1800-2000 Calorie Deficit too much?

[Raynoszs]

Howdy guys,

Now, I've been excercising and stuff for about a month (since I quit smoking)

At that time I was 82Kgs, I am now, 77.5Kgs with 25% BF (just got my aria scale today)

My main concern/question to all the gurus out there is, A 1800-2000 Cal deficit? Is it bad?

Heres the deal, I eat till I'm full, I monitor it on Fitbit App (every gram) and I've got the Fitibit Charge HR.

Here are some number for you:

Calories

Day        Eaten             Burnt                  Deficit

WED     1475               4182                  2707

THUR    1502               3812                  2310

FRI        1679               3449                  1770

SAT       1589               3639                   2050

SUN       1491              3304                   1813

Now, my main purpose is to lower body fat and get more toned. Ultimate weight of 70kg (which I think is healthy).

Am I doing it wrong, I do about 30minutes weight training and almost an hour of cardio each day. Some days it 20mins of HIIT followed by 20minutes cardio. Either way, I always have the energy to push myself whilst training.

So... If I don't feel hungry and am happy with my current progress... Is it ok to keep it as it is or will I hit some sort of wall and burn all my muscel?

BTW, I have at least 80g protein in my diet everyday (supplement by 2x Whey Shakes)

(P.S. Only had the Fitbit App, Charge HR for 5 Days)

Thanks for your input guys 🙂

[DominicJ]

Bad idea
Its possible with a whole team of people to monitor you, but I was doing it last week, just extra walking, I'm paying for it this week.

[Raynoszs]

@Heybales

lol Okies Heybales, I'll try to use your formula thingy.

My daily graph shows burned calories in 15min intervals, So I'm guessing I take that number and divide by 15 and then multiply by 1440.

Here it is.

18/15*1440= 1728BMR (as per fitbit)

24,855/7 = 3550 Average Daily burn

3550/1728 = 2.0544 METS

Goal weight 61KG, 167CM and Male, 29. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

Goal BMR = 1514

Goal BMR * METS = 1514*2.0544 = 3110.36

Now, as per your earlier question. Whilst walking around at work, I'm often carrying a tool bag that weighs around 20-25lbs.

Also, if its in a pole fed area and I'm tracking down a fault on a line, I'm carrying a 50lb ladder on my shoulders, walking pole to pole, climbing up and down etc.

As far as step etc, Today was a rather light day, not much work, so my steps reflected this, its half of what it is usually. The bulk of it added via my workout.

My profile is fully unlocked (i think) so you can check out my daily burns, food, sleep everything.

Thanks for the help 🙂 Today, I'm doing well, 2096 calories eaten and theres still an hour n half to add more!

1000 Cal deficit isnt too bad yeah?

EDIT. Just looking at my calories burned for today, it is definately my lowest burn day since getting my fitbit.

Actually makes a lot of sense, today was weight training with only 20mins of cardio and a very light day at work. Still did some walking around at work but not nearly as much as a typical day.

[Heybales]

So see - around 3100 on normal active day.

Or actually more carrying around that extra weight.

You'll need to get used to eating more anyway.

Now, after you have reached a healthy weight and lost the fat you want - some people purposely eat at enough of a deficit to cause that suppression to occur and then they don't lose weight.

It's just a bear to attempt fat loss doing that.

I doubt too they are really interested in making their body stronger though, or have very active jobs.

Not from the few I've watched talking about the rat studies on life longevity and how they hope to obtain that.

So either live slightly longer, maybe, or enjoy your food and more of it.

[Raynoszs]

lol yesterday was 2500cal eaten and only 3100 burned!

Anyways, I'll keep up this heavy eating, lol and see where it takes me, heres hoping I havent slowed down my metabolism for my 1500cal diet for the past month. 

Yeah, my goal is a half n half. I don't really want to lose "Weight" I just want to lose fat and build some more muscle. So trying to hit them 2 birds.

I need to start using a measuring tape because going by eyes, I can see that I've gained some muscle and increased my strength etc.

It would be much better to keep a record so I can cross check.

Got any tips on building muscle?

Currently I work my muscles to failure, small reps, high sets. 7rep, 5 sets now. (used to be 12-8reps, 3-4sets)

[Joyeth]

You are giving sketchy dietary advice.  Meat does not putrify when you eat it.  Some people require higher protien/lower carb diets (especially if their triglycerides tend to run high.)

[Heybales]

---

@Raynoszs wrote:

lol yesterday was 2500cal eaten and only 3100 burned!

Anyways, I'll keep up this heavy eating, lol and see where it takes me, heres hoping I havent slowed down my metabolism for my 1500cal diet for the past month. 

Yeah, my goal is a half n half. I don't really want to lose "Weight" I just want to lose fat and build some more muscle. So trying to hit them 2 birds.

I need to start using a measuring tape because going by eyes, I can see that I've gained some muscle and increased my strength etc.

It would be much better to keep a record so I can cross check.

Got any tips on building muscle?

Currently I work my muscles to failure, small reps, high sets. 7rep, 5 sets now. (used to be 12-8reps, 3-4sets)

---

If you really don't want/need to lose much weight, but transform body more - then make the deficit even smaller, like 250.

Body recovers better, repairs better, and allows better workouts that cause improvements - the less deficit you have.

Do keep aware that improvements in form, and Central Nervous System (CNS) causing total use of the whole muscle can cause strength improvements without any being added, and more stored glucose with attached water make them look bigger. And those happen before body feels the need to actually make more.

For building muscles, besides above fact about minor and eventually no deficit - decent protein, like 0.8 gram per lb of bodyweight, and fat, 0.3 g/lb/BW. Carbs get the rest to hit your calorie goals.

The reps and sets and rests do matter.

