Is it possible to lose body fat while eating things like ice cream?Badly worded topic, please read

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SusieBanyon
SusieBanyon Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I have been maintaining my weight for a few weeks and I can see my stomach muscles, but I'm not very "ripped", just "toned" -- and this is my (horribly worded, confused sounding question):

If I want to enhance the look of my muscle definition I need to continue exercising/increase intensity AND lose body fat, right? I know body fat can't be targeted and that's fine...but I still need to lose body fat, right?

So here is my confusion:

I read a lot about 'abs are made in the kitchen' and so on. Like I said, I can see my muscles and I'm very pleased with them (but of course I want a more aesthetically pleasing "hey, she works out" look)...If I eat in a deficit, I will lose body fat, right? But can I eat whatever I want to increase my look of muscle?

Example, if I eat, say, 1,400 calories (assuming that's deficit for me) but all 1,400 calories are in ice cream every single day (barring all other negative health impacts, focusing solely on losing body fat to increase the look of muscle), will I start to lose muscle and become "skinny fat"? (p.s. I won't be eating 1,400 calories of just ice cream despite what a dream that would be, it's just for the sake of an extreme example)

In other words, do I need to eat any combination of protein/carbs/fat or can I just keep doing what I'm doing but in a deficit to achieve my goal of a leaner, more defined look?

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  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    edited April 2019
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    Just eating ice cream would likely not provide you with sufficient protein for muscle retention so you would be at higher risk of losing muscle mass and definition in a deficit than if you had a higher protein diet.

    You do not need to micromanage your eating to hit a specific macro target. But you do need to at least make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet.

    ETA: The closer you get to "athlete" body type, the more controlling certain aspects of your diet will matter to get the extra bit of look that you are searching for.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    MikePTY wrote: »
    Just eating ice cream would likely not provide you with sufficient protein for muscle retention so you would be at higher risk of losing muscle mass and definition in a deficit than if you had a higher protein diet.

    You do not need to micromanage your eating to hit a specific macro target. But you do need to at least make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet.

    Unless she's eating solely Halo Top/ Enlightened, etc. :p

    I actually read an article where someone did this just for journalistic fun. Solely Halo Top diet for a week (maybe it was longer, but I can't imagine). And yes, they did lose weight.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Not nearly enough protein in 1400 calories of ice cream for muscle retention. Your example of a sweet non-diet dish could have been custard. The protein is still not great in 1400 calories of custard, but it's enough to not leave you deficient.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    edited April 2019
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    1400 calories of just ice cream (provided that is your total daily calorie intake) would leave you protein deficient, would likely negatively affect your workout performance and sleep. All things can be considered important to help muscle retention. You can definitely incorporate some ice cream into your diet and still lower your bodyfat. Provided you are getting enough protein, minimum fat, enough carbs for your workouts, you would be able to do it. (I would also recommend proper nutrition for health and satiety but technically you can do it just hitting your macros).

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