19/08/2026
Big deficit, or diet longer?
Which would you prefer?
Go harder out the gate, or invest more time at a slower rate.
Does bigger deficit = quicker fat loss?
In simple terms, yes.
Bigger deficit will allow your body to use fat at a quicker rate.
But (always a but) read on ➡️➡️
You have to have to skills, experience and ability to go aggressive.
It has to be earned.
This is where proper assesment comes into play.
If someone has poor foundations (digestion, relationship with food, body image, basic habits) then that needs to be in place first.
With males, especially with high BF, I usually find a larger deficit to recomp then building food up works well,
With those inexperienced, or coaching females however, this is where it gets nuanced, women do respond to deficits differently, being sensitive to the adaptive components sooner meaning metabolism, NEAT, and rate of loss can slow quicker (for reproductive reasons & evolutionary response).
It’s here, where you can then use strategic diet breaks to slightly offset this as you get deeper into a deficit.
I also personally find that the time spend on a deficit, does more harm than the magnitude of the deficit.
Then usually follows the question
“Won’t I lose all my muscle if I diet harder?”
People really do over estimate HOW hard it actually is for muscle to be used as fuel.
You already do one of the most anabolic muscle preserving things possible (weight train)
Combine that with adequate protein,
Monitored Stress/sleep
And a reasonable level of bodyfat (I.e not chasing stage lean)
Then no, you won’t lose muscle, unfortunately you probably just didn’t have it built in the first place.
Seeing results quicker , once still done on a healthy & sustainable way, encourages enforce buy-in and can be motivating.
Lastly, if you do prefer to get in & get out with fat loss
1. Trianing performance needs to be prioritised and there are certain markers to look for here
2. A proper reverse OUT of the aggressive deificit is also really important, getting the fat loss is one thing, you also have to keep it.
This is an example of some of the content I will be presenting on in our upcoming seminar, final
