Can I Loose Fat and Build Muscle At The Same Time On Low Carb, High Protein diet??

[Swinno]

hey guys.
im currently on a diet of high protein, low fat and carbs. (eg. Tuna, selected protein shakes etc) I am also going to the gym 3 days a week, and doing all my exercises correctly to build muscle, but i am also losing weight, so is it possilbe to do both in my circumstances?
Thanks guys

[eggnite]

I tried that before and it helped make my muscles more defined, but after a while they didnt get any bigger.

Try adding more carbs to your diet. I dont think they will gain you much fat at all unless you really over eat. They should help you gain muscle though.

Hope this helped.

[zTPSz]

im pretty sure carbs are essential for muscle recovery.

[Swinno]

i have been having some carbs, just not many. (about 20 - 30g per day)
Ive heard that carbs are good for long-lasting energy but if you eat 2 many or dont exercise adiquately they put on fat.
i have been having a lot of protein lately. can protein put on fat?

[zTPSz]

eating too much of anything puts on fat.

[Gordon_18]

hey guys.
im currently on a diet of high protein, low fat and carbs. (eg. Tuna, selected protein shakes etc) I am also going to the gym 3 days a week, and doing all my exercises correctly to build muscle, but i am also losing weight, so is it possilbe to do both in my circumstances?
Thanks guys

No, you need fat/carbs to build the muscle man, if you go on this "Atkins" diet you'll definitly lose muscle mass

[ixnys]

i have been having some carbs, just not many. (about 20 - 30g per day)
Ive heard that carbs are good for long-lasting energy but if you eat 2 many or dont exercise adiquately they put on fat.
i have been having a lot of protein lately. can protein put on fat?

That's not true about carbs. Going over maintenance calories puts on weight. Protein is important because it serves in building and repairing muscles. However, it is the carbs that BECOME the muscle. So without an adequate amount of carbs, it will be much harder to put on muscle.

[shadowmoses]

just bump up your carbs to 60-90 grams a day and eat 2grams of protein per pound of bodyweight and your muscles will grow,

PeacE

[MrSinister]

these posts are coming up a lot lately...
guys u cannot build muscle and lose bodyfat at the same time (especially naturally) so get over it and pick one or the other.

[BluntStatic]

if your lowering your bf continue what your doing

if not your probley loseing alot of muscle or just not loseing anything

[llamabob]

That's not true about carbs. Going over maintenance calories puts on weight. Protein is important because it serves in building and repairing muscles. However, it is the carbs that BECOME the muscle. So without an adequate amount of carbs, it will be much harder to put on muscle.

Since when do carbs "become" the muscle. Carbs are converted to glycogen, what's not used it turned into fat.

[llamabob]

No, you need fat/carbs to build the muscle man, if you go on this "Atkins" diet you'll definitly lose muscle mass

Not true, can build muscle on an atkins, but a better choice is a keto diet, look it up.

[ixnys]

Since when do carbs "become" the muscle. Carbs are converted to glycogen, what's not used it turned into fat.

http://www.gssiweb.com/reflib/refs/5...ion.cfm?pid=38

[-Moores Gym-]

A guy i used to know was on a low carb-high protein diet for a year and he put on about 15lbs and kept his bodyfat levels to basically the same

[Balla1111]

you cant lose fat and gain muscle at the same time..but you could gain muscle and lose body fat% at the same time..if you could gain lean body mass and keep your fat gain at a minimum..your bf% will go down..

[em_]

I was doing the same thing you did until today for the last one month and a half

and I lost 12lbs in 2 weeks since then ? NOTHING
and it wasn't water but it just doesnt go lower it's if like my body got used to eat 20-30 g per day and I used to eat lots of carbs during the weekend.(saturday, sunday)

[Gordon_18]

Not true, can build muscle on an atkins, but a better choice is a keto diet, look it up.

No you have to have carbs and lots of fat to build muscle man, not only protein. From personal experiance I was on about 1500 mg of Test and wanted to cut on it, didn't workout, lost alot of muscle mass, so even on juice I was losing muscle mass without the carbs and essential fats

[llamabob]

http://www.gssiweb.com/reflib/refs/5...ion.cfm?pid=38

Your article states that "Eating adequate carbohydrate fuels the body with the right kind of energy for tough workouts and saves amino acids for muscle building and recovery."

