Preventing Muscle Loss On A Cut - Nutrition Strategies 

Dr: See you next time for the cardio portion me: no you wont

I found your channel about two months ago. I made more strength and size gains in two months with your beginner whole body split/concept than two years of Jeff Cavaliers advice and splits. I’m so glad I found this channel as well as, Alan Thrall, Eric helms, Jeff Nippard, Brian alshrue, and hybrid calisthenics; there more, but these are the main channels I follow.

No calories for 6 weeks got it! Thanks, Dr. Mike! LET'S HIT THE IRRROOOOOON! :)

He just sum up the last 3 years I spend in my college.

Mike always killing it in videos! Love his humor!

I am an archaeology student, and each summer we go digging camping style for 2/3 months. So each year is a challenge to keep as much size as possible while eating like crap and barely training, RP has really helped me to at least minimize muscle loss

The last part of the video, about how you can gain the lost muscle back quickly again, got me. If that is the case I won't be worried about it when I start my cut

I usually just add in tren and anavar, I don’t lose a pound of muscle 🙂

I do not possess the vocabulary to describe my love for this channel ❤️

Binge watching these videos. Super awesome 👍

Dr Mike, my favourite real Dr with a proper education. Thanks Doc for all the great free content.

I’m 7 - meals a day, 500- 300 cal deficit a week. Down to 98 from 112kg with basically zero muscle loss. Actually look like I’ve gained size in areas. Best cut yet 👌🏼 BTW I’m not natty, 250mg Test E a week

Good timing, im just ending Another video about how to Train on cut 💪🔥

Omg I needed this. I just realized I’ve been running on 1700 for 9 months straight, including a physical job and PPL 6 days a week. No wonder I hit a wall and feel like shit!!!

Let's get it.

This video doesn’t need validation, but as a dietitian I can say this is very well done

Please make this video again :)

Amazing video! I always appreciate the knowledge you openly share, as well as enjoy your personality.

Crazy to think we can get this information for free at any time on the internet. Crazy. So informative!!!

Thank you for sharing and trying to enlighten us in the muscle building world. Your knowledge is fathoms deep.

Awesome strategies. Just entered a $10,000 fitness challenge. Even though I'm great at holistic weight loss, cutting using macros is a totally new game for me. So this is new! Great timing Dr. Mike, thanks. --

First calculated cut after my first calculated cut after being a competition runner. This is massively helpful, thanks Doc 💪

I learned so much from Dr Mike always great info

Ur never gonna see this but u answered all my questions and I really appreciate it dude thanks a bunch

thing is if you lose 3 or 4 pounds a week which is possible by the way, any of the muscle you lose will come back very quickly once you go back to maintanice calories

I heard a floor of 0.5% of body weight is a better weekly weight loss target. So for 200lb bros like me that works out to 1lb. But for smaller people it scales accordingly. Otherwise great vid and just in time for me to start my cut next week

Carbs are protein SPARING, eat carbs!!! Listen to Mentzer!!!

Very timely

gonna call my wrinkles "face striations"

Great video Dr. Mike. I appreciate All the information!

Thanks, Doc! I need to add 100 calories daily in order to not lose muscle during my cut! I was cutting 600 calories which is too much. I shall keep this in mind!! However, even after 4 days I am starting to see a big difference.

SLEEP is massively important, and timing eating to aid sleep (or prevent sleep interruption) is very important. 1/2 tub of cottage cheese right before bed is great (30g casein). Some people do better with carbs before bed (sweet potato).

over the last month ive been losing 3-5 pounds a week and my lifts are still going up. been getting 1g/lb per day and eating 2000 calories but burning a ton off. using my muscles and giving them protein but also at a massive calorie deficit

Great video, thank you!

