Possible to Gain Muscle while Cutting?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
21

-losing 20 lbs in 3 weeks is not typical, and despite starting from a decently heavy bodyweight, I would worry a bout dropping so quickly if your goal is to indeed look good, and not just weigh less.

-2400 calories is very low for your current weight. Even if you’re trying to focus on maintaining LBM and not just ‘weight’, or a 500+ cal deficit, that’s alarmingly low IMO. As others have mentioned, you can’t just keep dropping, so jumping too low too soon will hurt your overall progress in terms of slowing your metabolic rate.

-You can build muscle while visually tightening up (recomping), but understand that in such instances, you may not be able to rely on scale readings to register a complete picture of your progress. Ideally, you could be eating more, losing scale weight at a much slower pace, and building muscle with a well thought out overall program.

S

22

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
Probably, given you are beginner but it is all mental masturbation at this point anyway. What else can you do than training hard in the gym and eat properly to lose fat? Unless you want to self-sabotage your fat-loss effort by rationalizing that you miss out on massive muscle gains by dropping fat now. The latter bullshit rationalization is very common among delusional fatties/permabulkers. They typically throw around the dirty “recomping” word.
[/quote]

Jesus…because clearly no beginner could actually need to gain more muscle first to reach their overall goal.

Closed minded…and bold.[/quote]

I actually think Infinite is right here: no one is saying the guy shouldn’t gain more muscle, but the focus should be on learning to use the muscle he does have and losing some of the excessive fat he has. Note that this is a case of someone who was 250 in an untrained state–that’s a lot of extra adipose tissue.

23

[quote]DoingWork421 wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
Probably, given you are beginner but it is all mental masturbation at this point anyway. What else can you do than training hard in the gym and eat properly to lose fat? Unless you want to self-sabotage your fat-loss effort by rationalizing that you miss out on massive muscle gains by dropping fat now. The latter bullshit rationalization is very common among delusional fatties/permabulkers. They typically throw around the dirty “recomping” word.
[/quote]

Jesus…because clearly no beginner could actually need to gain more muscle first to reach their overall goal.

Closed minded…and bold.[/quote]

I actually think Infinite is right here: no one is saying the guy shouldn’t gain more muscle, but the focus should be on learning to use the muscle he does have and losing some of the excessive fat he has. Note that this is a case of someone who was 250 in an untrained state–that’s a lot of extra adipose tissue.[/quote]

I was referring to his statement alone, not the OP specifically.

I see people writing things like that here quite a bit…often when they themselves probably needed to spend more time working on building more muscle mass before just worrying about abs.

24

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]DoingWork421 wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
Probably, given you are beginner but it is all mental masturbation at this point anyway. What else can you do than training hard in the gym and eat properly to lose fat? Unless you want to self-sabotage your fat-loss effort by rationalizing that you miss out on massive muscle gains by dropping fat now. The latter bullshit rationalization is very common among delusional fatties/permabulkers. They typically throw around the dirty “recomping” word.
[/quote]

Jesus…because clearly no beginner could actually need to gain more muscle first to reach their overall goal.

Closed minded…and bold.[/quote]

I actually think Infinite is right here: no one is saying the guy shouldn’t gain more muscle, but the focus should be on learning to use the muscle he does have and losing some of the excessive fat he has. Note that this is a case of someone who was 250 in an untrained state–that’s a lot of extra adipose tissue.[/quote]

I was referring to his statement alone, not the OP specifically.

I see people writing things like that here quite a bit…often when they themselves probably needed to spend more time working on building more muscle mass before just worrying about abs.[/quote]

Concern about losing 50 pounds of fat or going from obese to “leanish” is quite different from worrying about abs.

25

It is possible, sure. Forever? no. The quick 20lb weight loss in three weeks is not something you should strive for ongoing, but I don’t see any harm in the one time attack. First thing, the body going into starvation mode CAN happen but it will not happen all that quickly.