The carbs do not become the muscle, but it's calories do help put together the proteins.

[llamabob]

No you have to have carbs and lots of fat to build muscle man, not only protein. From personal experiance I was on about 1500 mg of Test and wanted to cut on it, didn't workout, lost alot of muscle mass, so even on juice I was losing muscle mass without the carbs and essential fats

I never said you didn't need carbs and fat, and no you don't need lots of fat, but fat is very necessary. But it is possible to bulk on an atkins diet but keto is much better.

However I hate atkins and low carb diets, but I am saying they are possible to bulk with.

[aikurushii]

Gaining muscle/losing fat
If there’s a single question that comes up more often than any other it’s along the lines of “How can I gain muscle and lose fat?” And the general answer is “Unless you’e a beginner or coming back off of a layoff, you can’t.” I know, I’ve given it myself enough times. Actually, I’ve previously said it was impossible but that’s not entirely true and I wish to retract every time in the past that I’ve said it. It is possible in a few specific circumstances but let’s look at them individually before adressing the question itself.
Beginners have a notorious propensity for gaining reasonable amounts of muscle while losing fat at the same time; I’ve seen it enough times first hand. Actually, it turns out not to be beginners per se but rather fat beginners. A lean individual who is starting out in training isn’t going to lose fat while they gain muscle. In someone with relatively average bodyfat levels, a loss of 5-10 lbs of fat and gains of 3-4 lbs of muscle over the first 8 weeks is quite common with even the most basic routine. And, as it turns out, the bodyfat issue isn’t a trivial one. As you’ll learn in upcoming chapters, a higher bodyfat percentage makes fat mobilization easier. As well, a beginner doesn’t have a lot of muscle mass to begin with, so they find it easier to make gains. So gains of muscle along with fat loss is not uncommon. Once you get to a certain level of leanness and/or muscle mass, the odds of this occurring go down at a staggering rate.
Folks returning from a layoff can get amazing results like this as well. Muscle memory is a very real phenomenon and, empirically, it seems like folks who were once lean (especially genetically) can get lean again with less effort. This is actually how most of the magical before/after photo comparisons in the magazines are done. Someone will start in amazing shape, deliberately get into bad shape by eating like crap and not training, and then let muscle memory get them BACK into shape rapidly. That is, they aren’t getting into shape but rather getting BACK into shape in those photo spreads. I shouldn’t have to tell you that every before/after photo shoot involving a pro-bodybuilder means that an absolute crapload of drugs were involved: any supplement they are claiming to have used played no role in it.
I should mention that drugs can cause simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain as well. In non-users, low-dose testosterone can cause a repartitioning effect (gains in muscle with a loss of fat). Clenbuterol has the reputation for almost magical makeovers, at least until it stops working in 2 weeks. Growth hormone injections tends to cause profound fat loss and a gain in lean body mass but studies show that the LBM gained is mostly connective tissue and water, not actual muscle. Since this book is primarily about non-drug solutions to body recomposition, I mention this only for completeness.
So what about everybody else, can you gain muscle while losing fat at the same time. A lot of it depends on what may seem like rather semantic/pedantic issue.
