Can you gain muscle while taking reta?

Kitty Paws

Kitty Paws

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Today it dawned on me that maybe I've dropped more weight than I should have. I mean, I already knew the pounds were coming off quickly over these last 3-4 months, but it really sank in today just how fast it's been happening. The majority of fat around my midsection and my rear is gone, and my legs have shed a lot of fat as well. In 3 and a half months I've dropped close to 40lbs, and now I'd like to begin putting on muscle. I hit the gym a few times each week, though my bad back keeps me from doing much weight training. I'm thinking about going all in as soon as I can, but I may need to get a personal trainer since my knowledge doesn't go past the basics.
 
There are many factors at play here. For someone just starting out with weight training, gaining SOME muscle is certainly achievable, though there's a ceiling on that — and it becomes even less likely when you're in a significant deficit, which appears to be your situation. Broadly speaking, to add muscle or increase muscle mass, you'd want to be either in a calorie surplus or at minimum at maintenance for body recomposition.

Rapid weight loss happens because muscle is being lost alongside fat, not fat by itself. That's the reason we ought to keep meeting our calorie targets rather than starving ourselves, so this doesn't occur.
 
Milotic said:

There are many factors at play here. For someone just starting out with weight training, gaining SOME muscle is certainly achievable, though there's a ceiling on that — and it becomes even less likely when you're in a significant deficit, which appears to be your situation. Broadly speaking, to add muscle or increase muscle mass, you'd want to be either in a calorie surplus or at minimum at maintenance for body recomposition.

Rapid weight loss happens because muscle is being lost alongside fat, not fat by itself. That's the reason we ought to keep meeting our calorie targets rather than starving ourselves, so this doesn't occur.
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Instead of this, would it be smarter to get down to my target of 150 lb first, then use a low dose of reta and put on muscle from there? The reason I ask is that at 3mg at the moment, getting even 50g of protein in during a day is a struggle for me.
 
Kitty Paws said:

Instead of this, would it be smarter to get down to my target of 150 lb first, then use a low dose of reta and put on muscle from there? The reason I ask is that at 3mg at the moment, getting even 50g of protein in during a day is a struggle for me.
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Losing weight as quickly as possible — whether it comes from muscle or fat — still wouldn't be my goal. If fat loss is what you're after, my advice would be to eat more and keep your deficit smaller. Barely getting 50g of protein per day while on 3mg tells me the dose is probably too high for you. I'm at 2mg right now, and I can still finish all my meals, I just feel full for a longer stretch, and I regularly take in at least 120+g protein a day
 
Plenty of strength athletes and bodybuilders continue to add muscle while using reta — the people I know take it mainly to quiet food noise (so their nutrition stays clean) and for the metabolic effects they believe it brings.

When an injured body part is involved, a trainer can help you pick exercises that work around it. Since I don't know the details of your 'bad back', my take is that many non-acute injuries can still be trained with progressive overload and tempo work.

Personally, I've come back from a few back injuries by dropping down to bodyweight squats, slow eccentrics and partial range of movement, then slowly adding the plates and RoM back in.

Talk to an instructor and see what options you have 🙂
 
You dropped 40lbs over 3.5 months, which works out to roughly 12 weeks? Are you not stepping on the scale? That comes to 3.3lbs/week, which strikes me as a bit quick.
 
Losing fat and building muscle simultaneously on reta is 100% possable — I'm doing it myself. Just take in 1 gram of protien for every lb of lean body wieght daily. Lift, train properly, sleep well, and eat enough that you're dropping about 1-1.5 lbs per week. You're lossing too fast.
 
To put on muscle, a calorie surplus is genuinely necessary. So if you're able to manage that while on reta, then sure, I've heard of people doing it.

That said, gaining strength, improving your fitness, and picking up useful techniques and training knowledge is completely achievable while in a deficit. Thanks to an ankle injury, I haven't been able to do any cardio for a few months, so I've been putting in extra gym time, and my lifts have definitely improved. Strength and hypertrophy aren't entirely the same thing.
 
BNLFL said:

You dropped 40lbs over 3.5 months, which works out to roughly 12 weeks? Are you not stepping on the scale? That comes to 3.3lbs/week, which strikes me as a bit quick.
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Increase your protein intake and work out the rest. Also, stick with the machines that give you support and keep your back out of it. And watch out for gallstones.
 
Nearly everyone would say that building muscle is close to impossible when you're eating in a deficit and dropping a lot of weight week after week. The usual exceptions involve testosterone or other anabolics, plus HGH or secretagogues, since those can counteract the catabolic side of GLP-1s and of weight loss in general.

None of that means strength training is pointless. You definitely still need it, along with enough protein, to keep muscle loss as small as possible. And don't let yourself lose more than 1% per week.
 
FunkyWhales78 said:

To put on muscle, a calorie surplus is genuinely necessary. So if you're able to manage that while on reta, then sure, I've heard of people doing it.

That said, gaining strength, improving your fitness, and picking up useful techniques and training knowledge is completely achievable while in a deficit. Thanks to an ankle injury, I haven't been able to do any cardio for a few months, so I've been putting in extra gym time, and my lifts have definitely improved. Strength and hypertrophy aren't entirely the same thing.
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Bioexplorer said:

Nearly everyone would say that building muscle is close to impossible when you're eating in a deficit and dropping a lot of weight week after week. The usual exceptions involve testosterone or other anabolics, plus HGH or secretagogues, since those can counteract the catabolic side of GLP-1s and of weight loss in general.

None of that means strength training is pointless. You definitely still need it, along with enough protein, to keep muscle loss as small as possible. And don't let yourself lose more than 1% per week.
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I am eating at a serious calorie deficit, dropping weight and adding muscle simultaneously. I managed that with testosterone sitting in the low 200's. It is 100% achievable. It is not simple. It demands a really fine balance. You cannot push the workouts too hard. A calorie deficit is easily reachable while keeping protein above what you need. Chicken breast, cottage cheese, yogurt, fish. I can hit 170 grams of protein inside 1500 calories.

I have dropped 3 lbs while shedding 1" from my waist, and my arms, legs, chest have visibly gotten bigger. My hume scale reports a gain of .2 lbs of muscle across that 3 lb drop in total weight.

These days I am on trt, my levels remain too low, in the mid 400's. Adding muscle roughly as quickly as I am losing fat.
 
Kitty Paws said:

Instead of this, would it be smarter to get down to my target of 150 lb first, then use a low dose of reta and put on muscle from there? The reason I ask is that at 3mg at the moment, getting even 50g of protein in during a day is a struggle for me.
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While you're cutting down toward your target weight, I'd recommend adding strength training. The way your body looks will change noticeably because of it. Body recomp will be simpler for you to achieve. If you hold off on lifting until every last pound is gone, chances are the result won't look the way you want.

Still, don't let the snarky remarks of some internet fool get to you. Dig into it further and form your own opinion.
 
If you do some sensible resistance training, you can reduce how much muscle you lose as the weight comes off. Holding on to the muscle you already have is a realistic goal, and it is a solid position to be in while you are shedding fat.
 
Sounds like a body recomp is what you're after. If lifting weights is new to you, pulling this off is far simpler than it is for someone who's been at it for years. Those "newbie" gains tend to show up almost on their own, provided you're not dropping more than roughly 3lbs per week.

One more thing — is the muscle you're after mainly for looks, or is it purely about how your body functions and your overall health?
 
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