Shall I lower my calorie amount now that I've started lifting?

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sophzhr
sophzhr Posts: 96 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
At the moment, MFP has set me at 1810 cals for a 0.5lb loss per week, although to be honest I've been eating around 2000-2100 calories since I've been recovering from a binge-eating disorder. I'm losing weight very slowly (around 0.25lbs per week), which I'm ok with, since my inches are going down.

However, about 2 months ago I started lifting; at the same time I had to reduce my amount of cardio and HIIT due to a broken toe, so lifting and some calisthenics are my only activities now. Since I know the calorie burn is low in comparison with cardio, I'm wondering whether I should lower my calories to keep the weight loss going? Is it possible that I can still lose inches with such a small deficit?

I find that heavy lifting is REALLY taxing (I get so hungry these days haha...and I feel so drained after some sessions) - does anyone have any advice on how big/small to keep my deficit in order to maintain a strong strength and energy foundation for lifting?

Thanks a lot for any advice! :)

Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,658 Member
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    Without knowing how much of a part the now-missing exercise played in your TDEE, it's hard to say for sure. You might just want to see how the loss goes for a while. You might also want to think about eating more on your lifting days and eating less on the other days to offset that.
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
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    My instinct would be to say, "no". You might switch up your macros and your choices to add more lean protein - building muscle takes fuel. I don't know the truth of it, but there is an adage to the effect that you can't build muscle at a calorie deficit.

    Your mileage may vary.

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