How do you know when to stop eating at a deficit?

arains89

How do you know when to stop losing weight and just start eating at maintenance and try to tone? In my eyes I still have a way to go. Everyone around me tells me to stop losing. I am not sure if I feel so far from where I want to be because I am depressed or if I am seeing things clearly... I personally feel like I could stand to lose another 10 pounds... But I don't know if maybe what I really need is to just tighten and I am not sure if you do that and remain in a deficit... Are you supposed to stay in a deficit while trying to lose fat and gain muscle? I mean I don't care if I am the weight I am now or 10 pounds lighter honestly I just don't know if I will reach my goals by maintaining a healthy deficit or if I should stop... Sorry if this is confusing any advice is appreciated!

arains89

Bump

joshdann

the closer you get to your goal, the more you need to reduce your deficit. It should be a gradual process, with a much larger deficit when you have the fat mass to support it and a much smaller one as you get lean. At some point you will be so close to maintenance that your weight loss will slow to a crawl. Your ticker says you have only 3 lb to go. If that number is accurate, you should be looking at no more than a half pound per week of loss, focusing on strength training and protein. You will start to gain muscle and may even gain a few pounds.

At this point in your progress it's a lot tougher to measure results through weight. Measurements are your friend. You've done well so far!

arains89

Thanks! That is accurate I set my original goal to 135 and I am 138 currently. But that was just a goal I picked from no where really and now that I am so close I feel as if I have more fat to lose... I guess I am just not sure what to focus on from here...

Mokey41

You should be incorporating strength training into your program right from the beginning, don't wait until you're "skinny" then try to build lean muscle mass back up. It's much easier to maintain it than to build it. Toning is a word thrown around that means nothing. You don't tone up muscles.

Amy_Andrews

I'm in the same situation as you. I met my arbitrary "goal" and I'm fit and feel great, but see pics and feel like I could stand to lose a few more pounds, or atl east tone up the jiggly bits. But I am enjoying eating maintenance calories

I think I'm going to stay at maintenance and add some heavy lifting.

Greenrun99

You should be following a strength/resistance program now if your looking to "tone" and not when you reach a estimated number

DopeItUp

When you're happy with your physique.

arains89

Ok I don't think I am asking this correctly. I am doing a strength training regimen. I lift 3xs a week. I am still eating at a deficit. I am saying that I don't know if I should be eating at maintenance to reach my goals... I want to be more toned. I do have more fat to lose but I do not know how to go about my calories etc....

DopeItUp

Ok I don't think I am asking this correctly. I am doing a strength training regimen. I lift 3xs a week. I am still eating at a deficit. I am saying that I don't know if I should be eating at maintenance to reach my goals... I want to be more toned. I do have more fat to lose but I do not know how to go about my calories etc....

With only 3lbs to lose, I'd go with an extremely minimal deficit (like 100-250/day) or eat at maintenance and continue with your lifting program. Try one or the other and see how your results go. With this small of an amount to lose, I'd focus on your body composition/measurements versus scale weight, FYI.

medic2038

Ok I don't think I am asking this correctly. I am doing a strength training regimen. I lift 3xs a week. I am still eating at a deficit. I am saying that I don't know if I should be eating at maintenance to reach my goals... I want to be more toned. I do have more fat to lose but I do not know how to go about my calories etc....

Looking "toned" is simply having less bodyfat. So if you're not happy with the way you look now, keep eating at a deficit.

Lets think about that question for a second. If If you had more fat to lose, how would eating at maintenance help you?

arains89

Ok I don't think I am asking this correctly. I am doing a strength training regimen. I lift 3xs a week. I am still eating at a deficit. I am saying that I don't know if I should be eating at maintenance to reach my goals... I want to be more toned. I do have more fat to lose but I do not know how to go about my calories etc....

Looking "toned" is simply having less bodyfat. So if you're not happy with the way you look now, keep eating at a deficit.

Lets think about that question for a second. If If you had more fat to lose, how would eating at maintenance help you?

I didn't ask you to be a prick. It is perfectly possible to increase muscle mass and decrease BF without loosing weight. My assumption is that that means you can do it without a deficit... I was asking if it is more efficient since I am not worried about scale weight at this point just increasing muscle and decreasing fat, if I should move to maintenance calories and continue and increase strength training or just stay at a deficit as I am now... Sorry if that is incorrect.

medic2038

I didn't ask you to be a prick. It is perfectly possible to increase muscle mass and decrease BF without loosing weight. My assumption is that that means you can do it without a deficit... I was asking if it is more efficient since I am not worried about scale weight at this point just increasing muscle and decreasing fat, if I should move to maintenance calories and continue and increase strength training or just stay at a deficit as I am now... Sorry if that is incorrect.

I wasn't, and no it's not (for about 99% of people).
I was telling you to keep doing what you're doing, what you're doing is obviously working.

arains89

I didn't ask you to be a prick. It is perfectly possible to increase muscle mass and decrease BF without loosing weight. My assumption is that that means you can do it without a deficit... I was asking if it is more efficient since I am not worried about scale weight at this point just increasing muscle and decreasing fat, if I should move to maintenance calories and continue and increase strength training or just stay at a deficit as I am now... Sorry if that is incorrect.

I wasn't, and no it's not (for about 99% of people).
I was telling you to keep doing what you're doing, what you're doing is obviously working.

Good to know thank you. My body feels thinner I just don't feel strong still and it frustrates me. I guess all things in good time.

medic2038

Strength is relative though. If you were lifting X weight at say 150lbs, but still lifting X weight at 135; you've gotten stronger. It probably doesn't feel like you did, but you did.

joshdann

I didn't ask you to be a prick. It is perfectly possible to increase muscle mass and decrease BF without loosing weight. My assumption is that that means you can do it without a deficit... I was asking if it is more efficient since I am not worried about scale weight at this point just increasing muscle and decreasing fat, if I should move to maintenance calories and continue and increase strength training or just stay at a deficit as I am now... Sorry if that is incorrect.

I wasn't, and no it's not (for about 99% of people).
I was telling you to keep doing what you're doing, what you're doing is obviously working.

it is perfectly possible to lose fat and gain muscle within the same general timeframe. It's just not as easy as it is to do one thing or the other. Your body doesn't work in 7-day or even 24-hour increments. You *can* eat at a deficit for the week or the day and still have excess calories for at least part of the muscle repair process, which is when muscle gains happen. It takes much more fine control of your diet, but it's possible.

Stage14

My guess is that the issue may be that you aren't lifting enough or aren't incorporating full body compound moves enough. What lifting program are you doing? If you aren't doing a structures program, can you tell what kind of lifts you do, how many reps, and at what weight?

medic2038

[/quote]
it is perfectly possible to lose fat and gain muscle within the same general timeframe. It's just not as easy as it is to do one thing or the other. Your body doesn't work in 7-day or even 24-hour increments. You *can* eat at a deficit for the week or the day and still have excess calories for at least part of the muscle repair process, which is when muscle gains happen. It takes much more fine control of your diet, but it's possible.
[/quote]

I know some people that swear by leangains type programs, for the most part though they look to be "spinning their wheels". For some it IS possible, but like you said it takes being super anal with everything (and the benefit is virtually non-existant, compared to cut/bulk cycling).

arains89

I am using P90X as my lifting program