How little protein I can eat to not lose muscle while cutting?

[2xj_m]

I know that in order to achieve the best results I need to consume 0.82g per pound of Body Weight. If I really wanted to be sure, I should consume 1g to 1.2g gram. 

However on days that I simply cannot achieve that how little protein  should I consume to not lose any muscle mass? 

I am asking, because I want to prepare worst case scenarios for myself, when my career/life purpose/life circumstances will be preventing me from cooking a protein dense meal. 

Edited January 29, 2023 by 2xj_m

[Jannes]

@2xj_m You are asking a specific question without mentioning the specific circumstances so it’s not possible to answer that.

-You say you are cutting, how big is the calorie deficit?

-How much bf do you have?

-How much do you weight train? If you are stimulating muscles multiple times a week the body has more of an incentive to keep the muscle (although too much is also counterproductive because the body needs protein for recovery) ?

-How many years have you been training?

-Sleep/Stress 

All of these factors are important and influence how much protein you need to keep your muscles. 

But muscle memory is a thing. Even if you loose a bit of muscle it’s not hard to get it back. 

Edited January 29, 2023 by Jannes

[2xj_m]

4 hours ago, Jannes said:

@2xj_m You are asking a specific question without mentioning the specific circumstances so it’s not possible to answer that.

-You say you are cutting, how big is the calorie deficit?

-How much bf do you have?

-How much do you weight train? If you are stimulating muscles multiple times a week the body has more of an incentive to keep the muscle (although too much is also counterproductive because the body needs protein for recovery) ?

-How many years have you been training?

-Sleep/Stress 

All of these factors are important and influence how much protein you need to keep your muscles. 

But muscle memory is a thing. Even if you loose a bit of muscle it’s not hard to get it back. 

My deficit is about 500 kcal. I have about 28% bodyfat. I do weight lifting 3 times a week full body, with 1 day of push emphasis, 1 day of pull emphasis & 1 day leg emphasis. I've been training on-and-off for about 1.5 years, however not very optimally. I sleep everyday for about 7 hours. Stress depends on the time, due to me being a university student. 

I've been doing this for about 4 weeks and I've lost around 4kg of weight.

[Jannes]

57 minutes ago, 2xj_m said:

My deficit is about 500 kcal. I have about 28% bodyfat. I do weight lifting 3 times a week full body, with 1 day of push emphasis, 1 day of pull emphasis & 1 day leg emphasis. I've been training on-and-off for about 1.5 years, however not very optimally. I sleep everyday for about 7 hours. Stress depends on the time, due to me being a university student. 

I've been doing this for about 4 weeks and I've lost around 4kg of weight.

Okay if you are 28% bodyweight your body likes to loose that fat so preserving muscle is easy. Does emphasis mean you only train the muscles you mentioned or just more? If you stimulate muscles multiple times a week (even its the same volume as with less frequency) it’s easier to maintain them. With 1.5 years on and off and not optimal training you likely haven’t even gotten all of your newbie gains so maintaining muscle is a lot easier. 7 hours isn’t optimally but it’s okay. Honestly I think you could get away with something like 0.6g protein / pound of bodyweight because it’s relatively easy for you to maintain muscle because of your muscle composition even in a deficit. I am not a nutritionist or anything but from all the information I gathered from fitness YouTubers over the years that would probably be the consensus. 

Edited January 29, 2023 by Jannes

[2xj_m]

8 hours ago, Jannes said:

Does emphasis mean you only train the muscles you mentioned or just more? 

Here is my workout regime, I usually add an ab exercise at the end

 

Workout 1: Full Body (pull emphasis)

Barbell row 3x6-8

Lat pulldown 3x8-10

Incline dumbbell bench press 3x8-10

Walking dumbbell lunge 3x8-10

Facepulls 3x12-15

Dumbbell bicep curl 3x10-12

 

Workout 2: Full Body (push emphasis)

Bench Press 4x4-6

Overhead press 4x6-8

Chest-supported dumbbell row 3x8-10

Leg press 3x10-12

Lying leg curl 3x10-12

Lateral raise 3x10-12

Rope pushdown 3x10-12

 

Workout 3: Full Body (leg emphasis)

Squat 4x4-6

Romanian deadlift 4x6-8

Bench press 3x8-10

Seated cable row 3x8-10

Seated dumbbell shoulder press 3x8-10

Barbell curl 3x12-15

Skull crushers 3x12-15

[Jannes]

@2xj_m You forgot calves  

Besides that this sounds like an excellent workout regime to me. Because you stimulate pretty much all muscles 3 times a week it’s perfect for maintaining muscle. If you want to maintain muscle frequent short sessions are best. 

[2xj_m]

@Jannes What if I want to build muscle, what's the most optimal way then?

[Jannes]

20 minutes ago, 2xj_m said:

@Jannes What if I want to build muscle, what's the most optimal way then?

I would go for around 1g of protein / pound of bodyweight. You don’t need more then that. Eating at maintenance would increase muscle building but you can still easily build muscle with 28% on a cut. After 2 months or so of dieting (depending how hardcore it was) I would always do a diet break for about a month where you eat at maintenance to reduce hunger and to increase fat loss later.

Your training is already good for muscle building. High frequency is especially important on a cut but it’s also good for building muscle. I would only change things up if you did this exact plan for a long time or you disliked some of the exercises. Make sure to do a light training week every 6 weeks or so where you recover and resensitize your muscles for future growth. 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Jannes