Calorie per pound is ok, but wouldn’t it be better to do it with lean mass?
I have had better luck doing an all out blitz for two weeks, going ultra low calorie and then going into maintenance mode for two weeks with the goal of staying the same-ish.
What do you estimate your body fat range to be?

26

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]mbdix wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
Ok buddy, I will try to help you out but there is quite a bit wrong with this whole scenario.

First of all, dropping 20 pounds in 3 weeks isn’t good. That is way too fast for weight loss. That sort of drop implies crash dieting and will leave you high and dry very soon.

Secondly, actually it goes along with point 1^^… Your calories are way to low. 2,400 calories for a 245-250 pound male? Way to low. What is your next step going to be when weigh loss stalls? Drop another 500 calories to 1,900? Then where do you go from there? You’re jn starvation mode before you know it. Cutting calories too drasticly too soon is “Bad Dieting 101” my friend. Slow and steady… Slow and steady.

Thirdly, yes of course you can still build muscle and put on strength while dropping bodyfat BUT not for very long at all with your current set up… Especially if you are a beginner. With your calorie level I would imagine that you’re going to stall out and get frustrated very soon.

If your goal is to get in better shape and lose some the large amount of extra fat that you have, why in the heck would you consider yourself sedentary or lightly active? WTF mi amigo? Get out there and be very active. Put in the work and you will reap the beni’s my man.

You gotta put in the work though. Good luck.[/quote]

I ask questions and respond on here to see where I am at with my knowledge base when it comes to this stuff.

My thinking was that as a beginner it would be easier to gain muscle while in a cut as opposed to an intermediate? Because of the beginner gains? [/quote]
I totally agree but with his drastic weight loss already, coupled with his very low calories I don’t see it happening very long.

He’s not giving himself the building blocks he needs nutritionally to do a “recomp” or whatever you want to call it.

I agree that it’s much easier for a beginner but not a very likely scenario given his current outlined plan.
[/quote]

Understood

27

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
ok so i know this has been beatin to death but i think my situation is a little different. i started working out about a year ago maybe a little less and was 250 pounds with a lot of extra fat. i was sort of off and on. but i made a lot of strength gains this past 3 months and look a lot better but now I’m on a cut down. i weighed myself like 3 weeks ago and i was 265 and now I’m 245.

my question is is it possible at all to gain muscle while cutting? before my diet was SHIT with shit like pineapple upside down cake twice a week and solo much white bread. now i eat healthy and take fish oil and creatine and lots of protein my deadlift actually went up 20 pounds since the cut (maybe cause of extra belly room idk) so since I’m still considered a beginner can i still make small gains while cutting since my diet and stuff is 1000 times better than when i was “bulking” (shoulda never done that) i just need some inspiration.

I’m deff starting to look better i always had broad shoulders and a nice thick body but I’m just wondering if i can make any gains while cutting if i really put my mind to my lifts (strong lifts) btw the deficit I’m at is like over 500 calories. I’m eating 2400 calories and i consider myself sedentary even though I’m prob lightly active[/quote]

Troll.

28

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
ok so i know this has been beatin to death but i think my situation is a little different. i started working out about a year ago maybe a little less and was 250 pounds with a lot of extra fat. i was sort of off and on. but i made a lot of strength gains this past 3 months and look a lot better but now I’m on a cut down. i weighed myself like 3 weeks ago and i was 265 and now I’m 245.

my question is is it possible at all to gain muscle while cutting? before my diet was SHIT with shit like pineapple upside down cake twice a week and solo much white bread. now i eat healthy and take fish oil and creatine and lots of protein my deadlift actually went up 20 pounds since the cut (maybe cause of extra belly room idk) so since I’m still considered a beginner can i still make small gains while cutting since my diet and stuff is 1000 times better than when i was “bulking” (shoulda never done that) i just need some inspiration.

