If you’ve been hitting the gym, eating clean, and wondering why the scale isn’t shifting or your body isn’t changing the way you expected, you’re not alone. One of the most common myths in fitness is the idea that you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time. While it sounds like the holy grail of body transformation, it’s often misunderstood and misapplied.
Let’s explore the science behind why this is rarely possible, what the research says, and how to actually achieve your fitness goals with the right strategy.
❌ Why the Science Says It’s Difficult to Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time
To understand the issue, we need to look at what each goal requires:
- Building muscle (hypertrophy) requires a calorie surplus: You need more energy (calories) than your body burns to fuel muscle repair and growth.
- Losing fat requires a calorie deficit: You need to consume fewer calories than your body burns so it turns to fat stores for energy.
These two processes are biologically conflicting.
As Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., a well-respected researcher in muscle hypertrophy, notes in his 2011 review:
“Achieving hypertrophy in a calorie deficit is highly challenging, as muscle growth is an energetically expensive process.”
Further research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2013) supports this, concluding:
“Individuals in an energy deficit, even when resistance training, will not experience the same magnitude of hypertrophy as those in energy balance or surplus.”
✅ When Can You Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?
There are a few exceptions where this goal is possible but it’s important to know if you fall into these categories:
- Beginners
If you’re new to weight training, your body is ultra-sensitive to the stimulus. Studies like those by Hulmi et al. (2008) show that novice trainees can gain muscle while losing fat, especially with a high-protein intake and structured resistance program. - Returning from a Break
Those who’ve previously trained and taken time off can experience “muscle memory,” allowing them to regain muscle quickly while dropping fat. - Overweight Individuals
People with a high body fat percentage can use stored fat to fuel muscle growth in a deficit but again, this is not a long-term strategy. A 2011 study in Obesity found obese men could gain lean mass while losing fat during a calorie deficit but this effect diminished over time.
⚠️ Why It Doesn’t Last Forever
The ability to recomp (build muscle and lose fat at the same time) tapers off as you progress:
- Intermediate and advanced lifters will eventually hit a plateau.
- The body becomes more efficient, and splitting energy between two goals results in slower or minimal progress in both.
At this point, most successful transformations shift into phases:
- Fat loss phase: Cut calories while maintaining strength to hold onto muscle.
- Muscle-building phase: Eat in a surplus to grow, accepting a small amount of fat gain temporarily.
Trying to do both at once long-term leads to spinning your wheels and that’s something I see way too often before clients join my coaching.
💬 So What’s the Best Strategy?
Whether you’re in Wilmslow, Knutsford, Alderley Edge, or Holmes Chapel, my coaching clients who get the best results follow one of these routes:
- Lean out first: Get body fat down, improve insulin sensitivity, and set yourself up for an efficient muscle-building phase.
- Build first (if you’re lean): Prioritise muscle growth with a structured training program and clean surplus.
Over the last three years, I’ve coached 100+ clients across Cheshire through this exact process many of whom first came in frustrated from trying to do both at once.
🔑 Summary: You Can’t Always Have It All
So..can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time?
✅ Sometimes, if you’re new, overweight, or returning from a break.
❌ Not always, especially for intermediate/advanced trainees or those with lower body fat.
Instead of chasing two goals poorly, chase one goal powerfully. That’s how long-term results are made.
💥 Ready for Real Results?
If you’ve been stuck trying to change your body without success, it might be time to shift gears and get expert help. I offer:
✅ 1-1 Personal Training in Cheshire (Holmes Chapel, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge, Knutsford)
✅ 12-Week Online Coaching Program (training, nutrition, accountability)
✅ Virtual PT Sessions you can do from home, anywhere in the UK
🧠 Stop guessing. Start progressing.
👉 Book a free discovery call today.
Sources / Studies Cited:
- Hall KD et al. (2016) – Energy expenditure and body composition changes in response to isocaloric diets varying in carbohydrate and fat content.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4962165/ - Schoenfeld BJ (2014) – The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20847704/ - Longland TM et al. (2016) – Higher protein intake preserves lean mass in a calorie deficit.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26764336/