Losing muscle when you are attempting to lose weight can affect your health negatively. When it comes to weight loss, it’s important to strive to reach your ideal weight without compromising strong lean muscle. But since increasing muscle mass can in itself lead to weight gain, can you really build muscle while losing weight?

Losing weight often also means losing muscle, which impacts not only your strength but also your stamina, flexibility, and heart health. Loss of lean mass also results in a higher percentage of body fat, elevating your risk of countless chronic conditions. Is it possible to achieve both muscle gain and fat loss at the same time?

Although it can be a difficult balancing act, the right combination of calories consumed and burned can help you maintain lean, strong muscles even as you work toward a healthy weight.

If you are lightly active

1- Create a calorie deficit

If you're ready to begin building your fitness by losing weight, cutting calories consumed is your first course of action. To burn body fat, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means you will burn more than you take in each day. On the flip side, a calorie surplus causes weight gain. 

When we achieve a calorie deficit with diet and exercise, the body goes into "break down" mode. Rather than storing surplus calories for energy, it starts burning calories to compensate. Unfortunately, this process destroys not only fat cells but also muscle tissue. As a result, you might reach a healthy weight according to metrics like body mass index even though your body fat percentage puts you at risk for obesity and other health concerns. If you’re unsure about your daily caloric needs, as they are unique to each of us, a resting metabolic rate test will provide you with that information.

2- Calorie cut – but not too much

Don't be discouraged if this sounds like an overly complex math problem. Rather than simply eating less and working out more without a plan, use a targeted approach to create a small rather than drastic calorie deficit. 

You can attain healthy weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week without causing your muscles to waste away. A study published by Obesity A Research Journal found that a big calorie cut caused subjects to lose almost 9% of their lean muscle mass, compared to just over 1% loss for participants who had a smaller calorie deficit. 

3- Increase physical activity

If you're new to exercise, you want to start slow with low-impact activities like walking, cycling, and jogging. While these exercises will get you moving, burn calories, and improve your heart health, you also need to actively work on your muscle mass.

Weight training at least two days a week—or three for best results—will make you stronger and more flexible while preventing the loss of muscle mass that can occur with a calorie deficit. You'll notice less fat around the ab area, and you'll burn more calories at rest (resting metabolic rate), which will help you lose weight faster!

Go for compound exercises like squats, lunges, and planks that help you build multiple muscle groups at the same time—an awesome way to optimize strength building and calorie burn. Start slow with 10-12 reps of each exercise per set and complete 3-4 sets per training session. You can add or increase the weights you use as your muscles get stronger. 

No need for a weight bench and barbells in your basement to get an effective weight training workout. Small hand weights will do the trick when you first start lifting. You can tell you're using the right size when you can feel the weight but maintain the right form in each exercise. If you can complete the sets easily, it's time to boost the weight. But if you can't complete the reps, try choosing a smaller pair for now.

(2) If you are moderately active

If you are active at least 3-4 days a week, and you're trying to lose weight, all the advice above applies, along with some specific tips below for the less-than-sedentary.

1- Practice patience

It's easier to gain muscle when you don't have much to start with, and it’s easier to lose fat when you have a larger fat mass. When you're a bit further on your fitness journey, you may find that you reach a plateau where you can't seem to push your performance.

Common wisdom suggests that cutting calories even further can help you break through the frustrating plateau phase. However, this approach puts your lean muscle mass in jeopardy just to move the numbers on the scale. Instead, wait it out as you work the other tips on our list. 

Play the long game when it comes to body recompositioning. You won't win with a fad diet; you need sustainable changes to create and maintain a healthy percentage of both fat and muscle for the rest of your life.

2- Prioritize protein

Eating fewer calories challenges your body's muscle-building abilities. Since you're no longer in "build" mode when you have a calorie deficit, your muscles don't respond as well to the bulking effects of protein. 

Fortunately, you can overcome this hurdle by eating more than the recommended daily amount of protein for your weight, age, and sex. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that intense exercise plus plenty of protein prevents muscle loss during a calorie deficit.

To pump up the power of that extra protein, try to space it evenly throughout the day. This guidance comes from the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. The researchers reported that for each kilogram of your body weight, you should eat between 0.4 and 0.55 grams of protein four times a day for maximum muscle growth. 

For example, an adult woman who weighs 150 pounds (68 kg) should eat between 27.2 and 37.4 grams of protein in each of four daily meals. Need inspiration? You can get about 30 grams with 1.5 cups of low-fat Greek yogurt, 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese, 4 ounces of chicken breast, or even just two quick scoops of protein powder in your smoothie!

Optional: Increase your training volume

(3) If you are very active

If you are active at least once during 6-7 days a week, and you're trying to improve your body composition, you will want to fine tune your routine.

1- Time your nutrition

As an athlete, you already know how to eat right. Now, it's time to time your food intake to facilitate your fitness goals. Before each workout, eat a small, carb-heavy snack like fruit (with nearly 27 grams, a banana is a great go-to).

Carbohydrates deliver nutritious energy and trigger the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which keeps the body from breaking down muscle. When you're done working out, go for a light meal that contains electrolytes, complex carbs, and proteins—a combo that supports expanded muscle mass.  Try a quinoa bowl with sliced banana and a handful of walnuts, or a few slices of whole-wheat toast spread with peanut butter and a side of low-fat yogurt with berries! 

2- Practice recovery

Eating the right foods after workouts is important for muscle gain, recovery, and performance. Besides nutrition, you want to incorporate the following:

• Mastering sleep hygiene

• Cross-training or active recovery

• Self-care

3- Watch your protein intake

As with the other activity levels above, you want to eat the appropriate daily amount of protein for your weight, age, sex, and training level.

Since guidelines can vary by activity, consult with a professional or follow a trusted guide for protein intake for athletes in your category.

How to measure progress

Here are the tools you can use as you make changes in your diet and training:

DEXA scan: The DEXA scan is widely regarded as being one of the most proven and reliable technologies for measuring body composition. A standard DEXA scan with a Fitnescity partner will give you the following:

• Fat Mass

• Lean Mass

• Visceral Adipose Tissue

• Bone Mineral Density (BMD)

• Comparison with your age range

• Body fat distribution by region (arms, legs, waist and hips).

• Android (waist) Fat and Lean Mass

• Gynoid (hip) Fat and Lean Mass

• Android/Gynoid ratio

• BMI

• 1:1 review with MD (after you receive your results online)

Resting Metabolic Rate test: Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the number of calories required by the body to maintain basic functions such as heartbeat, breathing, temperature regulation, and brain activity. A standard RMR test with a Fitnescity partner involves using a metabolic cart and indirect calorimetry, the clinically recommended and industry reference standard of testing, to measure the number of calories burned per day at rest. Whether your goal is to lose, gain, or maintain weight, this information is extremely valuable for designing a personalized weight management program.