Looking for help to loose "Vanity" Weight
milkmandrew
Posts: 8 Member
Hey All,
I have lost about 44 lbs in the last 5 months through calorie counting and exercising. I estimate I started in the mid 30% fat range and now am around 14%-15%. For the last 6 weeks my fat % and weight has been pretty stagnant. I am eating what I calculate to be a 800-1000 calorie deficit per day. I walk 3 x 1 hour per week, HIIT x 2 per week, Bicycle 1 hour x 2 per week and Weight Train 3x per week. I know I workout a lot but I add the calories back in and I enjoy it and never feel tired.
I weigh all my food and I know what I am putting into my body and what I am expending daily for my calorie needs within +/- 400 per day. My diary is open if you want to take a look.
I have heard that too large of a calorie deficit with a low body fat % can actually harm fat loss (again - not weight loss). Is this a myth or not? Is there any scientific evidence that can be pointed too to guide me in the right direction? Also should I be adding in some/most/all the calories burned exercising? Should I cut back exercise?
I know this question has been asked 100 times over but I can't find any intelligent explanations of if "starvation mode" is real or peoples experience with it - especially any guys in my situation with similar fat % who have been successful. I am getting frustrated but I will keep trying until I can get it figured out. :-) Recently switched to Keto and am loving it and am constantly testing between .8 - 2.5 on blood ketone blood levels. Maybe drop the Keto? Thanks in advance and sorry for so many questions.
I have lost about 44 lbs in the last 5 months through calorie counting and exercising. I estimate I started in the mid 30% fat range and now am around 14%-15%. For the last 6 weeks my fat % and weight has been pretty stagnant. I am eating what I calculate to be a 800-1000 calorie deficit per day. I walk 3 x 1 hour per week, HIIT x 2 per week, Bicycle 1 hour x 2 per week and Weight Train 3x per week. I know I workout a lot but I add the calories back in and I enjoy it and never feel tired.
I weigh all my food and I know what I am putting into my body and what I am expending daily for my calorie needs within +/- 400 per day. My diary is open if you want to take a look.
I have heard that too large of a calorie deficit with a low body fat % can actually harm fat loss (again - not weight loss). Is this a myth or not? Is there any scientific evidence that can be pointed too to guide me in the right direction? Also should I be adding in some/most/all the calories burned exercising? Should I cut back exercise?
I know this question has been asked 100 times over but I can't find any intelligent explanations of if "starvation mode" is real or peoples experience with it - especially any guys in my situation with similar fat % who have been successful. I am getting frustrated but I will keep trying until I can get it figured out. :-) Recently switched to Keto and am loving it and am constantly testing between .8 - 2.5 on blood ketone blood levels. Maybe drop the Keto? Thanks in advance and sorry for so many questions.
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Replies
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This is a very good explanation for starvation mode: http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/ Basically, if you get to a point where you are actually starving to death (a point at which, usually, you'd be in hospital) your metabolic rate may decrease by about 40% - but you'll still lose weight if you're in a deficit.
An 800-1000 calorie deficit per day is huge, and should only be done if you're very overweight. If you're at a healthy weight a deficit 250-500 per day is recommended. Though if you were actually eating at that much of a deficit you'd be losing weight. You could be overestimating your exercise burn. Though you say you weigh everything you eat, looking at your diary you've got a lot of measurements in tbsps, pieces, slices, cups, etc. Start weighing all of those things - you may be eating a lot more than you think.0 -
milkmandrew wrote: »Hey All,
I have lost about 44 lbs in the last 5 months through calorie counting and exercising. I estimate I started in the mid 30% fat range and now am around 14%-15%. For the last 6 weeks my fat % and weight has been pretty stagnant. I am eating what I calculate to be a 800-1000 calorie deficit per day. I walk 3 x 1 hour per week, HIIT x 2 per week, Bicycle 1 hour x 2 per week and Weight Train 3x per week. I know I workout a lot but I add the calories back in and I enjoy it and never feel tired.
I weigh all my food and I know what I am putting into my body and what I am expending daily for my calorie needs within +/- 400 per day. My diary is open if you want to take a look.
I have heard that too large of a calorie deficit with a low body fat % can actually harm fat loss (again - not weight loss). Is this a myth or not? Is there any scientific evidence that can be pointed too to guide me in the right direction? Also should I be adding in some/most/all the calories burned exercising? Should I cut back exercise?
