New (hopefully more realistic) target.

heybales

Sure it's only 500 deficit - was the math really working for that prior as far as weight loss?

Could be either direction - deficit is bigger, more stress, more water weight gain. Many measurements should still go down in this case.
Obviously water retained from stress isn't a good sign going forward.

Or seasonal activity change - TDEE went down.

Or TDEE lowered because on a diet for a while now, hormones need a reset to get out of adaptive thermogenesis. Need a diet break.

tomjanecourtney

Was working well with a 2.5kg drop (only 0.1kg of which was lean body mass) in 3 weeks.
If no drop in the next week I’ll try 150 cals more deficit for a couple of weeks then if no change will add some cardio for a couple of weeks.
Then a diet break for the Xmas run in.
Sounds like a plan.

anubis609

Remember that a trend of weight loss is going to come with its own set of plateaus, some come sooner for others, depending on your current level of bf%. Being at an estimate of ~21% bf, it's possible your body adapted within that span.. but at the same time, fat loss is a long term game. It's mentally challenging as it is physically, which is why so many people struggle with maintaining their leanness all year long, let alone for several years. Unless you have an absolute need to drop large amounts of body fat soon, take it as it comes. You're doing well to create a deficit in increments, rather than throwing all your chips into the fire right away.

You want to eat as much as you can that still allows you to lose fat, as evidenced by measured/visual/scale progress.

ETA: apologies @tomjanecourtney I didn't see your direct question to me until just now. Aadam Ali is an online fitness coach who has a pretty direct approach to dieting and training. Best example would be here: http://physiqonomics.com/fat-loss/

tomjanecourtney

Thanks, great post, everyone should read Aadam Ali’s link http://physiqonomics.com/fat-loss/ at least 3 times.
Increments are the way to go

sgt1372

tomjanecourtney wrote: »

Thanks, great post, everyone should read Aadam Ali’s link http://physiqonomics.com/fat-loss/

Funny but true.

It answers all of the most constantly and repeatedly asked questions about weight loss and diet posted on MFP. It should be a sticky.

I followed most (if not all) of the advice given to lose 38# of weight and drop my BF to as low as 10% w/o ever reading the article b4, so it must be right.

LOL!

tomjanecourtney

That glass floor’s still there.
12st 14lbs ......

tomjanecourtney

Having reached one of my early targets of 12st 14lb I treated myself to a gym session with a ‘celeb’ trainer.
He commands a fee far in excess of my local gym PTs but I have to say he was well worth it.
He put right my form on several bread and butter exercises including Lat pull down, incline dumbell press, squat,dumbell military press. Easily doubling the effectiveness of my form.
One exercise I have not been able to do is Lateral dumbell raises. Despite watching the experienced local bodybuilders and countless YouTube vids the pain in my shoulder (previous operation) stopped me doing one of the most effective side delt moves.
Mike (I won’t I’d him further unless he ok’s it) set me up differently with ‘girlie’ dumbbells 3.5 kgs (crash helmet on). I did several sets, with no pain!!! and felt that satisfying burn in my shoulder for the first time.
Would recommend a session with a good pro at least once every 2 or 3 months.

tomjanecourtney

This fitness lark is costing me a fortune.....
Was so excited at reaching 180lbs (12st 12lbs) I wasn’t concentrating at the filling station, put petrol in a diesel car

tomjanecourtney

How am I doing?
Started to collect data after a 36 lb weight loss in 22 weeks.


6 weeks data from 7th Oct based on Boditrax scans
( I know they are not accurate but indicative of trends )


Weight now 181 lbs

Lost 8.8 lbs
Muscle 1.5 lbs
Fat 7.3 lbs

Fat % was 23.4 now 20.6
Fat drop 2.8%

On a 500 cal deficit 9 - 10 hrs per week weights.

Target is 175 lbs with 15% fat sometime next year.

heybales

So math-wise it appears about either 733 cal deficit if total weight lost is used, or 608 cal deficit if only fat loss is used.

Not too bad with 6 lbs left, though obviously a stress for the body by most measures.

