4 FACTORS DETERMINE IF YOU CAN GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT (AT THE SAME TIME).

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4 FACTORS DETERMINE IF YOU CAN GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT ARTICLE SUMMARY

• Beginners may gain muscle and lose fat at the same time when starting resistance exercise.
• Advanced athletes will have much more difficulty gaining muscle while losing body fat, whereas beginners will have an easier time achieving this goal.
• Starting body fat levels will be a crucial factor determining the difficulty of achieving body recomposition. It is much more difficult to gain muscle if you have a low level of body fat.

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Introduction

Most athletes will separate their body composition goals into the competition phase or the off-season. The competition phase is dedicated to increasing cardiovascular exercise, maintaining muscle, burning fat, and weight loss. Bodybuilders will often consume essential amino acid drinks while dieting because they are low in calories to boost protein synthesis without additional calories.

The offseason is devoted to muscle growth, a caloric surplus, and strength training with heavier weights. The offseason is often accompanied by an increased fat gain to excess calories (i.e., more red meat, more calories)

It has been widely argued that you can’t gain muscle while losing body fat simultaneously. Some bodybuilders have talked about how they Grow Into The Show, meaning they are getting bigger and losing fat simultaneously.

A comprehensive review of the literature by Barak et al. titled “Body Recomposition: Can Trained Individuals Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?” determined that you can build muscle and lose body fat at the same time (1). In this detailed article, the following summary can determine whether a person will gain both muscle and lose body fat at the same time:

FACTORS DETERMINING WHETHER YOU CAN GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE BODY FAT AT THE SAME TIME

Novice lifters and beginners have a much easier time losing fat and building muscle. In contrast, more advanced trainers can sometimes achieve body recomposition, but it is more difficult. Those with more body fat can lose body fat while gaining muscle, whereas a leaner individual with less body fat will have a much more difficult time losing fat and gaining muscle.

Individual training status, type of training, and baseline body composition can influence whether a person can achieve body recomposition (i.e., physique athletes with lower body fat will have more difficulty increasing lean mass). Most physique or bodybuilders dieting for a show will lose weight and have dramatic fat loss, but many lose muscle tissue or maintain lean mass.

FACTORS AND FOODS TO EAT TO GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT

It’s well established that overfeeding with diets high in carbohydrates and fat results in gains in fat stores. (2) Even when excess calorie intake thru calories as protein is provided, greater protein intake does not contribute to fat gains. (3) The author concluded, “calories alone account for the increase in fat; protein affected energy expenditure and storage of lean body mass, but not body fat storage.”

Studies have shown that when either protein or carbohydrate supplements (i.e., 25 grams) are administered to resistance-trained individuals, protein but not carbohydrate increases lean muscle mass. (4) Other literature reviews have found that protein supplementation augments lean muscle mass when combined with lifting weights. (5)

Many studies have found that you can overeat protein and have no or even reduced body fat gain while in a calorie surplus. The caloric surplus has been from +370 to 800 kcal without additional body fat gains. (6-9)

Studies on the Ability to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time

In a review article by one of the leading experts in protein metabolism, Dr. Jose Antonio, he concluded, “In general, exercise-trained individuals that consume a high-protein diet will likely not experience a change in lean body mass unless there is an accompanying change in their training regimen. However, evidence suggests that high protein intake may promote fat mass loss.” .(10) Thus, to lose fat and gain muscle, the body recomposition workout plan should incorporate resistance exercise several days per week.

The evidence supports that higher protein intakes contribute to fat loss. A review by Hector and Philips suggested that appropriate protein intake ranges for athletes’ dieting should be 1.6-2.4 g/kg/bw or .7 grams to 1.09 grams per pound of body weight.(11) However, those bodybuilders have used even higher protein diets ranging from 2.3 g/kg/bw to 3.3 g/kg/bw and have success preservation of lean mass while reducing body fat.

In a study of nutritional strategies used by bodybuilders who placed in the top five, protein intake for women who placed top 5 was 2.8 g/kg/bw (1.27 grams per pound of bw), and for men, 3.3g/kg/bw (1.5 grams per pound of body weight). (12)

High-protein diets do not have an adverse effect on liver and kidney function, as depicted by the media. In a study of one year of high protein in subjects that consumed between (2.5 g/kg/bw to 3.32 g/kg/bw), there was no adverse effect on blood lipids, kidney, or liver function. (13) Obese and overweight subjects using a high-protein diet also had no changes in kidney function while using a high-protein diet. (14)

Tips to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat

B.)   A high-protein intake of 2.6-3.5 g/kg (i.e., 1.2-1.5 grams per pound of body weight) is recommended.

