If you exercise hard but don’t eat extra calories, your body can use stored fat to build muscle.
Scientific Claim
A caloric maintenance state combined with resistance training can result in simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain by mobilizing endogenous fat stores to support muscle protein synthesis.
Original Statement
“The theory here is that by training hard while eating just enough to maintain your weight, your body is forced to burn off your body fat to fuel muscle growth.”
Context Details
Domain
nutrition
Population
human
Subject
resistance training under caloric maintenance
Action
mobilizes endogenous fat stores to support
Target
muscle protein synthesis
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
The study says you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time with exercise and eating less, but the claim says you can do it while eating just enough to maintain weight — which wasn’t tested. Still, it’s close and suggests it might be possible.