Eating way below BMR but losing weight and gaining muscle.

Ang108

Hello everyone,
For nearly three weeks now I've been on a diet where I don't go over 1200 calories a day and most of the time I'm under 1100. My BMR is supposed to be 1700. During weekdays I do 3 sets of 10 minute high intensity workouts. I also stand for about 10-11 hours a day (standing desk at work & at home) so I put lightly active (calculator.net) and it gives me a figure of 2300.

I've been reading a couple of posts here today about how you shouldn't eat less than BMR but for me the math has worked out and I've lost a little under 2kg and it also seems like I've gained muscle in my arms and abdominal area (they seem the most noticeable).

I've been eating 5 meals a day which have a lot of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, different sources of protein plus drinking a lot of water and during this period not once have I felt tired.



I'd like to get some advice because I'm not really sure about what's going on.
Thanks for reading

You have not gained muscle, especially not eating at such a deficit. However it is very possible that after losing 2 kilos/4.4 pounds that existing muscles are getting more defined, because the layer of fat on top of them is getting less. Many people confuse this with muscle gain. It takes more time and eating at a surplus to gain muscle mass, even for a young man like you.
I would suggest that you ingest more calories, especially protein, because otherwise even the minimal visual gain you have had will disappear, because at such an extreme deficit you will lose a lot of muscle mass.
Good Luck !

Aaron_K123

Water retention in muscles from weight lifting can also make your muscles appear to increase in size and become harder.

emmgray

At the moment I'm trying to work out a diet which has 120g protein (480 calories), 120g carbohydrates (480 calories) and 80g fat (720 calories) which would give me a total of 1680 calories.

I was also looking at the calculation about how you can estimate the amount of fat you can lose in a day, which is:

((mass (lbs) x body fat %) x 31) so 154 x 0.15= 23.1 then x31 = 716.1

Putting my numbers in (with an approximate BF%) give me a value a little over 700 calories.

One thing I'm not sure about to work out my deficit is which activity level I should choose on the level of activity section in these calculators (between light and moderate activity there is a 300 calorie difference for me).


Not sure if my personal stats change anything but I'm a guy, 24, 5 foot 9 inches, weigh 70kg (154lbs) with a 31 inch waist. I also don't want to bulk up or anything; my aim is to look lean.

emmgray

So after looking into it more I was thinking along the lines of a more balanced 40/30/30 macronutrient plan.

The issue I'm having is finding a way to get the 125g of protein (25g per meal and ~350 calories) without taking a big hit on weekly spending on food. The way I see it, everyday I would need to eat about 80g of chicken / turkey, 100g tuna / salmon cod, 70g lean meat, 80g low fat cheese, and maybe get some egg white powder & de-fatted peanut flour to cover the remaining 25g.

The amount of carbohydrates (whole wheat, low GI) and unsaturated fat amounts are so much easier.

Aaron_K123

For the protein you could look into a whey powder protein supplement if purchasing fresh lean meats to that amount is pushing your budget. You'll find with higher protein in the diet you will be much more satiated with fewer calories as well but it is important to still eat all of that and not just eat even less as a result.

Gaining muscle while you lose fat IS possible but it is a bit of a nutritional tight-rope walk and you can't just starve yourself and get that result.

"Not sure if my personal stats change anything but I'm a guy, 24, 5 foot 9 inches, weigh 70kg (154lbs) with a 31 inch waist"

Honestly you already sound like you are pretty lean or at least not very overweight.

emmgray

I still have some noticeable fat on my belly a little bit on my thighs and pecs which I really would like to lose.

One thing I've noticed is that my eating times are very similar to intermittent fasting (breakfast at 9am, dinner at 7pm) which is 10:14 so I was wondering if there would be a problem if I had breakfast at 10am and brought it to a closer 9:15?

There is one thing that I would like to ask:
Would it be possible for me to keep losing weight even if I stop HIIT? Even with a 'sedentary' lifestyle I still need 2000 calories so with a 400 calorie deficit I can still keep losing fat if I eat right can't I?

WBB55

In terms of cheapest in cost per gram of protein, my charts and graphs show that protein powder, frozen ground turkey, tuna in a can, frozen chicken breasts, dry lentils, and dry beans are the cheapest. Cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and eggs also are affordable, but not quite as cheap per gram of protein.