Weight Loss and Muscle Gain

bump - im in the same boat

I'd like to lose weight (fat) and gain a few pounds of muscle; is it possible to do these things at the same time?

The short answer is: No, you can't do both. (The long answer is maybe, sometimes, but pretty much never, here's why, blah, blah, blah).

I've decided to put further weight loss on hold for the winter and focus on muscle gain. I've heard 10% above maintenance is a good goal, or even 500 over. Of course this requires knowing what your maintenance calories are and well, not saying "fvck all" like I have been for a week or so....

In addition to the surplus you also need to lift heavy in a manner which builds strength and muscle mass (increasing weights as often as possible, doing compound lifts, changing things, taking lifting breaks), eating 1 gram of protien for every pound of lean mass, eating enough fat, getting enough sleep,,,,, and probably other factors.

Does resistance training while losing weight only help to maintain muscle mass and not increase it?

Pretty much just maintains it. Your existing muscle mass also can become stronger but it most likely won't increase in size or mass.

I'm currently on day 28 of the 90 day Chalean Extreme program. The premise is that muscle burns fat by increasing your metabolism. It seems to be working. I'm getting stronger and leaner, and I'm still losing weight. I try to eat back most of my exercise calories, without going over, but I've stopped sweating it when I fall short. I know I need to lose the weight to have a flat tummy, but I'm more interested in my shape and how my clothes fit than in the scale numbers. I've read many articless that stress the importance of strength training as an important part of weight reduction.

I disagree that a calorie surplus is needed to gain muscle. I also disagree that you can't both lose weight and gain muscle at the same time. My own personal experience proves it.

For the last 10 months I have been getting fit. With the help of MFP I've been running a 500 calorie/day deficit (1 pound/week loss). During that time my weight has gone from 238 pounds to 212. I have also increased my muscle mass dramatically in that time such that my bench press and squat 1RM have increased by 50%. Chest and abdominal measurements are a little confounding, but clearly I've added about 2 inches to my arms, building both biceps and triceps. All muscle.

I track my body fat as well as weight. Some weeks I see my weight increase a bit but the body fat % stay the same or drop. Last week I did a hard weightlifting week. So today I weighed in and gained 2 pounds from last week, but my body fat decreased by 0.8%. That's 2 pounds plus of muscle gain.

Your body responds to a calorie deficit by burning fat. Your body also responds to muscle stimulus with hypertrophic changes. The two are separate processes. The body burns fat in response to a calorie deficit, and the body uses protein to build muscle.

As long as you are eating a healthy balanced diet, you can lose weight and gain muscle at the same time. If you are trying to build muscle and lose weight then you should increase the ratio of protein in your diet but keep the calorie intake the same.

Anecdotal evidence is not proof >.>. Just saying

I'd like to lose weight (fat) and gain a few pounds of muscle; is it possible to do these things at the same time?

The short answer is: No, you can't do both. (The long answer is maybe, sometimes, but pretty much never, here's why, blah, blah, blah).

I've decided to put further weight loss on hold for the winter and focus on muscle gain. I've heard 10% above maintenance is a good goal, or even 500 over. Of course this requires knowing what your maintenance calories are and well, not saying "fvck all" like I have been for a week or so....

In addition to the surplus you also need to lift heavy in a manner which builds strength and muscle mass (increasing weights as often as possible, doing compound lifts, changing things, taking lifting breaks), eating 1 gram of protien for every pound of lean mass, eating enough fat, getting enough sleep,,,,, and probably other factors.

Does resistance training while losing weight only help to maintain muscle mass and not increase it?

Pretty much just maintains it. Your existing muscle mass also can become stronger but it most likely won't increase in size or mass.

this is the only answer that make sens and is based on scientific evidences.

Singledigitbodyfat.net

^ Random site that sells weight loss systems/products. Just FYI.

I call BS.

I am in a deficit all the time, but through working out I am definately getting stronger. As long as you are getting the nutrients to repair your muscles from working out, you will gain muscle. Muscles grow from tearing and getting repaired with new protien essentially. So if you are working out and tearing your muscles, they will get repaired and grow stronger, and also larger.

I WILL say that the smaller you are, the closer to a surplus you would need to be. I have lots to spare so I'm not having that issue currently

You can call BS, but the Journal of Sport and Exercise Science as well as others have done studies on this and the outcomes have been consistent.

Unless you fall into one of the 3 (athlete returning to lifting after a long layoff, overweight or obese person new to exercise, a total newbie with no exercise history) then the chances of gaining muscle is not probable while on calorie deficit. Even if your nutrition, training and rest were spot on, it's almost impossible. If it were true then competitive bodybuilders would ALWAYS be cut and they aren't. I'm more than sure they have much much better nutrition, training and rest than others do and their life revolves around putting on pure muscle. They all know you HAVE to be in surplus to do it.

You can get stronger without muscle increasing in mass. Especially if you train heavy.

This is a big misnomer. You can both lose BODY FAT(not 'body weight, per say) & STILL gain muscle. Its not impossible, it can be done, in fact it is done all the time on a regular basis. The only way you are going to accomplish it is through a meticulously clean diet. As they say, muscles are made in the kitchen and not in the gym. This holds true for body fat, or 'loss of body fat.'

Simple breakdown is: Find your metabolic type, customize the proper fat burning diet to cater to your individual goals and commit to a cardio/strength training program 5 times a week. That's it really! Combing a physical training program along with a clean diet you will simultaneously gain muscle which in turn will naturally burn body fat. With consistency you will automatically program the body to burn fat damn near all the time.

Most important thing is diet, diet, DIET! I can not stress this enough! Equip yourself with the right nutritional knowledge and fundamental principles and the rest will naturally fall in place. Without the right type of diet customized just for the specific individual you are doomed to failure. Singledigitbodyfat.net

There's a difference of gaining lean muscle and losing body fat to see it. Unless there is peer reviewed studies to back this up, then it's another anecdotal statement.

As I've seen in this post already, building muscle while in a calorie deficit is very effective for beginners only. Unless of course, you're on anabolic steroids.
"Beginner" would be defined as someone who has not worked out on a regular basis in the past 6 months or so.

What the "guys with no shirts" are trying to convey is that if you're an experienced lifter, you can not gain mass while in a calorie deficit. This is true; however, the same does not apply to beginners.

As I've seen in this post already, building muscle while in a calorie deficit is very effective for beginners only. Unless of course, you're on anabolic steroids.
"Beginner" would be defined as someone who has not worked out on a regular basis in the past 6 months or so.

What the "guys with no shirts" are trying to convey is that if you're an experienced lifter, you can not gain mass while in a calorie deficit. This is true; however, the same does not apply to beginners.

That's would be hardly a beginner. An athlete who lifted regularly for a sport, then took off two years would be hardly a beginner. A beginner is defined as someone who hasn't engaged in exercise for a period of time at all.