I read a great article emailed to me in my 'Burn the Fat' newsletter (Tom Venuto.) http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2007/09/3500_calories_to_lose_a_pound.php
It talked about new research regarding fat loss vs. lean tissue loss in fat people and in lean people. Bottom line, if you are lean you need to use a LESS aggressive calorie deficit and maintain high protein intake. This may not be what you want to hear when you are trying to lose the 5 pounds you gained on vacation, but it's what you will need to do in order to keep muscle. It will take more time, but you will maintain lean body mass and have way less chance of gaining the weight back.
The bottom line for your clients - fat people lose more fat than lean when restricting calories aggressively. So it may be OK to let clients start with enthusiasm. As they lose weight the calorie deficit should shift though, from an aggressive to a moderate or even conservative deficit. In other words, as time goes on, and if your client is losing fat, you should give calories back to them. They should like that!
The science behind this article is impressive, and I really enjoy reading Tom's newsletters and blog. Think about signing up at www.burnthefat.com (By the way, I am not being compensated in any way for saying this - I just really do like what Tom is doing!)
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