What happens if I eat at maintenance ?
viren19890
Posts: 778 Member
Hello,
So I haven't reached my weight loss goal of 200lbs (currently at 211lbs ) bf 22% .
What happens if I start eating at maintenance levels? Is it possible to keep losing fat and gain muscle or that's just internet nonsense I fell for again?
Ideally, I wanted to get to 15% bf and then start bulking but just wanted to know if it's possible to do the above. It'll be like best of both worlds.
TIA
So I haven't reached my weight loss goal of 200lbs (currently at 211lbs ) bf 22% .
What happens if I start eating at maintenance levels? Is it possible to keep losing fat and gain muscle or that's just internet nonsense I fell for again?
Ideally, I wanted to get to 15% bf and then start bulking but just wanted to know if it's possible to do the above. It'll be like best of both worlds.
TIA
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Replies
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I'm not sure I understand, but I think you can calculate the number of calories you'd need to maintain your goal weight and start eating that amount now. Theoretically you'll still end up at your goal, although the math isn't always straight forward. You may need more or less calories than a calculation will tell you. There always seems to be some trial and error involved.0
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Are you thinking something like recomp? http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat0
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Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.0 -
Do you mean that you want to eat at maintenance for the weight you are now or the weight that you want to be? If you eat at maintenance at your goal weight, you should still be at a slight deficit, so you would lose weight but more slowly. If you eat at maintenance at your current weight (as described by Huge1993) you would generally stay the same.
I think that eating at the maintenance level of your goal weight in some ways is a great approach because it allows you to adjust to the reality of the how you will need to eat for the rest of your life if you want to maintain that weight!0 -
He's talking about doing a recomp.
Yes, recomposition is real.0 -
diannethegeek wrote: »Are you thinking something like recomp? http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat
Thank you- I was indeed talking about recomp- I used to think it's only for steroid users because I've seen very less people actually achieve it.
Yes, that's what I was talking about. I was just getting kind of disappointed with losing size in unwanted places so I thought why not do something which will allow me to maintain size and lose fat lolarditarose wrote: »He's talking about doing a recomp.
Yes, recomposition is real.Do you mean that you want to eat at maintenance for the weight you are now or the weight that you want to be? If you eat at maintenance at your goal weight, you should still be at a slight deficit, so you would lose weight but more slowly. If you eat at maintenance at your current weight (as described by Huge1993) you would generally stay the same.
I think that eating at the maintenance level of your goal weight in some ways is a great approach because it allows you to adjust to the reality of the how you will need to eat for the rest of your life if you want to maintain that weight!Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.
Yes, I see the point and from what I've read above for someone like me, I just need to swallow the truth and just keep my eyes closed until I hit 15% BF and then do a bulk or whatever. Otherwise I feel like I'll end up getting fat again. As is , I keep getting impatient with my weight loss and that recomp seems like it's even more patience intensive process.0 -
Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.
Nonsense.0 -
Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.
This is complete twaddle - please do some research before misleading people!
Fat is simply fuel and is used (along with glycogen) virtually all the time.
Yes recomp works, loads of people (including me) do it. In fact it was the mainstream way when I started out training and the only ones doing bulk/cut cycles were high level bodybuilders.0 -
Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.
This is complete twaddle - please do some research before misleading people!
Fat is simply fuel and is used (along with glycogen) virtually all the time.
Yes recomp works, loads of people (including me) do it. In fact it was the mainstream way when I started out training and the only ones doing bulk/cut cycles were high level bodybuilders.
So in layman terms, how does recomp work?0 -
viren19890 wrote: »Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.
This is complete twaddle - please do some research before misleading people!
Fat is simply fuel and is used (along with glycogen) virtually all the time.
Yes recomp works, loads of people (including me) do it. In fact it was the mainstream way when I started out training and the only ones doing bulk/cut cycles were high level bodybuilders.
So in layman terms, how does recomp work?
If you read the link posted above it gives a really nice explanation of how to go about it.
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You provide a muscle stimulus through your training, your body responds by getting stronger and/or bigger as long as you have adequate nutrition.viren19890 wrote: »Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.
This is complete twaddle - please do some research before misleading people!
Fat is simply fuel and is used (along with glycogen) virtually all the time.
Yes recomp works, loads of people (including me) do it. In fact it was the mainstream way when I started out training and the only ones doing bulk/cut cycles were high level bodybuilders.
So in layman terms, how does recomp work?
You have to either make dreadful diet choices or have a significant calorie deficit to not have adequate nutrition.
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viren19890 wrote: »Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.
This is complete twaddle - please do some research before misleading people!
Fat is simply fuel and is used (along with glycogen) virtually all the time.
Yes recomp works, loads of people (including me) do it. In fact it was the mainstream way when I started out training and the only ones doing bulk/cut cycles were high level bodybuilders.
So in layman terms, how does recomp work?
If you read the link posted above it gives a really nice explanation of how to go about it.
I did, it makes it a very patience intensive process. LoL and the way poster above puts it made it sound much simpler-that's why I asked.0 -
You provide a muscle stimulus through your training, your body responds by getting stronger and/or bigger as long as you have adequate nutrition.viren19890 wrote: »Sorry, but it is actually quite simple.
As long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat. Fat is burned only by eating less calories than you require during a day. So if you eat at maintenance, basically your body fat % should not change. You will most likely increase in weight to be honest.
However, the more lean body mass you have, the more calories you are using, so that will eventually help you reach a caloric deficit easier. But my point is, as long as you are not in a caloric deficit, you will not be burning fat.
This is complete twaddle - please do some research before misleading people!
Fat is simply fuel and is used (along with glycogen) virtually all the time.
Yes recomp works, loads of people (including me) do it. In fact it was the mainstream way when I started out training and the only ones doing bulk/cut cycles were high level bodybuilders.
