Is this why I'm not getting results?
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According to your ticker you are trying to lose about ten pounds which means you do not have a lot to lose. The less you have to lose the harder it is and less of a deficit you should have. if your TDEE is actually 2600 you should take about 500 cals off that. If you are trying to lose too much to fast with that little lose you may end up sacrificing muscle or slowing your metabolism.
Without knowing your height, weight and activity and what dieting and workouts you have been doing before now it is hard to give helpful advice.
The illusion of gaining muscle is usually a combination of added water in the muscle tissue and a loss of body fat that make muscle appear larger. It IS possible to gain a small amount of muscle when first starting out even on a calorie deficit. And though it is a small amount (1 or 2 pounds over the first couple months) it can seem large if you have a small frame and the muscle gain is concentrated in one area.0 -
If you are gaining muscle, you are eating at a calorie surplus. You will not be able to lose weight eating a surplus, you can't gain muscle eating on a deficit.
Nope. I've been on a deficit for about a year now. I promise you that I have more muscle than I did a year ago. I work out hard. My calves have grown and gotten defined. My shoulders and upper arms have hard, bulgy spots that were neither hard nor bulgy last year. My abs are showing the beginnings of definition. I couldn't do a pushup last spring. A couple hours ago I did at least 20 over my workout. I also go heavy on protein and lower on carbs. I want my body to have what it needs to repair/maintain/build muscle.
Can you gain muscle on a deficit? Yes - but ONLY if you are new to training or returning to training after a significant layoff.
Can it look like you are gaining muscle even if you are not? Yes, as you lose fat your muscles will appear to get bigger when in fact they just look more prominent because of the reduction of the layer of adipose tissue (fat) covering them.
Is muscle and strength the same thing? No. You can get stronger without adding any more muscle tissue. This is due to adaptations made by your central nervous system rather than change in the volume of your muscle mass.
To the OP, just maintain a reasonable deficit (20% of your TDEE for example) and get some moderate exercise. Include some resistance/weight training which will go a long way in reducing fat whilst retaining your lean muscle mass.
Three weeks is a very short time, make this a long term commitment and have some patience. I promise the results will come!
thank you! I just worry if I'm doing something wrong and I doing all this hard work for nothing.0 -
If the numbers are right then you could be eating more, something like a 300-700kcal/day deficit.
If the numbers are right you will lose the weight. Weight loss is not linear, and water and glycogen stores can easily cause confusing fluctuations.0 -
If the numbers are right then you could be eating more, something like a 300-700kcal/day deficit.
If the numbers are right you will lose the weight. Weight loss is not linear, and water and glycogen stores can easily cause confusing fluctuations.
like i said i only eat 3 times a day
a typical day for me is oatmeal for breakfast which is like 230
a salad or soup for lunch which is probably around 250-300
and then dinner can sometimes be a frozen dinner or homemade meal which can range from 400-700
thats a typical day i eat
which the highest it adds to is 1250 so I know I'm not overeating0 -
I am sure it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time but from what I have seen in my weight loss you really need to manage the diet very closely. I have lost a good amount of muscle in the past few months but now I do much more strength training and am still losing fat. good luck and keep at it.0
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You are right, you're not over eating. You are under eating!
You need to up your calories and get a whole lot more protein in your diet!0 -
If the numbers are right then you could be eating more, something like a 300-700kcal/day deficit.
If the numbers are right you will lose the weight. Weight loss is not linear, and water and glycogen stores can easily cause confusing fluctuations.
like i said i only eat 3 times a day
a typical day for me is oatmeal for breakfast which is like 230
a salad or soup for lunch which is probably around 250-300
and then dinner can sometimes be a frozen dinner or homemade meal which can range from 400-700
thats a typical day i eat
which the highest it adds to is 1250 so I know I'm not overeating
No you would be severely under eating if your TDEE is 2600. Your body will start to sacrifice muscle and slow your metabolism to compensate for the lack of calories. It will just leave the fat alone because it thinks it needs it. It a vicious cycle people get caught in. They think they are eating to much so they lower the cals even lower which only increases the problem.
Watch this video.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/815934-layne-norton-on-metabolic-damage0 -
Also I was told I could lose weight as long as I burn more then I intake which I do, but my diet isnt the best. No I don't eat fast food or bags of chips everyday. But I dont and cant eat salads everyday either. Since I still live with parents sometimes just have to eat what they bring home. Which is mostly frozen foods.
This frozen processed food is just of sodium. Fresh food that is the only way to go. Do you track your sodium? You are keeping a bunch of water0 -
You are right, you're not over eating. You are under eating!
You need to up your calories and get a whole lot more protein in your diet!
if that the case then I'll try eating fruits or veggies for snacks when I can.0 -
Also I was told I could lose weight as long as I burn more then I intake which I do, but my diet isnt the best. No I don't eat fast food or bags of chips everyday. But I dont and cant eat salads everyday either. Since I still live with parents sometimes just have to eat what they bring home. Which is mostly frozen foods.
