can i build lean muscle mass with low calorie/high protein diet?

[shatrai]

i'm a bit confused....

if body has stored fat; wouldn't it make sense to eat at a deficit (carbs-wise, not protein-wise) in order to force the body to use the stored fat's calories as fuel to help build muscles with the extra-ingested protein? wouldn't that kill 3 birds with one stone?:

- not ingesting extra carbs that would be turned into fat anyway (bulking)
- body now using fat as fuel instead of carbs
- continuing to build muscles using extra-ingested-protein (to prevent catabolism?) and aforementioned stored fat as fuel in order to achieve that ?

that would fulfill every bodybuilder's wish no? a) lose fat b) build muscles

again, i know nothing about nutrition, just trying to make sense of the information that's out there... thanks

[FunkymonkAW]

i'm a bit confused....

if body has stored fat; wouldn't it make sense to eat at a deficit (carbs-wise, not protein-wise) in order to force the body to use the stored fat's calories as fuel to help build muscles with the extra-ingested protein? wouldn't that kill 3 birds with one stone?:

That would make sense, but that's NOT how our bodies operate unfortunately. I used to think the same thing, and I got NOWHERE.

- not ingesting extra carbs that would be turned into fat anyway (bulking)

Assuming you're hitting your fat and protein minimums to being with, it doesn't matter WHERE the extra calories come from on a bulk, a portion of them will be stored as fat regardless.

[shatrai]

That would make sense, but that's NOT how our bodies operate unfortunately. I used to think the same thing, and I got NOWHERE.

thanks for your reply.

can you elaborate on what you meant? how exactly do our bodies operate? and how does it relate to ketosis ?

[gooseguy312]

Ok let me explain to to everyone here.... This forum seems to be rampant with excess stupidity and calories :/.


I went from being able too bench 225 lbs at 190lb bodyweight... once... being able to row a 60lb dumbell... barely once...


im now 174lbs and can rep 245 8 times.... i can now also 1 arm row a 110lb dumbell 10 times...


It is true that CNS gains DO happen at the beginning... but to say that this was ALL strength and NO MUSCLE GAINS is retarded.... a lot of people on here posting about how you need excess calories to gain muscle mass are retarded frankly...

Let me break it down for EVERYONE.... thier are 453 grams in a pound... at BEST you can put on 1 pound of muscle a week... thats OPTIMAL assuming youre doing everything perfect... considering that 1 pound of muscle is 75% water... thats about 100 grams of protein in 1 pound of muscle....

ALL you really NEED is about 20 extra grams of protein each day for a week at MOST to put on muscle efficiently am i right??? WHAT ON EARTH would make people think they need to eat 500 calories in excess every DAY to gain muscle?

Ofcourse if you CRASH DIET... your system gets FLOODED with cortisol which rapidly breaks down muscle and fat for energy (mostly fat), but if you diet slightly below maintence (including exercise) to say 500 calories under... thats 1lb of MOSTLY fat burned a week and youre still gaining muscle right? basically the cortisol response will be limited and you can easily OUT-PACE it if its very small like that...


Or if your NOT comfortable with that very slight muscle loss, then just eat at TOTAL maintenance and thier will be NO cortisol response...


But again to people who say i made no muscle gains? YOU ARE IDIOTS!!! stop preaching this BS to newbies and making them get fat!!!

[dat]

Oh my...

[Oldman341983]

I was wondering the same thing, I'm eating around 1500 to 2000 cal a day. I work out 4 times a week doing cardio and lifting. I'm on cla, a test booster and dhea. I have lost 25 lbs but I would like to gain mass. I just ordered crazy bulk dbal to help gain size. Do i need more calories?