losing muscle along with fat??

so i know that if you eat too little calories you can lose a lot of water weight and hardly any fat...but im a little curious about how quickly you can lose muscle if you eat too little, its come to the point where im paranoid that even though i lift some weights 4-5 times a week (alternating upper/lower body) if i eat anything under around 1700-1800 calories ill be putting my muscle at risk and not losing the fat

ive heard that if a person crash diets, then the lower numbers on the scale that they see will be mostly water and very little fat, but how much muscle will be lost in this process...

just to make sure im not sending the wrong message im not saying i want to crash diet, im just wondering if i should stop being paranoid if i go a day or two only eating like 1200...
 
As long as you are weight lifting and getting enough protein (equal to your body weight or more) you shouldn't lose any muscle while in a hypocaloric state.

You also have to remember when your cutting back your in a catabolic state all the time. Which means you need to get a protein source at each meal every 2-3 hours.
 
What are your stats (age, height, weight, body far %,...)? What are your goals? What does your diet and exercise program look like?

In general you will not loose water weight over the long term. If you sweat a lot and do not drink enough water your body will eventually start to conserve water as much as possible and you can actually retain more water. Always drink plenty of water, 1 gallon a day, more if you sweat a lot.
 
16, 5' 9'', 180lbs, im not sure about my body fat, a test online that uses inch measurements of stomach, waist, forearm, and wrist. It says im around 20% but im not trusting it as accurate, im probably right around 20 though...

my goals are to cut first then bulk later, i would bulk first but i would rather get smaller and less fat first then build muscle, instead of keeping the fat i have while building muscle...

my diet isnt complicated or nutritionally perfect, but its basically healthy stuff...
breakfast- bowl of go lean high fiber cereal, 10 grams of fiber per cup (2 cups), with skim milk
lunch (at school)- turkey sandwich on wheat
snack after school- Turkey Burger on wheat bun
Dinner- 2 fat free hot dogs on wheat buns

i know usually hot dogs arent the best health food but they're ball park brand so they taste good and i dont stick to a diet plan that involves food that tastes crappy...

exercise-wise...im in weight training at school so im working out doing upper body and lower body on mondays/wednesday, and tuesdays/thursdays respectively...then when i get home i might do a couple more exercises with the weights i have at home...

for some cardio i usually go outside and shoot some hoops since i have a hoop
in the front...i could also run around my neighborhood but i hate running so i usually avoid it...
 
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