Daniel Cvrk.pt

If your goal is fat loss without losing muscle, focus on:

Protein
Aim for 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of body weight per day.

If you are 70 kg, your daily protein target would be between 112 g and 154 g of protein. Or, if you eat 4 times a day, aim to get between 30 to 40 g of protein per meal.

This is one of the simplest ways to support lean mass while you’re in a deficit.

Prioritise weight training

Strength training is the signal your body needs to keep muscle while you diet.

And yes, people can build muscle in a calorie deficit, especially if they’re newer to lifting or returning after time off.

Prioritise sleep

Poor sleep can increase hunger and cravings, reduce training intensity, and mess up recovery. Aim for 7 to 9 hours.

Building muscles in a calorie deficit
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26817506/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30103509/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19997019/
Protein targets
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22150425/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26960445/

Seated row machine can get busy, especially during peak hours, so here are my two favourite alternatives.

If you are using moderate weight, sitting on the bench will do the job. But if you are lifting heavier, the ground option with either a stepper or weights in front of you for foot support is usually better.

A low bar squat places the bar lower on your rear delts, which shifts more load toward your hips, glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

This usually means more forward torso lean, more posterior chain involvement, and often heavier loads.

A high bar squat with heel elevation keeps the bar higher on your traps while the raised heels improve ankle mobility, allowing your knees to travel further forward and your torso to stay more upright.

This shifts more emphasis onto the quads and can reduce the hip demand.

Volume eating is a fat loss strategy where you eat foods that are high in volume but lower in calories, so you feel full while eating less overall.

It works by focusing on foods high in water, fibre, and protein, like potatoes, fruit, vegetables, lean meats, and Greek yogurt.

Fat loss comes from a calorie deficit, but hunger makes that hard.

Volume eating helps because

Water and fibre add bulk and help fill your stomach
Protein keeps you fuller for longer
Low calorie density means you can eat bigger portions for fewer calories

5 tips to lose fat without losing muscle and strength

#1 Lift weights
Research shows that training each body part twice a week is best for muscle growth, so if you do that in a calorie deficit, that’s your best chance to maintain or build muscle. An upper, lower, upper, lower training split is a great option, or if you can only train 3 times a week, a lower, upper, full body plan will work too.

#2 No need to do excessive cardio
Just set a step target and maintain that. Cardio can help, but it is not necessary.

#3 Set a calorie target below your maintenance
No need to be aggressive. A 500 calorie deficit per day is good. You will have enough calories to support your training, and you won’t starve yourself.

#4 Have a high protein, high fibre breakfast
It will keep your energy stable throughout the day and help you reach your protein targets.

#5 Get enough sleep
Some research shows that sleep deprivation can cause you to lose more lean muscle than fat when in a calorie deficit. So get enough sleep and be consistent. Bonus points if you go to sleep at the same time every day.

Aspartame is one of the most researched food additives we have. Big organisations like the World Health Organization, European Food Safety Authority, and FDA have all reviewed the evidence and agree it’s safe within normal intake.

Here’s what actually matters:

Aspartame gets broken down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. Sounds scary, but:
You get way more of these from normal foods (meat, eggs, fruit, veg)

The dose from diet drinks is tiny

That “poison” argument comes down to one thing: dose matters. Same as water, caffeine, anything.
The acceptable daily intake (ADI) is about 40 mg per kg bodyweight.

For an 80 kg person, that’s roughly 15–20 cans of diet soda per day
Reference:
https://mennohenselmans.com/is-aspartame-safe/

5 reasons you are not building muscles.

1. Not Training hard
If you’re not pushing close to failure, it’s probably too easy.
Aim for about 0–3 reps before failure.

2. Progressive overload
Your body won’t change if nothing changes.
You need to slowly do more over time.
More weight, more reps, or just better ex*****on.

3. Training frequency
Training a muscle twice per week is usually better than once.
Not because it’s special, but because it helps you get enough volume in.
Total weekly work matters most.

4. Protein intake
Around 1.6 grams per kilo is a good target.
That’s enough for most people to build muscle.

5. Calorie surplus
If you want to build muscle, you need to eat enough.
Small surplus, around 200–300 calories, is good enough.
Beginners can sometimes build without it, but this works best for most people.

3 reasons why you are not losing weight

1. Your body is not a calculator
Everyone burns calories a bit differently. Things like fidgeting, all those small movements you do without thinking, add up. Some people just move more during the day even if they look the same. So what a calculator gives you is only an estimate, not a precise number.

2. Your deficit might be too small
You might not be eating in a big enough deficit. If the deficit is very small, your body will try to hold onto energy. You might also start moving less without even noticing it. That makes fat loss much harder than it should be.

3. You are probably eating more than you think
This is very common. Small snacks, a bit more oil when cooking, slightly bigger portions. It all adds up quickly. Those hidden calories can easily cancel out your deficit without you realising it.