Can you build muscle in a calorie deficit?
That question is highly controversial, with some experts claiming that no, you need to take in at least as many calories as you burn for your body to add muscle tissue.
Others say yes, building muscle and losing fat at the same time is entirely possible, although not necessarily for everyone or all the time.
In this article, you’ll learn if muscle gain in a caloric deficit is actually possible or if you’re better off doing one thing at a time.
Key Points:
- It is possible to build muscle in a calorie deficit. However, it hinges on many factors, and depending on your body composition and training experience, there might be better options like bulking and cutting.
- Beginners, overweight people, and those who return to training after a layoff have the greatest chance of building muscle while losing fat.
- Things you can do to improve your chances to succeed with your body recomposition include:
- Regular strength training.
- A high-protein diet.
- A moderate calorie deficit.
- Prioritizing sleep and recovery.
Body Recomposisition: Build Muscle and Lose Fat
If ever there was a holy grail in fitness and bodybuilding circles, it’s building muscle while losing fat. Often referred to as “body recomposition,” it involves two processes that seemingly oppose each other:
Building Muscle (Muscle Hypertrophy)
The fastest way to build muscle is to lift weights and eat more calories than you burn to provide your body with the energy and building blocks (proteins) it needs to create new muscle tissue.
For many people, the problem with this approach is that you will invariably put on some body fat along with the lean muscle mass. And suppose your fitness goals involve seeing or showing off those lean mass gains. In that case, you must follow that bulking phase with a cutting phase, reducing your calorie intake to create an energy deficit and spending valuable time focusing on fat loss, during which you can likely wave goodbye to muscle growth. Or so conventional wisdom has it.
Losing Fat
Losing body fat requires a caloric deficit—a negative energy balance—meaning you consume fewer calories than you burn. There is no way around it. You force your body to use stored fat as an energy source, which allows you to lose body fat slowly but surely.
The problem with this approach is that a calorie deficit makes it more challenging—some would say impossible—to gain muscle.
So, how do you solve this fitness conundrum? Can you do both things at once?
Can You Build Muscle in a Calorie Deficit?
Yes, it is possible to build muscle in a calorie deficit. Many studies show that participants regularly lose fat while adding muscle when they engage in resistance training and eat enough protein.1 2 3
In studies on strength training beginners, losing fat while gaining muscle is the norm, not the exception.
However, the extent of that muscle gain can vary widely from one person to the next. Some people will struggle to do both things simultaneously, no matter how hard they train or how meticulously they plan their diet.
Building muscle in a calorie deficit is influenced by several factors, including your fitness level, nutritional intake, training experience, and the one thing you can’t do anything about – your genetic potential.
The Science Behind Building Muscle and Losing Fat
Building muscle and losing or gaining fat are two different processes that co-occur. Calories are involved in both, but only one—losing fat—is 100 % dependent on them.
Your body is constantly building and breaking down your muscles—two separate processes called muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown if you want to be fancy. Muscle protein synthesis and breakdown are about equal for a regular person who doesn’t weight train and eats enough for their body weight to be stable, with the result being that they don’t gain or lose muscle.
Strength training changes everything.
After a workout, muscle protein synthesis increases for at least 24 hours.4 That increase does not depend on your calorie intake.5 Instead, the crucial nutrient is protein, or more specifically, the amino acids that make up the protein you eat.
Muscle Growth and Breakdown: The Importance of Exercise & Nutrition
This is your muscle mass during a day when you dont lift weights:
MPS = Muscle Protein Synthesis, MPB = Muscle Protein Breakdown
Your lean mass stays the same because your body doesn’t need more to handle its daily tasks.
This is what happens when you add a strength training session to your daily routine:
Now, you build more muscle each time you eat a protein-rich meal, and your fed gains become more sizeable than your fasted losses.
The gains are more significant if you’re in a caloric surplus because your 24/7 muscle protein synthesis that goes on whether you lift weights or not relies heavily on calories as well as protein.
However, even during a calorie deficit, the fed gains can outpace the fasted losses.
The same goes for losing or gaining body fat, although the critical factor is how many calories you consume.
If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain body fat. If you eat fewer than you burn, you lose body fat.
