In my humble opinion one should never lose strength while dieting, except for the last 2-3 weeks before a show when you are depleted and have a hard time focusing.
For example, Amit Sapir who I have been training for a few years and just won his pro card, actually broke bench, squat and deadlift records right up to 3 weeks out by which time he had striated glutes.
Now strength ENDURANCE you can lose. You might lose the capacity to maintain your strength for as many sets as usual or maybe get less reps in your later sets because you have less ''fuel'', but you should always at least maintain strength.
This is why I normally LOWER the reps, increase rest intervals and use strength boosting techniques (partials, negatives, rest-pause, etc.) when dieting somebody down. Everything should be done in order to actually increase strength. Basically you should train more like a powerlifter on the major movements and add bodybuilding stuff at the end.
You MIGHT lose strength on the bodybuilding stuff, but only because you will lack energy by then. But as long as you gain strength (or at least maintain it) on the major movements you will be fine.
NOW... I said that you should not lose strength. That's not 100% correct. At first you might lose some strength because you will drop water which decreases performance via several factors. So until you get used to the less ''cushioned'' body you might lose strength.
There is also the leverage effect, also called the ''big ass advantage''. When you are bigger, even if it's fat, it can help you on some lifts (especially squats and leg presses).
I also understand what you mean about having a hard time eating enough to maintain mass. Lee Priest had the same problem. He said that he always lost a boatload of fat super fast when dieting down because the ''diet food'' tasted too blend for his taste and he had problems eating enough.
One strategy that I like to use with big boys who are afraid of losing mass. I include two loading days per week.
Monday - Wednesday are pure diet days.
Thursday is a diet day right up to the last meal of the day, which is a cheat. This cheat will ''bloat you up'' with water and allow you to remain strong for the next day or two.
Friday and Saturday are pure diet days
Sunday is a cheat day (anywhere from 2 cheat meals up to 6 meals depending on progress).
So what happens...
Monday you are bloated from the cheat so you should be very strong. You will also have a lot of strength-endurance because you are carb-loaded.
Tuesday you are still a bit bloated so strength should still be high, but glycogen stores are a bit lower so you will not have as much endurance.
Wednesday is a relatively weak day because the bloat is gone and your glycogen stores are depleted. However this is the day you should look your best.
Thursday is your weakest day because you are even more depleted. However since you have a partial load this will not last that long.
Friday you should also be very strong and have a relatively good endurance level.
Saturday is an average day.
Sunday is party time!!!
So in an ideal world the training would look like this:
Monday: heaviest and most grueling workout... a good time to work on the strength lifts you want to keep up the most or the highest volume workout.
Tuesday: your second super heavy/high volume workout.
For example Monday could be chest/back and Tuesday could be legs.
Wednesday : Either an off day or I personally like to do cardio and abs
Thursday: you will not have a lot of power BUT you will have a good surcompensation effect, especially if your cheat is right after your workout. A good time to work arms. Do lots of volume and ''pumping'' technique to get the biggest glycogen rebound as you can from the cheat.
Friday: you will once again have a lot of power because of the cheat, a good time to work on shoulders with some heavy pressing work.
Saturday: OFF or cardio + abs only
Sunday: Could either be another off day or a very light whole body workout right before the cheat feast begins. This would create a super large surcompensation effect however if you overdo it it might rub you of some energy for Monday's workout. Experiment both ways.
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Thnx en thnx gozer!
Nu vier dagen veel eten en verbranden om mn cut die ik begin na mn wintersport te kickstarten. Groeten vanuit Oostenrijk bitches!
