12-week Program Completed - 500 calorie daily deficit
ElectroJay
Posts: 44 Member
Hi gang,
Below is my success story. Some of it maybe "yea, no duh" but I hope it may help some of the newer members. Thanks!
It's been a grueling 12-week program of consuming a daily 500 calorie deficit and I'm finally done. 16 pounds leaner and reduced my military body fat percentage to 15% (considered "fit" and nearly "athlete" by military standards). With weight training progression, I'd reached the point where I'm gradually gaining weight rather than losing so it's maintenance mode time!
Here are a few things I've learned along the way:
- The common response from people who learn of your plan tend to ridicule you. I don't know why. Perhaps it's the perception that calorie counting is about starvation. It really isn't.
- Eating clean is addictive. I now love to eat salads. However, I am also now picky with salads and will only eat those prepared myself. Restaurant salads taste like crap and are overpriced.
- Eating clean can be expensive. I'm spending an average of $30 every 4-5 days on groceries now that I load up on fruits, vegetables, chicken breasts, fish, etc.
- The average person burns 2,000 calories per day just by living a sedentary lifestyle. One must have a calorie deficit of 3,500 per week to lose each pound. Likewise, a surplus of 3,500 in a week equates to 1 pound gain in fat. My goal was to lose 1 pound per week so I set my deficit to 500 per day. After I lost my first 10 pounds, I had to lower my daily intake to 1,350 from 1,500 to compensate.
- "Calorie is a calorie" principle works. At least, it worked for me. It does not matter if it's from junk food or from vegetables, or if you ate it during the morning or at midnight, it's all the same for weight management. Some days, I would eat salad all day and then have an epic dessert at night. Other days, I would have a full meal at midnight. As long as I ended up with a 500c deficit, I was happy.
- When you no longer lose weight due to muscle gain, one should rely on other metrics such as waist, hips, neck, and body fat %. "Military body fat" is a widely accepted and accurate calculation and can be found here:
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/
- Alcohol is ridiculously bad for your diet. The average pint of beer has 275 calories. A shot of vodka has 97. So, how much booze do you consume no a typical night of partying? Maybe 1,300 or more? That's greater than my allowance per day! lmao
- Here are a few of my favourite fast food items. The only one I find acceptable is the KFC Toonie Tuesday.
~Big Mac = 540. Whopper = 660. Sausage McMuffin - 380 (with egg = 450), KFC Toonie Tuesday = 520 (coleslaw instead of fries)
- Seafood is very low in calories! For example, lobsters are only 114 per pound. However, beware if you have sodium issues.
- Cardio exercises allow you to consume more calories, obviously. If I reach my calorie limit yet I still need/want to eat something more that day, just burn off a couple hundred calories by doing something active.
Good luck to all those striving towards a healthier lifestyle.
Below is my success story. Some of it maybe "yea, no duh" but I hope it may help some of the newer members. Thanks!
It's been a grueling 12-week program of consuming a daily 500 calorie deficit and I'm finally done. 16 pounds leaner and reduced my military body fat percentage to 15% (considered "fit" and nearly "athlete" by military standards). With weight training progression, I'd reached the point where I'm gradually gaining weight rather than losing so it's maintenance mode time!
Here are a few things I've learned along the way:
- The common response from people who learn of your plan tend to ridicule you. I don't know why. Perhaps it's the perception that calorie counting is about starvation. It really isn't.
- Eating clean is addictive. I now love to eat salads. However, I am also now picky with salads and will only eat those prepared myself. Restaurant salads taste like crap and are overpriced.
- Eating clean can be expensive. I'm spending an average of $30 every 4-5 days on groceries now that I load up on fruits, vegetables, chicken breasts, fish, etc.
- The average person burns 2,000 calories per day just by living a sedentary lifestyle. One must have a calorie deficit of 3,500 per week to lose each pound. Likewise, a surplus of 3,500 in a week equates to 1 pound gain in fat. My goal was to lose 1 pound per week so I set my deficit to 500 per day. After I lost my first 10 pounds, I had to lower my daily intake to 1,350 from 1,500 to compensate.
