1000 calorie deficit NOT for people with healthy BMI

banks1850

I have seen so many people with "10 pounds to lose" with a 1000 calorie deficit. It drives me a little nuts. You guys know who you are. You realize that, unless you are a 280 lb 6 foot 8 inch giant, that's not the right place to be, right?

If you are at a healthy BMI, chosing a 1000 calorie deficit is going to cause you to burn muscle, which slows down your metabolism, which makes it harder to burn energy, which makes gaining fat easier...vicious cycle. To a lesser degree, this goes for people ranging up the BMI scale, the higher your BMI, the higher your calorie deficit can be safely (there are limits of course).

If you have 10 pounds to lose (just a metaphor, I actually mean A healthy BMI somewhere between 21 and 25) you should be concentrating on a small deficit (say 250 calories a day or so) and using a combination of cardio and weight training to increase muscle tone and density (not size necessarilly).
Increased muscle mass will increase your metabolism as muscle burns energy, pound for pound, at a much higher rate than fat EVEN WHEN YOU AREN'T WORKING IT OUT. As a side benefit, muscle looks smooth and tone, not bumpy and "cottage cheesey".

Also, when you are at a healthy BMI it takes (as it SHOULD) a long time to lose significant weight. Expect 10 pounds to take you 3 to 9 months to lose if you stick with it.

SIDE NOTE: I'm not a doctor, nor am I a registered dietician, I'm just someone who's been through it, researched it, and lived it. You may not like this post, but you can't deny the logic. Obviously what I post is my opinion, so chose to believe it or not, I can't force you too, but I know this, it works!

banks1850

I have seen so many people with "10 pounds to lose" with a 1000 calorie deficit. It drives me a little nuts. You guys know who you are. You realize that, unless you are a 280 lb 6 foot 8 inch giant, that's not the right place to be, right?

If you are at a healthy BMI, chosing a 1000 calorie deficit is going to cause you to burn muscle, which slows down your metabolism, which makes it harder to burn energy, which makes gaining fat easier...vicious cycle. To a lesser degree, this goes for people ranging up the BMI scale, the higher your BMI, the higher your calorie deficit can be safely (there are limits of course).

If you have 10 pounds to lose (just a metaphor, I actually mean A healthy BMI somewhere between 21 and 25) you should be concentrating on a small deficit (say 250 calories a day or so) and using a combination of cardio and weight training to increase muscle tone and density (not size necessarilly).
Increased muscle mass will increase your metabolism as muscle burns energy, pound for pound, at a much higher rate than fat EVEN WHEN YOU AREN'T WORKING IT OUT. As a side benefit, muscle looks smooth and tone, not bumpy and "cottage cheesey".

Also, when you are at a healthy BMI it takes (as it SHOULD) a long time to lose significant weight. Expect 10 pounds to take you 3 to 9 months to lose if you stick with it.

SIDE NOTE: I'm not a doctor, nor am I a registered dietician, I'm just someone who's been through it, researched it, and lived it. You may not like this post, but you can't deny the logic. Obviously what I post is my opinion, so chose to believe it or not, I can't force you too, but I know this, it works!

hamilton4beaumont

SO, if my bmi is 25.7 :grumble: , then I should at least be eating the recommended 1370 cals a day? I am doing that and eating exercise calories... Today makes the 4th week on mfp, but it makes the 2nd week of eating what I"m supposed to. I'm not shrinking, but I'll give it more time, I guess!
I had lost 30-40 pounds years ago and still feel like ANdre the giant, so that's probably why i think i need to be on an extremely low calorie plan. If I ate say 1200 calories and worked out for a long period of time, would it take my body a long time to figure out when to start losing the extra calories I'm eating now? I mean, I saw what I should eat to maintain and flipped! I've maintained for years on bird food...not working obviously:frown: . Since realizing my BMR and such, I've NEVER gone above 1400 NET calories. Should I try one day a week of high intake to prove that I'll feed my body or just stay at the 1370 NET calories to lose? So far, nothing lost. ????? THanks for continuing to help us!! I am soooo tired of crying over this problem. I AM very disciplined and dedicated so I don't understand the problem.

shorerider

I think many people's desire to lose weight may be triggered by our society's presentation of what an "ideal" body should be yet for most of us, that is not what our body should be. Many desire a lower weight that is not consistent with their body frame, etc., and our bodies fight when we try to get below what it knows it should be to remain healthy. (I wish it fought as hard when we go above our healthy weight!) For example, I know my ideal weight is at the high end of the scale for someone 5'4" because I am very large-boned and have a large body frame.