Have you had a diet break yet, or will the normal holiday season provide that automatically?

sgt1372

tomjanecourtney wrote: »

This fitness lark is costing me a fortune.....
Was so excited at reaching 180lbs (12st 12lbs) I wasn’t concentrating at the filling station, put petrol in a diesel car

Yikes! Hope you didn't run it after you realized the mistake. If you did, I can imagine the cost of repair would be substantial.

tomjanecourtney

Thx for coming back, not sure I fully grasp the math yet though
Was a tad disappointed with the lean mass loss but overall happy.
Plan to have a diet break and aim for maintenance for a month over the festive period starting mid December.
Was unsure whether to add 150 cals from now to minimise further lean loss.
What do you think?

tomjanecourtney

sgt1372 -
Realised at the pump, 2 hours hanging around then total cost was about £200 for the pump out and lost fuel
Wonder if MyProtein do a supplement to minimise stupidity
As you say, could have been a lot worse.

tomjanecourtney

heybales wrote: »

So math-wise it appears about either 733 cal deficit if total weight lost is used, or 608 cal deficit if only fat loss is used.

Wonder if you (or anyone) could explain how this is worked out and what it means re TDEE calculation, currently working on TDEE of 2650 cals
What should my maintenance level of calories actually be?

psuLemon

tomjanecourtney wrote: »

heybales wrote: »

So math-wise it appears about either 733 cal deficit if total weight lost is used, or 608 cal deficit if only fat loss is used.

Wonder if you (or anyone) could explain how this is worked out and what it means re TDEE calculation.
What would my maintenance level of calories be?

Look at your average calories over the week and 733 calories. That is your average maintenance.

tomjanecourtney

Sorry to be so dense but this is all new to me. I’ve learned a huge amount from browsing and everyone’s replies to my posts.
Please bear with me.


So over the week an achieved 500 calorie daily deficit from my estimated TDEE gives a loss of an average 1.46 lbs per week.

500 x 1.46 gives the 733 figure.
Not sure why though... can you elaborate please?

So 2150 + 733 = 2883 is my maintenance?

psuLemon

tomjanecourtney wrote: »

Sorry to be so dense but this is all new to me. I’ve learned a huge amount from browsing and everyone’s replies to my posts.
Please bear with me.


So over the week an achieved 500 calorie daily deficit from my estimated TDEE gives a loss of an average 1.46 lbs per week.

500 x 1.46 gives the 733 figure.
Not sure why though... can you elaborate please?

So 2150 + 733 = 2883 is my maintenance?

If your average intake was 2150, than yes, your maintenance is 2883. And it confirms that your deficit was higher than the predicted 500 calories. This is the importance of using actual data over predicted data. Most calculators under represent my tdee. That is why i contunously validate over and extended period of time.

tomjanecourtney

heybales wrote: »

So math-wise it appears about either 733 cal deficit if total weight lost is used, or 608 cal deficit if only fat loss is used.

As I’m working hard at weights 3 - 4 times per week already, to minimise Lean loss,
should I use the 608 figure 2750 and would I then have a lesser weekly loss but with a higher % of fat?

Or continue with the 733 figure / 2900 then bulk?

Or use the 608 / 2750 figure and add Cardio?

heybales and psuLemon - I’m giving this effort my all and your (& other member’s) explanations of how this nutrition thing works are extremely encouraging.
Thx

heybales

If you think a weight loss (or gain) was fat, or want to confirm it was not - the following math works.

weight change 7.3 lbs x 3500 / 42 days = 608 cal deficit from a best estimate TDEE

So if you can look at pretty accurate eating logs over that time span (inaccurate days best left out), and you find your average eating level was say that 2150.

2150 eaten + 608 deficit based on loss = 2758 apparent TDEE.

Easiest to keep say a 3 week rolling average going on - not counting any totally non-average weeks, like sick or major family responsibilities or extra walking vacation and eating, ect.

So if the 2150 was indeed average eating level then TDEE is indeed 2750 - then at this point with only 6 lbs left - 1/2 lb weekly loss goal would be most reasonable.

If you want to keep at the 1 lb - then 500 off 2750 - eating goal 2250.

But 2500 would be more reasonable, maybe even attempting that on most days over the big eating season - then not caring as much on other days.

tomjanecourtney

Finally sinking in, can’t thank you guys enough.
Your replies should be formulated as an educational sticky.

Consequently I’ve just gone premium, I’m a ‘proper’ member now