If I burn 2000 calories a day...

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  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,026 Member
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    robertw486 wrote: »
    newengland11 wrote: »
    robertw486 wrote: »
    Yes, no, and maybe.

    It really depends on where you are starting. To lose a pound a week you need a deficit of 500 calories per day. Not that hard to do for most people and would fulfill you loss and time goals. As a general rule of thumb set weight loss goals to 1% or less of your body weight per week. So when you start, the loss rate will be higher when veiwed in pounds, and as you thin down the loss rate will be lower when viewed in pounds. As you drop weight, you have less fat reserves for the body to pull energy from, so keeping the percentage in line is smart thinking.

    If I'm 155lbs-160lbs, how much is the 1%?

    Just move the decimal point as you lose weight. Figuring 1% of your body weight is easy math.

    At your current weight of 155-160 lbs, 1% is 1.55-1.60 pounds per week. And right about where your current deficit is. As you drop weight, it might be easier to also slow your weight loss. But that's up to you and how well you respond to the longer term deficit.

    This is why I think that 1% of BW rule of thumb is pretty bad unless you're obese. OP would need 50 lbs of BF, or about 33% of her current BW, for 1.5+ lbs of loss per week to be even borderline muscle-sparing. She doesn't mention her height that I see, and her avatar is just a head-shot, but she does say her BMI puts her in the overweight category, not obese, so 33% BF seems a bit high to me.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,391 Member
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    Everything I've seen indicates that preserving muscle has a lot more to do with workout routine and diet composition vs total deficit. Even data on VLCD diets show greater muscle retention when working out and upping protein levels some.

    As for the 1% guideline, I think it's fairly reasonable for all except really lean people. Being that the primary idea while in deficit is to lose fat, you have to account for wanting the fat to oxidize and be used for fuel. Even if the numbers are off, lets assume to the low side of 25% fat. That would be 37+ pounds of fat in a 150 pound person, and the oxidation of the fat alone could provide over 1,100 calories per day. When you add in the actual food consumed, you bump well over stated TDEE.

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