building small lean muscle while losing fat?
dlausberg123
Posts: 2 Member
I've heard you can build muscle while losing fat and I've heard you can't. I'm confused. I've started counting macros to make this work. The last thing I want to do is gain fat. I'm not looking to compete in a competition. I just want more muscle and less fat.
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Replies
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Yes, you can. You have to ask yourself where are on this scale though.
At one end, noob lifter, lots of fat. With a small calorie deficit, progressive overload, and adequate protein, they can gain muscle while losing fat.
At the other end, years of lifting, fairly lean. They're better off focusing on fat loss and muscle gain cycles, or maingaining at their preferred body fat %.
What is your lifting experience and current estimated body fat %? And is that for male or female?2 -
On the surface, it does seem like the two options are impossible to work together...
Losing fat requires eating less calories than are burned (breathing, exercising, digestion, etc)...
Gaining muscle requires the body converting calories into muscle fibers...
How can you possibly eat less calories while simultaneously having enough extra calories to turn into muscle? Seems like an impossible position.
But note: gaining muscle requires calories. Nowhere does it say it must be EXTRA calories. What if (stay with me) we eat less calories than we burn, prompting the body to burn fat for the extra calories. Now let's burn even more fat, and use the calories released to divert into building muscle.
How do we do this? Through exercise, we can convince the body it needs to build muscle in order to survive. Through eating lots of protein, we provide the building blocks for the muscle. All that's needed now is calories, which the fat cells can provide...as long as we hit the Goldilocks zone of calorie intake. Too much, there's no need for fat burn. Too little, the body will override the need for muscle, in fact possibly reducing the muscle we already have. We need to be just right.
How much is "just right" if we want to lose fat AND build muscle? First, figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight as you sit all day on a couch. Now reduce that number by only a smidge, say 250 calories below maintenance. Now get off your couch and exercise, eating back most/all of the calories you burn. Your body, at a deficit of 250 for the day, will be forced to burn fat to make up the difference, while your exercise time has simultaneously started the process of building muscle, which will nip just a smidge of the calories released from fat for that purpose.
Sounds like it'll take a while? You betcha it does. Losing fat only, we can expect to lose up to two pounds per week safely. Gain muscle only, we can gain a half pound a month safely. Combine the two efforts? It'll take weeks and months of steady effort to make a truly impressive difference. But it CAN be done, it HAS been done by others. Just requires long-term discipline.10 -
What is your gender, height and weight?
Some people can recomp and some can’t1 -
I have been trying to figure out a similar question. I don’t need to lose any more weight. I actually need to gain some back, but I would like to make sure it is muscle. I don’t lift at the moment, but I do stuff like pilates on a reformer which is geared to building long/lean muscles through resistance. I am in no rush. I am just eating a few hundred calories above maintenance and hoping that will do it especially if I also pay attention to protein. I welcome reactions to this, because I am not sure this is the right answer for OP. Maybe not for me either.1
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A quick Google suggests a Pilates reformer is not a replacement for weight lifting. Therefore I think going several hundred over maintenance is more likely to lead to fat gain. Even if you were lifting, several hundred over would result in fat gain. You should watch your weight and body measurements closely to monitor and adjust.Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »I have been trying to figure out a similar question. I don’t need to lose any more weight. I actually need to gain some back, but I would like to make sure it is muscle. I don’t lift at the moment, but I do stuff like pilates on a reformer which is geared to building long/lean muscles through resistance. I am in no rush. I am just eating a few hundred calories above maintenance and hoping that will do it especially if I also pay attention to protein. I welcome reactions to this, because I am not sure this is the right answer for OP. Maybe not for me either.2 -
If by "few hundred" you mean 200-300 over maintenance, that's fine for a slow muscle build. Don't let that "few hundred" start turning into 500-600, though.0
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A quick Google suggests a Pilates reformer is not a replacement for weight lifting. Therefore I think going several hundred over maintenance is more likely to lead to fat gain. Even if you were lifting, several hundred over would result in fat gain. You should watch your weight and body measurements closely to monitor and adjust.[/quote]
So .. how does someone who is currently underweight put on muscle rather than fat while exercising? I’ve been told by my doctor and a nutritionist who works with him to eat 300 extra calories daily and I am trying to be more intentional about exercise than I have been. I don’t particularly want to start having clothes get tight, but I do agree I could use to put back some muscle.
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Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »A quick Google suggests a Pilates reformer is not a replacement for weight lifting. Therefore I think going several hundred over maintenance is more likely to lead to fat gain. Even if you were lifting, several hundred over would result in fat gain. You should watch your weight and body measurements closely to monitor and adjust.