This frozen processed food is just of sodium. Fresh food that is the only way to go. Do you track your sodium? You are keeping a bunch of water
I just added sodium to my food list and so far I'm pretty good on sodium0 -
Your average about-twenty year old female is going to burn around 1400 calories per day simply by existing. That means if your calorie consumption is 1400, you would maintain your current weight. If you ate more than 1400 each day, you would gain, and if you ate less than 1400, you would lose.
Wrong. It means this person with the BMR of 1400 shouldn't eat less than this because this is the amount she needs for basic existence. It is not the number where she would maintain current weight.0 -
You cannot exercise enough to make up for a poor diet. Unless you start eating clean, you will not see the results you want. I spent many months trying to out exercise a bad diet. It just doesn't work, unfortunately.0
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You cannot exercise enough to make up for a poor diet. Unless you start eating clean, you will not see the results you want. I spent many months trying to out exercise a bad diet. It just doesn't work, unfortunately.
damn, well I can try my best to make healthy choice but its hard all the time.0 -
Agreed with MUSTGETMUSCLE.
Try and change your eating habits. For example, with oatmeal for breakfast add some eggs. For lunch skip the soup and add protein with salad and I know it's hard with dinner because you're eating whatever your parents bring in the kitchen - but maybe talke to them and suggest to include more protein for dinner as well?
IMO you're not eating enough. If your TDEE is 2600 (which you shouldn't be adding exercise on top of btw - TDEE includes exercise), you should be in a deficit of around 250-300 calories.0 -
Agreed with MUSTGETMUSCLE.
Try and change your eating habits. For example, with oatmeal for breakfast add some eggs. For lunch skip the soup and add protein with salad and I know it's hard with dinner because you're eating whatever your parents bring in the kitchen - but maybe talke to them and suggest to include more protein for dinner as well?
IMO you're not eating enough. If your TDEE is 2600 (which you shouldn't be adding exercise on top of btw - TDEE includes exercise), you should be in a deficit of around 250-300 calories.
when i calculate my TDEE i dont add my exercise so its actually 2300 and then I add 300 to that from what i burn at the gym that day.
and thanks for the tips!0 -
Agreed with MUSTGETMUSCLE.
Try and change your eating habits. For example, with oatmeal for breakfast add some eggs. For lunch skip the soup and add protein with salad and I know it's hard with dinner because you're eating whatever your parents bring in the kitchen - but maybe talke to them and suggest to include more protein for dinner as well?
IMO you're not eating enough. If your TDEE is 2600 (which you shouldn't be adding exercise on top of btw - TDEE includes exercise), you should be in a deficit of around 250-300 calories.
when i calculate my TDEE i dont add my exercise so its actually 2300 and then I add 300 to that from what i burn at the gym that day.
and thanks for the tips!
If your TDEE is 2300, then you do not add any additional burns, your TDEE is your total burns, including workouts.
Eat 2000 calories to lose .5 pounds per week. (since you only need to lose 10 pounds, that would be the appropriate expectation for weight loss) Don't eat anything additional for workouts, it is included already.0 -
TDEE stands for TOTAL Daily Energy Expenditure
Eating snacks and eating more often should make it easier for you to increase your intake so that you are at a healthy deficit.
Being impatient and trying to lose weight quickly is always counter productive. Always.0 -
I am not sure what led you to believe you were burning 2600 calories per day, but only really serious athletes who are training intensely every single day for 3-5 hours would burn that much. Your average about-twenty year old female is going to burn around 1400 calories per day simply by existing. That means if your calorie consumption is 1400, you would maintain your current weight. If you ate more than 1400 each day, you would gain, and if you ate less than 1400, you would lose. Females can safely lower their calorie intake to about 1200 calories per day, meaning you have to add exercise to increase your calorie deficit. Maintaining a calorie deficit daily will lead to weight loss.
1 pound of body fat = 3500 calories.
If you wanted to lose 1 pound per week, you need a calorie deficit of 500 calories each day for 7 days. (Example: eat 1200 calories daily, burn 300 in exercise in addition).
Hope this helps.
I disagree, the reason that the daily recommendations for calorie intake are 1800-2000 calories per day is because that's what the average person burns in daily life. Her body in a coma might burn 12-1400 per day, but even sitting at the computer burns 75 cals / hour, so any sort of walking, cooking, cleaning, working will burn more calories during the day. If she has to walk to work or school or she has a job like childcare or waitressing where she is up and about, she could burn 2600 calories easy. Serious athletes burn well over 3000.
If you are eating less than you are burning then you will NEVER gain muscle. Having a deficit from 2600 down to 1400 is WAY too much. If you are really burning 2600 a day, then I recommend around 2000 or 2100 calories per day to lose weight healthily without losing muscle. You still will not gain muscle.0 -
Are you positive your TDEE is that much? It sounds a lot to me if you don't have very much weight to lose..0
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I burn about 2610 total including my TDEE and eat at 1350-1400
are you secretly lance armstrong??
what kind of work out do you do that burns over 2500 calories on a daily basis?0
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