High Protein Low Calorie Diet: Will it work?

Zertec

I want to cut my weight a fair bit, but I don't want to lose too much muscle. Searching online, I've seen a lot of people advocating for a high protein but low calorie diet. I'm afraid that if I start this diet, I'll be losing out on nutrients from other high calorie foods and potentially harm my body. Does anyone have any recommendations on what my meals should consist of? Thanks in advance.

psuLemon

Long term, especially if you want to gain or maintain muscle during your journey, to go with a more moderate deficit and a good lifting program to help with your journey. A very low calorie diet is often associated with lower success rates.

Lietchi

I don't know what numbers we're talking about when you say 'low calorie', but I second the idea of aiming for a moderate calorie deficit, not an extreme one. That's usually more sustainable.

Higher protein intake is a good idea to help with satiation and lower the likelihood of muscle loss, but here too no need to go extreme. Around 1g per lb of goal weight could be a good starting point.

As for what to eat: I would propose gradually adapting your current menu. The important thing is to get to a good calorie intake (the basis of losing weight) and then you can start making changes to adapt your protein intake if necessary and other optimisations.
I believe in gradual changes instead of overhauling everything in one go.

Without knowing the foods you like and are currently eating, it's a bit hard to give concrete suggestions.

neanderthin

Weight training with a moderate deficit is more manageable. Getting around 1g of protein per lb of lean mass is sufficient, otherwise it just gets wasted. Weight resistance is the 900lb gorilla in maintaining and growing muscle, not protein. imo

kshama2001

What do you get for a protein recommendation here?

https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/

I shoot for @ 500 calories of exercise per day, and when I do, using the MFP default of 20% protein aligns with the protein recommendation from examine. If I were completely sedentary, I'd need to bump it up to 30%.

I recommend a structured lifting program, moderate protein, and a calorie deficit that is not aggressive.