Keep a small deficit, eat high protein, and keep lifting heavy to hold muscle while fat drops.
To lose fat and keep muscle, run a modest calorie deficit of around 300 to 500 calories a day so you lose roughly 0.5 to 1 percent of bodyweight per week. Eat 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, and keep training heavy with the same intensity you used to build muscle. The combination of enough protein and a strength stimulus tells your body to burn fat and preserve muscle.
A crash deficit strips muscle along with fat, so aim to lose about 0.5 to 1 percent of bodyweight per week. That usually means eating 300 to 500 calories below maintenance, adjusted by watching the scale trend over two to three weeks.
High protein preserves lean mass in a deficit and keeps you full. Hit 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kg of bodyweight daily, spread across meals, and keep resistance training as your main driver.
Dropping your weights signals your body it no longer needs the muscle. Keep the intensity and load high, train each muscle 10 or more hard sets a week, and let cardio and steps assist the deficit rather than replace lifting.
Keep a small deficit, eat high protein, and keep lifting heavy to hold muscle while fat drops.