C.)   Protein supplements (i.e., whey and casein) are useful for optimal body recomposition.

D.)  Prioritizing sleep can facilitate recovery and facilitate body recomposition.

In sum, those with more body fat at the beginning of the diet will have an easier time gaining muscle and losing body fat at the same time. Advanced lifters with years of resistance training experience will have much more difficulty gaining muscle and losing body fat at the same time.

4 FACTORS DETERMINE IF YOU CAN GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT KEY POINTS

·       Advanced athletes will have much more difficulty gaining muscle while losing body fat, whereas beginners will have an easier time achieving this goal.

·       Starting body fat levels will be a crucial factor determining the difficulty of achieving body recomposition. It is much more difficult to gain muscle if you have a low level of body fat.

 

REFERENCES

1. Barakat C, Pearson J, Escalante G, Campbell B, De Souza EO. Body Recomposition: Can Trained Individuals Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time? Strength & Conditioning Journal 2020; 42(5): 7-21.
2. ALEX LEAF and JOSE ANTONIO, ‘The Effects of Overfeeding on Body Composition: The Role of Macronutrient Composition – A Narrative Review’, International Journal of Exercise Science, 10.8 (2017), 1275–96.
3. George A. Bray and others, ‘Effect of Dietary Protein Content on Weight Gain, Energy Expenditure, and Body Composition during Overeating: A Randomized Controlled Trial’, JAMA, 307.1 (2012), 47–55
4. Lars L. Andersen and others, ‘The Effect of Resistance Training Combined with Timed Ingestion of Protein on Muscle Fiber Size and Muscle Strength’, Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental, 54.2 (2005), 151–56
5. Stefan M. Pasiakos, Tom M. McLellan, and Harris R. Lieberman, ‘The Effects of Protein Supplements on Muscle Mass, Strength, and Aerobic and Anaerobic Power in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review’, Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 45.1 (2015), 111–31
6. Jose Antonio, Anya Ellerbroek, Tobin Silver, Steve Orris, and others, ‘A High Protein Diet (3.4 g/Kg/d) Combined with a Heavy Resistance Training Program Improves Body Composition in Healthy Trained Men and Women–a Follow-up Investigation’, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12 (2015), 39
7. Jose Antonio, Corey A. Peacock, and others, ‘The Effects of Consuming a High Protein Diet (4.4 g/Kg/d) on Body Composition in Resistance-Trained Individuals’, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11 (2014), 19
   

   REFERENCES

8. Bill I. Campbell, Danielle Aguilar, Laurin Conlin, and others, ‘Effects of High Versus Low Protein Intake on Body Composition and Maximal Strength in Aspiring Female Physique Athletes Engaging in an 8-Week Resistance Training Program’, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 28.6 (2018), 580–85
9. Bill I. Campbell, Danielle Aguilar, Laurin Conlin, and others, ‘Effects of High Versus Low Protein Intake on Body Composition and Maximal Strength in Aspiring Female Physique Athletes Engaging in an 8-Week Resistance Training Program’, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 28.6 (2018), 580–85
10. Jose Antonio, ‘High-Protein Diets in Trained Individuals’, Research in Sports Medicine (Print), 27.2 (2019), 195–203
11. Amy J. Hector and Stuart M. Phillips, ‘Protein Recommendations for Weight Loss in Elite Athletes: A Focus on Body Composition and Performance’, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 28.2 (2018), 170–77
12. J. Chappell, T. Simper, and M. E. Barker, ‘Nutritional Strategies of High Level Natural Bodybuilders during Competition Preparation’, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15 (2018), 4
13. Jose Antonio, Anya Ellerbroek, Tobin Silver, Leonel Vargas, and others, ‘A High Protein Diet Has No Harmful Effects: A One-Year Crossover Study in Resistance-Trained Males’, Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2016 (2016), 9104792
14. Anne-Sophie Truche and others, ‘A Specific High-Protein Weight Loss Program Does Not Impair Renal Function in Patients Who Are Overweight/Obese’, Nutrients, 14.2 (2022), 384

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