Yeah... so... I've failed at a couple of these. Mainly my fats are generally pretty high. I think it's because as a vegetarian my main sources of protein have fats inherently. Tofu/tempeh, cheese (I only eat low fat cheese), eggs (I've cut out many of the yolks), nuts (I don't eat peanut butter on a cut), seeds, faux meats, they have higher amounts of fat than something like chicken breast or fish. I've cut back on my fats for sure as I said, but I can eat anywhere between 60-80g per day on a 2200-2400 calorie diet at 73kg. It's funny because vegetarians and vegans usually have more tagalong carbs than fats, but my diet seems to be the opposite. I tend to favour more bio-available and complete proteins like tofu and soy-derivatives than beans and lentils. I still eat beans and lentils, but not as much as when I'm bulking. Also, my weight drops can be erratic and sudden. A week will go by and I've tracked accurately and only have lost 0.2kg of weight. I'll reduce calories marginally and the next week I'll have lost too much, something closer to 0.8kg in a week. I know how to track food, but my activity levels vary greatly. Some weeks I could do 15k steps each day; other weeks I'll only do 8k steps just because it was raining. My calories don't change in those weeks because I don't know how much to increase or decrease. I also live in Ireland, and if you look at what country has been in the lockdown nationally for the longest, yep, it's Ireland. Since March 2020 when the pandemic first took off, I've spent only about four months actually in the gym. All the other time was spent in the wet and rain doing Calisthenics. I've definitely made progress with it, but I don't know if it's as effective at maintaining muscle mass on a cut than weight training. All the other categories I've done all right with. This is my first cut since I started lifting seriously three years ago. It was desperately needed as I was too bloated.

What a great video. Thank you

Man, always straight to point. And funny 😂

Phenomenal video. Thanks Mike.

Great timing!

Great video on the cut calories VS. Cardio debate.

That was very helpful, thanks a lot!

Mike is basically a prophet

Can somebody tell me if this is too fast or not? As much feedback as yall will give me would be great. I started dieting at 192.2 5’11 at about 30% bf (totally guessing, haven’t tested). That was 7 weeks ago. I’m currently eating 2,000 calories/day, my maintenance is about 2,400, and I currently weigh 174.4 lbs at an estimated 26% bf. Might be a little bit of body dysmorphia in there but I’m trying to be as honest as possible. I just feel like based on Mike’s videos, I’m doing this too fast. HOWEVER, it’s working, and I don’t feel TOO stressed out with the diet, and I’m able to set new rep or weight pr’s on at LEAST 5 sets every training session. I hit about usually, tbh, 150g protein/day. I shoot for 180-200, but that only gets hit about 40% of the time. Should a reassess my plan, if so, how would you guys suggest? Thanks a ton to anybody who takes the time.

Awesome thanks

Any video on an aggressive minicut? meant for around 4-6 weeks?

HBD Dr Mike!

Damn I was just watching UF Pro's Guide to Special Forces Assessment & Selection | Physical Preparation & Overall Concept. That video is so accurate to what I have learned from Dr. Mike, and RP. You guys have to check it out!

damn i remember when charly was running on a 2000+ cal deficit and was hitting PR on a daily basis

Will the RP Injection Seat also be $15/month?

Mike: "Aim for 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight." Me at 300 lbs: 😩

why is anything longer than a 12 week deficit a calculated risk?

I might’ve misunderstood what you said, but in another video you said the opposite about not starting too aggressively. You recommended starting with as much of a deficit that doesn’t give you side effects ie crazy hunger, insomnia etc. And then as those symptoms start to creep up you add like 200 calories and so on. Isn’t that contradictory to starting with a small deficit and then lowering the calories as you go?

great video thanks

As a powerlifter I follow these same principles every time I cut for a meet. I have been able to lose 20-25lbs on multiple occasions with no significant loss in strength. I probably step on the scale like 10-15 times a day to get a better idea of how much my weight will fluctuate with a given amount of food, drink, cardio, time spent in the sauna, etc. 500kcal daily deficit, fasted cardio, 30-45min in the sauna, ~1g protein/lb bodyweight, intense but concise strength training, and eating the majority of calories before and after training has been a very productive protocol for me

but greg O.G showed an study that showed that it does not matter if you fast or eat 6 meals

Came for advice. Stayed for the obscure metaphors that somehow make sense

The best !