I am not even on a 1000 calorie a day deficit because my basal rate minus 1000 calories would be below 1200 a day and I'm not going below 1200 a day. Yet, I have well over 100 pounds more to lose!!

It takes time to lose weight but our society has sold us on wanting everything "now"--of course that benefits the diet industry which is a multi-billion dollar a year industry in this country (USA). We need to learn to slow down and take it a little at a time. And also realize that for some of us, we may already be at a healthy weight for us.

I suggest that anyone who wishes to lose weight check with their doctor to see what is a healthy weight based upon their present health conditions, body frame, etc.

Like Banks, I am not a doctor or professional--I'm just someone who has been overweight most of my life and tried everything out there only to lose and then gain back more than what I had lost. This time, I'm doing it right--exercise and healthy eating--a life style change NOT a diet!

zenmama

Thank you Banks!!!

zen!

edyta

Thanks Banks :flowerforyou:

My problem is that I really don't know what is my exact BMR and how much calories should I eat to lose at all.
I'd love to have 250-300 deficit but I just don't know exactly how much my body needs do function... :frown:

I'm 5'5', 139lbs, BMI 22.5.
According to different sites my BMR should be 1380-1450 adding daily activities (without exercises) this could be somewhere between 1650-1950. I am now testing 1550 net calories/day. My deficit could be 100cals (not really enough to lose) or 500 (a bit to much with my BMI).
How does that sounds?

I was thinking about wearing my HRM for the whole day (24hrs) and see what the result will be...

banks1850

Thanks Banks :flowerforyou:

My problem is that I really don't know what is my exact BMR and how much calories should I eat to lose at all.
I'd love to have 250-300 deficit but I just don't know exactly how much my body needs do function... :frown:

I'm 5'5', 139lbs, BMI 22.5.
According to different sites my BMR should be 1380-1450 adding daily activities (without exercises) this could be somewhere between 1650-1950. I am now testing 1550 net calories/day. My deficit could be 100cals (not really enough to lose) or 500 (a bit to much with my BMI).
How does that sounds?

I was thinking about wearing my HRM for the whole day (24hrs) and see what the result will be...

edyta,

I can only tell you what I get from the calculators, this is close to what it should be but you may, in fact, need tweaking.

Considering your BMI (already in the lower half of healthy, which is fine, but will make it extremely difficult to lose weight for you) your RMR or maintenance calories should be around 1900 IF you have a somewhat active lifestyle. If you are completely sedentary in your lifestyle, then 1750 or so calories will keep your current weight.
You are kind of the perfect example of what I am talking about. Your body thinks it's fine. It doesn't want to lose more. So to do so you have to battle for every pound, in your case, expecting to see any tangable weight loss in less then a month is not very realistic. A couple of weeks of doing anything isn't going to give you results because the proportions and percentages you are trying to change are so small that it's not really measureable with most home equipment. I think at what you are currently trying (1550) you should be ok, maybe even 100 or 150 calories higher might be better.
I want to stress that the point of this site is to be healthier, not to necessarilly lose weight. For many, the two are the same, but for someone like you, they aren't.
If you want my opinion edyta, I would completely forget about weight loss as IMHO you are fine where you are, I would, instead focus on body fat % and muscle tone. If you goal is to shrink a size or two or modefy some of your curves, at this point that won't happen with healthy weight loss for you, it will happen by shaping your body, your muscles, and your lean mass.

I'm glad you replied to this because I believe that you are on the right track, which is good to see, but I also believe you can take it a bit further then you are.

Just my humble opinion. :happy:
Best luck to you!

-Banks

kerrilucko

Good advice Banks! I myself am at a BMI of 32 (awful I know!!) but my calorie deficit right now is like 860 while I still have 50 lbs to lose! And I am losing it beautifully! So I certainly agree that someone with a healthy BMI certainly need not go that low!

REB89

Thanks for the post. I'm currently have a BMI of 23.8 and a deficit of 500 cals a day which i assume is ok?

lessertess

Banks,

What if you don't have a healthy BMI? What if your BMI is in the obese range? I'm assuming that you can afford a greater calorie deficit than 1000, but is there any research on what is actually safe?