Again, there will be times during the day when you gain fat (after a meal), even when you’re in a calorie deficit. Overall, however, a calorie deficit means weight and fat loss.
In short, muscle gain and fat loss are two separate things.
- Fat loss depends on calories in vs. calories out. In a deficit, your body taps into its stored energy, and you lose fat. In a surplus, you store the excess as body fat, resulting in weight gain.
- Muscle gain, on the other hand, is not entirely calorie-dependent. Calories play a role, and it’s easier to build muscle on a surplus, but strength training plus a high protein diet make it possible to do so even during a deficit.
Who Can Build Muscle in a Calorie Deficit?
Building muscle in a calorie deficit is tricky but possible. At least for some people. Let’s examine who has the best chance of succeeding in this admirable endeavor.
Fitness Newbies
If you’re just starting your fitness journey, congratulations! You’ve hit the newbie gains lottery. Your body is so excited by this new thing called resistance exercise that it responds by packing on muscle even during weight loss.
The Comeback Kid
If you have taken a break from training and are getting back into it, your muscle memory is like an elephant; it never forgets.
Reintroducing your body to a strength training program will help you regain lost muscle without a calorie surplus. Going beyond your old gains will be more challenging, but getting back to where you were is relatively easy.
It also helps that you’re probably wiser about your training and nutrition this time around than when you first started.
Diet and Exercise Changers
If you’re already on your fitness journey but decide to up your game—taking your training more seriously, lifting heavier, or dialing in your nutrition—you can also see simultaneous muscle growth and fat loss.
In short, if you’ve been taking it easy in the gym and suddenly get serious, you get delayed newbie gains that can allow you to build muscle in a calorie deficit.
Overweight People
If you’re starting your body recomp workout program with extra body fat, you might find it easier to gain muscle while on a weight-loss diet compared to someone who’s already lean and looking to do the same.
The Genetic Lottery Winner
Some folks just have the right mix of genes that allows them to gain muscle and lose fat more efficiently than others. Some people’s muscles seemingly grow just from looking at a barbell, even if they eat fewer calories than they burn.
And no, it isn’t fair. 😤
Anabolic Steroid Users
Not recommended for many reasons, the most important being health-related.
Anabolic steroids don’t burn fat, but they turn muscle protein synthesis up to 11, whether you’re in a calorie deficit or not. You still have to put in the work, but anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs make it significantly easier to build muscle and lose fat simultaneously.
What About Experienced Athletes and Bodybuilders?
Advanced athletes and bodybuilders will find it more challenging to simultaneously lose fat and build muscle because they are closer to their genetic potential for muscle mass.
Focusing on one goal at a time (bulk then cut, or vice versa) may be more effective for them.
That being said, research suggests that, even if you are highly trained and already possess an enviable amount of muscle mass, it is possible to build muscle in a calorie deficit.6
At some point, though, doing both things simultaneously will become a severe struggle, especially if you want to get really lean.
Even professional bodybuilders, at the very top of the genetic pyramid, often cannot build muscle in a calorie deficit. Not even with the help of anabolic drugs.
That’s why bodybuilders split their training year into bulking and cutting cycles. They alternate a caloric surplus to promote muscle gain and dieting down to reduce body fat while, at best, maintaining lean body mass.
In short, it is not out of the question to build muscle in a calorie deficit, even if you are already an experienced athlete carrying significant amounts of muscle.
However, it will require a lot more dedication and planning, and at some point, going the traditional route of bulking and cutting might help you reach your goals more effectively.
Practical Applications: How to Build Muscle in a Calorie Deficit
So, you want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time? Here’s how, or at least how to drastically improve your chances of succeeding.6
Lift Weights
This one is a no-brainer. Nothing boosts muscle protein synthesis, the process by which your body adds new muscle proteins to your muscle fibers, like weight training.
The best way to pack on pounds of muscle is to lift weights at least three times per week.
Focusing on compound exercises and relatively heavy weights is a good idea to maximize muscle growth. Compound movements are exercises that engage multiple muscle groups and joints, like squats, barbell rows, and bench presses.
Practice Progressive Overload
Progressive overload – gradually increasing the weight or resistance – is key to muscle growth.