I’m deff starting to look better i always had broad shoulders and a nice thick body but I’m just wondering if i can make any gains while cutting if i really put my mind to my lifts (strong lifts) btw the deficit I’m at is like over 500 calories. I’m eating 2400 calories and i consider myself sedentary even though I’m prob lightly active[/quote]

Troll.[/quote]

how am i a troll. maybe I’m just indecisive because I’m still a beginner. get a life troll

29

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
ok so i know this has been beatin to death but i think my situation is a little different. i started working out about a year ago maybe a little less and was 250 pounds with a lot of extra fat. i was sort of off and on. but i made a lot of strength gains this past 3 months and look a lot better but now I’m on a cut down. i weighed myself like 3 weeks ago and i was 265 and now I’m 245.

my question is is it possible at all to gain muscle while cutting? before my diet was SHIT with shit like pineapple upside down cake twice a week and solo much white bread. now i eat healthy and take fish oil and creatine and lots of protein my deadlift actually went up 20 pounds since the cut (maybe cause of extra belly room idk) so since I’m still considered a beginner can i still make small gains while cutting since my diet and stuff is 1000 times better than when i was “bulking” (shoulda never done that) i just need some inspiration.

I’m deff starting to look better i always had broad shoulders and a nice thick body but I’m just wondering if i can make any gains while cutting if i really put my mind to my lifts (strong lifts) btw the deficit I’m at is like over 500 calories. I’m eating 2400 calories and i consider myself sedentary even though I’m prob lightly active[/quote]

Troll.[/quote]

how am i a troll. maybe I’m just indecisive because I’m still a beginner. get a life troll[/quote]

Starts thread about bulking …

Says this (among other things):

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
i still make small gains while cutting since my diet and stuff is 1000 times better than when i was “bulking” (shoulda never done that) i just need some inspiration.
[/quote]

And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.

30

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…

31

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…[/quote]

Anyone with a dubious backstory but with just the right amount of detail to push buttons is a troll. There is the slight possibility that he spent the last year training on and off, fail bulked on pineapple upside down cake to 250lbs, crash dieted off a pound a day, then sought advice about bulking while throwing in a comment or two about not looking like your average fatty, but that kind of stupid is collector’s item rare.

32

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…[/quote]

Anyone with a dubious backstory but with just the right amount of detail to push buttons is a troll. There is the slight possibility that he spent the last year training on and off, fail bulked on pineapple upside down cake to 250lbs, crash dieted off a pound a day, then sought advice about bulking while throwing in a comment or two about not looking like your average fatty, but that kind of stupid is collector’s item rare.

[/quote]
I am guessing since he has failed repeatedly when asked for pics that he does look like your average fatty.

33

[quote]Ecchastang wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…[/quote]

Anyone with a dubious backstory but with just the right amount of detail to push buttons is a troll. There is the slight possibility that he spent the last year training on and off, fail bulked on pineapple upside down cake to 250lbs, crash dieted off a pound a day, then sought advice about bulking while throwing in a comment or two about not looking like your average fatty, but that kind of stupid is collector’s item rare.

[/quote]
I am guessing since he has failed repeatedly when asked for pics that he does look like your average fatty.[/quote]

yeah i am a little fat. but you are not impressive at all so coming from you it doesn’t hurt. thing is you look like your in your 40’s. I’m 20,…i have years to catch up and look way better than your hairy ass. your gonna be done in 5 years and shriveled up. i have my whole life ahead of me. see you at the finish line. your disrespect doesn’t bother me for those reasons

34

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…[/quote]

Anyone with a dubious backstory but with just the right amount of detail to push buttons is a troll. There is the slight possibility that he spent the last year training on and off, fail bulked on pineapple upside down cake to 250lbs, crash dieted off a pound a day, then sought advice about bulking while throwing in a comment or two about not looking like your average fatty, but that kind of stupid is collector’s item rare.

