Such a thing as too much Deficit?

JDMPWR
JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
edited September 28 in Health and Weight Loss
What do you guys think? I know there is what people would call starvation mode which is relative to lack of nutrients taken in but do you feel their is such a thing as too much of a deficit when you work out and not eat any of your exercise cals back?

I know about 6-7 weeks ago I was dropping like crazy, I hit 180 which was 7 lbs off my goal of 8-9% bodyfat. I crashed and gained back 15. I am now fighting hard BUT I have no drive to do cardio like I used to. I normally could pump out a hour a day on the stairmaster. Now I just dont care to. Plus I notice that I dont eat any of my workout cals back anymore so I end up with a 900-1300 cal deficit OUTSIDE of the 500 cal deficit that MFP has put in as a 1 lbs a week weight loss.

What do you guys think?

***For instance here is how today looks***

Goal 1790
Food 2072
Exercise 900
Net 1172

Macros-
Fat 40 Goal 60
Sodium 2452 Goal 2500
Carbs 160 Goal 236
Sugar 65 Goal 54
Protein 266 Goal 302

Water intake is a gallon a day or 128oz

Replies

  • RachVR6
    RachVR6 Posts: 3,688 Member
    I can only speak from experience...

    I try to keep my 'total' deficit to no more than 1000 a day. That would theoretically give me a 2lb/week loss, but often times lately, I've been losing more. I do have days when my deficit is 1300-1500, even with eating a couple hundred calories over my goal of 1400, but I generally try to balance that by utilizing rest days or yoga days where I don't burn many calories and just have my 500cal food deficit.

    As for the higher deficit affecting weight loss, I'm not a doctor, so I'm not sure...and I'm positive that it would have a slightly different affect on different people. That being said, it seems as though a bit of a balancing act is what has worked for me lately. :flowerforyou:
  • randilea
    randilea Posts: 140
    I have that same question. I typically don't eat my exercise calories back but then my "Net" at the end of the day is less than 1200. I wonder if that matters or if it is just necessary to consume at least 1200 calories a day without taking into account calories burned from working out.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    Depends on how much you burn, I guess. Just 100-300 might not be a huge problem, but I can't imagine I'll be healthy if I eat 1200 calories and burn 1200 calories at the gym every day. How would you have the energy to burn another 1200 on the fourth day?!?
  • markpmc
    markpmc Posts: 240 Member
    That's about what I do. I target 1700 cals/day (need 2200) so I eat @ a 500 calorie deficit. Depending on the day I burn 300-500 cals cycling or 800-1000 doing an Insanity workout.

    If you're bonking on the workouts add some carbs into your snack 2 hours before working out. I know when I workout during my lunch I _need_ an apple as my morning snack so I can push hard though the entire workout.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    Another thing to consider is that if your daily net is consistently below the recommended number, and you're still not feeling tired...

    1) your BMR may be lower than MFP's estimation.

    2) your exercise burn calories may be lower than what you think they are. (I keep hearing cardio machines overestimate the calorie burn)

    3) your food calorie may be higher than what you think they are.
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    Another thing to consider is that if your daily net is consistently below the recommended number, and you're still not feeling tired...

    1) your BMR may be lower than MFP's estimation.

    2) your exercise burn calories may be lower than what you think they are. (I keep hearing cardio machines overestimate the calorie burn)

    3) your food calorie may be higher than what you think they are.


    IN RETROSPECT I CAN SEE HOW I AM BELOW MY GOAL #'s so I can be going into "starvation mode" and my body is fighting to hold onto the weight possibly.
    1) I am pretty sure it's right as it was correct before.

    2)I have a hrm, i do not go by what MFP or the machines give me as cals burned.

    3)I weigh all my foods and measure everything so I know it's dead on right. If you look at my diary you can see that all my food is weighed and nothing is eat out of fast food.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    Another thing to consider is that if your daily net is consistently below the recommended number, and you're still not feeling tired...

    1) your BMR may be lower than MFP's estimation.

    2) your exercise burn calories may be lower than what you think they are. (I keep hearing cardio machines overestimate the calorie burn)

    3) your food calorie may be higher than what you think they are.


    IN RETROSPECT I CAN SEE HOW I AM BELOW MY GOAL #'s so I can be going into "starvation mode" and my body is fighting to hold onto the weight possibly.
    1) I am pretty sure it's right as it was correct before.

    2)I have a hrm, i do not go by what MFP or the machines give me as cals burned.

    3)I weigh all my foods and measure everything so I know it's dead on right. If you look at my diary you can see that all my food is weighed and nothing is eat out of fast food.
    HRM isn't all that accurate unless you've had a VO2max test done in a sports lab. (I'm thinking about getting one myself some time down the road) Resting heart rate varies considerably even among people with same/similar VO2max.

    BMR can change!

    Either way, if it works for you, it works for you. :smile: End of the story. Every body is different, and not all of the differences can be summed up in calories. My daily net is well under 1200 too, and it works for me.
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    Another thing to consider is that if your daily net is consistently below the recommended number, and you're still not feeling tired...

    1) your BMR may be lower than MFP's estimation.

    2) your exercise burn calories may be lower than what you think they are. (I keep hearing cardio machines overestimate the calorie burn)

    3) your food calorie may be higher than what you think they are.


    IN RETROSPECT I CAN SEE HOW I AM BELOW MY GOAL #'s so I can be going into "starvation mode" and my body is fighting to hold onto the weight possibly.
    1) I am pretty sure it's right as it was correct before.

    2)I have a hrm, i do not go by what MFP or the machines give me as cals burned.

    3)I weigh all my foods and measure everything so I know it's dead on right. If you look at my diary you can see that all my food is weighed and nothing is eat out of fast food.
    HRM isn't all that accurate unless you've had a VO2max test done in a sports lab. (I'm thinking about getting one myself some time down the road) Resting heart rate varies considerably even among people with same/similar VO2max.

    BMR can change!

    Either way, if it works for you, it works for you. :smile: End of the story. Every body is different, and not all of the differences can be summed up in calories. My daily net is well under 1200 too, and it works for me.

    VO2max has been done. HRM & MFP settings are set to what I got from the test.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Too much deficit....absolutely. Especially if more than moderate exercise is involved.

    For me to lose anything I had to barely carry a deficit. (1/2 lb a week) Otherwise I had no energy to exercise, and couldn't really lose any weight either.
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