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

Your body isn’t built like that. Calorie deficit tells your body to cut spending (stop building muscle and/or cut muscles), because fat reserves are last-ditch resources. Hence, why burning fat is so difficult.