It is extremely important when you are trying to lose weight to not lose any muscle. Think of your muscles as the engines that power your body and just like the engine in your car your muscles need plenty of fuel in the form of calories from food to keep your body running. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn but conversely the less muscle you have the fewer calories you will burn making it even harder to lose fat.¹ Generally speaking, you should not try to lose more than a pound a week from dieting alone or you will most likely be losing a large portion of the weight in the form of muscle. This is why the majority of diets fail because they decrease the caloric intake too much too quickly and cause muscle loss which makes further fat loss even more difficult. You can lose more than a pound a week in fat with the assistance of weight training and certain supplements containing nutrients that help to burn fat and conserve muscle however it takes advanced knowledge to utilize weight training or supplements or both to produce rapid fat loss without losing muscle. For the average person wanting to lose weight the best way to lose weight without losing muscle is to lose your weight slow and steady.