why can’t you build muscle at a caloric deficit, if you have fat reserves available?

Question

This seems counterintuitive. I mean, if my bills exceed my income, *but* I have a million dollars in the bank, I can still buy new stuff.

I can spend the energy from fat reserves on any amount of exercise, after all – so why can’t I spend it on building muscle? Why does *that* energy have to come from a caloric surplus?

In: 3

Answer 1

Muscle is made of protein. Proteins are made up of amino acids. Fat is made up of fatty acids, (triglycerides) which are long carbon chains. So, even with energy in “reserve” fat will not break down into the necessary building blocks to make proteins, therefore, no muscle building is possible.

Open to corrections/clarifications