Is it possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?
An energy deficit (i.e. dieting) typically results in a loss of both muscle and fat mass. As protein and resistance training are the two main anabolic stimuli, combining these two whilst dieting may be best for body composition.
This study investigated whether a high protein diet (2.4 g/kg/day) is more beneficial for body composition compared to a lower protein diet (1.2 g/kg/day) in combination with an intense training program. Both diets created a 40% energy deficit and participants were training 6 days per week including full-body resistance exercise, high-intensity (sprint) interval training, time trials, and plyometric body circuits. Subjects were recreationally active prior to the study.
After 4 weeks, loss of total body weight did not differ between groups, which is not surprising because the training regimen and the energy deficit were similar between groups.
However, the high protein group lost more fat mass compared to the lower protein group (-4.8 vs -3.5 kg). In addition, the high protein group even gained lean mass, while this was not the case in the lower protein group (+1.2 vs +0.1 kg).
These data suggest that with frequent intensive training, muscle mass loss can be prevented during dieting. A high protein intake has an additional positive effect on muscle mass and may help increase fat loss.
However, the large improvements seen during the 4 weeks of the present study would likely be smaller in subjects who have less initial body fat and/or more resistance training experience.
Strengths of the study include that all meals and beverages were provided by the research team and the use of a four-compartment model to assess body composition.
Go to the next infographic in the dieting series:
Fasting has no metabolic advantage?
In this day and age, overweight/obese people seem to be the majority (myself included). This article was the light at the end of the tunnel for me. Since the COVID crap started, my activity level as well as my energy level decreased significantly. My diet and body both suffered and my ego declined as well. I’ve recently started to get more active and made protein intake a priority. Being a new area in my life, it’s one of those “wait and see” type of things… but I’m hopeful!
Hi Jim. You can do it!
the findings of this study blows my mind: still aquiring lean tissue on a 40% deficit just seems crazy.
the drawback i see here is that it deals with overweight people.
are there similar findings with leaner people as well?
it would also be interesting also to see if the amount of beneficial protein ingestion relates to the caloric deficit.