6 Habits That Are Making You Lose Muscle Not Fat

Eating less calories than it takes to maintain your basal metabolism (i.e., the minimum energy your body needs at rest for things like breathing and keeping your organs going) puts your body into starvation mode, where it burns both fat and muscle for fuel. “Your body’s main goal is to keep you alive, so it’s going to make sure that you have enough energy for basic functions,” says Matheny.

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“When you’re not taking in enough calories, your body takes from stored carbs (glycogen), stored fat, and protein from muscle,” explains Nick Clayton, C.S.C.S., the personal training program manager for the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Exactly how many calories is too few depends on your current weight, although no one should dip below 1,000 calories.

The solution: To maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss, Clayton recommends a deficit of between 500 to 1,000 calories from your current daily intake, with about half coming from calories you’ve cut and half from exercise.

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