Cutting Without Losing Muscle: The Four Rules

Anyone can lose weight. The trick is making sure the weight you lose is fat, not the muscle you spent years building. Four rules cover almost all of it.

1. Keep the deficit moderate

A 300 to 500 calorie daily deficit loses fat at a rate your muscle can survive. Crash diets read as famine to your body, and muscle is expensive tissue it will happily burn.

2. Protein goes up, not down

On a cut, aim for the top of the range: 2.0 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. Protein defends muscle and keeps you full. This is where an isolate earns its place, delivering protein with minimal calories attached.

3. Keep lifting heavy

Muscle stays when it has a reason to stay. Do not switch to light-weight high-rep circuits. Keep the weight on the bar and accept slightly lower volume.

4. Sleep like it is your job

Under-sleeping shifts weight loss away from fat and toward lean mass, and it spikes hunger hormones the next day. Seven hours is the floor.