This person gain muscle or just lose weight?

The before pic looks fake to me!! who is that big and still have the Shoulders like he does??? hmmmmmmm

That doesn't even make sense.

Of course you can gain muscle on calorie deficit. As long as you are eating enough of those calories as protein to still build muscle, it just means less fat and less carbs when and where you don't need them.

Every single study comparing weight loss between just diet or diet and exercise or exercise alone shows muscle mass gain while losing weight. Obviously calorie deficit state.

See its posts like this that end up getting me strikes.

Please do your research first before posting this garbage.

Other than those three ways, you cannot build new muscle tissue on a calorie deficit. It's just not possible. Lyle Mcdonald, Alan Aragon, Martin Berkhan will all back this up. New tissue needs energy to grow, energy is calories, and the calories have got to come from somewhere. You still have to consume enough protein in ratio for your LBM but you need to eat the calories in excess of what you burn (TDEE).

The excess energy comes from using the stored fat for your energy needs, and the protein intake for muscle building.
So you might picture it this way. You are deficit by 500 cal/day, but because of your fat burning to supply energy, while your muscles get the best of everything, you are like 750 cal/day from the point of view of some of your systems. Made up figures BTW, but that's the point, it's not zero-sum gain within the system of your body. You can get your muscles what they want to grow, you just make sure your fat loses out more.

Perhaps you are thinking about a specific already lean muscular body type where this would be difficult/impossible, not the discussion going on in this thread regarding the man in the picture, and probably the majority using this site - who are here to lose weight, dare I say fat weight.

Studies you want, sure, here are a few. And as a weight lifter, perhaps enjoying a site you might call home.
http://www.musclehack.com/how-to-build-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/

http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/DietExStudy.html

http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/WTCalLBWStudy.html

http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/WT&End.html

Each of those synopsis pages has the study at the bottom.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/12077732?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000,f1000m,isrctn
Thus, we conclude that a carbohydrate-restricted diet resulted in a significant reduction in fat mass and a concomitant increase in lean body mass in normal-weight men, which may be partially mediated by the reduction in circulating insulin concentrations.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/9417152?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000,f1000m,isrctn

Look at his traps in the before picture, he either was already doing some lifting or he has a naturally muscular physique

^ This.

I would suspect he gained no muscle mass on his cut, but he very obviously was lifting while overweight. You don't get traps and arms like that by sitting on the couch.

DING DING DING

The point is: You cannot gain muscle at an ACCEPTABLE rate unless you eat at a calorie surplus. Period. End of story.

Wow. Your story is changing. It seems no end to it at all.

First you were flat out emphatic that you COULD NOT GAIN MUSCLE WHILE IN CALORIE DEFICIT.

Then you said only obese could get anywhere near doing that. Threw out some figures where it might apply.

Now you say an ACCEPTABLE rate of muscle gain.

So your story changes, and now it's a totally subjective definition, "acceptable".

Acceptable to you? To other body builders going for competition?

Acceptable to someone 20-40 lbs overweight where ever extra pound of muscle means extra fat being burned all the time?

Or maybe the two pictures aren't even of the same guy. Or maybe he got a nose job after he lost weight and maybe he also got his ears redone.