Fundamentally, the question of “Can I gain fat and lose muscle at the same time?” comes down to an issue of how much; that is, how much of each are you trying to gain or lose respectively? You can also make an issue out of the phrase ‘same time’ in coming to your answer.
For example, if you looked at someone alternating phases of muscle gain and fat loss over a year, they’d have obviously gained muscle and lost fat at the ‘same time’: one year. Even someone who is alternating 2-3 week periods of fat loss with 2-3 week periods of weight gain will be, technically speaking, gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time (i.e. over a 6 week span). But they’re doing it by alternating individual phases (fat loss OR muscle gain). As well, it’s usually possible to gain small amounts of muscle while losing small amounts of fat at the same time. You can do this with cyclical diets for example. I’ll talk more about those later.
I also know of folks who accomplish this by using tiny caloric deficit (i.e. 200 cal/day below maintenance) and severe micromanaging of nutrient intake. Reports of a few pounds of muscle gained while losing a few pounds of fat over 12-16 weeks are what you typically hear. Even they admit that it tends to drive them completely insane and I just can’t see the point of going to that much trouble for such a minimal overall gain. In those same 12-16 weeks, coupling an actual diet where maximal fat loss was the goal, with an actual weight gain phase where maximal muscle gain was the goal, would result in better results without the psychotic need for micromanaging the diet.
But these aren’t really what people are asking. When someone asks “Can I lose muscle and gain fat at the same time?” what they generally mean is “Can I lose 20 lbs of fat and gain 10-20 lbs of muscle in a few month span?” Seriously, I’ve gotten questions where people were hoping for those kinds of results. They usually hide it in body composition numbers (or don’t realize what they are trying to achieve), wanting to go from 200 lbs at 20% bodyfat to 200 lbs at 10% bodyfat in 12 weeks, which represents a loss of 20 lbs of fat and a gain of 20 lbs of muscle over that time span. To that, the answer is ‘Absolutely not, unless you take a ****load of drugs.’
A related comment comes when folks state “I want to lose fat without losing any weight.” Well, see, here’s the problem: fat has mass (and hence weight). The only way to lose fat without losing bodyweight is to replace every pound of fat lost with a pound of muscle in a 1:1 ratio. Alternately, someone might want to gain muscle without increasing weight. Again, we’re faced with the basic problem that muscle has weight, to maintain a stable weight while gaining muscle would require fat to be lost in a 1:1 ratio. It’s a lovely idea, but it’s quite unlikely to happen. Impossible? No, I’m sure someone will manage to do it. Improbable? Yes.
To put it bluntly, if you want to lose a considerable amount of fat, your odds of gaining even small amounts of muscle are fairly small. Depending on your starting bodyfat percentage, the best you might achieve is not losing any muscle (or only losing a pound or two). If you’re trying to reach super leanness, you may sacrifice considerable muscle getting there. Someone trying to diet to 7% bodyfat is not going to gain muscle while doing it, not without drugs. By a similar token, if you want to gain a lot of muscle (or gain it at a reasonable rate), the odds of losing a lot of fat are pretty minimal. The odds of losing any fat at all are, quite honestly, fairly slim. At best you would gain only a small amount of fat. Odds are, unless you’re genetically blessed or very lucky, you’ll gain quite a bit of fat.

