To lose fat and keep muscle: keep the calorie deficit moderate (0.5 to 1 percent of bodyweight a week), eat 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kg a day, keep lifting with heavy-ish weights, and sleep 7 hours or more. If your strength holds and your waist shrinks, you are losing fat.
Most people want to lose fat, not just weight. Here is how to make sure the weight that comes off is the right kind.
Why muscle gets lost
When you eat less than you burn, the body uses stored energy: mostly fat, but also some protein from muscle, especially if you eat little protein, stop lifting, or diet very hard. Losing muscle makes you weaker, lowers your daily burn and leaves a softer look.
Rule 1: a moderate deficit
Aim to lose about 0.5 to 1 percent of your bodyweight a week. Faster than that, the share of muscle in what you lose tends to rise. For most people this is a deficit of 300 to 750 calories a day.
Rule 2: plenty of protein
Eat about 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight a day, toward the top of the range when you are lean or dieting hard. Spread it over 3 or 4 meals of 25 to 40 g each.
Rule 3: keep lifting heavy
Strength training is the signal that tells your body muscle is still needed. Keep the same main exercises and try to hold your weights. You may lift a little less late in a long diet; that is fine. Dropping to light weights and high reps is not necessary.
Rule 4: sleep and recover
People who sleep less while dieting lose more muscle and less fat, even on the same calories. Aim for 7 to 9 hours.
Diet for the fat, lift for the muscle. You need both at the same time.
How to tell what you are losing
- Strength: if your lifts hold or rise, you are mostly keeping muscle.
- Waist: a shrinking waist with steady strength means fat loss.
- Body fat estimate: measure with a tape every 2 to 4 weeks.
- Pace: losing much more than 1 percent a week for weeks raises the risk of muscle loss.
What about cardio?
Cardio is fine and helps the deficit. Keep it moderate, so it does not eat into your lifting and recovery. Walking is the easiest cardio to add.
The takeaway
A moderate deficit, high protein, heavy lifting and good sleep: do all four and almost everything you lose will be fat. Shulah sets your calories and macros for the pace you pick and adjusts your weights from every set you log.