We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!
What's a "reset" and how is this done right?
Lisa1971
Posts: 3,069 Member
Just wondering because I keep seeing a "reset" in some posts. Thanks!
0
Replies
-
Oh, and what does a "cut" mean? Thanks!0
-
Both are explained in the stickies at the top of the forum.
Reset is eating at your TDEE for a period of time to get your metabolism up and running again.
Cut is a percentage of your TDEE in order to lose fat.0 -
A reset is when you eat at your weight maintenance calorie level in order to give your body a break from dieting. Your metabolism adjusts quickly to what you are doing, so you want to make sure that you can maintain your weight on the highest possible calorie level. When you reset, it's suggested that you do strength training and cut back on cardio exercise to maintain as much lean body mass as possible. You also want to eat plenty of protein. Suggested macronutrients are 40% carbs, and 30% each protein and fat. The reset should typically last a minimum of 8 - 12 weeks. You may gain weight quickly at first (water), but eventually your weight should level off, and you should see around the same number for a few weeks or so before cutting.
This group suggests that you cut no more than 15% off of your TDEE (maintenance) level to avoid burning any muscle. If you have 10 pounds or less to lose, you may want to only cut 5-10%. Depends on the person. You may not lose the weight quickly but if you are lifting weights, you can maintain lean muscle and burn the fat, which will reshape your body. Most people in this group lose tons of inches before the scale weight drops.
Calculate calories here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
That is EM2WL in a nutshell.0 -
Both are explained in the stickies at the top of the forum.
Reset is eating at your TDEE for a period of time to get your metabolism up and running again.
Cut is a percentage of your TDEE in order to lose fat.
Dummy me didn't see them. Thanks so much!0 -
A reset is when you eat at your weight maintenance calorie level in order to give your body a break from dieting. Your metabolism adjusts quickly to what you are doing, so you want to make sure that you can maintain your weight on the highest possible calorie level. When you reset, it's suggested that you do strength training and cut back on cardio exercise to maintain as much lean body mass as possible. You also want to eat plenty of protein. Suggested macronutrients are 40% carbs, and 30% each protein and fat. The reset should typically last a minimum of 8 - 12 weeks. You may gain weight quickly at first (water), but eventually your weight should level off, and you should see around the same number for a few weeks or so before cutting.
This group suggests that you cut no more than 15% off of your TDEE (maintenance) level to avoid burning any muscle. If you have 10 pounds or less to lose, you may want to only cut 5-10%. Depends on the person. You may not lose the weight quickly but if you are lifting weights, you can maintain lean muscle and burn the fat, which will reshape your body. Most people in this group lose tons of inches before the scale weight drops.
Calculate calories here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
That is EM2WL in a nutshell.
WOW...thanks so much!0 -
Can I still exercise during a reset? I typically do weights and cardio 5-6 days a week.0
-
You can. Ideally you would want to shift your focus more towards the weights and not a ton of cardio. You want to make sure you eat all of your exercise calories during a reset.0
-
You can. Ideally you would want to shift your focus more towards the weights and not a ton of cardio. You want to make sure you eat all of your exercise calories during a reset.
Wow. So on top of eating at my maintenance I should eat all my exercise calories back? This seems like a ton of food!0 -
On Scooby calc it incorporates your exercise calories to give you figure for every day over the week therefore not eating back cals0
-
You can. Ideally you would want to shift your focus more towards the weights and not a ton of cardio. You want to make sure you eat all of your exercise calories during a reset.
Wow. So on top of eating at my maintenance I should eat all my exercise calories back? This seems like a ton of food!
Just to emphasis correction to that again.
No to eating back exercise calories if you picked an honest TDEE level that includes your exercise.
Yes to focus on lifting over cardio during the reset so the extra calories are going towards not just fat. And it usually means lower TDEE level too if you cut out cardio and just do lifting, so less to eat then.0 -
You can. Ideally you would want to shift your focus more towards the weights and not a ton of cardio. You want to make sure you eat all of your exercise calories during a reset.
Wow. So on top of eating at my maintenance I should eat all my exercise calories back? This seems like a ton of food!
Just to emphasis correction to that again.
No to eating back exercise calories if you picked an honest TDEE level that includes your exercise.
Yes to focus on lifting over cardio during the reset so the extra calories are going towards not just fat. And it usually means lower TDEE level too if you cut out cardio and just do lifting, so less to eat then.
Gotcha thanks!0 -
That was what I meant
0
This discussion has been closed.