Can you get lean on maintenance calories?

justinegrey
justinegrey Posts: 59 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering if it's possible to get leaner (i.e. losing inches/pant sizes) without eating at a deficit? I'm doing crossfit 5 days a week and am starving (eating at 1900 calories a day hah) so was thinking about bumping up to maintenance (which is possibly 2200-2400). The only problem is I still weigh 145ish and am a size 10. I'd like to drop to at least a size 6 but don't care about the weight number at all, especially if I'm strong and lean. Can someone clarify if I still need to eat at a deficit in order to slim down further size wise?

Replies

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    What you're talking about is a body recomposition, and yes it is possible, but it is very slow and difficult. Most people like to see results which reasonably quickly is why they stick to bulking and cutting, because it is much faster and much more efficient than attempting a recomp. Eat at a deficit, but eat high protein and lift weights to lose fat while maintaining muscle.
  • justinegrey
    justinegrey Posts: 59 Member
    Dammit! haha. Okay thanks so much and very interesting.

    So is there a difference between:

    a) bulking/cutting
    b) a slight deficit (ie. TDEE-10%)

    Thanks so much
    Justine
    What you're talking about is a body recomposition, and yes it is possible, but it is very slow and difficult. Most people like to see results which reasonably quickly is why they stick to bulking and cutting, because it is much faster and much more efficient than attempting a recomp. Eat at a deficit, but eat high protein and lift weights to lose fat while maintaining muscle.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Keep in mind those are only estimates. Your TDEE may actually be higher (or lower). You may still lose weight at higher calories. I would try it.
  • justinegrey
    justinegrey Posts: 59 Member
    Keep in mind those are only estimates. Your TDEE may actually be higher (or lower). You may still lose weight at higher calories. I would try it.

    Thanks so much! yes, I do think my TDEE is probably higher than i think (cuz I have kids and so unless I'm at work, I'm up and doing something + workouts) but I still get pretty conservative with those calculators just in case. Appreciate your response friend!
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    As mentioned, the TDEE estimates are exactly that, estimates. Find your actual TDEE by tracking weight and calorie consumption over a period of AT LEAST two weeks to find the caloric intake at which your weight does not change. That is your TDEE. For bulking to build muscle, eat TDEE + 10% to build muscle while adding minimal fat. To cut eat TDEE - 20% to lose fat with minimal muscle loss.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Keep in mind those are only estimates. Your TDEE may actually be higher (or lower). You may still lose weight at higher calories. I would try it.

    This. And I'm not sure how long you've been doing CF but if you're the point where you still are progressing with higher weight/reps/intensity with your lifts then your TDEE is going to creep up anyway. Go ahead and eat at what you believe is maintenance for a while and see how it goes. One of my best transitions happened last year when I upped my calories to right around maintenance and kept up activity rate high. I did that for 2 months and I only lost around 4 pounds but I lost significant BF%.

    The other option, of course, is try to include a few more satiating foods as part of your 1900 calories.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    It's possible but it's also very slow and for me at least seemed to plateau after a few months.
    I got to maintenance in January and have been seeing a very small decrease in BF percentage - 23% down to 20%.

    Numbers have got a little difficult to work out as I decided to drop an extra bit of weight, firstly for cycling performance and just revised my target down again - mainly for vanity!!

    As I follow 5:2 fasting I have 2 days with a large deficit and 5 days at a surplus when maintaining.

    I'd certainly recommend taking a break from deficit for a month as you will probably notice your training performance really improves when you allow yourself a surplus.

    The reason I didn't go for cut/bulk cycles was that I've always gained fat very quickly and at 53 muscle bulk gains seem to be very slow!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Edit - site playing silly buggers again!!
  • justinegrey
    justinegrey Posts: 59 Member
    Keep in mind those are only estimates. Your TDEE may actually be higher (or lower). You may still lose weight at higher calories. I would try it.

    This. And I'm not sure how long you've been doing CF but if you're the point where you still are progressing with higher weight/reps/intensity with your lifts then your TDEE is going to creep up anyway. Go ahead and eat at what you believe is maintenance for a while and see how it goes. One of my best transitions happened last year when I upped my calories to right around maintenance and kept up activity rate high. I did that for 2 months and I only lost around 4 pounds but I lost significant BF%.

    The other option, of course, is try to include a few more satiating foods as part of your 1900 calories.

    I've only been doing it for a week but can't imagine going without it now, definitely hooked. I didn't realize re: TDEE going up as I improve so I'll try eating a bit higher and see how it goes. I could certainly do better with my lifting #s, I'm so weak :) Thanks again
  • justinegrey
    justinegrey Posts: 59 Member
    It's possible but it's also very slow and for me at least seemed to plateau after a few months.
    I got to maintenance in January and have been seeing a very small decrease in BF percentage - 23% down to 20%.

    Numbers have got a little difficult to work out as I decided to drop an extra bit of weight, firstly for cycling performance and just revised my target down again - mainly for vanity!!

    As I follow 5:2 fasting I have 2 days with a large deficit and 5 days at a surplus when maintaining.

    I'd certainly recommend taking a break from deficit for a month as you will probably notice your training performance really improves when you allow yourself a surplus.

    The reason I didn't go for cut/bulk cycles was that I've always gained fat very quickly and at 53 muscle bulk gains seem to be very slow!

    I wouldn't mind losing BF slowly if I was at 20% :) I have a crappy omron scale that says I'm at 36% (probably higher than it is but still definitely in the 30s) but I can be patient, as long as things are going in the right direction and I'm getting stronger. Sounds like you're doing the right thing as well and like that you don't do bulk/cut. I sort of like doing one thing for longer periods of time rather than changing up and down (although probably better for my results if I did). Thanks for taking the time.
  • joshy1220
    joshy1220 Posts: 1
    Try carb cycling with higher calories works well for me
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    I'm doing this. I don't want to change my weight class but I want to add muscle. It is slow.
  • csy108
    csy108 Posts: 58 Member
    It's possible but it's also very slow and for me at least seemed to plateau after a few months.
    I got to maintenance in January and have been seeing a very small decrease in BF percentage - 23% down to 20%.

    I don't know much about weight lifting or body recomposition, but as a lay person it seems like a 13% reduction in body fat (from 23% down to 20%) is a pretty significant change, not a "very small decrease," over a six month period for a person starting at a healthy BF%.

Categories