Why The Size of Your Calorie Deficit Matters

Most people burn muscle by dieting too aggressively; yet few other solutions are offered.

When shedding fat,

The size of a calorie deficit

A properly tuned calorie deficit

is the lynchpin that

makes or breaks

even the most efficient and

disciplined person’s

physical transformation.

Training, sleep, recovery,

performance milestones,

nutrient density:

Can all be perfect.

Yet if you undereat…

Your results?

Lackluster.

“Skinnyfat,” is an ugly term.

But it’s used to describe

the “look” a physique takes

when one indiscriminately

burns off muscle

for the sake of watching the

number on the scale

continue to decrease.

TORCHED PHYSIQUES

bodyweight decrease.

If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t engage in

such a stressful and uphill

process like weight loss.

Yep. Been there.

Indiscriminate weight loss is for

people whose weight has become

extreme enough that it beckons they

rapidly attain a lighter bodyweight

to reverse or prevent disease.

Whereas the desire to just

indiscriminately lose more weight

is not an appropriate attitude

for a fitness enthusiast.

It’s not the goal. Not at all.

Of course, the most superficial goal,

that most people start with,

Is just the desire to look good.

Not necessarily to be lighter.

Yeah, you will likely be

lighter when you’re done, but that

depends on where you’re starting.

And even if you never ascribe to an

enjoyable athletic goal to

accompany your desire

to look good- _{(hint hint)}

this process of acquiring a more

attractive body has to be

constrained by effective principles.

For the sake of health- The process of acquiring a more attractive body has to be constrained by effective principles.

The goal is retaining muscle,

while reducing fat.

This is referred to as

“body recomposition,”

in the fitness world.

Retaining muscle while reducing

fat is the whole of fitness law,

until you’re at a place

of healthy maintenance,

regardless of how you train.

We increase muscle mass through

conditioning and resistance training,

which in turn lowers heartrate,

increases VO2 Max,

strengthens the lungs and heart,

staves off disease,

makes you feel better

anddddd

makes you look juicy.

But when you’re on a crash diet…

You look in the mirror and feel like:

“I look better…? I think?

Wait… I don’t think I do!

But the scale went down??”

You’ve watched the scale decrease,

progress must be being made….

RIGHT??

When a person’s

training is dialed in,

but they’re compulsively

focused on watching those

worshipped digits go down…

The waste that overtakes

their hard effort… Is a tragedy.

It’s an awful sight and feeling.

To feel you look mediocre

after all that work.

I know, because I’ve done it.

Muscle just makes you fit

differently into your clothes,

in a satisfying way.

“Weigh more than fat,”

as is so commonly claimed…

A pound is a pound,

whether muscle or fat-

no matter what.

Sixteen ounces.

Four-hundred-fifty-four grams.

Muscle is more dense than fat,

meaning a pound of muscle takes up

MUCH LESS space than a pound of fat.

That’s what people are trying to express

with this common falsehood, and why

people often look more impressive

even after gaining weight

from resistance training.

Heavier, but physique looks better =

The weight gained was muscle.

So, how big should

my calorie deficit be?

For a looooooong time.

With no cheat days.

Just a few cheat meals here or there.

Instead of the classic,

pull-your-hair-out,

500 calorie deficit,

going mach-5 between

dropping your kids off at school

making it to work

to be T-Boned by your client’s

or boss’s problems

then lose your mind over

whether to eat an extra bag of chips.

Then fall off the wagon

due to the aggressive hunger

you’ve caused yourself

by being unreasonable

in your expectations.

I know, this means you actually have

to change your habits to maintain new

behaviors daily,

while your other more established priorities

compete for the same

willpower and airspace.

Yep.

Instead of temporarily going crazy

by unrealistically

changing everything about

the way you eat and live,

some late night on a sunday,

in an extreme, spaced-out

attempt to achieve greatness–

…for ninety days, before

you drive yourself nuts

and give up before repeating

the process again next year.

I’ve done it.

Maybe you’ve done it.

That’s the American way, baby, and

there’s money in it.

Ridiculous new products and diets

everywhere promising the world,

for just four easy payments of $9.95…

(And a lot of obsessive-compulsive behavior.)

You know that annoying mom of three

who rocks a cheeky bikini with abs

and looks great doing it?

Know how she got there?

• 1. Weight training. (Consistently with increasing weight.)
• 2. Reasonable Cardio (Programming that signals adaptation not extreme stress)
• 3. A small calorie deficit for a long time. (Often months or years.)

And before you go telling me that

this time-table is

unreasonable or unhealthy-

Remember the word, “Small.”

(And that “diets” are generally

impermanent and psychologically unhealthy,

whereas permanent habit change

forever betters health.)

100-200 calories a day is not

gonna kill anybody.

The body is made to do this.

That’s why we have

the ability inborn.

Small can be done

in a gradual and healthy way.

Sudden and intense,

never works.

It’s an adjustment, digging the foundation

with a shovel one day at a time-

instead of attacking the goal

with a backhoe.

A small calorie deficit,

while tedious:

• Will not spike your cortisol and suppress your ghrelin extremely like high-deficit “diets.”
• Will not leave you at the end of every day with insurmountable hunger.
• Will not burn off muscle from workout strain due to underfeeding / insufficient nutrient support for recovery.
• Leaves caloric room for appropriate protein intake without starving you of all treats / glucose. (Reasonable treats keep your brain healthy. I have a Klondike EVERY NIGHT.)
• Burns fat slowly, allowing you to maintain strength or build strength while losing fat. (This is impossible otherwise, and strength loss = muscle loss.)
• Will turn the anxiousness and sleeplessness of a severe deficit into occasional sleep interruptions and hangriness.
• Can actually be achieved when paired with discretion and days off every now and then, versus the crash diet that never works.

Yeah, you’ll still feel it. You’re

“going without.”

But anyone can do it if they

establish a supportive environment.

A small calorie deficit over the

long-term is the well-hidden

lynchpin to training toward

a better body.

It works.

It does take Jedi patience

and self-control.

So pretty much only those who are

totally determined

yet also unwilling to punish themselves

accomplish this.

I tend to brag about

how I don’t hook people

with gimmicky secrets…

But this… Actually is a secret.

An answer found through trials,

because almost no one knows this

due to the extreme and compulsive

rhetoric and sales methods

crowding fitness culture.

So, next time you’re

frisky to get lean,

Keep the calorie deficit small.

Train consistently versus harder.

Find some cardio that you don’t

hate, to link your physique goal

with a fun goal…

And your body will transform!

^{all posts are written by Jameson personally, without the use of AI.}

Jameson Blade, CPT

Founder & Trainer

ph: (313) 970-0072

em: jameson@brightonfit.com