Cannot lose weight and gain muscle? Whats the Science behind this??

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  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    Lifting can help preserve the muscle you do have. Pure calorie restriction reduces fat and muscle, incorporating exercise shifts the ratio so more fat is lost compared to muscle lost.
  • Davelfc08
    Davelfc08 Posts: 12 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    terryt1992 wrote: »
    Lol Broscience I see. So basically you can gain strength and still be losing weight. I thought this was wrong because I have been strength training for a little over a month and I have lost weight and I feel a lot stronger and also feel like I have more muscle mass

    You can get stronger while you're losing weight and many people find that their muscles become more visible (because they're losing the fat that has been covering them). This isn't necessarily the same thing as actually adding weight from muscle.

    Hey i was 236lb and have lost 17lb by doing IF and Stronglifts 5x5 at the same time ! id like to lose about another 30lb ! Are you saying im not going to start gaining muscle until i lose another 30lb ??
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Davelfc08 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    terryt1992 wrote: »
    Lol Broscience I see. So basically you can gain strength and still be losing weight. I thought this was wrong because I have been strength training for a little over a month and I have lost weight and I feel a lot stronger and also feel like I have more muscle mass

    You can get stronger while you're losing weight and many people find that their muscles become more visible (because they're losing the fat that has been covering them). This isn't necessarily the same thing as actually adding weight from muscle.

    Hey i was 236lb and have lost 17lb by doing IF and Stronglifts 5x5 at the same time ! id like to lose about another 30lb ! Are you saying im not going to start gaining muscle until i lose another 30lb ??

    In your case, you've already gotten into good weightlifting condition so your ability to add muscle in a calorie deficit is gone. Keep lifting and keep focusing on protein intake, as this preserves as much lean muscle as possible while you continue in a calorie deficit.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
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    Davelfc08 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    terryt1992 wrote: »
    Lol Broscience I see. So basically you can gain strength and still be losing weight. I thought this was wrong because I have been strength training for a little over a month and I have lost weight and I feel a lot stronger and also feel like I have more muscle mass

    You can get stronger while you're losing weight and many people find that their muscles become more visible (because they're losing the fat that has been covering them). This isn't necessarily the same thing as actually adding weight from muscle.

    Hey i was 236lb and have lost 17lb by doing IF and Stronglifts 5x5 at the same time ! id like to lose about another 30lb ! Are you saying im not going to start gaining muscle until i lose another 30lb ??

    As others have noted, if you have a lot of fat, are strength training, are male (not necessary but helps) and eat a lot of protein, you can gain a small amount of muscle while in a deficit.

    But keep in mind that, all things being equal, people who are heavier naturally have more muscle than people who are lighter because they have more weight to move around. So, if a heavy person loses a lot of fat but manages to preserve all of their muscle, they will be more muscular than somebody who was always at the lighter weight. (Again, all things being equal. This is *not* comparing a couch potato to a manual labourer.)

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