Can I build muscle while on a big calorie deficit and high protein diet?
Hey everyone! I recently started my fitness journey again after taking a long break. I'm a 5'4" woman in my early 30s, starting weight around 145 lbs and now down to about 138 lbs after a few weeks. My main goal right now is to lose the extra fat I've put on, so I'm doing a lot of cardio and maintaining a pretty big calorie deficit (about 800-1000 calories below maintenance). At the same time, I'd love to start building some muscle too. I'm eating a high protein diet - today I had about 130g of protein out of 1600 total calories consumed, with my total energy expenditure around 2400-2500 calories. I'm trying to be flexible with my diet while hitting my protein and nutrient goals, and just burning off any extra calories through cardio. Is this high protein intake enough to build some muscle even with the big deficit? Or am I just wasting food and time with all this extra protein and cardio? Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!
While high protein intake is beneficial, building significant muscle in a large calorie deficit is challenging. Focus on preserving muscle mass through strength training and adequate protein. Once you reach your fat loss goals, consider a slight calorie surplus to build muscle more effectively.