Your current method is in strength range, your old method was hypertrophy (add muscle) range.

Obviously both ranges a cause a bit of the other to happen anyway - but they do each have their focus.

And then total volume weekly. Some just starting see all these programs with 1 body part a day - that is no where near the needed volume as beginner, or even intermediate.

Some allow little rest between sets or do something else just to keep the HR up, which really just effects fatigue and makes it harder to lift heavier. And since it's the failure due to weight not fatigue that asks the body to make more muscle or get stronger - rest must be decently long enough, 2-4 min on leg stuff that uses the whole body sometimes. Now some gentle biking or walking can help blood flow in muscle and help preprare for next set, not too intense.

If you really want to get in deep and understand - go through this whole program of levels - ready to take some notes and apply to your own goals.

https://youtu.be/OWmchPCyDvw

[Red_July]

Can you help me?

[Red_July]

Sunset Runner can you help me,

[Sqats4life1108]

I did a high protein (50-55%) medium carbs (30-40%) and low fat (10-25%) for my losing. I’ve lost 60+ pounds. I’m now maintaining my weight between 120-130 pounds. I didn’t have any issues with high protein but everyone is different. Google “body type quiz” = it helped me know what problem foods for me were (high fat dairy) it’s on a bodybuilding website.  Can’t remember the exact address. Just a nice base to have 😀

[math737]

One factor is that the body can withstand only a certain amount of stress.

 His deficit seems healthy, however, if he had eaten 1000 under his BMR or daily need, then it would be very stressful on his body. 

Helena, you mentioned a good point, if you have less body fat your body may have a lower daily need, which makes a high deficit both hard and bad to maintain.  For example, someone who has a daily need of 1200 calories at rest, may have had a harder time burning calories as well as keeping a high deficit due to the body's ability to become more efficient with how you burn calories and decreasing need as well. So, 1300 calories eaten, and 1800-2000 burned, may be healthy for that person. But if they wanted an 1800 to 2000 deficit, they would have to eat about 1300 calories, then force their body to burn 3,100-3,300 calories which would be insane. I believe it all goes back to "The bigger your body, the more energy it requires and the more it has to lose, one exception is the muscle/fat portion of body for extremely thin but muscular athletes. They would be big, but be able to burn lots of calories, while having a low daily need.

Thirdly, your right in the long term what you feed your body has a large impact on your body, primarily due to nutritional need and body functions which need constant support. If that athlete ate donuts but burned 3300 calories, then he would still have a possibility of problems like high cholesterol and/or hypertension.

Take with a grain of salt.

[math737]

how did you get 136? 60 or 66 in x 4 so much higher than 136.

[math737]

thanks for sharing.

I wonder if the body will let you maintain a calorie deficit of zero. or if it will keep getting more efficient.

I also wonder if the weight that your weight loss stopped at, is the same on "Average" for most people not accounting for height?

[math737]

nice documentary. I think it's possible to lose weight. the body does regulate loss due to energy need. Perhaps the way to maintain it is to do it slowly allowing your body to gain normalcy at each stage. will update you on my journey.

[Kris111]

I am pondering this exact same question...and see exactly what you mean.

I'm female but I seem to have a issue burning 2000  during ovulation up until PMS...the next day I will attempt a rest day for my body to relax but I will crave sugar carbs and salt like crazy !!I've even gone crazy on the relaxing stuff a hour plus of yoga, Epsom baths,cacao,herbs for overtraining etc... the one thing I find as long as you are getting calories you will lose.  These calories are key. I am getting 400 calories plus at my "meals"... or kind of coffee cuz I fast but they are 400 calories from all the sugar so not like I am depriving myself anymore. 

I think it's just a female thing cuz I can lose weight up until ovulation hits. I'm going to look into probiotics and gut health . If you end up having a problem I would look into that. 

[LiveBalance]

Yes you should have 1gram of protien for ever pound you weigh this is true. More than that is fine. Eat meat and don't lose the whey Shakes. Meat doesn't rot in your gut. Some big animals are highly veggie eaters but they aren't human beings and they eat all day every day to maintain their size. 2000 calorie deficit is too high. Trust me I have been there. You WILL hit a wall eventually. Around 2 months probably and the side effects aren't pretty. Depression loss of sex drive bloating foggy brain feeling faint. I actually passed out on a run. Eat. Especially if you want to get good muscle definition. Make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Don't eat red meat more than twice a week it does take longer to breakdown. Eat as many eggs as you want. There is an old stigma about cholesterol with eggs. It's from an old study and it's been disproven you can look it up:) good luck man. Don't listen to the wrong people. Be careful in the web. Find a good youtube channel like athleanx. Also check out the Centr app. 6 weeks free last time I checked and they have great meal plans and advise as well as a crazy awesome 6 week HIIT class. I DO not work for them lol I'm just being real. Those are great tools. God bless and congratulations on quitting smoking that's awesome! 

[bodylogicbyjeff]

The deficit may be a little too much.    You will lose a pound per week for every 500 calorie deficit in a day.   That means if you eat 1,000 calories less than you burn in a day, you'll lose 2 pounds per week.   If you lose more than 2 pounds in a week, you're likely losing more muscle than fat.  😊

[Ronnie_B]

4 x height in inches minus 128 seems extremely low for the idea athletic build.  At 5'9" I get down to 8% at 185 lbs, 152 lbs is not the least bit healthy for my frame. Where did this formula come from?

[Heybales]

---

@Ronnie_B wrote:

4 x height in inches minus 128 seems extremely low for the idea athletic build.  At 5'9" I get down to 8% at 185 lbs, 152 lbs is not the least bit healthy for my frame. Where did this formula come from?

---

Pretty sure it came where rest of the advice came from - some place you don't want to check out.