Burning calories to lose a kilo or two and drying are two different things. Unlike a simple low-calorie diet, drying targets body fat while preserving every muscle group as much as possible.
Losing body fat without sacrificing muscle is an art in itself, and requires the right balance of nutrients in the diet and bodybuilding program. The aim is to get the body working at full capacity, without feeling hungry or tired, while maintaining a caloric deficit.
But do you lose muscle during a dry run? Not systematically, but it can happen. So how can you avoid the trap of muscle catabolism? What solutions exist to maintain your muscle mass ?
From the risks of drying out too quickly to the mechanisms involved, this article gives you the keys to successful muscle drying.
The effects of weight loss on muscle mass
What is a dryer?
If this is your first weight loss program, you should be aware that it's not simply a low-calorie diet after a period of excess.
There are two reasons for choosing a weight-loss program:
- either to get a sharper physique and "lose fat"
- or because you've completed your period of mass gain and you've reached the weight-loss phase
In both cases, you want to optimize your body composition by reducing body fat in favour of lean muscle mass. In other words, weight loss goes further than weight loss, because the idea is to dry out without losing muscle.
Muscle catabolism or the risk of drying out quickly
Skeletal muscle is regulated by two processes:
- protein synthesis, or muscle anabolism
- protein degradation, or muscle catabolism
Research explains thatresistance exercise enhances the effects of muscle anabolism, by being linked to aminoacidemia1. It is the repetition of this exercise that will stimulate growth and lead tomuscular hypertrophy via the consumption of amino acids supplied to the body.
Conversely, muscle catabolism occurs when the body produces energy. By breaking down nutrients, vitamins and minerals, it maintains vital functions such as breathing, heart rate, digestion and temperature regulation.
The body is in a caloric deficit during a dry period. It doesn't receive enough calories to match its energy expenditure, so it has to catabolize to produce energy. It draws on its fat and muscle mass. Sometimes, the body also activates muscle catabolism during intense physical effort to provide energy if the diet does not provide enough nutrients, or if weight loss is poorly balanced.
This is why the risk is to increase catabolism to the detriment of muscle mass.
Do you lose muscle during a weight-loss session?
Why do I lose weight when I'm working out? When you're on a weight-loss diet, many exercisers wonder why. It's true that muscle loss can happen when you're on a weight-loss diet, but remember that it's not systematic and can be avoided.
3 reasons why muscle loss is inevitable
Muscle wasting is often linked to over-aggressive drying. If your caloric deficit is excessive, the body draws on all its reserves, including muscles.
This loss can also be due to inadequate protein intake. For example, a lack of protein can create an amino acid deficit and accelerate muscle catabolism. Protein intake during periods of caloric restriction is known to "save muscle".
Finally, muscle loss in the dry phase can be due to a poorly adapted bodybuilding training program. This should include resistance training.
Preserving muscle mass during a lean period
Good nutritional and sports practices are based on :
- an adapted and precise dietary program
- increased resistance physical activity
- good hydration
- optimization by taking supplements
Measurements of lean body mass can be considered on a regular basis to objectivize the body's reactions to dryness, which differ from one subject to another.
How to achieve a lean body without losing muscle?
When you're on a diet, you want to increase your basal metabolic rate to gain lean mass during a period of caloric deficit.
To achieve this, you need to be progressive. Science recommends a body weight loss of 0.7% perweek2. And to achieve this, we dose our breakfasts, meals, training sessions and rest periods with precision.
Adjusting your diet for an effective dry run
Research carried out on an elite-level soccer team3 reminds us that good nutritional support is a factor in performance and recovery. The authors add that when nutrition is correctly implemented, theuse of supplements such as protein or creatine optimizes performance.
Maintain your protein intake
To prevent the loss of muscle mass, you need to ensure an adequate protein intake.
Recommendations from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Canadian dieticians and the American College of Sports Medicine3 range from 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg/day, depending on the athlete. These intakes can be increased over short periods of high intensity or when calorie intake is reduced.
The authors specify that for athletes on energy restriction, protein intakes of around 2.3 to 3.1 g/kg/day are mentioned.
Although such dosages have not been linked to renal pathologies, we do not recommend exceeding 2 g/kg/d over long periods.
The ideal time to ingest protein is in the post-workout phase, to accelerate protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is also more optimal if ingested in several doses of 20 g of protein every 3 hours.