Track your progress in a workout tracker and try to lift a little more than your last workout. If your strength gains keep coming even though your caloric intake is below maintenance, you’re on the right track.
Track Your Progress
Tracking your progress and paying attention to your workout performance and recovery over time is essential for adjusting your training as needed.
A workout log app like StrengthLog simplifies your tracking immensely and is like a personal trainer in your pocket.
Shameless promotion: download StrengthLog for free using the button for your device:
StrengthLog also offers dozens upon dozens of training programs and workouts to help you in your body recomposition efforts. Best of all, it is 100% free to use, completely ad-free, and will never nag you about paying. There is a premium version with added features, but you can activate a 14-day free trial in the app to see if it is for you.
Prioritize Recovery and Adequate Sleep
Adequate rest and recovery are vital. Overtraining while in a calorie deficit can hinder your muscle-building efforts.
Also, both sleep quality and quantity can affect your performance, hunger, recovery, and body composition. Getting enough sleep is a highly underrated factor when trying to build muscle in a calorie deficit.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Avoid reducing your calories too much below your body’s energy needs.
Aim for a moderate deficit of a maximum of 500 kcals per day or a weight loss of no more than 0.7% a week.7 8 Too much, and your body might start burning muscle for energy, and muscle loss is the opposite of what you want.
You can use our calorie calculator to estimate your daily energy needs.
>> Calorie Calculator: Resting Metabolic Rate and Daily Need
For example, if you find out that you need 2,500 calories for your weight to be stable (maintenance calories), reduce your intake by 3–500 calories to 2,000–2,300 calories daily.
Prioritize a High-Protein Diet
Protein is your muscles’ building blocks, and an adequate protein intake is essential for a successful body recomposition. Your protein needs increase during a calorie deficit.
Go for at least 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (that’s 0.91 grams per pound of body weight). If you’re already lean and looking to get leaner, you want 2.3–3.1 grams per kilogram (1.04–1.4 grams per pound) of lean body mass daily.9
You can use protein supplements like whey, soy, and casein protein to boost your protein intake. They can be particularly helpful post-workout.
Final Words
Thank you for reading this article about building muscle in a calorie deficit.
It’s tough but not impossible, especially for beginners or those returning to training after a break. Your body can sometimes pull off this magic trick using its fat stores for energy. Protein and strength training then work hand in hand to build muscle. However, for the seasoned gym veterans, it becomes increasingly challenging as the body becomes more efficient and stubborn in its ways.
Remember that there is no guarantee that everyone can do it, at least not in every situation. It is challenging and requires significantly more planning and dedication than the see-food (see food = eat food) diet, where you eat more calories than your body burns and give it an abundance of everything it needs to grow.
So, while it’s a tightrope walk, building muscle in a calorie deficit is doable with the right approach. And you are now armed with the knowledge to do it. However, reading about it won’t do the job, so let’s hit those weights!
Further Reading:
>> How to Cut: Lose Fat and Keep Your Muscle Mass
>> How to Bulk: The Complete Guide to Muscle Gain
>> Protein for Strength Training: The Ultimate Guide
>> How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time
>> How to Build Muscle: Exercises, Programs & Diet
References
- Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011 Apr;21(2):97-104. Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes.
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 103, Issue 3, March 2016, Pages 738-746. Higher compared with lower dietary protein during an energy deficit combined with intense exercise promotes greater lean mass gain and fat mass loss: a randomized trial.
- Ann Nutr Metab. 2000;44(1):21-9. Effect of a hypocaloric diet, increased protein intake and resistance training on lean mass gains and fat mass loss in overweight police officers.
- Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2013:76:85-102. The role of amino acids in skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise.
- Journal of Sports Sciences 22(1):65-79. Protein and amino acids for athletes.
- Strength and Conditioning Journal 42(5):p 7-21, October 2020. Body Recomposition: Can Trained Individuals Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?
- Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011 Apr;21(2):97-104. Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes.
- Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2022 Jan;32(1):125-137. Energy deficiency impairs resistance training gains in lean mass but not strength: A meta-analysis and meta-regression.
- Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2014 Apr;24(2):127-38. A systematic review of dietary protein during caloric restriction in resistance trained lean athletes: a case for higher intakes.
