Anybody surprised how well calorie counting works?
Replies
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You gained muscle while in a calorie deficit???
That's what I said, yes.
Losing half a pound a week puts her really close to the recomp zone.
Please explain this "recomp zone."0 -
You gained muscle while in a calorie deficit???
That's what I said, yes.
Losing half a pound a week puts her really close to the recomp zone.
Please explain this "recomp zone."
You can build muscle on a slight deficit or at maintenance over time. It's just too slow and tedious for most.0 -
But, but, the simple act of counting calories does not magically make me actually stay under my calorie goal and therefor lose weight. :sad:0
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You gained muscle while in a calorie deficit???
That's what I said, yes.
Losing half a pound a week puts her really close to the recomp zone.
Please explain this "recomp zone."
You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.0 -
You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.
This is not what she was saying though. She was saying that she's been in a deficit and is gaining muscle while losing fat (inches in waist). This is extremely rare phenomenon that happens with obese newbies. Even then, it's not that significant. What is the more likely explanation is that she lost some fat but is retaining water due to the increase in physical activity.0 -
You gained muscle while in a calorie deficit???
That's what I said, yes.
How long have you been losing?
How long have you been exercising?
How are you measuring muscle gain?
Do you lose consistently or do you plateau/gain for two or three weeks at a time?0 -
You gained muscle while in a calorie deficit???
That's what I said, yes.
Losing half a pound a week puts her really close to the recomp zone.
Please explain this "recomp zone."
You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.
^ This.
I had no intention of starting some debate :grumble:
MFP has me set at 1200 calories. I am 5'2". While many people can eat 1200 calories, I can't do to for more than a couple days without starving. I just can't. I tried but ended up going to 1300-1400 and started lifting heavy. And yes, I gained some muscle. Not a lot, but some. And I started doing more cardio to burn the extra calories I was eating. So, yes, I am retaining water due to the lifting and probably due to sodium on some days but there is definitely an increase in muscle as well.
Is it a question of calories in vs calories out, yes. Do I find it easy, no. Is it working, yes. Slowly for me. If I cut back to 1200 calories, it would go faster but again, I just can't do it for more than a couple days. Everybody is different. This has been my experience.0 -
You gained muscle while in a calorie deficit???
That's what I said, yes.
Losing half a pound a week puts her really close to the recomp zone.
Please explain this "recomp zone."
You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.
^ This.
I had no intention of starting some debate :grumble:
MFP has me set at 1200 calories. I am 5'2". While many people can eat 1200 calories, I can't do to for more than a couple days without starving. I just can't. I tried but ended up going to 1300-1400 and started lifting heavy. And yes, I gained some muscle. Not a lot, but some. And I started doing more cardio to burn the extra calories I was eating. So, yes, I am retaining water due to the lifting and probably due to sodium on some days but there is definitely an increase in muscle as well.
Is it a question of calories in vs calories out, yes. Do I find it easy, no. Is it working, yes. Slowly for me. If I cut back to 1200 calories, it would go faster but again, I just can't do it for more than a couple days. Everybody is different. This has been my experience.
High five on the heavy lifting. That'll give you more room in your metabolism in the long run.
Good job on the weight loss as well. It can feel slow, but you'll notice huge changes along the way.0 -
I really thought I'd be losing a lot more than what I am. I've directed in the past before and have always lost weight very easily when I actually tried to.
I'm giving myself 1200 calories and I go to the gym at least r times a week burning about 550 to 600 calories (I would love to know what people are doing to burn 3000 in a day!). I try and eat some of the calories back as I was under the impression that's what you were supposed to do, but often times I come in under my 1200 for the day.
I've been doing it goin on 4 weeks and have only lost 3 lbs. Sure it's better than staying the same or gaining, but still pretty depressing.0 -
High five on the heavy lifting. That'll give you more room in your metabolism in the long run.
Good job on the weight loss as well. It can feel slow, but you'll notice huge changes along the way.
Thank you!
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I'm mostly surprised by how MUCH I can eat!0
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You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.
