Impossible for the body to build muscle while in a deficit?

s4159 · June 2018

Is this true?

I'm doing IF, and usually keep my body at a comfortable deficit. I've been weight training, but does it really matter if I do. Do I have to lose the weight first, then worry about building muscle?

missysippy930 · June 2018

Not true.

tcunbeliever · June 2018

I've been gaining muscle in an overall deficit...it's painfully slow, but that might be mostly because I'm a girl and middle age and slender built...however, if I can do it, anyone can...I'm sure of it!

cwolfman13 · June 2018

You will not be able to build muscle in a deficit in any substantial way. Some short lived noob gains is about it...these can go on longer and may have more muscle development in a deficit if you are also starting out obese...otherwise, maybe very, very slow muscle development over a very long time...but essentially, you are catabolic in a calorie deficit and muscle building is an anabolic process.

Most people who think they're gaining muscle in a deficit are just confusing strength gains with muscle gains and confusing definition that comes from losing fat and getting some "pump" to be muscle gains.

You can't really perform an anabolic process while you are in a catabolic state.

Lifting in a deficit is beneficial though in that you preserve the muscle you already have so that when you shed the fat, you see the definition...otherwise you will just lose more muscle mass dieting than you otherwise would/should.

sijomial · June 2018

Impossible is an absolute term - just one person in the whole wide world gaining any amount of muscle in any unspecified caloric deficit, including a minuscule deficit, would (and does!) make it a false statement.

It certainly isn't going to help build muscle but your body doesn't have a mode switch that is triggered even if it actually had the ability to "know" your calorie balance at any point in time.

A more useful question would be to tell people your personal circumstances and then ask for recommendations.
It's a fair bet that those recommendations would be to continue training and have a small to moderate calorie deficit to get the best possible results that you can get. That result might be maximum retention of existing muscle through to gaining some muscle.

malibu927 · June 2018

Not impossible, but extremely difficult depending on the circumstances

lemmie177 · June 2018

Not impossible. Just difficult and increasingly unlikely, especially compared to being in a surplus. The body constantly cycles through catabolic and anabolic states as you eat throughout the day, I never understood this reasoning for gaining muscle to be impossible. Otherwise, recomp wouldn't happen either.

Really depends where you're at now. If you currently have very little muscle mass, high body fat, are new to strength training, or had a lot more muscle in the past, you have a better chance of gaining muscle in a deficit.

In any case, weight training during your deficit matters because you want muscle retention. As you lose weight, it'll come from both fat and muscle. Weight training helps it come from the former rather than the latter.

jemhh · June 2018

It's not impossible. You won't build as much muscle as you would at maintenance or above but building while in a deficit can happen. Additionally, it happens more in some populations than in others. New and overfat lifters, who tend to be the people who ask about this the most, are two of the populations for whom this is easier. People returning to lifting after a layoff are the other group. In addition, keep in mind that lifting weights has benefits beyond building muscle. It increases strength (which can happen even without growing new muscle), helps you to retain muscle while losing weight, and strengthens your bones.

amusedmonkey · June 2018

Is it impossible to fill a bucket using a thimble? Not exactly, unless it has a hole (already lean, already trained, too high of a deficit...etc).

Impossible for the body to build muscle while in a deficit?

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