Can I really stop eating at a deficit?

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  • es2189
    es2189 Posts: 142 Member
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    The problem is, that you most likely will put on weight if your deficit was too big.
    If you suppressed your metabolism and slowed it down by eating too little, it is normal to gain.

    The deficit for women to lose weight should not exceed 300 kcal a day. Yes, the weight loss might be slow, but at the end you will be able to eat at your real TDEE when you are at your goa, because your metabolism is up and running. Also important to always have diet breaks in between. Eat every 6-8 weeks for one week at TDEE, so your body will not take the cut value for the new TDEE if you are dieting for a long time.

    Food for thought :)

    I wasn't eating at that big of a deficit...technically 500 net (that's based on my Body Media Fit, which estimates my calorie burn higher than MFP does). But I guess my question is...since I haven't really lost any weight in 2 months, does that mean I'm probably eating close to maintenance already? If I were actually eating at a 500 calorie deficit, regardless of the fact that I'm close to goal and don't have a lot of excess fat anymore, wouldn't I continue to lose 1 pound a week?

    That seems like a good point. If you are maintaining, I would assume what you are doing is maintenance. You could always try adding in 100 calories at a time and see what you do with that. I'd do it very slowly though, like 100 more for a month and see how you do. I know the online calculators can be very different than what you actually are. I've had my RMR tested using the bubble hood thing, which is very reliable, at 1380; however the online calculators put it at over like 1600. So, I know that I need fewer calories than what online calculators say.

    I use a BodyMediaFit, which calculates my daily energy expenditure. It says it has a 10% error rate, so I may be burning about 250 calories fewer than what it's estimating. But still, that should still have me at a ~250 calorie deficit. I guess I could be under-estimating on some things, but I mostly cook at home and measure everything.

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