I'm trying to lose some weight but I don't want to end up flabby. I see a lot of people saying they cut 500 calories, others cut 300... what's the right number? I do some exercise but I'm not a competitive athlete.
There's no single number that works for everyone - it depends on your metabolism, how much you weigh, what kind of activity you do. What usually works well is a moderate deficit, something between 300 to 500 calories a day, because that way you lose fat without sacrificing a lot of muscle mass, especially if you're doing strength training. What really matters is keeping your protein intake high (that's what's actually critical for not losing muscle) and doing weight training or some kind of resistance workout regularly - without that, any calorie deficit will leave you flabby anyway. If you're just starting out, try cutting 300-400 calories, see how your body responds for a couple weeks or so, and adjust as needed.
The problem is that people focus way too much on that calorie number and forget what actually matters: if you don't have enough protein (and I'm talking about like 1.6 to 2g per kg of body weight), you'll lose muscle mass even with exercise! A deficit of 300 to 500 is okay, but if you're eating low protein or training really intensely without recovery, the sagging happens anyway. The real secret is combining a moderate deficit (nothing too aggressive) + consistent strength training + protein in adequate amounts + patience, because losing weight without losing muscle is slow!
The trickiest part of this isn't really the number of calories - it's realizing that every body responds differently. From what I've seen, when people cut too aggressively (like 500+ calories in a day), they do lose weight but then end up looking kind of deflated, precisely because they lose muscle along with it. The safest deficit is actually pretty modest - something like 250 to 400 calories a day, depending on how much you weigh and your overall lifestyle.
The people above are right about pointing out protein as crucial, but let me be honest: there's no point having protein in decent amounts if the rest of your diet is all over the place. Protein matters, yeah, but you also need consistency - training, eating well most days rather than some, getting decent sleep. It makes way more of a difference if you can manage 200-300g of protein daily (depending on your weight) and a chill calorie deficit over months than bouncing between cutting 500 calories one week and not cutting anything the next.
The trick really is this: start moderate (like 250 to 300 calories less than you normally eat), keep protein high, stick with exercise, and give it time. If you don't see progress in 3-4 weeks, then dial it back a bit more. But too fast and your body starts going into economy mode, it gets harder, and you lose muscle. Patience is really your best tool here.
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