3500 calories to lose a pound? - Interesting article

except for the 600 calories to lose a pound part. This is what I've been trying to tell people for ages. This information isn't new, but I'm glad you reposted it from another source. I don't agree with all of Tom's techniques. But at least with this concept I'm in lockstep with his findings. In fact this post, really takes these points and puts it into a real world guide to deciding what your calorie deficit is.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

That thread's actually what I was referring to when I said many of us know this already. V. useful! But yeah, The 600cals part is what I found interesting too.

I'll agree with this! Quick math made me think 1lb of muscle would be ~1800cals (1lb = ~453g x 4cals/g protein)...


The other thing I learned.... I wish I was a man... 2700 cals for maintenance. No. Fair.

I agree on all points and I will have to re-read this post again.

I have been wondering a lot about this topic as I have gotten down to where I am trying to reduce my body fat from 15% to less than 10%. Having read this article, I am taking the wrong approach of having a 500+ calorie deficit, and should be reducing to more like 250/day in order to maintain muscle. Am I reading this right? Can I get away with higher deficits without losing too much muscle?

If you're at 15% body fat now, you could MAYBE get away with a 350 calorie deficit, maybe, it's very much a game of tweaking at this point, and it'll go very slow. It took me about 9 months to get from 14% BF to 10% BF, which is still considered very aggressive by most standards. I had about a 250 calorie deficit for most of that time. 500 is too big IMHO for a guy with 15% BF The same as it would be to much for a woman with 22 or 23% BF IMHO.

bump for later!

FYI guys, I know 2700 sounds all fun and exciting for you. But seriously, it's not easy.

I actually disagree--with nuts you can easily jack up your calories in a healthy way. BTW, thanks for your advice re getting down my body fat more. I am going to switch to a 250/day calorie deficit. I'm glad I learned this when I did rather than pursuing a more aggressive deficit (as I have been to get from 20 to 15). I still want more info on this topic--how much muscle did I lose with a 500 cal deficit in going from 20 to 15% body fat (180 to 160 lbs)? What can I do besides maintaining resistance training and a ton of protein to help me with muscle maintenance?

nuts help, but you do need to be careful with them, they are an incomplete protein source and have a lot of fat. Even good fat, if you eat to much of it, can have negative consequences.

bump

Looks like an interesting read . I want to save this to read after work

500 is too big IMHO for a guy with 15% BF The same as it would be to much for a woman with 22 or 23% BF IMHO.

Not sure I agree with that. I have a 19% BF and I am holding between 300-500 calorie deficit. However, I focus on high protein (usually in excess of 100 grams/day) and I lift weights regularly. I usually hit 500 deficit when I have a big exercise day (in excess of 800 calories) and I'm simply NOT hungry.

As long as my body is getting the nutrients and I am not going to bed hungry, I think I can handle a good size deficit.

Having said that, I allow myself to ignore my deficit almost completely on the holidays or for the occasional trip to the pub. :drinker:

except for the 600 calories to lose a pound part. This is what I've been trying to tell people for ages. This information isn't new, but I'm glad you reposted it from another source. I don't agree with all of Tom's techniques. But at least with this concept I'm in lockstep with his findings. In fact this post, really takes these points and puts it into a real world guide to deciding what your calorie deficit is.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

That thread's actually what I was referring to when I said many of us know this already. V. useful! But yeah, The 600cals part is what I found interesting too.

I'll agree with this! Quick math made me think 1lb of muscle would be ~1800cals (1lb = ~453g x 4cals/g protein)...


The other thing I learned.... I wish I was a man... 2700 cals for maintenance. No. Fair.

I think 600 sounds a bit low but it wouldn't be 1800cals either... 1800 would be if muscle was 100% protein but it's (very simply speaking) protein and water. So when you lose 1lb you might lose say 1/3 pound protein, 2/3 pound body water....hmm so I guess that would be about 600 but I'm basing this on a vague recollection of proportions.

500 is too big IMHO for a guy with 15% BF The same as it would be to much for a woman with 22 or 23% BF IMHO.

Not sure I agree with that. I have a 19% BF and I am holding between 300-500 calorie deficit. However, I focus on high protein (usually in excess of 100 grams/day) and I lift weights regularly. I usually hit 500 deficit when I have a big exercise day (in excess of 800 calories) and I'm simply NOT hungry.

As long as my body is getting the nutrients and I am not going to bed hungry, I think I can handle a good size deficit.

Having said that, I allow myself to ignore my deficit almost completely on the holidays or for the occasional trip to the pub. :drinker:

I never said you couldn't create a bigger deficit, I just said it's too big in regards to how effective it will be at fat loss. Why would you think you can handle a good sized deficit if you're at a relatively low BF%? I'm curious as to the science behind that theory. The concept goes against most main stream accepted science with regards to human metabolism and diet induced thermogenesis.

consider that BMR is about 65 to 70% of TDEE, diet induced thermogenesis is about 10% of TDEE and calories from activity is about 25 to 30% TDEE (or more depending on activity level). A 500 calorie deficit for a woman who is already at a good BF%, would be talking about eating just above BMR, or not supplying sufficient calories for any activity during the day. While this can be made up for in people with large fat stores, a female with 19% body fat doesn't have a high amount of available fat to draw from, the only other place for calories is amino acid stores (muscle mass), thus a significant portion of calories used to make up the difference would be drawn from muscle mass in this instance. Exercise will combat this to some degree. But the body will adapt feelings of hunger to the average amount of food intake, that means hormones such as ghrelin and leptin are released in quantities to make you feel less hungry whether or not you need more energy. Thus trusting your body to make the decision for you on when to eat, when you have been at a significant deficit for an extended period is a risky proposition.

consider that BMR is about 65 to 70% of TDEE, diet induced thermogenesis is about 10% of TDEE and calories from activity is about 25 to 30% TDEE (or more depending on activity level). A 500 calorie deficit for a woman who is already at a good BF%, would be talking about eating just above BMR, or not supplying sufficient calories for any activity during the day.

There's a lot that I don't understand about your post but I am particularly curious about what you said here. According to MFP (I am a 5'10" 161 lb man with a desk job) my daily caloric needs are around 2150. You say here that someone with a 500 cal deficit (woman with low BF) would be consuming just above BMR--I understand that there's a difference between BMR and daily caloric expenditure but something just isn't adding up for me...