I know this question has been asked 100 times over but I can't find any intelligent explanations of if "starvation mode" is real or peoples experience with it - especially any guys in my situation with similar fat % who have been successful. I am getting frustrated but I will keep trying until I can get it figured out. :-) Recently switched to Keto and am loving it and am constantly testing between .8 - 2.5 on blood ketone blood levels. Maybe drop the Keto? Thanks in advance and sorry for so many questions.
Yes, you need to eat back about 30% to 50% of the exercise.
Starvation mode does not exist.
Too large of a deficit is not going to harm weight loss but it might harm your other goals re fitness and good health.0 -
If you are not losing weight you need to either decrease calories further or increase exercise. Why would you eat more to lose weight?!0
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I've been at that 14-15% sticking point. It is tough to break. I did eventually get down to 10%.
What worked for me was taking a month break from trying to maintain a calorie deficit and even gained back a few pounds (not too much) while focusing on lifting heavy and gaining muscle. After that break, I switched back to a calorie deficit.
While cutting my strength would drop but I kept at it. I knew I was losing some muscle mass.
Don't expect to maintain a low body fat without some negative consequences. I'm sure bodybuilders and fitness models can but genes (and maybe a few drugs) do play a factor.0 -
a sudden change in exercise form, as doing new different weight lifting or running in the mornings , just a change in your workout routine will do a big change in your body burning of resources already there. also I know that a change in diet usually helps, so adjust to eating much less carbs, and instead integrating good fats as Omega 3 ..!! but just starving would be a big mistake, instead just change the content of the diet, and the hours you intake them...
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Your metabolism will be reduced as a result of a large calorie deficit over time. I've seen it happen with me. I lost a bunch of weight (64 lbs) with eating 1800 cal/day. After 6 months, if I ate more, I would gain weight. I started a slow reverse diet and raised my maintenance calorie level to 3200 cal/day over 7.5 months.
Watch this video and hit me up with any questions you have. I'm always happy to help.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk0 -
Starvation mode doesn't exist. Metabolic adaptation can occur after prolonged dieting, but the key word there is prolonged (not 5 months).
As you lose, your BMR will have changed. Looking at your diary (only looked at 3 days), you were over on one and ate almost all exercise calories on one. Most burns are overestimated, thus the majority of people only eat back a portion of them. Try eating back only half of them for a couple of weeks and you should notice a difference.0 -
The leaner you get, the harder to lose and the smaller the deficit you need to hold. Especially when exercising that much.0
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milkmandrew wrote: »Hey All,
I have lost about 44 lbs in the last 5 months through calorie counting and exercising. I estimate I started in the mid 30% fat range and now am around 14%-15%. For the last 6 weeks my fat % and weight has been pretty stagnant. I am eating what I calculate to be a 800-1000 calorie deficit per day. I walk 3 x 1 hour per week, HIIT x 2 per week, Bicycle 1 hour x 2 per week and Weight Train 3x per week. I know I workout a lot but I add the calories back in and I enjoy it and never feel tired.
I weigh all my food and I know what I am putting into my body and what I am expending daily for my calorie needs within +/- 400 per day. My diary is open if you want to take a look.
I have heard that too large of a calorie deficit with a low body fat % can actually harm fat loss (again - not weight loss). Is this a myth or not? Is there any scientific evidence that can be pointed too to guide me in the right direction? Also should I be adding in some/most/all the calories burned exercising? Should I cut back exercise?
I know this question has been asked 100 times over but I can't find any intelligent explanations of if "starvation mode" is real or peoples experience with it - especially any guys in my situation with similar fat % who have been successful. I am getting frustrated but I will keep trying until I can get it figured out. :-) Recently switched to Keto and am loving it and am constantly testing between .8 - 2.5 on blood ketone blood levels. Maybe drop the Keto? Thanks in advance and sorry for so many questions.
If I'm interpreting the bolded part correctly and you're not looking to actually decrease your weight but just your BF% then you may want to look at a body recomp:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/
There are a lot of threads on here you can search out, too.
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DemoraFairy wrote: »This is a very good explanation for starvation mode: http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/ Basically, if you get to a point where you are actually starving to death (a point at which, usually, you'd be in hospital) your metabolic rate may decrease by about 40% - but you'll still lose weight if you're in a deficit.
An 800-1000 calorie deficit per day is huge, and should only be done if you're very overweight. If you're at a healthy weight a deficit 250-500 per day is recommended. Though if you were actually eating at that much of a deficit you'd be losing weight. You could be overestimating your exercise burn. Though you say you weigh everything you eat, looking at your diary you've got a lot of measurements in tbsps, pieces, slices, cups, etc. Start weighing all of those things - you may be eating a lot more than you think.