I ask because my BMI is still in the "obese" range. (I can't tell you how much it hurt to say that). Up until the last two weeks I' ve been losing weight steadily eating approximately 1500 to 1600 calories a day and doing at least one hour of exercise daily. Over the last two weeks, for various reasons, I've increased my calorie intake to 1700 to 1800 and I've gained 1 pound. All weight loss seems to have stopped dead cold.

I usually burn at least 500-800 calories in exercise daily. I've set MFP for a 2lb a week loss and I usually end up with about 300 or so calories left over for the day. Now, I only estimate portion sizes but I'm pretty honest and I recognize that the calories burned are probably inflated since machines are notoriosly inaccurate.

That said, I'm a little frustrated and trying to find out if the problem is too few calories or too many.

banks1850

Thanks for the post. I'm currently have a BMI of 23.8 and a deficit of 500 cals a day which i assume is ok?

That all depends on what you want to do. Again, at a BMI that far into the healthy range, your goals shouldn't really be weight loss, or at least, weight loss shouldn't be the only goal, building muscle tone and density should definitely play a large part. Body fat should also play a large role (the two go hand in hand anyway). I always chuckle when I see those women's fitness magazine with ladies that have Ripped abs (can you say airbrushed?), it's so rare to find that it is like spotting Big Foot. Ripped abs on ANYONE over 30 requires a LOT of dedication, and a Body Fat % somewhere around 8 or 9 %, which is generally considered attainable only with very dedicated, very intense workouts. Essentially, if you aren't a trainer and have 2 hours a day to dedicate to weight training, it probably (I stress probably) isn't going to happen. There are, of course, the exceptions that prove the rule, but for most of us... flat, strong abs are pretty much all we can hope for.

I can tell you this much, one of my wife's best friends is a 38 year old woman who owns (yes, owns) the gym near us. She works out 2 to 3 hours a day, trains people daily, was a competetive body builder for about 8 years, and is in FANTASTIC shape. Even she doesn't have ripped abs, she has a BMI (I think she said it was 24) but she is considered extremely atheltic which throws off the BMI curve. Her body fat is around 12%. but her body looks tight, strong, and lean. She looks very similar to Jillian from the Biggest Loser (except her arms are a little bigger, and she is a little shorter). Take from that what you will, but it shows how a strong healthy body should look.

Whew, that was more then I initially intended to write.

banks1850

Banks,

What if you don't have a healthy BMI? What if your BMI is in the obese range? I'm assuming that you can afford a greater calorie deficit than 1000, but is there any research on what is actually safe?

I ask because my BMI is still in the "obese" range. (I can't tell you how much it hurt to say that). Up until the last two weeks I' ve been losing weight steadily eating approximately 1500 to 1600 calories a day and doing at least one hour of exercise daily. Over the last two weeks, for various reasons, I've increased my calorie intake to 1700 to 1800 and I've gained 1 pound. All weight loss seems to have stopped dead cold.

I usually burn at least 500-800 calories in exercise daily. I've set MFP for a 2lb a week loss and I usually end up with about 300 or so calories left over for the day. Now, I only estimate portion sizes but I'm pretty honest and I recognize that the calories burned are probably inflated since machines are notoriosly inaccurate.

That said, I'm a little frustrated and trying to find out if the problem is too few calories or too many.

See paragraph 2 of the original post. if you are in the obese range, 2 lbs a week is generally reasonable. The question is, when was the last time you checked your BMI? if you have been steadily losing weight, are you still in the obese range? Also, why are you leaving calories? If you are already at an extremely aggressive weight loss regimin (2 lbs a week is very aggressive), why would you leave calories on the table? By doing so you are basically ignoring the goals of this site. I'm not surprised that you have hit a plateau, now instead of having a 1000 calorie deficit, you have a 1300 calorie deficit. Which is may be just too much for your body. Assuming that your estimates of caloric burn and calories consumed are correct, you probably have already burned off the "easy" fat from your body, now your working on the slightly less accessable fat. This will take longer, you will have plateau's (and yes, some of them may last a few weeks, even a month or so is not uncommon) the body needs to adjust itself as your make up changes, give it time to do so. I know you want to see results now, but sometimes you just have to give your body time to adjust.

And don't worry about the "obese" label. It's just a word, think about it this way, you are smaller then you were! And a few months from now you may be completely out of the range all together. I would say, think about it with excitement like a child counts the days until christmas. I.E. you're not going to be able to change when it happens (except by falling off the wagon and pushing it back), all you can do is be as patient as possible and work as hard as you can to make sure you get there!