0:31-end

Thanks good video. Anything on reverse dieting and "maingaining"?

Howdy Dr. Mike. I'm 250 and the RP Diet app has me eating at 220g of protein. What do you think?

what if I have a lot to lose? Like, i'm 270 and 30% body fat. Getting 270g of protein and staying in a deficit is tough. And after 12 weeks I will still have a lot of weight to lose

"You know if you don't really want to use the injection seat" lmao 😂.

Would the 1g of protein per pound of body weight rule still apply for someone with a high body fat percentage (we're talking obese, approx 50% body fat)? Or can it safely be lowered to around 0.6g/lb? I fear I'm going to have to start eating family members to hit my daily protein!

Thanks for the video. I have a question, though. How big of an impact do anabolic steroids have when preserving muscle? I've heard claims of people going on hefty caloric deficits (upwards of 1,000) while continuing their intense training. They ended up preserving the majority of their muscle while stripping off the fat. Thoughts?

Im in cuting fase doing all this recomendations + Clembuterol

I have a question: I've trained consistently for the last 2 years, but due to circumstance, I haven't trained at all for the last month. How should I approach my return to training?

I feel like this info is very old school. Ketosis is extremely muscle sparing. What you're saying is true if you consume carbs and fats in your diet, but by eliminating carbs completely, things change.

Good stuff

Maybe someone can answer this for me. I’m on a pretty big cut right now. Looking to get shredded for a couple weeks. Eating about 500 calories below maintenance. If I’m hitting all the same strength numbers in the gym, can I assume that I’m not losing any muscle?

Mike if I’m 195 lbs and in 8 weeks I want to drop 8ish lbs, as the scale goes down that’s how I’m measuring my protein and fat intake; you mentioned 3.5 x body weight. Is that multiplied by current and as you progress is adjusted or is that multiplied by your target? I feel like that’s a question a lot of newbs ask is weather on a cut or bulk are they aligning their macros to this target fantasy or is it a graduate fluid adjustment based on progress? I’m assuming the latter. Thank you!

What if I'm dieting from 30% to like 15%

So I've been doing something kinda unconventional for losing weight. For some context im a fat marine whose cutting weight for bcp, I need to be able to run and do pullups n shit. Ive been eating 3000 calories a day with a maitenance cal of 2500 calories. But I do about 1000 calories worth of cardio as aerobic base building being the main goal to amplify my run times. In about 3 weeks I've lost almost 3 lbs. My weight range has gone from 215 down to 212 which seems pretty decent. But my physique and strength have gotten slightly better in some regards. For reference my macro split is 50carb/35/protein/15fat. Some variation occurs but i never go above .3g of fat per lb of body weight. Generally I hit almost 400 carbs on average each week with 230g of protein and about 50-70g of fat. The carbs are mostly complex. With the occasional yum yums on the days I earn it through extra cardio. So far my recovery has been fucking absurd from what I' used to. Im never sore after 8 hours of sleep no matter how hard I go. Ive been implementing more eccentric tension because I wanna make sure im stimulating my muscles during weight training seshes. Now I'm not really pushin crazy PRs but I'm getting way better cardiovascular performance. My strength is improving, i think a contributer to that is I only lift after eating and I only do cardio at the end of my PT. I wanna prioritize the anaroebic exercises with full glycogen stores or wtf its called. I'd really like to have Mike look into this style of dieting for people who cut weight but need to perform for their job (1st responders, military, laborours, etc) I also make sure to sleep 8 hours when I can and it sucks cause I got a tator tot 10 month old who smacks tf out of me when she wants love. Recently to still feel slayed (i like pain 🫡🖍😘) ive been doing 2 gym seshes. Leg day in the mornin Upper body split in the afternoon ending it with 1 to 1.5 hours of cardio depending on my schedule. Each weight session is about 1.3 hours and its constant lifting. I dont bullshit on my phone unless its being a dope ass dj for my playlist I am a beginer and that's my main theory on why I am not plateau'ing as much as expected being in a 500 net calorie defecit on average.

awesome

Can you drink sugared soda and retain muscle mass?

