process. I think it is recommended to focus on one or the other ie loosing fat or gaining muscle. When loosing weight (fat) is is a good idea to try to maintain the muscle that you have by eating an adequate amount of protein - and there have been studies on what this amount is. You can certainly increase your STRENGTH while losing weight if you include regular weight training and do not have to heavy an energy deficit.6
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Possible, yes. There are exceptions. Likely, probably not for most of the general population. Exchange fat weight for muscle mass (recomp) is a LONG PROCESS. And in reality if one is gaining muscle, then weight should go up since adding muscle means adding mass. And adding mass usually means having a surplus.
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When you say lose weight I assume you mean lose fat? Gaining muscle will help your fat loss more than just decreasing calorie intake, because muscle uses your fat for energy so the more you have the more fat you will lose (that is why squats are actually one of the best exercises for fat loss and increasing metabolism) - that said you *weight* might not change and might even go up! I have been training since november and have lost fat, gained muscle and stayed the same weight, but my body is still smaller because muscle takes up so much less room than fat. Thirdly you need to make sure you're eating enough to gain that muscle, especially protein. I know a lot of people at my gym who are eating more than they ever did before but the right foods and combined with the exercise they are still losing fat8
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Thank you everyone for the help ! Best of luck to everyone on your journey !1
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While I hear it is possible, I think rather than focusing on how much muscle you can gain, do what you would do regardless to retain as much muscle as possible at deficit, by weight training and adequate protein intake (and keeping the deficit reasonable). Any muscle gains while losing would be a bonus. Once you get near goal you can reevaluate and decide to recomp or bulk depending on your goals.4
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my personal experience. is a kind of yes, based on my own results.
at the moment i have lost 18lbs in total weight since January.
on Jan 1st 2017 i was 277lbs
26% body fat. which is 72.02 Lbs of Fatty Mcfattyness.
As of today 02/03/2017 i am 259 Lbs
21% body fat. which is 54lbs
so i have lost, in total 22lbs of fat. but as above ive only lost 18lbs off my total mass.
Now , i also get my lean totals. as part of the read out when i do a weigh in.
so my lean mass, not including water weight
on Jan 1st 201lbs (72% of total mass)
As of now 02/03/2017 204lbs (77% of total mass)
now the astute among you will see their is a 2% discrepancy between my lean masses and fatty masses. im assuming this is either water, or something. but its consistent.
My understanding on the science is not really top level, but i know a bit about what it takes to build muscle. there are something like 19 different protein components and your body can produce 8 of them and you get the others from food or supplements. I.e. BCAA (branch chain amino acids.)
Now if your body is using pre-exisiting fat stores to convert to glycogen as energy. Then the proteins you consume cna be utilised by the body for building muscle.
The deficit everyone aims for is not a true deficit. its more like a deficit for the future. or a surplus from the past.
Let me explain:
if your goal is to eat 2500 calories to maintain your weight. if you eat 2000 on monday, and 3000 on tuesday. then youre not in a deficit. at all.
similarly, if you eat 2000 on monday and 2000 on tuesday, your body will seek the other energy from your fat stores. so its not a true deficit its just the excess calories you ate once upon a time. so if you add extra resistance training to your life. and say your body tries to use 500kcal extra for the exercise. it will use the protein and food you eat to build the muscles. and it will take extra fat from the pre-existing surplus to produce the glycogen hence why having more muscle, burns more fat. i mean im not an expert but that makes sense to me and the numbers from my own experience make sense.
i feel ive ranted. hopefully it makes sense.
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tbrain1989 wrote: ».
As of today 02/03/2017 i am 259 Lbs
21% body fat. which is 54lbs
Your answer was informative for the OP but I can't believe that you have 205lbs of LBM unless you are 6'8+4 -
They are not mutually exclusive.
During the bulk of my weight loss (pun not intended) I did resistance training with the intention of preserving the muscle. After quite a few months I noticed a bicep "dimple" and my forearms were significantly more "veiny", and don't get me started on the legs...1 -
2011rocket3touring wrote: »They are not mutually exclusive.
During the bulk of my weight loss (pun not intended) I did resistance training with the intention of preserving the muscle. After quite a few months I noticed a bicep "dimple" and my forearms were significantly more "veiny", and don't get me started on the legs...
You lost bodyfat and got leaner. That doesn't mean that you gained muscle though I'm afraid.2 -
Yes, if you are a beginner. Stay at maintenance calorie intake at your current activity level and see how far you can go before you stall. Then you will have to make some changes1
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I actually think your question would be more precise as "can you gain muscle and lose fat" and than my previous answer would make more sense. Cause when you start to drop weight by forming a caloric deficit, you lose both muscle and fat, and at best, you can hope to retain as much muscle as possible by lifting weights1
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I actually think your question would be more precise as "can you gain muscle and lose fat" and than my previous answer would make more sense. Cause when you start to drop weight by forming a caloric deficit, you lose both muscle and fat, and at best, you can hope to retain as much muscle as possible by lifting weights
Even in a deficit, the OP may the ability to gain some muscle.
OP, can you gain muscle in a deficit... yea.. most people can, especially if they are new to resistance training/progressive overload training. Will you gain muscle... well unless you get DEXA scans, you won't actually know. So at best, follow a structure program, have a small or no deficit, get adequate protein, and just try to get stronger. Even if you do or don't gain muscle, it won't matter if you like how your body is shaping up.2 -
Absolutely!!!
While in a calorie deficient, it is possible to gain muscle while cutting, the gains won't be huge by any means but you can gain strength and muscle for sure. But remember, if you are in a calorie surplus, you will gain much more muscle, but you will not be able to lose any fat at all.4 -
trigden1991 wrote: »2011rocket3touring wrote: »They are not mutually exclusive.
During the bulk of my weight loss (pun not intended) I did resistance training with the intention of preserving the muscle. After quite a few months I noticed a bicep "dimple" and my forearms were significantly more "veiny", and don't get me started on the legs...
You lost bodyfat and got leaner. That doesn't mean that you gained muscle though I'm afraid.
In the interests of balance - it also doesn't mean he didn't add muscle!1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »2011rocket3touring wrote: »They are not mutually exclusive.
During the bulk of my weight loss (pun not intended) I did resistance training with the intention of preserving the muscle. After quite a few months I noticed a bicep "dimple" and my forearms were significantly more "veiny", and don't get me started on the legs...
You lost bodyfat and got leaner. That doesn't mean that you gained muscle though I'm afraid.
In the interests of balance - it also doesn't mean he didn't add muscle!
Very true.1 -
When you say lose weight I assume you mean lose fat? Gaining muscle will help your fat loss more than just decreasing calorie intake, because muscle uses your fat for energy so the more you have the more fat you will lose (that is why squats are actually one of the best exercises for fat loss and increasing metabolism) - that said you *weight* might not change and might even go up! I have been training since november and have lost fat, gained muscle and stayed the same weight, but my body is still smaller because muscle takes up so much less room than fat. Thirdly you need to make sure you're eating enough to gain that muscle, especially protein. I know a lot of people at my gym who are eating more than they ever did before but the right foods and combined with the exercise they are still losing fat
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
1
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