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Are you certain it only subtracts from fat? From my understanding, you will also lose muscle too (especially without exercise)
by johntiger1 7y ago
Are you certain it only subtracts from fat? From my understanding, you will also lose muscle too (especially without exercise)
- Mountain_Skies 7y agoThe body has a very strong preference for burning fat rather than muscle. Breaking down muscle for energy is a last resort. The reason why conventional wisdom says you can't lose fat without losing muscle is because most diets put the dieter into a larger calorie deficit than the body can support through burning stored body fat. The 0.9% number is very important here. Go over it, and yes, your body will try to find energy elsewhere which includes your muscles. That's why I said to start with a 50% margin of safety. Also it's important to keep in mind that the body isn't a set of binary switches. There are many feedback loops, buffers, and redundant systems beyond the simple model I presented, which is another reason to not go 100% on this. 50% though will help ration food out for a longer period of time without getting into a situation at the end of the crisis period with too large of a calorie deficit to function properly or to prevent muscle breakdown.