Is 2500 calorie deficit bad for a 34kg over weight person?

[senetenari]

I am a 36 years old male. Height 176cm. I started at 117kg 2.5 weeks ago and now I am down to 113kgs.

My average deficit is around 2500 caloric per day deficit according fitbit. Is this bad?. I read that this is bad but I am not sure if it is for a person like me that is 34kg over weight?. 

Yesterday alone I went up to 4600 out and 900 in as I hiked up a mountain. Normally without workout I used about 3100 calorie per day according to fitbit.

Now I am exercising daily with Tabata (sort of with easier routine and will upgrade when get more fit) one day and then hike the second day.

I have never felt better that I have been now. Alert most of the time and feel fresh, no muscle pains and not constanly hungry. I have cut added sugar, salt, soda and butter from my diet.I have replaced whtie rice with whole grain bread for stable (1 slice per meal). Soup and grilled meat chicken and fish manily in small portions which adds to between 700-900 in per day. 

Am I doing this wrong or is it ok to have this caloric deficit while I am at this weight?. 

Also I drink lemon grass tea every time. Once cool I use it as a sub for cold water for my meals. Lemon grass grows everywhere where I live. 

Need advice thanks. 

[A_Lurker · Accepted solution]

To start with, I'm more overweight than you.  My opinion is that yes, this is too much of a deficit.  After many months of weight loss here's what I do.  I aim for around a 1000 calorie deficit, but I stop eating at 2500 calories.  Some days that means I'm exactly a thousand down, other days it means I'm closer to 2000 calories down.  After almost 7 months I'm down just about 70 lbs.  I did notice early on that really high deficits would stall my weight loss, and the week after I would eat a little more and the weight would drop off.  Your calories in are very low for your activity level.  It may work for a while, but what's the plan when it stops working?  Even if you manage to meet your goal weight, the moment you start to eat more food you may gain weight crazy fast.  Unless you want to eat 700-900 calories forever, it's time to be more reasonable.

One word about the food.  I'm also pretty picky about my tracking.  I weigh and measure most items I eat.  For example, I made egg cups tonight for breakfast today and tomorrow.  I split the sausage (which I weighed), cracked in the eggs, weighed in some egg whites and some cheese.  I did the same for dinner, so I'm fairly sure my calories in are close.  If you're eyeballing things and guessing then maybe you want to be a little further off the 1000 calorie deficit.  After roughly 5 months of tracking my food (didn't start, and had a vacation) I see about 4100 of a deficit translates to a pound lost for me.  It's not linear, but this is the average.  When my weight loss slowed down a bit (not stopped) I went back and ate maintenance for about 10 days.  Yep, every calorie that it said I burned I ate.  I started back to my 1000 calorie deficit and the weight is coming off well again.  It's not a 'lose it all overnight' weight loss, but I eat foods I enjoy, that I will continue to eat after I lose weight.

[Toddpeschl]

This is very solid advice!

[Dominique]

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@senetenari wrote:

I am a 36 years old male. Height 176cm. I started at 117kg 2.5 weeks ago and now I am down to 113kgs.

My average deficit is around 2500 caloric per day deficit according fitbit. 

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"according to Fitbit" maybe relevant here: your Fitbit may overestimate your expenditure. With this online calculator (which uses the same formula as Fitbit), you would need the third highest activivity level (out of five) in order to burn 3100 calories.

I agree with the good advice provided by @A_Lurker: if you have a large amount of weight to lose, it makes sense to plan a long enough period of time (and therefore a smaller deficit). Otherwise you will be facing the situation mentioned in this post.

[senetenari]

Thanks, so basically don't lose weight at a dastic rate but plan gradual loss which is better long term. I am not on a challenge but I realise that I was gaining too much as I get older hence this. Younger was not a problem. I don't drink nor smoke so really it was just sitting and working at least 14 hrs per day in front of the comptuter which is also when I started to gain. So not much of a change apart from just eathing healthier food and execising. The problem before was time but with Tabata it is a god send for busy people. The hike is also for only 450m for a 900m route so short but intense. 

[senetenari]

True. I need to be careful about making sure I get the correct calorie intake as well. Just a lot of research for common foods but I am not sure if they are acturally that accurate. 

[JohnRi · Accepted solution]

First all visit this website.  http://fitcal.me  I entered your data and choose high activity level of exercise. 

Based on this, your BMI is 36.5, BMR 2055, TDEE is 3545.  Recommended diets are from 3545 to 2659.

When I first started losing weight I was typically in a week burning 14,000 more calories than I ate.  Which was around a 2000 calorie deficit.  I was losing around 2 to 3 lbs a week.  I sustained that weight loss, with little lean mass loss for about 8 months.  I went from around 281 to 220.  But at that point my lean mass started to fall, and my fat % started to climb.  So I had to increase my diet.  I've had to increase it two more times since then.  I'm now around 200 lbs.  And I'm not eating 2500 calories a day.  Compared to the 1800 I used to eat.

Messing with your metabolism by eating too little, can take years to recover.  Loose skin is another major problem with losing weight too fast. 

If you wan to avoid having excess skin removed by a doctor, I suggest going slow and steady.  Around 2 lbs a week lost is your best bet.

Also as you get closer to your goal, the higher the deficit, the more muscle you lose and the more fat you gain.

So rough recommended guidelines are a 1000 calorie deficit for 40 or more lbs to lose.  750 for 20-40, 500 for 10-20, and for 10 or less is 250.  I myself am now running a 500 deficit.

Good luck to you.

[senetenari]

Hi John,

Thanks for the advise. I am getting really afraid now. Today alone I have gone up to 5500 caloies used according to fitbit and about 1800 calories intake which I have double since you guys advise to increase. 

I know that while I feel good and am losing weight I feel like this is not normal and I am afraid of long term damage to my health. 

What do you reommed I increase my calorie intake to?. 2500?. I will just increase the portions of healthy food I am eating if needed. 

This is really confusing and I am stating to wonder if my fitbit is broken. 

Or should I descrease my work out to just once every two days?. I have been working out every day now. Tabata one day and hike the second day. Hike days is when I go over the 5k mark.

[Keith156]

Anne's assessment and scenario exactly reflects mine (egg cups and all 😁). Based on what she wrote, I added more calories to my 915 calorie intake and started pre/post fueling my workouts which were not part of the daily intake count (additional ~250 cals). The fat started melting off very quickly and was able to retain more muscle mass. Thanks Anne!

[Bill_k]

You'll probably feel really really  good right up until the moment you get dizzy and collapse.

[Keith156]

Thanks Bill. I've been at it and feeling good for 2 months without collapsing; thanks for your concern.

[pwolchak]

First, I don't think your Fitbit is broken. No tracker is 100% accurate (I've had the 10,000 steps notification go off when I am sitting and gesturing while I talk) but I believe that Fitbits are the best out there and mostly accurate.

Second, while it is confusing, sometimes eating more helps you lose weight long term. I know that seems wrong. This article explains it pretty well:

https://blog.fitbit.com/weight-loss-tips/

For what it's worth, I've lost almost 20 pounds in 14 weeks. I started out with a 1,000 calorie deficit and while I felt fine I also noticed that weight loss hit a plateau after a while. I went to a 750 calorie deficit and that seems to work well.

Another point, though: some days I am well below my deficit. I am sometimes 1,500 calories below, so with the 750-calorie deficit that is 2,250 below. I don't do that intentionally and I feel fine those days, so I think it's important to just listen to your body.