Question for Shaky, Ion, any sports nutritionists out there, or whoever else might know the answer:
Suppose that for a period of time I stimulate muscle growth using a conscientious, well-designed program of resistance training. Suppose also that during this period I maintain a steady calorie deficit (say, 500 kcals per day), taking into account the additional energy utilized during exercise. Assuming that I am an "average healthy non-smoking adult male" with a healthful, nutritionally complete diet (except for the energy deficit), which of the following is closer to the truth:
(1) During this period of resistance training and hypocaloric feeding, I will lose fat and gain muscle. I will gain about as much muscle as I would have had I not maintained the calorie deficit.
(2) During this period, I will lose fat. The resistance exercise will help to limit the loss of lean tissue. However, the steady calorie deficit will also limit the increase in muscle mass.
(3) It is impossible to say, since differences between individuals can be great.
Thanks--
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Former Member
With calorie deficit, your boddy will have a battle for the protein needed for muscle growth, and just having the energy to sustain yourself throughout the day
Gotta respectfully disagree with that, Connie.
It really depends on where you start calorie-wise and fat-wise.
A thin person with little fat to start with, who is maintaining their weight with a steady state type diet of "X" number of calories is different from a fatter person who is also maintaining their weight at "X" number of calories. Both will build muscle if they start exercising more than they did before, but if you also knock out 500 calories (not that much, but hey it all counts), then the thinner person would potentially build less ADDITIONAL lean mass than the heavier person...but both would still build more muscle mass than before, assuming we aren't talking malnutrition ranges of calorie decrease.
There are even more variables here, including conditioning (a leaner person tends to respond the exercise quicker than a heavier person), blood flow to organs/etc (vascular supply is better in general if you are leaner), other things.
There really isn't a good answer to this question. The question I would need to ask to clarify question #1,
(1) During this period of resistance training and hypocaloric feeding, I will lose fat and gain muscle. I will gain about as much muscle as I would have had I not maintained the calorie deficit
Would be: are you still eating enough calories and raw materials to maintain your current muscle mass? It is not the same for everyone. Chances are, in most cases, you WOULD gain about as much muscle if you had not maintained the calorie deficit, but there is of course a limit, to the point where you cannot repair/reorganize muscle tissue without proper nutrition. Where is that limit? Read the above...it's awfully relative to the individual.
Clear as mud? Good. Sorry, ask me for clarification and I will try!
With calorie deficit, your boddy will have a battle for the protein needed for muscle growth, and just having the energy to sustain yourself throughout the day
Gotta respectfully disagree with that, Connie.
It really depends on where you start calorie-wise and fat-wise.
A thin person with little fat to start with, who is maintaining their weight with a steady state type diet of "X" number of calories is different from a fatter person who is also maintaining their weight at "X" number of calories. Both will build muscle if they start exercising more than they did before, but if you also knock out 500 calories (not that much, but hey it all counts), then the thinner person would potentially build less ADDITIONAL lean mass than the heavier person...but both would still build more muscle mass than before, assuming we aren't talking malnutrition ranges of calorie decrease.
There are even more variables here, including conditioning (a leaner person tends to respond the exercise quicker than a heavier person), blood flow to organs/etc (vascular supply is better in general if you are leaner), other things.
There really isn't a good answer to this question. The question I would need to ask to clarify question #1,
(1) During this period of resistance training and hypocaloric feeding, I will lose fat and gain muscle. I will gain about as much muscle as I would have had I not maintained the calorie deficit
Would be: are you still eating enough calories and raw materials to maintain your current muscle mass? It is not the same for everyone. Chances are, in most cases, you WOULD gain about as much muscle if you had not maintained the calorie deficit, but there is of course a limit, to the point where you cannot repair/reorganize muscle tissue without proper nutrition. Where is that limit? Read the above...it's awfully relative to the individual.
Clear as mud? Good. Sorry, ask me for clarification and I will try!