I would Love to see Dr.Mike and That dnake diet guy on a podcast 🤣🤣🤣

8:14!!!

I find it really hard to keep protien up to a gram per pound and still be in a calorie deficit. It's usually more like .75 g per pound. I suppose I could add cardio or eat a bunch of tuna cans.

I just got shocked when I realized that 1g/lbs protein actually means like 6 to 9 burger patties or same chicken fillets a day and fills 1500 kcal. If you don't count the smaller amount of protein from other sources. I tried the fitness pal app and managed a bit over 1g/kg of protein a day when I focused on filling daily calories with healthy food and portion ratios, with somewhat protein weighted snacks. I'm dead. And my poor wallet is dead. Maybe I'm still small enough to manage with that... Or need the protein supplements to have it somewhat reasonable.

Gram per pound, is that strictly whey and animal protein ? Does the amount of protein that is included in rice, pasta, and oats count in the protein total ?

I feel like most of this particular Information is highly targeted to the advanced. I'm a fan because I am a fan of the sciences. What I learned as someone who has "leaned" out to an entire 20% bf I just need not eat so much

What about for post bariatric patients?

What do you Think Mike about cutting the fat down to 0,25 range If you are enhanced? Is that to advice?

How do you recommend changing to maintenance macros in the RPDiet app?

I doubt very many “want more fat to loose” 3:56 I assume he meant have 🤷‍♂️

I have 28kg to lose before summer in Australia what should I do I already put the fork down eating 1600 cal a day and got my ass off the couch working out 6 days a week doing Arnold's encyclopaedia level one workout

A little Freudian slip is the funniest thing I ever heard.. pulling the injection seat always makes things easier

I'm obese right now at 277lbs. Should I do 1 gram of protein per pound, or lean body mass.

I burn 3,800 average but only eat 2,700. I'm gaining fat and losing muscle.plz save me

What about ephedrine (primatene)? I heard this prevents muscle loss is big deficits. Any feedback?

Ah, so it's impossible for me then. I have to eat 1700-1800 cals to lose weight WHILE training those are about maintenance if im not training. im 122kg which is 270lbs. There is literally NO WAY to eat 270g of protein AND eat 1700 calories. I also have insulin resistance so 4 meals a day is something that isn't generally recommended for me AND I have to lower carb intake. On top of that I have to eat low fat because of my NAFLD. I'm a beginner anyway but I'm way too fat to be caring about that stuff. I'll just do like I did the first month, over 500cal deficit and just focus on losing weight. Maybe I'll worry about that when I get to 100kg Its way too early for now. What I do is a month of weight loss focus and a month of a very small deficit and more protein and training. First month I lost 10kg 2nd month I lost 4. Now this 3rd month will be weight loss focused again.

As others have said, tren negates all of this. As long as you train and in a deficit with adequate protein, tren will probably build muscle in your diet

Is it normal to have somewhat elevated blood sugar with a high carb diet?

Simple, just eat the following: Trenbologna sandwiches, broccolone, chicktren, riceavar and duck eggs. 💪🏾

What if i am in a 1000 cal (got there slowly) deficit and do not feel hungry at all, is that ok? Am i eating too much? My regular intake is about 20% protein, 50% carbs and 30 fats. I am in my 40's. It is my sixth week of fat loss deficit. Lift 6 days a week, lower upper split.

I have a lot of muscle but my maintenance seems to be low like 2200 calories. Would 1800 cals a day with 160g of protein be safe? I'm 200 lbs overweight 170 lean

24 lbs in 12 weeks 😂😂 try 32 as of this morning haha! my squat strength went up 20lbs+ too bench took a small hit but w/e 🤭🤭 hehe muscle comes back quick ill look hella joothy when i can hop back on maintenance in june. Definitely not gonna get fat like that again tho ill tell yew h'what

Face striations and forehead veins here I come!

What if you’re 30+ % body fat? Still a gram per pound? Or more like .8

Crazy to see you two years ago

You know, if you're cutting for a show, you still have to have something left to... show 😁