What is a reasonable calorie deficit for weight loss?

Kavazya

Hi all-

I am 22 years old, 147 pounds and am aiming to get down to 135 or so. I work out 5 days a week with a mixture of cardio and strength training. I am pretty strong and muscular but have very little definition due to excess body fat on my arms, back and stomach.

I am looking to start a diet plan from square 1 and am seeking some recommendations for someone with my age, size, and activity level to break down that body fat so I can actually see the benefits of all the hard work I've put in over the last 6 months.

Like I said I exercise a good amount and don't want to be too restrictive or lose muscle. I've not been able to figure out a good plan that works on my own and would love some input! What do you guys think would be best for someone like me?

Thanks!

TavistockToad

You should be aiming for half a pound a week

cathipa

I would recommend to set MFP at goal of 0.5-1 pound per week. No special diet plan needed. Just weigh and log your food. If you log exercise then eat back maybe 1/2 of your calories.

serindipte

I would add that, rather than going by the scale alone, take measurements to compare those rather than weight.

StaciMarie1974

In my opinion, .5 to 1 pound per week. Where 1 pound per week might be considered aggressive.

I reached goal in 2014, maintained in 2015, and gradually put on about 12 pounds in 2016. Now I'm undoing that damage!

I am 5'5.5", 136ish, 42. My BMR is about 1300, and with exercise & normal daily activity (desk job, misc errands) I can burn 1850 in a day. Though it takes effort! So eating around 1350 allows me a 500/day deficit, and I don't feel guilty if some days I feel I need a little more fuel and cut into that.

You are younger, so your BMR is bound to be a little higher. I don't know your TDEE of course because I don't know your activity level, etc. There are several online TDEE estimators where you can get an idea of what is your average daily burn and decide what is reasonable based on that. Such as if you're burning 2000 total (average) per day from BMR, activity, exercise - then 1500 would allow you to aim for 1 pound per week.

Kavazya wrote: »

Hi all-

I am 22 years old, 147 pounds and am aiming to get down to 135 or so. I work out 5 days a week with a mixture of cardio and strength training. I am pretty strong and muscular but have very little definition due to excess body fat on my arms, back and stomach.

I am looking to start a diet plan from square 1 and am seeking some recommendations for someone with my age, size, and activity level to break down that body fat so I can actually see the benefits of all the hard work I've put in over the last 6 months.

Like I said I exercise a good amount and don't want to be too restrictive or lose muscle. I've not been able to figure out a good plan that works on my own and would love some input! What do you guys think would be best for someone like me?

Thanks!

DonM46

I'd look for a daily calorie deficit in the 250 to 400 range.

siraphine

Aim to lose between 0.5 and 1 pound a week for your size.

wriggers53

Could do with knowing you height and body fat percentage 147lb if your 5ft tall would be heavy but if your 5ft 8' it would be light,but on a more general note i wouldn't bother restricting calories,you sound like you have a good exercise plan in place,just adjust your macro ratio to for example 25% carbs and 35% protein with the rest quality fats,give it a month see how it affects you,if you don't shed fat drop the carbs to 20% and so on,the best and most consistent way to shed fat is to do good steady state cardio on a carbohydrate restricted diet not calorie restricted

red99ryder

wriggers53 wrote: »

Could do with knowing you height and body fat percentage 147lb if your 5ft tall would be heavy but if your 5ft 8' it would be light,but on a more general note i wouldn't bother restricting calories,you sound like you have a good exercise plan in place,just adjust your macro ratio to for example 25% carbs and 35% protein with the rest quality fats,give it a month see how it affects you,if you don't shed fat drop the carbs to 20% and so on,the best and most consistent way to shed fat is to do good steady state cardio on a carbohydrate restricted diet not calorie restricted

I thought it was calories .. not carbs we are chasing here ?

DonM46

I thought it was calories .. not carbs we are chasing here ?

^THIS.
Granted, in general, if you reduce carbs, you will likely reduce calories, but THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT IS TO CONSUME FEWER CALORIES THAN YOU BURN.

malibu927

wriggers53 wrote: »

Could do with knowing you height and body fat percentage 147lb if your 5ft tall would be heavy but if your 5ft 8' it would be light,but on a more general note i wouldn't bother restricting calories,you sound like you have a good exercise plan in place,just adjust your macro ratio to for example 25% carbs and 35% protein with the rest quality fats,give it a month see how it affects you,if you don't shed fat drop the carbs to 20% and so on,the best and most consistent way to shed fat is to do good steady state cardio on a carbohydrate restricted diet not calorie restricted

Nope. You can gain weight restricting carbs if you're eating more calories than you burn.