Exercise Scientist Explains How to Build Muscle in a Calorie Deficit – Fitness Volt

The exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel is a pillar of knowledge for the fitness and bodybuilding community, offering wisdom for optimizing an active lifestyle. In a recent YouTube offering, Dr. Israetel explained how to build muscle in a calorie deficit with protein and resistance training.

With over 1.6 million YouTube subscribers to his Renaissance Periodization channel, Dr. Mike Israetel has earned the respect of his peers for his captivating analysis of exercise and health. From his top 10 exercises for muscle growth to his thoughts on carbs during a workout, Dr. Israetel does not miss an opportunity to share its ideas.

As a renowned physiologist known for his work in exercise science, Israetel’s ability to break down complex issues into simple information makes his content highly sought after. If building muscle in a calorie deficit is at the top of your to-do list, Israel hopes his explanation will help you reach those all-important fitness goals.

Exercise scientist talks about how to build muscle in a caloric deficit using resistance training and protein

First, Dr. Israetel explains that there is no surefire way to prevent muscle loss in a caloric deficit, although he believes it can be mitigated.

“You can only deal with probabilities in these things because people are so different and conditions are so different. So, unfortunately, I can’t reassure anyone about the idea that you can lose muscle mass with a deficit.”

He claims that if you take 100 people and put them in a caloric deficit, some will lose muscle, and some will gain a considerable amount of muscle, depending on the person.

“Get 100 people to do the same deficit, superfood protein for all of them, some of them will still lose muscle. Some of them will gain weird amounts of muscle. Most of them, a more direct version of me responding to your question, most of them won’t lose appreciable muscle mass if at all.”

To prevent skeletal muscle loss in a caloric deficit, Dr. Israetel believes that adequate protein intake can have a positive and significant impact.

“If you’re getting enough protein, that’s absolutely important to make sure you’re not losing muscle while being fat. That’s especially relevant recently with the rise of anorectic drugs, the GLP agonist, Ozempic, and things like that. “says exercise scientist Israetel.

He adds that for those taking the weight loss peptide Ozempic, the high protein intake adds a “security blanket” for potential muscle loss.

“A lot of people have reported that Ozempic makes them small and weak and you’re fine, how much protein are you eating, and they’re just saying they’re eating the same old diet, they’re saying, ‘I’m not as hungry,’ and they’re not, ‘Don’t eat as much.’ Damn, no one told you? High protein intake, a gram per pound or so, will add a big safety blanket to the likelihood of muscle loss.”

In addition, resistance training plays a crucial role for those who want to retain muscle while losing fat in a caloric deficit.

“Resistance training, lifting weights and a lot of people who are trying to lose weight, they don’t do resistance training. You look at all the people in the gyms doing cardio and then they leave. The people who do workout DVDs at home what they do is lose 50 pounds and 15 pounds of that is muscle they look better but they also look a little thinner people at work say ‘oh my god you look so good ?’ They’re like what do you mean? They’re like, ‘You’re not sick, are you? Why do people ask me that? It’s because you’ve lost a lot of muscle and fat.’

Israetel stresses that individuals need to give the muscles “a good reason to stay.” He explains that during deficit conditions, the body looks to fuel itself, and one of the places where energy is stored is skeletal muscle mass.

“You have to give the muscles a good reason to stay. Enough of a challenge to stay because in a deficit condition, your body is looking for food. It says, skeletal muscle, are you busy doing something?

If it’s like not really, give me some of your protein and it’s fine. But if you’re busy several times a week getting solid volume, you’re trying to grow, there aren’t enough nutrients to grow, but you grow a little. Then it steals nutrients from other places to grow and then it loses a little bit later in the week and it grows a little bit and over time there’s no loss at all.”

Nutrition and health expert Stan Efferding has also taken a closer look at how to maximize gains during a calorie deficit. He specified that calorie deficits not only aid in weight loss efforts, but strengthen numerous health markers.

“When they’re able to maintain a caloric deficit and lose weight, they see decreases in all of their biomarkers. They see cholesterol go down, blood sugar, blood pressure, and weight loss, which we know is associated with a decrease of cancer risk. That should be the main goal: losing weight. Obviously, these types of diets are long-term.”

With the support of research and scientific studies, Dr. Mike Israetel is committed to providing fans with tools and knowledge to live better. He believes that with enough protein and resistance training, individuals (for the most part) can build muscle effectively even during a caloric deficit.

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