going to low not good!!

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B2BB
B2BB Posts: 222 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Learned the hard way today that cutting cals to low is not beneficial. I am looking to decrease body fat while increasing muscle. I am at the same body fat % I was 5 lbs ago. So not only did I lose body fat (weight) but also lean muscle:( So no longer going below 1800cals!:huh:

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  • Tiana405
    Tiana405 Posts: 270 Member
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    I've plateaued and just starting eating back my calories this week! I hope it truly works for me! :ohwell:
  • PoorGirlEatingHealthy
    PoorGirlEatingHealthy Posts: 209
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    I am eating back my cals...But i am just starting my journey..It is verrrry scary to eat all that when you want to get thinner!
  • B2BB
    B2BB Posts: 222 Member
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    It's is nerve wrecking cuz we are brainwashed to think eat less to lose. When really its est better and workout. I have come to far to stop. But its always a learning process, so I'm gonna take this and run with it. I guess all those nights I went to bed hungry my body was breaking down my muscle. No more!!! Keep me updated on your process and next month ill get my fat % measured again to see if it helps:)
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
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    I plateaued, then I started eating back my calories, and now the weight is just coming off (took about a week or so to jumpstart it). I'm pleased :)
  • frugal2
    frugal2 Posts: 24 Member
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    Have your muscle-conditioning workouts been the same? Only your food intake changed (dropping lower in cals) and you noticed that you've lost muscle?

    Hmm...i've got questions about muscle & nutrition....

    I know people always say that besides just weightlifting you need protein to make sure you can at least maintain muscle. but how much of a difference does that make? and what about fat? is it counteractive to weightloss to go lower than 30% of cals from fat?
  • Tiana405
    Tiana405 Posts: 270 Member
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    I plateaued, then I started eating back my calories, and now the weight is just coming off (took about a week or so to jumpstart it). I'm pleased :)

    This gives me hope! Thank you! I needed this! My 1 week will be over on Monday! eek!
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    ASCM recommends no less than 1200 calories for women or 1800 calories for men.

    To preserve lean tissue (muscle) you should be consuming 1g of protein for every pound of lean body mass.

    To determine lean body mass you need to know your body fat percentage. Lean Body Mass = weight - (weight x body fat percentage)

    If anyone knows their body fat percentage, I've just finished building a worksheet that calculates daily caloric needs using the Katch McArdle method, to include macronutrients. Send me a message with your height, weight and bodyfat % (can be an estimate) and I'll run your info through it. (looking for test subjects, especially those who have a good understanding of their body and nutrition to see if this thing I've made is on track)
  • B2BB
    B2BB Posts: 222 Member
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    Ok so here is my wo regimen I teach 1 to 2 group fitness classes a day six days a week and workout on my own about every other day(approx) My body of course has adapted to my routine even though I change up the sequence of moves its basically the same thing. So now I am doing Curcuit training on my own and noticing the change. Now as far as fat grams, I never just rely on one factor in this huge equation. Because our bodies need all sorts of nutrients to run efficiently. So I did a self test to find out how my body best meyabolises calories,( ie fat,carbs,proteins) and found I am a balanced oxidizer. So my ratios are 40% fat 30% carbs and 30% protein. Now still working on getting all of those in, but it would probably help if I had more cals. But with the reading I do I hear conflicting info. One will say only eat your BMR and another will say 1800 cals is considered starvation diet. Bit from my experience going low to my BMR I lost weight and my muscle. Defeating the purpose if losing. Aaaa this is so much to take in, I know. But the trick is finding what works for u, cuz we are all different. For the link to the self test check my fb page, burns2bbeautiful. Also to gain muscle its a combination of cals carbs fats and proteins, not just one of these. I never go off of just one since all these are important to over all health. Overload overload overload......lol. we can learn together :-D
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    Everything is a guideline and there are those cases where someones BMR *could* near these levels simply for maintenance calories simply due to their height / weight and bodyfat percentage. From everything I've read, someone should calculate their maintenance and then subtract 15-20% to reduce weight should that be their goal. I'm not an expert although I try to read as much as I can on the topic.

    In any scenario, you should be consuming 1g of protein for every lb of lean body mass. If you are 130 lbs with 10% body fat, that leaves you with 117lbs of lean body mass and therefore should be taking in 117g of protein daily. This will allow you to preserve as much lean tissue as possible while decreasing your weight with diet / cardio or whatever your routine is.

    Balance is important, energy is going to come from fat and carbohydrates and the protein is going to rebuild damaged tissue. I'm currently doing a 50 / 30 / 20 and finding that it works well for me.
  • B2BB
    B2BB Posts: 222 Member
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    That's not exactly true either, because that's what I thought too. Protein protein protein, you can see my diary even though my cal intake was low I always consumed enough or more than enough protein for my weight. And still I lost lean body mass, so from my experience protein intake is important to build but getting enough cals is just as important. Now skip past my last couple of diary days lol, because I have went a little crazy after hearing the news on my body fat%:-?
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    If you're losing weight it's practically impossible not to lose lean tissue. The idea behind 1g/lb of LBM is to minimize the loss. I'll venture to say that they are equally important. Caloric and protein intake. But what do I know, I'm no expert.

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