Best bet is to have a calorie deficit on some days, and calorie surplus on some days. Calorie Cycling, UD2.. etc

[aikurushii]

Gaining muscle/losing fat
If there’s a single question that comes up more often than any other it’s along the lines of “How can I gain muscle and lose fat?” And the general answer is “Unless you’e a beginner or coming back off of a layoff, you can’t.” I know, I’ve given it myself enough times. Actually, I’ve previously said it was impossible but that’s not entirely true and I wish to retract every time in the past that I’ve said it. It is possible in a few specific circumstances but let’s look at them individually before adressing the question itself.
Beginners have a notorious propensity for gaining reasonable amounts of muscle while losing fat at the same time; I’ve seen it enough times first hand. Actually, it turns out not to be beginners per se but rather fat beginners. A lean individual who is starting out in training isn’t going to lose fat while they gain muscle. In someone with relatively average bodyfat levels, a loss of 5-10 lbs of fat and gains of 3-4 lbs of muscle over the first 8 weeks is quite common with even the most basic routine. And, as it turns out, the bodyfat issue isn’t a trivial one. As you’ll learn in upcoming chapters, a higher bodyfat percentage makes fat mobilization easier. As well, a beginner doesn’t have a lot of muscle mass to begin with, so they find it easier to make gains. So gains of muscle along with fat loss is not uncommon. Once you get to a certain level of leanness and/or muscle mass, the odds of this occurring go down at a staggering rate.
Folks returning from a layoff can get amazing results like this as well. Muscle memory is a very real phenomenon and, empirically, it seems like folks who were once lean (especially genetically) can get lean again with less effort. This is actually how most of the magical before/after photo comparisons in the magazines are done. Someone will start in amazing shape, deliberately get into bad shape by eating like crap and not training, and then let muscle memory get them BACK into shape rapidly. That is, they aren’t getting into shape but rather getting BACK into shape in those photo spreads. I shouldn’t have to tell you that every before/after photo shoot involving a pro-bodybuilder means that an absolute crapload of drugs were involved: any supplement they are claiming to have used played no role in it.
I should mention that drugs can cause simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain as well. In non-users, low-dose testosterone can cause a repartitioning effect (gains in muscle with a loss of fat). Clenbuterol has the reputation for almost magical makeovers, at least until it stops working in 2 weeks. Growth hormone injections tends to cause profound fat loss and a gain in lean body mass but studies show that the LBM gained is mostly connective tissue and water, not actual muscle. Since this book is primarily about non-drug solutions to body recomposition, I mention this only for completeness.
So what about everybody else, can you gain muscle while losing fat at the same time. A lot of it depends on what may seem like rather semantic/pedantic issue.
Fundamentally, the question of “Can I gain fat and lose muscle at the same time?” comes down to an issue of how much; that is, how much of each are you trying to gain or lose respectively? You can also make an issue out of the phrase ‘same time’ in coming to your answer.
For example, if you looked at someone alternating phases of muscle gain and fat loss over a year, they’d have obviously gained muscle and lost fat at the ‘same time’: one year. Even someone who is alternating 2-3 week periods of fat loss with 2-3 week periods of weight gain will be, technically speaking, gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time (i.e. over a 6 week span). But they’re doing it by alternating individual phases (fat loss OR muscle gain). As well, it’s usually possible to gain small amounts of muscle while losing small amounts of fat at the same time. You can do this with cyclical diets for example. I’ll talk more about those later.
I also know of folks who accomplish this by using tiny caloric deficit (i.e. 200 cal/day below maintenance) and severe micromanaging of nutrient intake. Reports of a few pounds of muscle gained while losing a few pounds of fat over 12-16 weeks are what you typically hear. Even they admit that it tends to drive them completely insane and I just can’t see the point of going to that much trouble for such a minimal overall gain. In those same 12-16 weeks, coupling an actual diet where maximal fat loss was the goal, with an actual weight gain phase where maximal muscle gain was the goal, would result in better results without the psychotic need for micromanaging the diet.
But these aren’t really what people are asking. When someone asks “Can I lose muscle and gain fat at the same time?” what they generally mean is “Can I lose 20 lbs of fat and gain 10-20 lbs of muscle in a few month span?” Seriously, I’ve gotten questions where people were hoping for those kinds of results. They usually hide it in body composition numbers (or don’t realize what they are trying to achieve), wanting to go from 200 lbs at 20% bodyfat to 200 lbs at 10% bodyfat in 12 weeks, which represents a loss of 20 lbs of fat and a gain of 20 lbs of muscle over that time span. To that, the answer is ‘Absolutely not, unless you take a ****load of drugs.’
A related comment comes when folks state “I want to lose fat without losing any weight.” Well, see, here’s the problem: fat has mass (and hence weight). The only way to lose fat without losing bodyweight is to replace every pound of fat lost with a pound of muscle in a 1:1 ratio. Alternately, someone might want to gain muscle without increasing weight. Again, we’re faced with the basic problem that muscle has weight, to maintain a stable weight while gaining muscle would require fat to be lost in a 1:1 ratio. It’s a lovely idea, but it’s quite unlikely to happen. Impossible? No, I’m sure someone will manage to do it. Improbable? Yes.
To put it bluntly, if you want to lose a considerable amount of fat, your odds of gaining even small amounts of muscle are fairly small. Depending on your starting bodyfat percentage, the best you might achieve is not losing any muscle (or only losing a pound or two). If you’re trying to reach super leanness, you may sacrifice considerable muscle getting there. Someone trying to diet to 7% bodyfat is not going to gain muscle while doing it, not without drugs. By a similar token, if you want to gain a lot of muscle (or gain it at a reasonable rate), the odds of losing a lot of fat are pretty minimal. The odds of losing any fat at all are, quite honestly, fairly slim. At best you would gain only a small amount of fat. Odds are, unless you’re genetically blessed or very lucky, you’ll gain quite a bit of fat.

Best bet is to have a calorie deficit on some days, and calorie surplus on some days. Calorie Cycling, UD2.. etc