This is not what she was saying though. She was saying that she's been in a deficit and is gaining muscle while losing fat (inches in waist). This is extremely rare phenomenon that happens with obese newbies. Even then, it's not that significant. What is the more likely explanation is that she lost some fat but is retaining water due to the increase in physical activity.
Wait, wait, wait. I am trying to catch up. Newbie here. You can't gain muscle while at a deficit? Can you maintain it? I don't want to lose what I have.0 -
MFP -- counting calories is literally the only thing that has worked for me.0
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You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.
This is not what she was saying though. She was saying that she's been in a deficit and is gaining muscle while losing fat (inches in waist). This is extremely rare phenomenon that happens with obese newbies. Even then, it's not that significant. What is the more likely explanation is that she lost some fat but is retaining water due to the increase in physical activity.
But if she is just at a slight deficit, she CAN build some muscle. It's not that rare. It'll take a while of course, and it probably isn't the most efficient, but it can be significant, and it's definitely not rare.
FTR: I'm not saying that is what is going on with that particular female.0 -
Man. Another week and another 2 lbs lost doing absolutely nothing besides a little walking and counting calories (and wearing Fitbit) and i was just remembering back to before I started using fitness pal and how hard I thought it was to lose weight.
I seriously starved and dehydrated myself because I thought it was the only way to lose weight and that if I ate even a little bit, I would balloon up and my life would be over. The media and everyone always pumped into me the idea that to lose weight you have to eat non tasty "healthy" food and get ridiculous amounts of exercise. Ever since I discovered this little free app everything changed. I eat what I want, when I want. I have a great relationship with food and my weight loss is almost entirely predictable based on simple math. Burned 7000 calories this week? Say goodbye to 2 lbs. it's as simple as that! And it shocks me to this day how simple it is. I dont even need to exercise. If I'm sick or can't go out and do anything special, I can simply eat at a deficit and lose weight. It's amazing how much I used to over complicate things
Nice! Yeah I love MFP. It's all so SIMPLE. There's no magic pill. Calories in calories out.
I am a real spreadsheet nut, so the fiddly aspect of counting my calories actually really appeals to me, and I find it easy. Well at the beginning the counting was easy and the eating was hard, but honestly now it's all pretty easy. Plus seeing myself in the mirror is motivation enough to keep it up.
I'll probably calorie count forever, because the idea of going back to my old habits is so appalling.0 -
You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.
This is not what she was saying though. She was saying that she's been in a deficit and is gaining muscle while losing fat (inches in waist). This is extremely rare phenomenon that happens with obese newbies. Even then, it's not that significant. What is the more likely explanation is that she lost some fat but is retaining water due to the increase in physical activity.
Wait, wait, wait. I am trying to catch up. Newbie here. You can't gain muscle while at a deficit? Can you maintain it? I don't want to lose what I have.
You can maintain it. You can gain strength. You just can't GROW it.
In order to increase muscle, you need to have protein to store. If you're using all of the protein you take in for energy, you aren't going to have any left over to store.0 -
I'll admit that in the beginning it did kinda shock me that you really could eat what you want and lose weight. I had never studied nutrition before starting so I came in thinking what most people do.....sugar is bad, carbs are bad, have to eat "clean", it has to be miserable to succeed...all the myths like that. Of course, the forums taught me a lot, and made me start reading science and understanding it. Now it is of no shock at all to me cause I realize it really is just about energy balance.
This. I had a lot of preconceived notions about weight loss and nutrition and dieting. I was surprised by how easy it's been. 163 days in, 52 pounds gone. I still eat foods I love, enjoy going out for nice dinners and having a beer when I feel like one. I just make sure that things fit into my goals.0 -
OP, I agree 100%! I've said the exact same things to friends and family who ask about my weight loss.0
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You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.
This is not what she was saying though. She was saying that she's been in a deficit and is gaining muscle while losing fat (inches in waist). This is extremely rare phenomenon that happens with obese newbies. Even then, it's not that significant. What is the more likely explanation is that she lost some fat but is retaining water due to the increase in physical activity.
