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![How many calories below your expenditure should you eat to lose fat at an optimal rate, while sparing / gaining muscle mass?
2 meta-analyses (high quality evidence) show that for overweight / obese people it doesn't matter much how quickly they lose weight until they reach 22-25% (males) body fat: they will probably retain their muscle [2, 3].
I do stress that keeping your protein moderately high (>1.2 g / kg bodyweight) is important for this [4].
What if you get leaner than 20% body fat?
One well designed experiment in non-overweight, weight training people compared a smaller calorie deficit of 19% (slow route) to a bigger one of 30% (fast route) in non-overweight [1].
In non-overweight, slower weight loss can actually preserve (or enhance) your muscle while dropping similar amounts of fat.
🎬 Action points
- When you get leaner than ~20% body fat, start with a 20% calorie deficit that gets smaller over time to preserve muscle mass: aim for 0.5 - 0.75% body weight loss per week.
- When you're quickly getting weaker on one of the main lifts (bench press, squat, etc.): ouch! See if you can lose weight more slowly.](https://i2.wp.com/bodylogiq.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png?w=1728&ssl=1)
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