So .. how does someone who is currently underweight put on muscle rather than fat while exercising? I’ve been told by my doctor and a nutritionist who works with him to eat 300 extra calories daily and I am trying to be more intentional about exercise than I have been. I don’t particularly want to start having clothes get tight, but I do agree I could use to put back some muscle.
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Lifting weights is the most efficient, bodyweight exercises maybe a bit less so. Enough protein, overall good nutrition. Small calorie surplus. You may add a little fat, but not much, and it would be slow, so you have time to adjust if it's happening faster than you'd prefer. 300 calories surplus doesn't seem crazy-high to me, if you're underweight.1 -
Weights and progressive overload, 10+ working sets per muscle group per week, and adequate protein.Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »So .. how does someone who is currently underweight put on muscle rather than fat while exercising? I’ve been told by my doctor and a nutritionist who works with him to eat 300 extra calories daily and I am trying to be more intentional about exercise than I have been. I don’t particularly want to start having clothes get tight, but I do agree I could use to put back some muscle.
When I said +300 sounded high I was assuming you're an underweight female, so 300 calories might be a substantial % of TDEE, also that surplus might show on you quickly (potentially 2.5 pounds per month), and you might not add muscle quickly enough to match that weight gain. Like I said though, try it out, monitor and measure, and adjust as needed.0 -
Hi
There is no such thing as lean muscle. Muscle is muscle.
There are studies that suggest that one can gain muscle while losing fat if you are untrained or very obese. The amount of muscle is nothing substantial nor does the studies I've read suggest it is a long period of time.
That being said, training is training and if your goal is to look leaner, then I would look at how much you have to lose to achieve your goal of short term and long term. Then plan to either maintain weight and train with a slight caloric deficit and goal to maintain the muscle you have over a period of time and then access appropriate changes if any.
Also keep in mind your diet. If maintaining body weight, then depending on your protein consumption you will need less protein then if you are in a caloric deficit. Eating higher quality protein is also suggested if you are middle age or above along with other factors.1 -
THANK YOU EVERYONE for the advice and for commenting. I am a 5'5" female weighing in at 140lbs. I would like to rid this fat and gain muscle. I haven't worked out with weights in a few years and even then it wasn't much, but I did lose weight (about 30lbs) and I did gain muscle. But I was also about 7 years younger and not menopausal. I only need to lose about 15-20lbs this time but its so much harder now! I will do my best, then come back and post when I hit my goal. (BTW... I couldn't figure out how to reply to each persons comment)1
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What you're looking for is a recomposition, but it has limitations. You're probably cutting it close for a recomp, and most likely would find much better results focusing on losing the fat while adding in some strength training. You can get stronger without building a bunch of mass, especially if you haven't been lifting heavy-for-you. Then decide if you're happy with your physique or if you want to look into a cycled program.
I'm working on a recomp right now, and it is painfully slow. Trending 1/2 pound/week lost....when you're losing that slow, you can hardly tell, on the scale, in photos, or even in your clothes. My lifts and musculature there is definitely a difference, but the fat is still there, at least "mostly." In another 5ish pounds I will most likely need to transition programs to keep seeing results in either area (just based on how things are going at this point), and narrow my focus to a cycled program. That will honestly be new territory for me, I've historically either done a shorter recomp but never made it to transitioning before I fell off the bandwagon, OR focused on just losing the weight while strength training (never really getting beyond the "newbie" gains stage...). Hoping to ride the recomp train as far as calories go as long as I can since I still have a good 10-20 pounds of fat to lose (honestly not sure where that will land since I've never leaned out fully since I started lifting more often).
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dlausberg123 wrote: »THANK YOU EVERYONE for the advice and for commenting. I am a 5'5" female weighing in at 140lbs. I would like to rid this fat and gain muscle. I haven't worked out with weights in a few years and even then it wasn't much, but I did lose weight (about 30lbs) and I did gain muscle. But I was also about 7 years younger and not menopausal. I only need to lose about 15-20lbs this time but its so much harder now! I will do my best, then come back and post when I hit my goal. (BTW... I couldn't figure out how to reply to each persons comment)
@dlausberg123 - I am also female and working to lose body fat while gaining muscle. I am trying my best to figure out how many calories I need to intake and during this time and that has been the hardest part for me. Also, I have a few dietary restrictions so I have to factor those in as well.
All the best to you in your journey! I'll send you a friend request as well.0
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