Building muscle and gaining fat

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JoeyFitness1718
JoeyFitness1718 Posts: 38 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So for building muscle and losing fat have I literally just got to get a lot of protein in me in a day but also stay in a caloric deficit. I have had people tell me that I need to eat more to put on muscle and people tell me to eat less and to be honest I’m just confused.

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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
    edited September 2020
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    For optimal muscle growth, a surplus is required but you will gain fat. You can recomp, but its slow but will keep at bay any fat gains; things months to years. You can gain some muscle in a deficit while losing fat, but it won't be a lot and will taper off quickly.

    If you want to lean out, stay in a deficit, get around .8-1g of protein /lb of weight, and most importantly, follow a structured lifting routine (not self designed) that is focused on progressive overload and hits each muscle 2-3x a week.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
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    Mind also that getting stronger may not require a calorie surplus.

    Strength gains are a combination of factors, the two most important being:
    • Muscle mass gain
    • More muscle fiber recruitment

    The latter happens the most in early weight training as the body learns to use a single nerve impluse to drive more muscle fibers to contract.

    Eating more is required to put on significant muscle mass, but it doesn't have to be TDEE+1000 daily. I've been able to add more muscle mass on TDEE+200 and minimize the fat gains.

    Cycling on and off calorie surpluses is the way to go to continue ot drive up weight training.

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