23% BF - Will lifting heavy on a calorie deficit burn fat?

[skullgrin]

Everything I read says that you can not build muscle while losing fat...and that makes perfect sense to me...but....what if I eat 1200 calories a day (this is just a number) but I do a mass building work out program. Will my body take the energy stores from the fat on my body to build muscle since I wont be eating enough calories to do it through food?

obviously i would need to be taking in the correct kind of calories, like protein...but is it possible?

[Seer00]

It's possible depending on your current stats and if you're new to dieting and lifting or taken a significant break from it.

How successful it is will depend on how much of a caloric deficit you impose, relative to your body fat % and weight, the macro breakdown of your caloric intake (protein, fat, carbs), and then, finally, your lifting protocol.

[skullgrin]

sorry guys, im not sure what you mean by stats...

im taking a guess here, but:

~165lbs
~23% BF
~120lbs lean mass

I'm 5'4"
26 year old male

I'm not new to lifting, but I wouldn't call my self a regular lifter either.

[t1ger]

Calorie deficit will decrease your BF%, yes. Lifting will maintain your LBM.

[itsMoeyy]

you can build muscle and fat at the same time...

[mattbru]

Lifting heavy also burns calories... aka yes you will burn fat aswell.

[skullgrin]

So, why do all these articles say that you can not build muscle and lose fat at the same time? It's just all confusing to me. Unless the saying is "you can lose fat while maintaining the muscle you already have" which I guess would be good enough, but i'd really like to build mass while losing fat

[Alaskan72]

So, why do all these articles say that you can not build muscle and lose fat at the same time? It's just all confusing to me. Unless the saying is "you can lose fat while maintaining the muscle you already have" which I guess would be good enough, but i'd really like to build mass while losing fat

It IS possible to loose fat AND gain muscle at the same time, your diet is very important and lift heavy. I'm doing a plan from Steve Poynter here on this site, it's set up for loosing BF and gaining LEAN muscle mass, working very good I might add, but, it's a slow go. I've noticed a 50/50 (bf loss VS muscle gain) so I know it can be done. It is a mind screw tho, after 7weeks I'm like, god wish I could loose more of this belly (going away slowly), then I look at my chest and arms and go WOW! Kind of a 'give and take' time for me. Seeing the changes in myself in the past 7 weeks I KNOW it CAN be done, loose BF while GAINING lean muscle.

[C0bra]

So, why do all these articles say that you can not build muscle and lose fat at the same time? It's just all confusing to me. Unless the saying is "you can lose fat while maintaining the muscle you already have" which I guess would be good enough, but i'd really like to build mass while losing fat

It can be done...but like some people before me stated it is a very slow process...thats why most people choose to focus on cutting away body fat and then when they get to a % they are happy with they lean bulk....if you focus on one or the other results for the one you choose come faster than if you do both

[skullgrin]

thanks for all the info guys

some more questions

lifting heavy is a no brainer, but when you say heavy...how heavy? should i be doing so much that i can barley do my last rep? should I focus on specific excercises more than others? I'm real sorry for these questions. I know a lot can be found on here, but there is just so much info it's hard to really always find what I am looking for. Not knowing what certain terms mean is really difficult too. like eating clean? what does that mean? low fats?

It IS possible to loose fat AND gain muscle at the same time, your diet is very important and lift heavy. I'm doing a plan from Steve Poynter here on this site, it's set up for loosing BF and gaining LEAN muscle mass, working very good I might add, but, it's a slow go. I've noticed a 50/50 (bf loss VS muscle gain) so I know it can be done. It is a mind screw tho, after 7weeks I'm like, god wish I could loose more of this belly (going away slowly), then I look at my chest and arms and go WOW! Kind of a 'give and take' time for me. Seeing the changes in myself in the past 7 weeks I KNOW it CAN be done, loose BF while GAINING lean muscle.

my goal is to be around 15% body fat and 155-160 lbs by the end of July so I have about 8 months, I think this plan sounds pretty good, do you have a link to more information?

[skullgrin]

weekend bump

[skullgrin]

thanks for all the info guys

some more questions

lifting heavy is a no brainer, but when you say heavy...how heavy? should i be doing so much that i can barley do my last rep? should I focus on specific excercises more than others? I'm real sorry for these questions. I know a lot can be found on here, but there is just so much info it's hard to really always find what I am looking for. Not knowing what certain terms mean is really difficult too. like eating clean? what does that mean? low fats?



my goal is to be around 15% body fat and 155-160 lbs by the end of July so I have about 8 months, I think this plan sounds pretty good, do you have a link to more information?

^thats why....

[LiamGTR91]

Yes, an increase in muscle mass increases BMR which means your defect should be less, so more weight lose.


Think i've got that right ?

[Demagogue28]

I've lost 65lbs so far and gained a lot of strength, however considering I have less weight on me now, and the fact that I went from not working out at all to working out 6 days a week, my body is going to adjust to the change and accomodate.

Aside from that, you're burning calories lifting heavy or light or otherwise. Just keep at it, don't neglect cardio.

[drewsedg]

There is no chance that you will gain any muscle at 1200 calories. It is just too low.

Building muscle requires not only a surplus of protein but a surplus of calories. Now it is possible to build some muscle when on a cut during the periods of the day when you have a surplus of food energy and protein. IE, right after you eat. However, at 1200 calories so much of your food energy will be put to work immediately after taking it in there will be little to none left over for adding muscle. If you were closer to your maintenance level the possibility for growth would be greater.

As for the question posed in your thread title: yes.

[richie83]

- Calorie deficit
- Plenty of water (3L minimum)
- Lifting hard
- Plateau
- Further deficit
- Increased intensity / Change workout
- Further loss in BF%
- Get to 12% BF
- Add cardio to weights
- Get to under 10% BF
- **** bishes left n right
- Take pics and post in misc
- Profit

[semichaud]

How did your diet go? Did you gain muscle while losing fat at the same time. My experience with this is that the amount of muscle you gain is minimal and you stop quickly gaining muscle. Fat loss continues though.