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Nutrition

A short guide to losing fat and gaining muscle

7 min read · Evidence-based

No myths, no miracle diets. Just the principles that actually work to change your body composition: go slow, track your numbers and prioritise protein.

The rule that changes everything: speed

Whether you want to lose fat or gain muscle, the most common mistake is going too fast. The evidence is clear: slow changes preserve muscle when you cut and minimise fat when you build. Rushing almost always costs you muscle — exactly what you most want to keep.

Losing fat: 0.5–1% of bodyweight per week

The evidence-based recommendation for losing fat while keeping muscle is roughly 0.5 to 1% of your bodyweight per week. For an 80 kg person, that's about 0.4–0.8 kg per week. It may sound slow, but it's exactly what separates a successful cut from losing muscle along with the fat.

A landmark study compared athletes losing weight at 0.7% versus 1.4% per week. The slow group gained 2.1% lean mass while leaning out; the fast group gained none and lost some muscle. Same weight loss, completely different outcome.

Prefer a professional to design and adjust this process for you? See how we work as a personal trainer for weight loss in Barcelona.

Gaining muscle: slow, to avoid storing fat

To build muscle you need a slight calorie surplus — but only slight. Muscle builds slowly (an experienced lifter might gain perhaps 0.25–0.5 kg of muscle per month at best), so eating in large excess just adds fat you'll have to lose later. A moderate surplus producing slow weight gain is optimal.

The tool: tracking calories and macros

You can't manage what you don't measure. Tracking your calories — with an app like MyFitnessPal — for a few weeks gives you a real picture of what you eat. You don't have to do it forever, but learning to estimate portions and know your numbers is what makes progress predictable instead of random.

Consistency with moderate numbers beats perfection with extreme numbers. Almost every time.

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Scientific references

Helms et al. (2014). Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr.

Garthe et al. (2011). Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength in elite athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab.

Morton et al. (2018). Protein supplementation and resistance training: systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med.

Murphy & Koehler (2022). Energy deficiency impairs resistance training gains in lean mass. Scand J Med Sci Sports.

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