Oh and side note, please tell me your talking about a NET deficit, I.E. you're eating your exercise calories? If you aren't, adding 500 to 800 calories to that deficit will almost certainly put you into survival mode.

REB89

Thanks for the post. I'm currently have a BMI of 23.8 and a deficit of 500 cals a day which i assume is ok?

That all depends on what you want to do. Again, at a BMI that far into the healthy range, your goals shouldn't really be weight loss, or at least, weight loss shouldn't be the only goal, building muscle tone and density should definitely play a large part. Body fat should also play a large role (the two go hand in hand anyway). I always chuckle when I see those women's fitness magazine with ladies that have Ripped abs (can you say airbrushed?), it's so rare to find that it is like spotting Big Foot. Ripped abs on ANYONE over 30 requires a LOT of dedication, and a Body Fat % somewhere around 8 or 9 %, which is generally considered attainable only with very dedicated, very intense workouts. Essentially, if you aren't a trainer and have 2 hours a day to dedicate to weight training, it probably (I stress probably) isn't going to happen. There are, of course, the exceptions that prove the rule, but for most of us... flat, strong abs are pretty much all we can hope for.

I can tell you this much, one of my wife's best friends is a 38 year old woman who owns (yes, owns) the gym near us. She works out 2 to 3 hours a day, trains people daily, was a competetive body builder for about 8 years, and is in FANTASTIC shape. Even she doesn't have ripped abs, she has a BMI (I think she said it was 24) but she is considered extremely atheltic which throws off the BMI curve. Her body fat is around 12%. but her body looks tight, strong, and lean. She looks very similar to Jillian from the Biggest Loser (except her arms are a little bigger, and she is a little shorter). Take from that what you will, but it shows how a strong healthy body should look.

Whew, that was more then I initially intended to write.

Thanks for that! Yeah I am definately looking to tone up as well which is why i'm doing strength training and i definately am trying to lower my fat percentage because it is around 27.5% at the moment which is quite high. I would love to get down to around 18-20%.

banks1850

Thanks for that! Yeah I am definately looking to tone up as well which is why i'm doing strength training and i definately am trying to lower my fat percentage because it is around 27.5% at the moment which is quite high. I would love to get down to around 18-20%.

Bahh, 27.5% isn't that high, it's maybe a little high for your BMI, but not for women in general. Woman usually are fine between 12 and 25% so you're not that far off.

Good stuff.

FYI, if you're main goal is body fat, you may want to think about a VERY small deficit, muscles don't build very well with a large deficit, you are essentially fighting your muscles by making your deficit 500 calories a day. Also, the percentages of carbs fat and protein on this site aren't a very good balance for muscle building, the carbs are a bit high for that, the protein is low, and the fat is a little low too. I go with a 55/22/23 for carb/protein/fat percentages, you may want to think about something like that. Songbirdsweetie is actually more of an expert on the nutritional stuff, you may want to ask her.

:happy:

lessertess

Oh and side note, please tell me your talking about a NET deficit, I.E. you're eating your exercise calories? If you aren't, adding 500 to 800 calories to that deficit will almost certainly put you into survival mode.

Yes, I eat my exercise calories, just not all of them. I deliberately go a little under because I assume that I've underestimated calories consumed by about 10% and overestimated calories burned by about 10%. I just don't have the discipline to measure out my food portions. I tend to "eyeball" serving sizes.

However, I may be undereating. I'll try staying at the new, higher calorie rate for a while and see how it works out.

Thanks

REB89

Bahh, 27.5% isn't that high, it's maybe a little high for your BMI, but not for women in general. Woman usually are fine between 12 and 25% so you're not that far off.

Good stuff.

FYI, if you're main goal is body fat, you may want to think about a VERY small deficit, muscles don't build very well with a large deficit, you are essentially fighting your muscles by making your deficit 500 calories a day. Also, the percentages of carbs fat and protein on this site aren't a very good balance for muscle building, the carbs are a bit high for that, the protein is low, and the fat is a little low too. I go with a 55/22/23 for carb/protein/fat percentages, you may want to think about something like that. Songbirdsweetie is actually more of an expert on the nutritional stuff, you may want to ask her.

