Still lose fat at maintenance calories?

gareths1980 · March 2016

Hi all,

I'm currently on a bulk, all be it in getting more muscle mass, my stomach is also growing. I've currently calculated around 23% BF, so obviously want to lose some fat. I know I will also lose some muscle but I want to limit this!

Is what I'm thinking correct?
I usually aim for minimum 3300cal. if I change this to 3000cal I will still keep size, but fat will also be burnt? Or should I do a deficiet to get back down to about 15%BF where I started.

I am an active person in everyday life/work. currently doing 3 day ICF program. But don't do any cardio, thinking to add 30mins HIT sessions into my restdays. My BMR calculates at 1700 and TDEE 2500

sijomial · March 2016

Doing a recomp from 23% to 15% is very, very ambitious! Yes it will happen but would take ages to get to that goal. Work out how many pounds of muscle would need to be added......

Doing a bulk at 23% (for a male) is a very high number - if your goals are strength/muscle mass and not bothered about body composition then of course it doesn't matter. Powerlifter for example.

Quickest way to lose fat / improve body composition is obviously a calorie deficit/weight loss.

If you cut sensibly any muscle loss should be minimal.

If your TDEE is really 2500 (as opposed to an estimate) and you eat at 3000 you will be putting on weight, adding fat as well as muscle.

gareths1980 · March 2016

sijomial wrote: »

Doing a recomp from 23% to 15% is very, very ambitious! Yes it will happen but would take ages to get to that goal. Work out how many pounds of muscle would need to be added......

Doing a bulk at 23% (for a male) is a very high number - if your goals are strength/muscle mass and not bothered about body composition then of course it doesn't matter. Powerlifter for example.

Quickest way to lose fat / improve body composition is obviously a calorie deficit/weight loss.

If you cut sensibly any muscle loss should be minimal.

If your TDEE is really 2500 (as opposed to an estimate) and you eat at 3000 you will be putting on weight, adding fat as well as muscle.

I started bulking 3 months ago, put on nearly 3kg, went from 15%BF to 23% (guesstimates). Like I say I was eating over 3300 per day. Its about aesthetics for me, so think I need to curb the stomach before it gets much bigger, and thus harder to get rid of!

I'm scared of going into too much of deficiet incase I lose too much muscle. Is it best to gradually decrease calories? Keeping protein amount high, and taking away from carbs?

sijomial · March 2016

Why do you think you will lose a lot of muscle? There's a lot of pretty unfounded alarmism around that subject! Sure you can but it's by no means inevitable or unavoidable.
Fiddling about with speed of calorie decrease or macro changes (beyond protein requirements) is majoring in the minors IMHO.

To minimise muscle loss is quite simple:
Small long term deficit (or alternatively short term high deficit).
Strength/weight training.
Good protein intake.

Worth a read:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/size-of-deficit-and-muscle-catabolism-qa.html/

gareths1980 · March 2016

Thanks @sijomial nice article

Yi5hedr3 · March 2016

Cut to 11% BF, Bulk to 15% BF, Repeat........

gareths1980 · May 2016

Hi all,
Just when I think I've cracked it!!

I started my cut but lost approx 1.5kg too quickly for my liking, so I invested in a fitbit charge HR. Turns out TDEE is around 3100.
Over the past 3 weeks my deficit has been 8500cals so surely that equates to 1kg of weight.
My BF is dropping, my stomach feels smaller and I paid to use a height/weight/BF machine which says im 19%
I'm still lifting heavy and trying to increase lifts by 2.5kg each week, doing 4 day PHUL. Does that mean I'm still building muscle even in a deficit ??

Thanks

distinctlybeautiful · May 2016

I've been attempting a recomp while eating at maintenance, but I assume I must be in a slight deficit because over a year I lost about twelve pounds. Bod pod testing tells me I lost seventeen pounds of fat and gained about five pounds of muscle. My body fat went from 33% to 24% in that time. I'm not sure if that's useful to you in any way, but it seemed relevant..

sijomial · May 2016

gareths1980 wrote: »

Hi all,
Just when I think I've cracked it!!

I started my cut but lost approx 1.5kg too quickly for my liking, so I invested in a fitbit charge HR. Turns out TDEE is around 3100.
Over the past 3 weeks my deficit has been 8500cals so surely that equates to 1kg of weight.
My BF is dropping, my stomach feels smaller and I paid to use a height/weight/BF machine which says im 19%
I'm still lifting heavy and trying to increase lifts by 2.5kg each week, doing 4 day PHUL. Does that mean I'm still building muscle even in a deficit ??

Thanks

Remember your numbers are estimates.

Over the past 3 weeks my deficit has been 8500cals so surely that equates to 1kg of weight.

So did you actually lose 1kg (as measured on the same scales)?

Yes it's entirely possible you could gain some muscle in a small deficit. A tape measure is going to tell you for sure. Strength gains and BF machines aren't reliable measures of muscle growth.

gareths1980 · May 2016

Remember your numbers are estimates.

I try to be as accurate as possible when inputting data, using scales to weigh where possible. So wouldn't imagine if be that far out on the data maybe +/- 500cals

Over the past 3 weeks my deficit has been 8500cals so surely that equates to 1kg of weight.

So did you actually lose 1kg (as measured on the same scales)?

Sorry @sijomial, I forgot to mention that I'm hovering between 79.2 - 79.5kg, so no didn't lose the 1kg I was expecting.

I did take some before photos and measurements but haven't compared any data yet, as was wanting to leave the 'reveal' until after 90days. To hopefully show a bigger deviation.

StealthHealth · May 2016

gareths1980 wrote: »

I started bulking 3 months ago, put on nearly 3kg, went from 15%BF to 23% (guesstimates).

Your maths is way out. If you gained 3kg (and it was all fat) and this accounted for an 8% gain then you must only weight 37.5kg!

gareths1980 · May 2016

StealthHealth wrote: »

gareths1980 wrote: »

I started bulking 3 months ago, put on nearly 3kg, went from 15%BF to 23% (guesstimates).

Your maths is way out. If you gained 3kg (and it was all fat) and this accounted for an 8% gain then you must only weight 37.5kg!

@StealthHealth, like I say they were just guesstimates.
This time I have used a stand on machine which I suppose is still not accurate but more reliable and more repeatable each month,
it put me at
79.5kg at 1.75m
26BMI
19.5% BF (=15.5KG fat)

sijomial · May 2016

Beware estimates!
Your weight "hovering between 79.2 - 79.5kg" is telling you that you are eating at maintenance not in a deficit.

BIA scales are subject to fairly wild fluctuations (3% in a DAY) was usual for mine - hydration levels affect the readings dramatically. Using them once a month will take ages to get a trend.
Used daily under same conditions may give you a trend, my 4 point ones (hands & feet) actually turned out quite reasonable compared to BodPod scans but only the first thing in the morning readings.

FYI - I'm also 1.75m and very roughly 15%BF at 76kg (but I'm a lot older than you).

gareths1980 · July 2016

3 months of cutting have passed and I'm back down to 77kg, at 16.5%BF and still clinging onto 64kg lean mass. I don't know how much longer I can hold out before going back on a bulk!! Obviously I should lower my BF more but I'm feeling 'small' again.
Maybe one or two weeks severe cut recommended?? So I can get back to bulking ASAP

Still lose fat at maintenance calories?

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