Body drying guide: how to lose fat and not lose muscle

In bodybuilding, drying usually follows weight gain. Initially, the builder builds muscle with the help of strength training, a calorie surplus and a large amount of protein. Then, when the muscles are already enough, the caloric content of the diet is reduced. As a result, the percentage of fat decreases, and the relief becomes more pronounced.

Weightlifters, powerlifters, boxers and other athletes who are forced to adapt to weight categories also go through this period. In this case, the goal is not a good relief of muscles, but the necessary number on the scales while maintaining strength indicators.

Regardless of the purpose, the methods of drying and the body's reaction to this stressful period are approximately the same. Therefore, the rules of effective weight loss will not differ.

The universal rule of weight loss says: to reduce the percentage of fat, you need to create a calorie deficit. In other words, consume less than spend. At the same time, it does not matter how it is achieved: reduced caloric intake, increased activity, or both. If the body does not have enough energy, it starts burning fat reserves.

It is believed that to lose a kilogram of fat, you need to spend 7716 kcal. It turns out that this can be achieved in a month if you reduce your daily diet by 250 calories. And if you limit yourself even more, for example by 500 kcal, you will burn 2 kilograms.

It sounds logical, but when it comes to the body, mathematical models do not work. The problem is that our body is perfectly adapted to survive in starvation conditions and has a number of metabolic adaptations for this:

Energy consumption is reduced. In response to a lack of calories, the body reduces the production of thyroid hormones, including triiodothyronine, which regulates metabolic rate. As a result, you spend less energy on both life support and physical activity.
Hunger intensifies. Reduced caloric intake and weight loss reduce the level of leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells that regulates satiety. And the concentration of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, increases. As a result, you want to eat all the time.
Muscles burn. A lack of calories lowers the level of anabolic hormones insulin and testosterone and increases the concentration of cortisol - a glucocorticoid that contributes to the breakdown of muscle tissue. As a result, along with fat, you lose muscle mass.

The more deficit you create, the more vivid these adaptations are. Moreover, they persist even after you increase the caloric content of the diet. That is why, getting off solid diets, people tend to quickly return to their previous weight or gain even more, and frequent drying of athletes increases the risk of overweight.

Thus, the main task during drying is to avoid metabolic adaptations of the body to hunger. And the main way to do this is to act gradually.

Both scientists and trainers agree that it is most effective to lose 0.5-1% of body weight per week. This speed allows you to avoid a sharp decrease in metabolism, lose fat and maintain and even build muscle. At the same time, you should take into account your own characteristics.

The higher the percentage of body fat, the less muscle you will lose on a diet.

Thus, if you have a high percentage of body fat, in the first weeks of drying you can use more aggressive diets to lose 1.5% of your weight per week. Provided proper nutrition and training, this speed will not lead to loss of muscle mass.

Over time, when the percentage of fat in the body will decrease, you should switch to a softer diet so that the muscles do not go away. In the second month, aim to lose 1% of your weight per week, in the third - up to 0.5% per week.

If you want to dry yourself and are not tied to any deadline, there will be no problems. Just watch your weight and adjust your calorie intake so that you don't lose more than a kilogram per week.

If you need the result by a certain date, start drying 8-12 weeks before it. It is not recommended to continue drying longer than this period: even with a small deficit of calories, a long diet will negatively affect the metabolic rate, the percentage of muscle mass and your indicators.

To lose the desired percentage of weight per week, you need to reduce the caloric content of the diet. To save muscles, you need to choose the right percentage of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Below we will analyze how to do this.

To begin with, cut the daily caloric intake by 250-300 kcal and observe the results. If you start losing 0.5-1% of weight per week, maintain this regime until the weight stops. If there is no progress, you can add more physical activity, for example, 2-3 cardio sessions per week, and see if the pounds come off.

In the absence of results, try to reduce consumption by 500 kcal per day. With the correct ratio of macronutrients and strength training, such a diet will not lead to loss of muscle mass.

If the weight still does not change, try to add more physical activity or look for the problem elsewhere. For example, without good sleep, a high level of stress or hormonal disorders.

If you have started losing more than 1.5% of your body weight per week, you should reduce the deficit to slow down the weight loss and preserve the muscles.