Thanks for the advice - there may be some calorie creep in there somewhere so I will check it. I am scanning barcodes off of what I am eating and measuring out the ML or Grams on my scale but Myfitnesspal then converts them to volume measurements. I am really not eye balling anything. I will be more vigilant though
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milkmandrew wrote: »Hey All,
I have lost about 44 lbs in the last 5 months through calorie counting and exercising. I estimate I started in the mid 30% fat range and now am around 14%-15%. For the last 6 weeks my fat % and weight has been pretty stagnant. I am eating what I calculate to be a 800-1000 calorie deficit per day. I walk 3 x 1 hour per week, HIIT x 2 per week, Bicycle 1 hour x 2 per week and Weight Train 3x per week. I know I workout a lot but I add the calories back in and I enjoy it and never feel tired.
I weigh all my food and I know what I am putting into my body and what I am expending daily for my calorie needs within +/- 400 per day. My diary is open if you want to take a look.
I have heard that too large of a calorie deficit with a low body fat % can actually harm fat loss (again - not weight loss). Is this a myth or not? Is there any scientific evidence that can be pointed too to guide me in the right direction? Also should I be adding in some/most/all the calories burned exercising? Should I cut back exercise?
I know this question has been asked 100 times over but I can't find any intelligent explanations of if "starvation mode" is real or peoples experience with it - especially any guys in my situation with similar fat % who have been successful. I am getting frustrated but I will keep trying until I can get it figured out. :-) Recently switched to Keto and am loving it and am constantly testing between .8 - 2.5 on blood ketone blood levels. Maybe drop the Keto? Thanks in advance and sorry for so many questions.
Yes, you need to eat back about 30% to 50% of the exercise.
Starvation mode does not exist.
Too large of a deficit is not going to harm weight loss but it might harm your other goals re fitness and good health.
Thanks for your input. I will cut down on the calories I consume after intensive exercises and see if that helps - maybe I am overestimating calories burned working out. 0 -
FitnessTim wrote: »I've been at that 14-15% sticking point. It is tough to break. I did eventually get down to 10%.
What worked for me was taking a month break from trying to maintain a calorie deficit and even gained back a few pounds (not too much) while focusing on lifting heavy and gaining muscle. After that break, I switched back to a calorie deficit.
While cutting my strength would drop but I kept at it. I knew I was losing some muscle mass.
Don't expect to maintain a low body fat without some negative consequences. I'm sure bodybuilders and fitness models can but genes (and maybe a few drugs) do play a factor.
Great advice - I have been focused on cutting and trying to get to lower body fat then bulking a little but maybe I should change it up and build some muscle before cutting. Could not hurt to have some muscle to burn a few more calories and although nobody likes to loose muscle - it would not be too big of a deal for me to lose a bit of the new gains. Thanks for your advice!0 -
Liftng4Lis wrote: »Starvation mode doesn't exist. Metabolic adaptation can occur after prolonged dieting, but the key word there is prolonged (not 5 months).
As you lose, your BMR will have changed. Looking at your diary (only looked at 3 days), you were over on one and ate almost all exercise calories on one. Most burns are overestimated, thus the majority of people only eat back a portion of them. Try eating back only half of them for a couple of weeks and you should notice a difference.
Sounds like solid advice. The bike ride was the exception as usually I aim for 50% or so back but its entirely possible I may be overestimating. I thought that was the case a while ago so I actually changed my weight to 15 lbs less in Mapmyrun. 0 -
Overall - great advice. Here are the changes I am making:
1. Switching to Warrior type diet (one meal a day - more for personal preference).
2. Adding about 40%-50% of calories burned exercising
3. Watching calorie creep a lot closer.
4. Going into maintenance calories for at least 1 month and then going back to cutting about 300 to 500 calories per day.
5. Focusing more on body recomp then straight up weight loss.
Thanks for confirming - Starvation mode is largely a myth. It's a great excuse for people without discipline though! Thanks again everyone!0 -
I dont have a problem putting on fat and then leaning right back out with a 800 -1000 calorie deficit. It seems for me at least at low body fat levels that I can still easily continue to lean even more with a calorie deficit. Haven't had any ill physical effects other than lower energy levels some days. Only real issue is i'm always thinking about food and binge eating but even that I can beat back.0
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