There is absolutely no reason that you should be losing significant muscle mass when you decide to cut your calories and diet. I say ‘significant’ because depending on the severity of your diet, you may lose a small amount. However, this is usually when the said person Is dieting for a competition and extremely low body fat levels are needed. For the average joe who would just like to cut down so they can see their abs, there should be no reason why any muscle loss occurs.
The most important thing that changes when you decide to diet down, is dropping your calories, and that is the right thing to do! What’s not the right thing to do, is to drop them so drastically that you shoot yourself in the foot and don’t give yourself any room to drop them further in the future. Let me give you an example.
If your maintenance calories are 3500, then I think we can all agree a good starting point to put yourself in a calorie deficit is 3000 calories. Your weight should decrease over the next few weeks and when it doesn’t, you assess your situation and either decrease them by another 100 or so, or you add more activity in. This is the smart thing to do. What isn’t smart, is going from 3500 calories straight down to 1500 for example. Sure, to start with you will lose some weight, but your body is a smart machine and will become accustomed to its new energy intake. At this point things slow down and you haven’t been able to drop as much weight as you would like, you are tired all the time and your progression in the gym stalls or even decreases. Your calories are already so low you can’t even think about eating less, plus you are so tired you don’t really want to increase activity. A slow and steady decrease in calories and a slow increase in activity is much more sustainable and beneficial than a hard drop in calories.
Training is just as important as a drop in calories. I’m not sure why when people decide it's time to shed some fat, they immediately change their weight training. I see it all the time, the sets of 6-12 reps that built them the physique they have started changing to sets of 15,20 plus. This means the weight they were using decreases, so you can argue they get weaker, and they also burn more energy due to an increase in activity, so even if they started in a 500 calorie deficit, this could now easily be a 600 or 700 deficit.
There is no reason your training should change during your diet. What made you big and strong will keep you big and strong. You should never stop aiming to be stronger in the weights room and yes, getting stronger whilst cutting your calories is more than achievable. A great way to determine if you are losing any muscle mass during a cut is to track your strength levels. Generally, if you aren’t getting any weaker, you aren’t losing any muscle.
Diet and training are the two most important factors when you are looking to either lose weight or gain it. However, on top of this there are a few other variables you can use to your advantage.
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Sleep just as, if not better than when you are in a surplus. Sleep is king and will help you recover to your full potential. A good night sleep also aids in extra fat loss.
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Eat more nutrients. When you are in a deficit, your body is more susceptible to illnesses and injuries. By taking in more minerals and vitamins your body’s defences are in tip top condition.
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Stay hydrated. Your body is already in a fatigued state. A state of dehydration is only going to make you feel physically and mentally more drained.
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Keep your protein intake high! This is the macronutrient that you shouldn’t be lowering and if anything, you can push it a little higher during a cut. Having enough protein in your diet is imperative to your body recovering from strenuous workouts.
Losing muscle whilst dieting is easily avoidable. You just need to be smart with your deficit, still train like a beast and keep nailing variables that can enhance your recovery.