Wait, wait, wait. I am trying to catch up. Newbie here. You can't gain muscle while at a deficit? Can you maintain it? I don't want to lose what I have.
You can maintain it. You can gain strength. You just can't GROW it.
In order to increase muscle, you need to have protein to store. If you're using all of the protein you take in for energy, you aren't going to have any left over to store.
Thank you. That does make sense. Maintaining muscle and getting stronger and losing fat sounds good for now. 0 -
No, but I was surprised how much protein was actually necessary to achieve muscle retention.0
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You can't build muscle at a deficit.
However, you can lose weight over the course of a month and not be at a deficit the entire time. If you eat slightly over and then slightly under, while resistance training, you can build a little muscle and then lose a little fat alternately.
It's not as efficient as bulking and cutting, but it can be effective as part of a long-term plan.
This is not what she was saying though. She was saying that she's been in a deficit and is gaining muscle while losing fat (inches in waist). This is extremely rare phenomenon that happens with obese newbies. Even then, it's not that significant. What is the more likely explanation is that she lost some fat but is retaining water due to the increase in physical activity.
Wait, wait, wait. I am trying to catch up. Newbie here. You can't gain muscle while at a deficit? Can you maintain it? I don't want to lose what I have.
You can maintain it. You can gain strength. You just can't GROW it.
In order to increase muscle, you need to have protein to store. If you're using all of the protein you take in for energy, you aren't going to have any left over to store.
Thank you. That does make sense. Maintaining muscle and getting stronger and losing fat sounds good for now.
And getting stronger will help you grow muscle when you move to maintenance, as well as increasing the effectiveness of your metabolism right now. Resistance training has a lot more benefit than simple calories burned.0 -
I wasn't surprised how well calorie counting worked, I was surprised how easy MFP made it to do it. Before discovering this site, I didn't know how many calories I was taking in on an average day, what an appropriate deficit was, and I had no idea how many calories I was burning in a day, so I had no way of actually solving the simple equation.
I am also continually surprised that there are plenty of people here on MFP, who still don't believe that that simple calorie counting works. They still believe there HAS to be some food group restriction or other arbitrarily difficult mechanism applied in order to be successful. If people just used this tool the way it was intended, and were really diligent and honest about it, I truly believe the majority of people on this site would be successful with the most simple approach - counting calories.0 -
Yes!! I was just thinking about this.... The investment I have made into thus weight loss compared to what others do is nothing! The fitbit has been worth every penny because of how well it works with the MFP app. So pleased with my progress so far.0
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I am also continually surprised that there are plenty of people here on MFP, who still don't believe that that simple calorie counting works. They still believe there HAS to be some food group restriction or other arbitrarily difficult mechanism applied in order to be successful. If people just used this tool the way it was intended, and were really diligent and honest about it, I truly believe the majority of people on this site would be successful with the most simple approach - counting calories.
Me too! Somehow I get a kind of of guilty pleasure reading about all those who haven't yet "seen the light"!
The ROI is sensational. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I'm getting more and more cheesy. Oh, I love cheese...!Yes!! I was just thinking about this.... The investment I have made into thus weight loss compared to what others do is nothing! The fitbit has been worth every penny because of how well it works with the MFP app. So pleased with my progress so far.0 -
I am also continually surprised that there are plenty of people here on MFP, who still don't believe that that simple calorie counting works. They still believe there HAS to be some food group restriction or other arbitrarily difficult mechanism applied in order to be successful. If people just used this tool the way it was intended, and were really diligent and honest about it, I truly believe the majority of people on this site would be successful with the most simple approach - counting calories.
Me too! Somehow I get a kind of of guilty pleasure reading about all those who haven't yet "seen the light"!
The ROI is sensational. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I'm getting more and more cheesy. Oh, I love cheese...!Yes!! I was just thinking about this.... The investment I have made into thus weight loss compared to what others do is nothing! The fitbit has been worth every penny because of how well it works with the MFP app. So pleased with my progress so far.
I dunno. Between the quality dark chocolate, the new wardrobe and the running shoes, I'm broke.0
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