:happy:

I actually didnt realise that anywhere between 12 and 25% body fat was healthy so that's made me happy At the moment i have a ratio of 55/20/25 for carbs, fat and protein. I may try reducing my deficit a bit and see how that works out!

lotusfromthemud

If I can jump in here. . .
I've only started to really change my body fat % since I've switched to maintenance calories. I recently wore my HRM all day, on a particularly inactive day and came in at 1700, which is more than this site says I'm at while sedentary (the whole muscle mass making everything a bit higher thing, I hope).

You must feed your muscles to build them. I'm not all pumped-up or anything, but my legs now look defined instead of just "big", and my arms are starting to look buff. (I'm actually looking forward to summer for the first time, well, ever)

For those of you ladies "on the last ten pounds" (Or five) please consider switching to maintenance and concentrating on your exercise. It was only after I decided "well, maybe this is a healthy weight for me" and quit concentrating on the "magic number" that I got to the "magic number." Concentrate on adding muscle to your body, and you will lose inches, I promise!:flowerforyou:

banks1850

Yes, I eat my exercise calories, just not all of them. I deliberately go a little under because I assume that I've underestimated calories consumed by about 10% and overestimated calories burned by about 10%. I just don't have the discipline to measure out my food portions. I tend to "eyeball" serving sizes.

However, I may be undereating. I'll try staying at the new, higher calorie rate for a while and see how it works out.

Thanks

Ok that makes me feel better. :happy:

Not sure what the issue is then, you might just need to bite the bullet and buy a Heart Rate Monitor to get a more accurate picture of your exercise. a good HRM can also help you find your maintenance calories as well, that will help pinpoint exactly where you need to be (I.E. no more questions about whether you are on target with calories)

banks1850

If I can jump in here. . .
I've only started to really change my body fat % since I've switched to maintenance calories. I recently wore my HRM all day, on a particularly inactive day and came in at 1700, which is more than this site says I'm at while sedentary (the whole muscle mass making everything a bit higher thing, I hope).

You must feed your muscles to build them. I'm not all pumped-up or anything, but my legs now look defined instead of just "big", and my arms are starting to look buff. (I'm actually looking forward to summer for the first time, well, ever)

For those of you ladies "on the last ten pounds" (Or five) please consider switching to maintenance and concentrating on your exercise. It was only after I decided "well, maybe this is a healthy weight for me" and quit concentrating on the "magic number" that I got to the "magic number." Concentrate on adding muscle to your body, and you will lose inches, I promise!:flowerforyou:

HERE HERE VIV! Good call. I would totally agree with that. :happy:

salterdsalter2

Banks, since you seem to be very skilled at this weight loss thing I want your advice. I am 5ft 8 inches and weigh 147. My bmi is 23. According to all the charts I am in my ideal weight range for the normal but I don't want to weigh this much. I have always weighed 125-130 eating whatever I wanted and since I turned 35 three years ago I have seen it disappear slowly. I have tried dieting 1000 calories and felt faint. I am also working out at curves at least three days a week burning at least 625 a time. STILL NO WEIGHT LOSS. I have lost a few inches here and there (no pounds) but I get discouraged for a week or two and go back to ice cream and cookies and find the inches and a few pounds. I log on and see all the huge amounts of pounds these people drop and I can't even drop a few. I am taking the sites advice and doing their goals for myself instead of lower calories of my own. I just started that today. It just seems like alot of calories for me to eat. My base calories are 1200 and if I exercise (sometimes I walk and curves) I get 800 more calories. How can I possibly drop pounds eating that much? I just don't understand this whole diet thing... I always thought you starve and exercise and you drop pounds no matter what you weigh but that is not working or me. Is it possible for me to drop pounds if I am in my ideal range or is there something else I need to try to drop these impossible pounds.....? Thanks for you help!

kerikitkat

I have to say it again... I love this website! Y'all are great.

I have a BMI of 22.7 - 23 years old, 5'7", 145 lbs. My original goal was to get down to 130 lbs. I lost 2# the first week and nothing the second, which disappointed me of course.

Now, after reading this thread and several others, I am once again encouraged. :happy: I'm excited about all the weight training I am doing that I have never done before. Maybe I don't need to be all the way down at 130 if I can just get TONED. I've been worried like everyone else that my daily deficit isn't enough, that I'm overestimating exercise or underestimating calories, that my BMR is set too high, etc. I thought I should drop my net daily calories, which are currently set at 1450.

Instead, I should probably just relax and stick with it! Thanks, banks. :flowerforyou: