Eating ~2,350 calories a day, BMI of only 20, and still losing 2lb/week (Is this healthy?)

diannethegeek

You say that you don't care about muscle mass but also that you're trying to get down to a lower body fat %. Preserving muscle mass is what drives your body fat percentage. The two are linked and cannot be separated. If you cut at a rate that you're losing as much or more muscle than you are fat, then your bf% will go up instead of down. You won't get to 12% body fat unless you pay attention to your rate of loss and your muscle mass.

try2again

So, if you ask if this is healthy, and everyone says "no", do you plan to stop?

batorkin

try2again wrote: »

So, if you ask if this is healthy, and everyone says "no", do you plan to stop?

I have stated half a dozen times in the thread that I will be adjusting my calorie intake to lose weight slower, yet some people just keep going on about muscle loss and how I need to gain muscle. I've stated that I know I need to gain muscle (and even that I have plans to do so during the cold season!).

If my doctor says I can safely lose another 10 pounds before focusing on muscle, why wouldn't I listen to him? He has seen me naked and is a professional. I trust his opinion more than people on the internet who haven't seen a picture of me.

My original question was answered, and I agreed to make adjustments to lose less weight each week. The thread is over, everything now is just beating a dead horse.

estherdragonbat wrote: »

tyrindor wrote: »

I know I lost muscle, but I still can lift more than I could starting out and I am happy with that. I'll state this again: I am not trying to have a lot of muscle. I want to be lean.

Many cyclist are considered underweight on BMI, and are much smaller than I currently am. Cycling doesn't require much muscle and less weight is key to speed. Not everyone understands what build type I am going for, so I am just going to take the solid advice of not losing more than 1 pound/week by adding things like peanut butter and nuts, then switch to .5 pounds/gain over the winter and start recomping in the gym.

Thanks to the people who did offer me advice.

You won't be lean; you'll be skinny-fat. Muscle is what makes you lean.

I know this... That's why I am recomping/bulking this winter... That's why I am eating 180g of protein a day and lifting once a week to minimize muscle loss until then... 16-17% is still too high to begin a recomp/bulk, I won't be "lean" at the end; I'll be chubby. This was straight from my doctor, he wants me at 9%-12% before I recomp/bulk, and that follows almost all advice given on lifting websites.

I've agreed to switch to 1 pound/week loss max until my winter recomp/bulk. I don't know what more you guys want. I've achieve so much in the last year and am the healthiest I've ever been. It's like some people are expecting me to go from morbidly obese to a perfectly chiseled body in one fell swoop. I've tried putting on muscle while losing fat, lifting 3x a week and getting enough protein while in a calorie deficiency. I got no gains, and didn't have the energy to exercise. Cutting/bulking in stages is popular for many people, and right now I am cutting to at least 12% BF.

I love this community, but seriously, sometimes it gets far too opinionated when someone's goals or methods aren't the same as someone else's. I'm not just talking about this thread, I regularly see it happening in other threads too.

Thanks to the people who gave me advice without adding drama. My question has been answered, can we please just let this debate end now?

NovusDies

My doctor is able to guide me through weight loss without requiring me to completely disrobe.

deannalfisher

you realize most doctors get less than 4hours nutrition training during their entire med school training right? i'm not sure if I would put my weight goals in the hands of my docs completely

corysmithsmail

tyrindor wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

So, if you ask if this is healthy, and everyone says "no", do you plan to stop?

I have stated half a dozen times in the thread that I will be adjusting my calorie intake to lose weight slower, yet some people just keep going on about muscle loss and how I need to gain muscle. I've stated that I know I need to gain muscle (and even that I have plans to do so during the cold season!).

If my doctor says I can safely lose another 10 pounds before focusing on muscle, why wouldn't I listen to him? He has seen me naked and is a professional. I trust his opinion more than people on the internet who haven't seen a picture of me.

My original question was answered, and I agreed to make adjustments to lose less weight each week. The thread is over, everything now is just beating a dead horse.

estherdragonbat wrote: »

tyrindor wrote: »

I know I lost muscle, but I still can lift more than I could starting out and I am happy with that. I'll state this again: I am not trying to have a lot of muscle. I want to be lean.

Many cyclist are considered underweight on BMI, and are much smaller than I currently am. Cycling doesn't require much muscle and less weight is key to speed. Not everyone understands what build type I am going for, so I am just going to take the solid advice of not losing more than 1 pound/week by adding things like peanut butter and nuts, then switch to .5 pounds/gain over the winter and start recomping in the gym.

Thanks to the people who did offer me advice.

You won't be lean; you'll be skinny-fat. Muscle is what makes you lean.

I know this... That's why I am recomping/bulking this winter... That's why I am eating 180g of protein a day and lifting once a week to minimize muscle loss until then... 16-17% is still too high to begin a recomp/bulk, I won't be "lean" at the end; I'll be chubby. This was straight from my doctor, he wants me at 9%-12% before I recomp/bulk, and that follows almost all advice given on lifting websites.

I've agreed to switch to 1 pound/week loss max until my winter recomp/bulk. I don't know what more you guys want. I've achieve so much in the last year and am the healthiest I've ever been. It's like some people are expecting me to go from morbidly obese to a perfectly chiseled body in one fell swoop. I've tried putting on muscle while losing fat, lifting 3x a week and getting enough protein while in a calorie deficiency. I got no gains, and didn't have the energy to exercise. Cutting/bulking in stages is popular for many people, and right now I am cutting to at least 12% BF.

I love this community, but seriously, sometimes it gets far too opinionated when someone's goals or methods aren't the same as someone else's. I'm not just talking about this thread, I regularly see it happening in other threads too.

Thanks to the people who gave me advice without adding drama. My question has been answered, can we please just let this debate end now?

Um....just a question...but doesn't the debate end when you stop responding? 🤔

lynn_glenmont

tyrindor wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

So, if you ask if this is healthy, and everyone says "no", do you plan to stop?

I have stated half a dozen times in the thread that I will be adjusting my calorie intake to lose weight slower, yet some people just keep going on about muscle loss and how I need to gain muscle. I've stated that I know I need to gain muscle (and even that I have plans to do so during the cold season!).

If my doctor says I can safely lose another 10 pounds before focusing on muscle, why wouldn't I listen to him? He has seen me naked and is a professional. I trust his opinion more than people on the internet who haven't seen a picture of me.

My original question was answered, and I agreed to make adjustments to lose less weight each week. The thread is over, everything now is just beating a dead horse.

estherdragonbat wrote: »

tyrindor wrote: »

I know I lost muscle, but I still can lift more than I could starting out and I am happy with that. I'll state this again: I am not trying to have a lot of muscle. I want to be lean.

Many cyclist are considered underweight on BMI, and are much smaller than I currently am. Cycling doesn't require much muscle and less weight is key to speed. Not everyone understands what build type I am going for, so I am just going to take the solid advice of not losing more than 1 pound/week by adding things like peanut butter and nuts, then switch to .5 pounds/gain over the winter and start recomping in the gym.

Thanks to the people who did offer me advice.

You won't be lean; you'll be skinny-fat. Muscle is what makes you lean.

I know this... That's why I am recomping/bulking this winter... That's why I am eating 180g of protein a day and lifting once a week to minimize muscle loss until then... 16-17% is still too high to begin a recomp/bulk, I won't be "lean" at the end; I'll be chubby. This was straight from my doctor, he wants me at 9%-12% before I recomp/bulk, and that follows almost all advice given on lifting websites.

I've agreed to switch to 1 pound/week loss max until my winter recomp/bulk. I don't know what more you guys want. I've achieve so much in the last year and am the healthiest I've ever been. It's like some people are expecting me to go from morbidly obese to a perfectly chiseled body in one fell swoop. I've tried putting on muscle while losing fat, lifting 3x a week and getting enough protein while in a calorie deficiency. I got no gains, and didn't have the energy to exercise. Cutting/bulking in stages is popular for many people, and right now I am cutting to at least 12% BF.

I love this community, but seriously, sometimes it gets far too opinionated when someone's goals or methods aren't the same as someone else's. I'm not just talking about this thread, I regularly see it happening in other threads too.

Thanks to the people who gave me advice without adding drama. My question has been answered, can we please just let this debate end now?

Lifting only once a week combined with a steep deficit pretty much makes the 180 g of protein worthless. Preserving and/or gaining muscles is a three-legged stool that relies on sufficient protein, sufficient resistance training, and a deficit that is small enough that it doesn't outpace your body's ability to recover energy stored in your fat reserves.

If you have a three-legged stool, and one of the legs is really sturdy, and the other two are thin pieces of wood that won't bear a third of your weight, and you sit on it, what's going to happen?

jennifer_417

If you are not a bodybuilder, or seeking to be one, then that's probably not where you want to look for advice.
You really want to make sure you're eating enough to fuel your life and activities. There are lots of calorie dense foods out there which you can use to get more calories in without much volume.