Weight loss and muscle gain

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nathanbrewis11
nathanbrewis11 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all, I’ve currently been on a 1000 calorie deficit for 7 months and have lost 92lbs.

I am starting to weight train and wondering how many calories I should be aiming for per day as I’m currently between 1300 and 1600 hitting around 110 grams of protein per day as I’ve seen multiple sources saying I should be having 2600 or 3000+ to gain muscle while training and this seems like a lot especially with my current diet ?

Any advise is welcome.
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Answers

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,398 Member
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    You've been more on a 1500cal deficit to be honest. You've had a super massive weightloss, possibly too fast even. But we don't know as you've not provided any info about yourself. Can you post your current weight, size, age, gender, etc?
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,515 Member
    edited February 13
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    Yeah that's a 1500 deficit as yiara said. Do the math yourself, at 3500 per pound.

    Congrats on that big loss, however you probably lost a lot of muscle doing that. Lifting and increasing protein earlier could have mitigated that.

    You'll need to post your stats and current weight goals to get more info on new calorie and protein targets.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,628 Member
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    You need very little over maintenance to gain muscle otherwise the gains will be mostly fat.
    Figure your current maintenance calories and add 300 per day.

    Keep an eye on your waist measurement at the navel. if this measurement is growing then you’re gaining fat.

    Expect a slight increase however if it starts getting too much you’ll need to cut back on calories
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,515 Member
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    Tom, you may be assuming they are at or near goal weight? They may have another 100 pounds to lose for all we know, in which case even a lean bulk would be premature.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,628 Member
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    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    Tom, you may be assuming they are at or near goal weight? They may have another 100 pounds to lose for all we know, in which case even a lean bulk would be premature.
    correct.

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,642 Member
    edited February 13
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    People who truly had 90+lbs available to lose ***and did not overshoot the bottom****have no business bulking immediately after and before spending an extended time at maintenance.

    That said, stats and where they're at is very relevant because 1300 to 1600 is not maintenance either.

    So first step in either case is figuring out where that maintenance number is
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,515 Member
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    People who truly had 90+lbs available to lose ***and did not overshoot the bottom****have no business bulking immediately after and before spending an extended time at maintenance.
    Agreed. If they are at goal weight, then seeking to maintain for at least four months should be the immediate goal. Though a few pounds will inevitably return due to water and glycogen, etc.
  • foldinthecheese
    foldinthecheese Posts: 27 Member
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    If you have never lifted (or haven't lifted for a while) you definitely don't need to increase your caloric intake to 3,000+ to gain some muscle. If you don't have a ton of muscle mass to start, you could even put on muscle in a slight calorie deficit, though very unlikely to almost certainly not with a 1k deficit.

    Is your goal to compete?
  • jjjsroach
    jjjsroach Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm currently doing cardio three days per week and strength training three days per week (beginner)....all while continuing to lose weight on a 1000 calorie per day deficit. Are you telling me I'm wasting my time with the strength training?
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,515 Member
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    jjjsroach wrote: »
    I'm currently doing cardio three days per week and strength training three days per week (beginner)....all while continuing to lose weight on a 1000 calorie per day deficit. Are you telling me I'm wasting my time with the strength training?
    Absolutely not wasting your time. That's a perfect mix, what you've got going on there. Assuming progressive overload on the lifting of course.

    Just don't have high expectations of building muscle while on such a large deficit. However, lifting + good protein will help keep what muscle you have while you lose weight.

    How much more do you need to lose?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,170 Member
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    jjjsroach wrote: »
    I'm currently doing cardio three days per week and strength training three days per week (beginner)....all while continuing to lose weight on a 1000 calorie per day deficit. Are you telling me I'm wasting my time with the strength training?

    At worst, lifting during loss preserves existing muscle better, and some people might see some newbie gains, especially if the deficit isn't huge relative to then-current body weight.

    92 pounds in 7 months is more like a 1500 calorie deficit, in practice, though . . . seems like. (7 months times 30 days = 210 days. 92 pounds times roughly 3500 calories in a pound of fat = 322,000 calories. 322,000 calories divided by 210 days is 1533 calories of daily deficit, approximately.)

    It's multi-week weight loss results that gauge calorie deficit best. Calculators, MFP, or a fitness tracker are just estimating based on statistical calorie-needs averages for similar people.

    Unless you're well over 300 pounds, that's maybe a little aggressive for best results on the fitness front. But I don't know what your current weight is.

    Best wishes!

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