Exercising but not eating enough?

monsterworks
monsterworks Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, ive just started p90x3, im not the type of guy to follow meal plans or anything, although i can eat healthy, i was wondering what happens if i eat small portions very regularly, i know im suppose to be calorie deficit and i know i always eat less because i hardly eat at all, what sort of results should i expect?

Replies

  • 10manda86
    10manda86 Posts: 229 Member
    im interested in this post too... I'm a chick (obviously by my photo) and I exercise both cardio and strength on alternate days plus rest... but most days I will have 500-600 calorie deficits... I even mixed ice-cream into my protein shake tonight to up my calories!!! Wondering what the long term harm is with this size deficit...
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    The main goal is to eat enough calories to promote weight loss with still being enough to fuel your body appropriately. I set my calorie goal based on progress. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~2200 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    For women, it'll be less. I'd say start around 1600 cal/day and go from there.

    If you don't like to eat big meals, that's fine. Spread the calories out throughout the day. Just be sure to hit your calorie (top priority) and macro goals.

    Allan

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