The most important macronutrient for drying the body is protein. It enhances the feeling of satiety and accelerates metabolism, and also helps maintain a positive protein balance. This is a condition in which the synthesis of protein in the muscles exceeds its breakdown.

Most bodybuilders and athletes consume 2.3–3.1 g of protein per kg of fat-free body weight during drying. This indicator can be calculated using "smart" scales with bioimpedance analysis. If you don't have access to these, use a calculator with average values for men and women.

You can also find out the required amount of protein by body weight in general. Research data shows that 2.4–2.5 g of protein per kg of body weight is enough to protect the body from loss of muscle mass under hypocaloric conditions.

It is important to monitor the amount of fat. They are needed in food to avoid hormonal disturbances during drying. Specifically, to maintain normal testosterone levels, consume at least 15-20% of your calories from fat.

Carbohydrates are needed to maintain high performance during training. Calculate the required amount of proteins and fats, and finish the remaining calories with carbohydrates.

If you notice that your performance in class has dropped dramatically, increase your carbohydrate intake over fat and see how it affects your performance and weight.

In order to preserve muscles, it is important to continue strength training and make it no less intense than before drying. You can also add cardio for additional calorie expenditure, but on the condition that they do not reduce your performance in strength exercises.

You should not change the mode of operation to many repetitions with light weights. You'll use cardio to burn calories, and the goal of strength training remains the same — to give your muscles a stimulus to grow.

Use the following scheme:

Train each muscle group twice a week. You can use four-day or five-day splits.
Perform 6-12 repetitions in a set with 70-80% of one-repetition maximum (1RM). On average, do about 40-70 repetitions per muscle group per workout.
Rest 1-3 minutes between sets.
Do not use approaches to muscle failure in complex multi-joint movements such as squats, deadlifts, standing and bench presses, and incline presses. You can use them only in simple single-joint movements on small muscle groups.

Load the body heavily, but remember that your body is in a state of stress due to lack of nutrition. If you feel like you can't finish a set with good technique, quit. It is better not to finish than to be injured.

Cardio is a great way to increase your calorie deficit, but don't get too carried away with aerobic exercise.

Long cardio sessions tire the central nervous system (CNS) no less than strength training. As a result, you will burn more calories, but at the same time, you will reduce the volume of strength loads and lose muscle mass.

Do no more than 4-5 cardio sessions per week. If strength indicators decrease, reduce the amount or time of aerobic exercise.

You can also replace long cardio with high-intensity interval training - they will allow you to burn a lot of calories and spend less time on training. As for the effect on the central nervous system, short intense loads are less expensive than long work at an average pace. But still, you should not perform VIIT every day: due to the high intensity, the risk of injury increases, especially if you also do strength exercises.

You can alternate different types of aerobic exercise, for example, do two long sessions at an average pace and two VIIT per week. In any case, perform cardio after strength training - this way you will start working with weights with a fresh CNS and will be able to perform the required amount of muscle support.

In addition to nutrition and training, it is very important to provide the body with all conditions for quality recovery. Here are some important points.

Lack of sleep increases ghrelin levels, which increases hunger and cravings for sugary foods, negatively affects protein balance, slows recovery, and reduces your ability to lose fat.

Chronic stress increases the level of cortisol and decreases the level of adiponectin, a hormone involved in the breakdown of fat. You cannot influence external factors, but you can change the reaction to them. For this, for example, master relaxation techniques - meditation and breathing practices.

Irregular meals are another stress for the body. Eat 3-6 times a day around the same time.

Get a massage, use a massage roller, start taking BCAA - all these methods help reduce delayed muscle soreness, avoid stiffness and loss of strength 24-72 hours after exercise.

After reaching the desired percentage of fat or the competition for which you were preparing, you should not sharply increase the caloric content of the diet. No matter how hard you try to speed up your metabolism, it will still decrease during drying.

A sharp transition to the old diet can lead to rapid weight gain.

To prevent these changes, eliminate the calorie deficit gradually over several weeks. The "reverse diet" will help restore the level of circulating hormones, increase the metabolism and not return the pounds of fat that have just been shed.