How To Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle: Tips And Tricks - Healthline

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HealthlineSubscribeHow to Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle

Medically reviewed by Jared Meacham, PhD., RD, CSCS — Written by Emily Cronkleton — Updated on January 10, 2025

Losing fat
Exercise
Diet
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Recovery
Talk with a pro
Takeaway

Eating a high protein diet, doing resistance training, and scheduling recovery time are some ways to help maintain muscle mass while losing weight.

Many people seek fat loss as a goal, but they may be concerned that they will also lose muscle along the way.

Research suggests that several dietary, fitness, and lifestyle strategies could help you lose fat while maintaining lean muscle mass.

Keep reading to learn more about how an exercise, recovery, and eating plan can help you lose fat without losing muscle.

What it takes to lose fat

Many behavioral, hormonal, genetic, medical, and environmental factors influence fat loss.

One of the most important components of fat loss is maintaining a calorie deficit. This refers to consuming fewer calories than you burn each day.

To lose fat safely, effectively, and sustainably, experts recommend aiming to lose up to 2 pounds (lb) weekly. This may comprise a daily calorie deficit of 500 to 750 calories.

It’s important to avoid very low calorie diets, which may involve consuming 1,000 to 1,500 calories per day.

Although these diets may lead to more rapid weight loss, research suggests they’re more likely to cause reductions in muscle mass and water weight rather than fat mass and body fat percentage.

Learn more about 12 tips to help you lose fat sustainably.

Exercise plans

Exercise plays a key role in fat loss and maintaining muscle mass.

Resistance training is one of the most important factors in maintaining muscle mass when you’re losing weight.

A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis examined studies on the effects of calorie restriction and resistance training in older adults with obesity. Individuals who did resistance training two to three times weekly for up to 6 months were able to prevent muscle loss while reducing fat mass and body weight.

Some examples of resistance training include:

weightlifting
bodyweight exercises
resistance band exercises

Incorporating aerobic (cardiovascular) exercises with resistance training may also benefit fat loss while preserving muscle mass.

However, consider structuring your workouts to limit doing too much cardio before resistance training.

A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis of studies including male participants found that moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise had a more negative impact on muscle strength than low intensity aerobic exercise.

Similarly, aerobic exercise that lasted longer than 30 minutes had more impact than shorter durations.

The studies did not include female participants, though, so more research is needed.

Some examples of aerobic exercise include:

brisk walking
running
cycling
soccer
boxing
hockey
basketball
volleyball
swimming
rowing
hiking
interval training

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends adults do the following weekly:

Resistance training: minimum 2 days, with a focus on targeting all muscle groups
Aerobic exercise: at least 150 minutes at a moderate intensity, or 75 minutes at a high intensity

If you’re unsure where to begin, consider speaking with a personal trainer. They could help develop an exercise program to target fat loss and muscle preservation.

Eating to maintain muscle

Eating a well-balanced diet that meets your nutritional and energetic needs is also key to maintaining muscle while optimizing fat loss.

In particular, research shows that eating a high protein diet while losing weight may be one of the most important factors in maintaining muscle mass, along with resistance training.

This is because protein helps promote protein synthesis, the process in which the building blocks of protein (amino acids) form into muscle mass. Protein may also help optimize fat loss by promoting feelings of fullness, boosting your metabolism, and enhancing muscle recovery.

Experts recommend spreading your protein intake throughout the day and aiming for 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (g/kg/bw).

Some protein options for gaining lean muscle include:

lean meats, such as turkey and chicken
seafood
low fat dairy products
eggs
tofu
nuts
beans
protein shakes

Protein is only one part of a balanced diet, though. Complex carbs and healthy fats can help you feel full and give you energy to prevent fatigue and muscle loss.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends focusing on eating and limiting the following foods:

Foods to eat	Foods to limit
• fruits• vegetables• lean proteins• whole grains• low fat dairy products• high fiber foods	• added sugars• ultra-processed foods• sugar-sweetened beverages• high salt foods• saturated fats• alcohol

It’s also important to stay hydrated throughout the day. Consider replacing any sugary beverages with drinks like water, unsweetened tea, coconut water, and fresh vegetable juice.

Nutrition and exercise

Eating the right foods before and after exercising could help you optimize your workouts to help you burn fat while maintaining muscle mass.

Consider eating a meal 60 to 90 minutes before exercising. This meal should prioritize carbs and protein with a small portion of healthy fats.

Carbohydrates play a key role in keeping your energy levels high during high intensity workouts and those that last longer than 60 minutes. Protein also helps increase muscle mass, strength, and power.

Fat is slower to digest, so eating too much could make you feel tired and sluggish.

After exercising, it’s important to replenish your body with nutrients like glycogen, protein, and insulin to help boost your energy levels, protein synthesis, and muscle recovery.

Within 4 to 6 hours after high intensity exercise, consider eating 1 to 1.5 g of carbs per kg of body weight and 0.4 g of protein per kg of body weight.

After resistance training, consider eating 40 g of protein and 0.5 g of carbs per kg of body weight.

Learn more about pre-workout nutrition and post-workout nutrition.

Try a supplement

Some research suggests that taking certain supplements could help improve muscle mass, recovery, and strength while promoting fat loss. These may include:

creatine
protein
polyunsaturated fatty acids

Taking supplements like caffeine and nitrate before exercising may also help boost muscular strength, which may help preserve muscle mass.

Before taking any supplements, it’s a good idea to speak with a healthcare professional. Some supplements may negatively interact with certain medications or conditions.

Schedule recovery time

Allowing enough time for adequate recovery is important for preventing fatigue, maintaining muscle mass, and getting the most out of your workouts.

Studies on how long it takes to recover from exercise vary widely, but some research suggests it could take 48 hours for muscles to fully recover after resistance training.

Recovery doesn’t mean remaining sedentary, however.

Instead, try scheduling your resistance training sessions so you focus on specific muscle groups. An example of this might be:

Day 1: upper body workout
Day 2: lower body workout
Day 3: full body recovery

Consider active recovery. A highly effective active recovery method is cold water immersion.

Light intensity exercise like walking could also help promote blood circulation and recovery without straining your muscles too much.

When to talk with a pro

Consider working with a personal trainer or registered dietitian if:

you’re new to exercising or changing your eating habits
you have an underlying health condition
you’re taking medication
you have any dietary needs

They could help develop an exercise and diet plan that meets your goals and fitness level. They’ll also ensure that you’re using the correct weights and proper form.

The bottom line

While you may end up losing a small amount of muscle mass along with excess fat, you can help manage it with a proper eating and exercise plan.

To support fat loss, maintain a calorie deficit while eating specific amounts of protein, carbs, and fresh fruits and vegetables per your body weight.

Focusing on getting enough exercise and recovery is also key to maintaining muscle mass.

Stay consistent in your approach, and continue to focus on your progress. Be sure to appreciate the benefits of your hard work.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

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Medically reviewed by Jared Meacham, PhD., RD, CSCS — Written by Emily Cronkleton — Updated on January 10, 2025

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