What happens to muscles when the body doesn't eat enough calories?

To lose 1 kg of excess fat, the body needs a deficit of about 7,700 calories. If you have a deficit of 500 calories/day and continuously for 1 month, you can lose about 2 kg of excess fat, according to the health website Verywell Health (USA).

A calorie deficit diet and high exercise will help you lose fat quickly but will also cause loss of muscle mass.

The body needs a certain amount of energy to maintain its vital functions and activities. Therefore, when entering a state of calorie deficit, the body will respond by slowing down the metabolism and mobilizing energy from many different places in the body.

First, the body will mobilize the glycogen stored in the cells, liver, heart and some other places. Then, excess fat will be converted into energy. This is the goal of weight loss efforts.

But it doesn’t stop there. The body needs protein to function, and muscle is the source of this protein. Muscle catabolism occurs, causing the body to mobilize protein in the muscle and convert it into calories. The result is muscle shrinkage.

With a calorie deficit diet and regular exercise, even if you lose a lot of fat, you will also lose muscle mass. For many gym goers, especially men, muscle loss is completely undesirable.

Strength exercises such as weight lifting will create muscle stimulation and limit muscle catabolism.

To avoid muscle loss, people who want to lose weight need to ensure two factors. These are strength training exercises and adequate protein supplementation for the body. Strength training exercises such as weight lifting will stimulate the muscles and limit muscle catabolism. The frequency of training is at least 2-3 sessions/week.

Meanwhile, getting enough protein will help provide enough of this important nutrient for the body and avoid using protein stored in the muscles. To get enough protein, the practitioner needs to supplement from 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein/kg of body weight. For example, a 60 kg person needs to take in from 72 to 90 grams of protein per day. With this amount of protein, muscle mass is not only maintained but even increased.

In addition, experts also note that the greater the calorie deficit and the higher the intensity of the workout, the faster the weight loss will be. However, the level of muscle loss will also be greater, even causing the body to weaken. Therefore, the best way is that the diet and exercise should not be more than 500 calories/day in deficit, according to Verywell Health.

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