To lose weight, you need to maintain a calorie deficit, meaning consuming fewer calories than your body uses. Calories are a source of energy from foods and drinks, necessary for essential functions like breathing, blood circulation, and physical activity. Extra calories get stored as fat when you have more than you need.
If you lower your calories too much or too fast, you could also lose muscle. If you want to preserve and build muscle during a calorie deficit, you’ll need to make sure to eat enough protein and include resistance training in your routine.
Experienced lifters have already adapted their bodies to resistance training, such as weightlifting, so it takes more time and effort for them to see noticeable muscle gains. Beginners generally see faster progress because their bodies are working harder to meet the demands of a new and more challenging exercise, which may lead to faster muscle growth.
People with a higher body mass index (BMI) typically require more effort during physical activities. A BMI measures a person’s weight based on their height. This increased effort can lead to greater muscle development, as the body experiences a higher workload.
During a calorie deficit, it’s important to take steps to prevent muscle loss and create the best possible conditions for your body to maintain or build muscle. This includes resistance exercise and dietary changes, especially protein management. Drastic caloric restriction can cause fast weight loss, but impact muscle growth. Slower weight loss may help maintain and build muscle while training.
Dietary Changes
There are many sustainable ways you can change your diet and maintain or gain muscle, including:
- Calorie Management: Aim to lower your calories by 250-500 per day. This amount is considered safe and less likely to cause muscle loss or prevent muscle gains than a more extreme caloric restriction.
- Protein intake: You may need as much as 2-3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. Beginners may see results at the lower end of that range, while experienced athletes with leaner body mass may need to start at the higher end. Additionally, increasing protein by about 2 grams per kilo of body weight for every meal may lead to lean muscle in people new to resistance training. For example, a person weighing 130 pounds may require between 45-50 grams of protein per meal to meet this goal.
- Other nutritional strategies: Research suggests that vitamin D, omega-3s (a type of fat) from fish oil, and leucine, a substance naturally found in foods like milk, eggs, and meat, may benefit muscle growth and function.
Physical Activity and Rest
Staying active is very important for maintaining or building muscle during a caloric deficit. Resistance training is an especially effective strategy for building muscle. While endurance exercise is beneficial, its effects on muscle growth are less certain.
Allow your body to rest and recover after exercise, especially high-intensity exercise, to preserve existing muscle and build more.
Achieving fat loss while building muscle requires strategic planning and consistency. Here are tips to help you succeed:
- Find a balance: When aiming for fat loss without sacrificing muscle, opt for a moderate calorie deficit. Pair this with resistance training to maintain strength and support muscle growth as you lose fat.
- Monitor your progress: Track your workouts, weight, measurements, and how you feel over time. If your lifts become easier or progress stalls, it may be time to increase weights, reps, or to switch up your routine.
- Increase your protein: To build muscle while in a calorie deficit, try getting about 2-3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily.
- Plan your meals: Prepare meals with quality lean protein, such as chicken, tofu, or Greek yogurt. Also, try incorporating whey protein powder, complex carbs, and healthy fats.
Start the day with a protein shake using:
- One 40-gram scoop of whey protein powder (about 26 grams of protein, 150 calories)
- A half cup of low-fat, plain Greek yogurt (about 12.5 grams of protein, 82 calories)
- One cup of reduced-fat milk (eight grams of protein, 120 calories)
- A half cup of berries (40 calories)
This comes out to about 45 grams of protein and 392 calories.
For lunch try:
- Six ounces of roasted skinless chicken (38 grams of protein, 192 calories)
- One teaspoon of olive oil (40 calories)
- A half cup of cooked quinoa (four grams of protein, 111 calories)
- One cup of steamed broccoli (30 calories).
- Season to taste with your favorite herbs and spices.
This dish totals 42 grams of protein and 373 calories.
Then, end your day with:
- Six ounces of grilled salmon (31.5 grams of protein, 178 calories)
- One teaspoon of olive oil (40 calories)
- A half cup of cooked lentils (nine grams of protein, 113 calories)
- A half cup of green beans (one gram of protein, 20 calories).
- Top it off with one ounce of plain, low-fat Greek yogurt ( about three grams of protein, 21 calories) and a sprinkling of chives.
This totals 44.5 grams of protein and 372 calories.
To build muscle while losing weight, consider more than just adding resistance training. Increasing protein intake is essential. You may need as much as 2.3-3.1 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, ideally spaced evenly throughout the day.
As you train and your body adapts, muscle-building capacity decreases. Keep track of your progress and adjust training as needed. Maintaining a slow and steady weight loss will be particularly beneficial if your goal is to increase your muscle mass.