If athletes are losing weight over an extended period, it is advisable to choose high-quality protein sources such as whey. Protein intake also helps to control hunger while maintaining a healthy diet.
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Managing your carbohydrate intake
Practitioners are advised to reduce these gradually, without stopping altogether. Science shows that the depletion of glycogen stocks contributes to the progressive fatigue experienced by soccer players, for example, at the end of a match3. This is also the case for body-builders, even amateurs.
The idea is to control your reserves according to your goal. A bodybuilder, on the other hand, will be able to achieve what's known as a carbohydrate rebound, by gradually emptying all his reserves before refilling them all at once. This is a special technique, not suitable or recommended for the general public.
Dosing lipids without neglecting them
To help achieve natural lean muscle, the diet must also include the right amount of lipids. Lipids are a source of energy and essential fatty acids, indispensable for good health. In particular, they enable the storage of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K).
Too low a lipid content reduces theabsorption of certain nutrients (vitamins) and glycogen storage in the muscles, which is not what you want when you're drying out.
As with carbohydrates, the amount of fat depends on each athlete's training level and goals, but average recommendations are 20-35% of total energy intake throughout the day.
Remember, it's not eating fat that causes fat storage. It may be, but it's actually more complex than that.
Fat intake should not fall below 15-20% of total calorie intake.
In addition to these dietary principles, remember to drink enough water, as hydration is a key performance factor in its own right.
Optimize your training to preserve your muscles
To increase metabolism and avoid losing muscle, the body needs to be stimulated. But how?
Continue weight training
Above all, science recommends maintainingresistance exercises during energy restriction. These promote the retention of lean body mass, which is exactly what we're looking for.
Heavy loads for maximum strength are particularly recommended during dry periods. As for content, prefer polyarticular exercises such as the deadlift, which mobilize several large muscle groups.
Ready, set, go! Reinforce!
Choosing the right cardio activity
Drying and endurance may seem incompatible at first glance, but you can do cardio training while you're dry, even if it's a trickier operation.
When you run for a long time, you mainly consume lipids, which is what you're looking for. There's a downside to this: long endurance effort increases fatigue, which in turn is detrimental to weight loss.
So what do you do?
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is preferred to long-duration cardio training. And we pair it with strength exercises to optimize fat burning, without losing muscle.
Cardio or renfo, here again it's all a question of balance, but also of personal response linked to your metabolism and how you feel!
Managing sleep and stress
Speaking of fatigue, lack of sleep is also a factor in successful weight loss, just as stress contributes to muscle wasting.
For the former, neuromuscularfatigue4 reduces physical and cognitive performance. Respect the 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night and avoid screens for at least 30 minutes to ensure quality sleep.
As for stress, it translates into higher cortisol levels, which will promote the catabolic process by altering macronutrient metabolism and reducing the amount of protein in cells... everything we want to avoid.
So before going to sleep, try exercises like meditation or add a few relaxation sessions to your day.
Supplementing to improve performance
Consuming protein powder is an interesting option for optimizing your weight loss, but supplementation remains a "plus" and will never replace a suitable diet plan. So remember to balance your plate first.
On the other hand, opting for a protein powder shaker as a supplement remains an option. Here, the quality of the whey chosen to meet your objectives will be crucial to the success of your program.
Creatine is an interesting supplement for strength and explosive athletes.
Creatine maintains ATP levels, the energy source for explosive efforts, enabling power to be maintained during exercise. Creatine is used to improve power, strength and muscle mass, so it can be used in the dry phase even if it is not specifically recommended for this purpose.
Solutions to excessive muscle loss
The signs of a badly started dry run are:
- a sudden loss of strength;
- persistent fatigue;
- flat muscles.
Then go back over each of the points raised in this article and see whether you need to:
- lower your calorie deficit more gradually;
- review the foods you eat and increase your protein intake;
- slow down on training to give yourself a rest phase, which is essential if you want to get back on track.
Conclusion
The hunt is on for that extra kilo or calorie, even if drying out doesn't mean going on a diet. Finding the right balance to reduce your daily calorie intake without using up your muscle reserves takes time and precision. If you don't get the right mix of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, the result is clear: you won't dry out (you'll stagnate, put on weight or lose muscle). To avoid this, you need to work on all fronts: food, training, hydration, sleep and supplements (always quality ones!).
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