Just keep in mind that what is relatively safe (for your muscles) for you isn't really the same for natties. TRT will keep your hormones supported such that you have little risk of losing muscle. Natties trying to cut that hard are pretty much garenteed to lose muscle at those weight loss rates - hence the 1%BW/wk recommendation.
Well, again...I will push back on that notion and say it depends on exactly what you are doing.
I attack it from every angle and work on doing things that maximize my GH levels via Fasting, taking GABA and TMG(which also increases IGF-1) which also help protect muscle. L-Carnitine-Tartrate helps with keeping the mitochondrial machinery in the cells running smoothly and works in synergy with TMG.
Also focus strongly on blood sugar/improving insulin sensitivity via a wide array of things...obviously fasting but also taking Berberine/ALA and Chromium in the morning which work synergistically, Cinnulin PF prior to last meal of the day and ACV in water prior to bed.
Make sure I am drinking at least 17 ounces of water at a time 3-4 times a day as this has been shown to have a thermogenic effect on the body and increasing caloric burn rate by 25% for the next hour at least, and stay hydrated throughout the day.
Prioritizing getting 8 hours of sleep as much as I can, usually 5-6x a week if not everyday.
IMHO, all of these little things done in combination work synergystically with each other to create a metabolic blast furnace for fat along with carb cycling, short but intense workouts and plenty of walking.
There are VERY few people that maximize their body for fat burning efficiently to this degree so that may be why they are seeing suboptimal results. Most people can't even track caloric intake properly for a week, let alone optimize all the other factors involved.
They also tend to do way too much cardio which has a poor effect on their composition. Walking is the only thing they need to do and that does not hurt with muscle loss as it uses fat as its energy source via the oxidative pathway and not glycogen like the other types of cardio most people would do. Studies have also shown that consistent walking helps make your body hyper-efficient with fat burning throughout the rest of the day as well as act as a vacuum to suck glucose out of the bloodstream in the absence of insulin simply from the repetitive motion of the large muscles in the lower body, which again helps with blood sugar management. Doing this after meals and/or after workouts makes it even more efficient as you help lower the glucose spike from the meal or continue to burn the fatty acids released into the bloodstream from the workout rather than allowing them to be repackaged and re-stored.
People can say none of that stuff matters, but from my experience they DO matter...at least in terms of maximizing efficiency which is my goal.