[/quote]

you have over 6k posts and been here since 2007. I’m calling you out right now to post a pic of yourself because for someone to be here that long and be ashamed of posting a picture u probably look like an average fatty as well

35

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…[/quote]

Anyone with a dubious backstory but with just the right amount of detail to push buttons is a troll. There is the slight possibility that he spent the last year training on and off, fail bulked on pineapple upside down cake to 250lbs, crash dieted off a pound a day, then sought advice about bulking while throwing in a comment or two about not looking like your average fatty, but that kind of stupid is collector’s item rare.

[/quote]

you have over 6k posts and been here since 2007. I’m calling you out right now to post a pic of yourself because for someone to be here that long and be ashamed of posting a picture u probably look like an average fatty as well

36

[quote]Ecchastang wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…[/quote]

Anyone with a dubious backstory but with just the right amount of detail to push buttons is a troll. There is the slight possibility that he spent the last year training on and off, fail bulked on pineapple upside down cake to 250lbs, crash dieted off a pound a day, then sought advice about bulking while throwing in a comment or two about not looking like your average fatty, but that kind of stupid is collector’s item rare.

[/quote]
I am guessing since he has failed repeatedly when asked for pics that he does look like your average fatty.[/quote]

yeah i am a little fat. but you are not impressive at all so coming from you it doesn’t hurt. thing is you look like your in your 40’s. I’m 20,…i have years to catch up and look way better than your hairy ass. your gonna be done in 5 years and shriveled up. i have my whole life ahead of me. see you at the finish line. your disrespect doesn’t bother me for those reasons

37

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…[/quote]

Anyone with a dubious backstory but with just the right amount of detail to push buttons is a troll. There is the slight possibility that he spent the last year training on and off, fail bulked on pineapple upside down cake to 250lbs, crash dieted off a pound a day, then sought advice about bulking while throwing in a comment or two about not looking like your average fatty, but that kind of stupid is collector’s item rare.

[/quote]

you have over 6k posts and been here since 2007.[/quote]

Thanks. I hadn’t realized that until you pointed it out.

[quote]
I’m calling you out right now to post a pic of yourself because for someone to be here that long and be ashamed of posting a picture u probably look like an average fatty as well [/quote]

If I felt like I owed it to you, a complete stranger, I would post a pic. Since I don’t I’ll admit right now that I am indeed an average fatty as I really don’t care what your opinion of my physique is either way, and if I did feel like posting a photo, I still wouldn’t care what you thought.

I’ve also never claimed to be anything I’m not, made fun of anybody else’s pics, or demanded pics. You, however, have been claiming to be more than the average fatty.

Lastly, if you’re going to demand pics of anybody, you better have some of your own to hand. And before you try to use any of the above reasons to wriggle out of posting pics, let me remind you that you just called me out for photos.

38

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:

[quote]Ecchastang wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]roybot wrote:
And calling you out doesn’t qualify me as a troll, troll.

Not the sharpest tool in the box.
[/quote]

I see more of a retarded attention whore than a troll. Reminds me of someone else on this site…[/quote]

Anyone with a dubious backstory but with just the right amount of detail to push buttons is a troll. There is the slight possibility that he spent the last year training on and off, fail bulked on pineapple upside down cake to 250lbs, crash dieted off a pound a day, then sought advice about bulking while throwing in a comment or two about not looking like your average fatty, but that kind of stupid is collector’s item rare.

[/quote]
I am guessing since he has failed repeatedly when asked for pics that he does look like your average fatty.[/quote]

yeah i am a little fat. but you are not impressive at all so coming from you it doesn’t hurt. thing is you look like your in your 40’s. I’m 20,…i have years to catch up and look way better than your hairy ass. your gonna be done in 5 years and shriveled up. i have my whole life ahead of me. see you at the finish line. your disrespect doesn’t bother me for those reasons[/quote]

Flubby noobs with no forum etiquette (or trolls pretending to be flubby noobs) have not earned the privilege to comment on pics when they remain safely anonymous.

Why do I get the feeling that you’d find fault in any profile pic?