- "Calorie is a calorie" principle works. At least, it worked for me. It does not matter if it's from junk food or from vegetables, or if you ate it during the morning or at midnight, it's all the same for weight management. Some days, I would eat salad all day and then have an epic dessert at night. Other days, I would have a full meal at midnight. As long as I ended up with a 500c deficit, I was happy.
- When you no longer lose weight due to muscle gain, one should rely on other metrics such as waist, hips, neck, and body fat %. "Military body fat" is a widely accepted and accurate calculation and can be found here:
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/
- Alcohol is ridiculously bad for your diet. The average pint of beer has 275 calories. A shot of vodka has 97. So, how much booze do you consume no a typical night of partying? Maybe 1,300 or more? That's greater than my allowance per day! lmao
- Here are a few of my favourite fast food items. The only one I find acceptable is the KFC Toonie Tuesday.
~Big Mac = 540. Whopper = 660. Sausage McMuffin - 380 (with egg = 450), KFC Toonie Tuesday = 520 (coleslaw instead of fries)
- Seafood is very low in calories! For example, lobsters are only 114 per pound. However, beware if you have sodium issues.
- Cardio exercises allow you to consume more calories, obviously. If I reach my calorie limit yet I still need/want to eat something more that day, just burn off a couple hundred calories by doing something active.
Good luck to all those striving towards a healthier lifestyle.
0
Replies
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Great post and congrats on your loss!0
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Fabulous, great to know if you really stick at something it can be done. Congratulations on you weight loss.0
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hi electojay can you please give me some guide about creating a deficit of 500? i mean how do you do it? my tdee is 2000 and my bmr is 1200 something and i eat 1500 calories daily.. out of these i burn 200-300 calories almost everyday of the week.. so i net like 1300-1400.. now my question will my deficit will be 500 on eating 1500 calories or should i burn like 500 calories out of 1500 calories i ate daily to create a deficit of 500 (so i will be netting 1000 calories everyday)..0
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hi electojay can you please give me some guide about creating a deficit of 500? i mean how do you do it? my tdee is 2000 and my bmr is 1200 something and i eat 1500 calories daily.. out of these i burn 200-300 calories almost everyday of the week.. so i net like 1300-1400.. now my question will my deficit will be 500 on eating 1500 calories or should i burn like 500 calories out of 1500 calories i ate daily to create a deficit of 500 (so i will be netting 1000 calories everyday)..
If your TDEE is 2000 you would eat a NET of 1500 to create 500 deficit0 -
- When you no longer lose weight due to muscle gain, one should rely on other metrics such as waist, hips, neck, and body fat %. "Military body fat" is a widely accepted and accurate calculation and can be found here:
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/
You most definitely did NOT gain muscle while in a 500 daily calorie deficit! Muscle gains require surplus calories. I am sure that you revealed a lot of nice muscle that you already had, by greatly lowering your body fat %. Congrats. :drinker:0 -
Great job on your success!! I like that you pointed out that once you lose weight (every 10lbs or so), you need to recalculate your calorie goals. That is what helped me a lot.
As far as 'gaining muscle,' don't even get into that discussion here. OP, I know what you mean!! You see that your muscles are pumped up and you're looking toned. When a person gets pumped up muscles, weight loss on the scale can stall, but the inches will fall away and the mirror will be your friend.
Good luck on all of your goals, OP!!! You're doing GREAT!!!0 -
Thank you all for your support!
@marinashakeel, like the poster after you mentioned, if your TDEE is 2000, then you would need to consume net calories of 1500 to achieve a 500 deficit.
Net calories = (calories you consumed) minus (calories burned through exercise or physical activity)
@chani8 haha you're probably right!
@quietbloom you've got a point there lol
@poodledoodle1 thanks! I see you are making great progress s well. Keep it up!0 -
Your approach is completely sensible and legit. As bloom mentioned, gaining muscle on calorie deficit is improbable, but revealing what muscle you have by losing fat makes you look more muscular.
Good job. Now keep it up to maintain.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Thanks so much for sharing! Great work!0
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