For years, there was a simple rule: if you want to build muscle, you have to eat more calories than you burn. But a new study challenges this assumption and provides a promising indication of how muscle building could also work with fewer calories.
Normally, calorie restriction leads to a decrease in muscle protein synthesis - a problem if you want to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. But researchers wanted to know whether this process can be tricked.
In their study, they gave participants a shake with whey protein and carbohydrates after training - while they were in a calorie deficit. They then compared this with two other variants:
A shake with added essential amino acids (EAAs)
A shake with additional carbohydrates
The surprising result: the participants who drank the shake with EAAs recorded a 30% higher increase in muscle protein synthesis and a simultaneous reduction in muscle breakdown - both crucial factors for muscle building.
These results suggest that essential amino acids could help to optimize muscle building even in a calorie deficit. However, it has not yet been conclusively determined whether this method leads to more muscle growth in the long term. Other studies consistently show that the total amount of protein consumed throughout the day has the greatest impact on muscle growth - not just the short-term increase in protein synthesis after training.
If you want to experiment with EAAs, you should know that they are more expensive than conventional protein powder. Whether the extra price is worth it has not yet been definitively proven. Nevertheless, the study remains exciting - and we are keeping an eye on the research to see if it can be used to develop a real strategy for building muscle with fewer calories.
Sources:
Churchward-Venne, T. A., Burd, N. A., & Phillips, S. M. (2012). Nutritional regulation of muscle protein synthesis with resistance exercise: strategies to enhance anabolism. Nutrition & Metabolism, 9(1), 40.
Kim, I. Y., Park, S., Jang, J., Wolfe, R. R., & Ferrando, A. A. (2020). Essential amino acids and muscle protein synthesis: regulation and effects. Frontiers in Nutrition, 7, 92.
Morton, R. W., Murphy, K. T., McKellar, S. R., Schoenfeld, B. J., Henselmans, M., Helms, E., ... & Phillips, S. M. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(6), 376-384.