45 replies to this topic

[grapefruit]

Hi everyone, 

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I currently consume about 1100 calories a day (usually 40-50g of protein per day) with a BMR of 1372 (according to Cronometer). I do HIIT once a week for 90 minutes, mixed martial arts for 120 minutes, and 120 minutes of cardio (running/walking).

Does this, as a generic guide, sound like I should be able to build muscle? I've heard that you can't build muscle on a calorie deficit and wanted to know if that was true, and if so, to what extent. Thanks in advance for any replies 

[mermaiddreams]

No. You can't. But you can keep what you have. Use BCAA.

 

 

What's the benefit of BCAAs when in a deficit? I'm genuinely interested.

[risinglikeaphoenix]

You can't build muscle on a calorie deficit (as you need extra calories to actually build it) and the exercises you're doing aren't really the best for building muscle, to build it you need to be lifting a lot more weights 

[aviDmaid]

You certainly won't build muscle with that routine

Being female the odds are stacked against you to begin with, long drawn out cardio sessions like you're doing are actually the complete opposite of what you want to do to build muscle

Girls who have decent muscle mass are usually on steroids too so social media provides an extremely warped view of what is realistically achievable

[DandelionFlower]

No way.

[vladimirpudding]

I suppose you can if it's a low carb diet focused on proteins and fat

[brego58]

You're going to lose muscle like that. You can maintain on a deficit, but that refers to cals below tdee, not below BMR. If you eat below BMR, your body WILL eat the muscle.

If you want muscle, I'd recommend doing bulk/cut cycles. But make the cuts SLOW, or you'll lose muscle


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[ErzaSparx]

Skip cardio and hiit. You need to do high density workouts. Aka high weight low reps. Lift weights and eat all the protien you can with creatine. (former body builder here)

[Anti Delight]

I have but only lean muscle no bulk.

[voguegeh]

You can build muscle on a defecit lol
Cause well
I did
Eating roughly 900 kcal a day

 

That's what I was thinking, bc I'm pretty sure there are people (esp guys) who want to lose weight + build muscle at the same time,

so...

 

but are you 100% positive you weren't just maintaining whatever muscle you have? How did you know you were building it, I mean?

[strugglejournal]

It's pretty impossible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. It can happen at first but it definitely won't last for a long period of time

 

To build a significant amount of muscle you do need a calorie surplus. I guess you could at least maintain your muscle but not if you're doing mainly cardio?? And you'd have to eat a shit load of protein

 

I'm trying to bulk at the moment whilst putting on as little fat as possible and it's safe to say i'm not successful and i feel awful but hey!

[peachy keen]

huh. this actually made me think for a while. Maybe i was? since i was losin fat, my muscles looked more defined and showed a lot more. But they also felt harder, and idk. i always assumed i gained muscle *shrugs* but i guess that may not be the case

 

what exercises did you do?

[escape artist]

 DSC_0738.jpg   30.54KB   19 downloads

You certainly won't build muscle with that routine

Being female the odds are stacked against you to begin with, long drawn out cardio sessions like you're doing are actually the complete opposite of what you want to do to build muscle

Girls who have decent muscle mass are usually on steroids too so social media provides an extremely warped view of what is realistically achievable

 

Hey, I'm sorry but I get a bit cross when you generalise like that. I know you said "usually", and I suppose it depends on what you mean by "decent muscle mass", but still... Is the picture visible? I hope so. No steroids. But maybe not "decent" enough. That said, I agree that OP will struggle to gain muscle with that routine... But a lot of the time, if your goal is aesthetic rather than functional, the deficit will get your body fat down, making the muscles more visible. And the routine sounds like fun, so pleasepleaseplease, if you enjoy these things, don't think that you HAVE to change your routine completely around. 

[crosshold]

i actually think you can; pretty sure i got bigger over the last few months and ive been cutting this whole time. your body uses your fat cells as energy so i dont see why it would need food instead. just make sure you get all your vitamins and minerals