So in layman terms, how does recomp work?
You have to either make dreadful diet choices or have a significant calorie deficit to not have adequate nutrition.
So basically in a recomp- more is dependent on the training whereas in deficit it's more about diet.0 -
You may never reach 15% body fat with deficit alone - if BF% is more important than weight to you, you should already be lifting heavy things. When losing weight, you'll lose muscle along with fat unless you incorporate resistance training. You can get to your BF% goal with cutting and bulking, or you can get there with recomp. If you're overweight, most would recommend you continue cutting to normal weight and then either bulk and cut or recomp. If you WANT to be overweight, but with muscle - start from where you are.0
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autumnblade75 wrote: »You may never reach 15% body fat with deficit alone - if BF% is more important than weight to you, you should already be lifting heavy things. When losing weight, you'll lose muscle along with fat unless you incorporate resistance training. You can get to your BF% goal with cutting and bulking, or you can get there with recomp. If you're overweight, most would recommend you continue cutting to normal weight and then either bulk and cut or recomp. If you WANT to be overweight, but with muscle - start from where you are.
I meant during recomp more focus is on exercise because we are basically eating a lot more than I would be during my cut. I'm at 2200 deficit right now -for maintenance -it's 3200.
I'm cutting right now and I do 3 days of strength training (Jim wendler) and box or steady cardio for rest of the days.0 -
That's a steep cut. You've got plenty of wiggle room between your deficit and maintenance. Do you want to recomp because you're tired of cutting or because you want to stay at your current weight? If things are tough because you're cutting so aggressively, you could always half your deficit and eat 2700 for a slower cut with more food.0
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Honestly I wouldn't recommend a recomp for someone who still has weight to lose. Recomping is a slow process. It certainly works, but only if you train hard and maintain proper nutrition. With that high a bodyfat percentage, you probably aren't going to see the results you want by just eating at maintenance. If anything the next step for you would probably by decreasing your weight loss goal from 2lbs per week to 1lb and adding more strength training.0
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autumnblade75 wrote: »That's a steep cut. You've got plenty of wiggle room between your deficit and maintenance. Do you want to recomp because you're tired of cutting or because you want to stay at your current weight? If things are tough because you're cutting so aggressively, you could always half your deficit and eat 2700 for a slower cut with more food.
Not tired but kinda scared of losing size in unwanted places lol like arms and thighs. The deficit is fine. I don't feel hungry or anything like that. My diary is public- you can see- I keep macros in proper shape -which doesn't give me hunger spikes or anything like that.MichelleLei1 wrote: »Honestly I wouldn't recommend a recomp for someone who still has weight to lose. Recomping is a slow process. It certainly works, but only if you train hard and maintain proper nutrition. With that high a bodyfat percentage, you probably aren't going to see the results you want by just eating at maintenance. If anything the next step for you would probably by decreasing your weight loss goal from 2lbs per week to 1lb and adding more strength training.
I dont think I drop 2lbs a week. It's 1-1.5 lbs -I do lose size consistently though. So it's not about weight more about size lol
However, it's good to know that recomp works.0 -
Thanks everyone for posting. It's good to know recomp works. I think i'll stick with losing weight and hitting 15%bf and then this is what I'll consider instead of bulking up.0
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viren19890 wrote: »Thanks everyone for posting. It's good to know recomp works. I think i'll stick with losing weight and hitting 15%bf and then this is what I'll consider instead of bulking up.
Good plan, besides if you're new to lifting you can still put on some muscle mass in a deficit. It's only when the newbie gains stop that you might want to consider recomping.0 -
From my personal experience recomp is more difficult from a higher BF%. I think your steep cut is contributing to losing more mass than you want to lose. Based on your other posts it seems you have a good lifting routine. I would consider a smaller deficit 250-500 and continued lifting. You'll lose weight slower but hopefully retain more mass.0
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From my personal experience recomp is more difficult from a higher BF%. I think your steep cut is contributing to losing more mass than you want to lose. Based on your other posts it seems you have a good lifting routine. I would consider a smaller deficit 250-500 and continued lifting. You'll lose weight slower but hopefully retain more mass.
I'm losing around 0.5-1.5 lbs per week. Isn't that slow already? I thought this was the healthy range.0 -
viren19890 wrote: »From my personal experience recomp is more difficult from a higher BF%. I think your steep cut is contributing to losing more mass than you want to lose. Based on your other posts it seems you have a good lifting routine. I would consider a smaller deficit 250-500 and continued lifting. You'll lose weight slower but hopefully retain more mass.
I'm losing around 0.5-1.5 lbs per week. Isn't that slow already? I thought this was the healthy range.
You claimed that you are at a 1000 calorie deficit, that should be 1.5 to 2 lbs per week. If you're only losing .5 to 1.5 per week then your actual deficit is actually 250-750 per week. If you want to minimize muscle loss then keep the deficit small and lift. I didn't say you're losing at an unhealthy rate, but was trying to address your concern of losing mass.
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Some people keep losing once they eat at maintenance but I sure as hell isn't one of those people.0
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Recomp is wonderful! That said: it's a VERY SLOW process and for those who are used to the mini-victories the scale brings, it can be a very disheartening. Stick to your calorie counts, weigh everything, hide the scale...and start measuring for progress.
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jessicarobinson00 wrote: »Recomp is wonderful! That said: it's a VERY SLOW process and for those who are used to the mini-victories the scale brings, it can be a very disheartening. Stick to your calorie counts, weigh everything, hide the scale...and start measuring for progress.
this!
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viren19890 wrote: »From my personal experience recomp is more difficult from a higher BF%. I think your steep cut is contributing to losing more mass than you want to lose. Based on your other posts it seems you have a good lifting routine. I would consider a smaller deficit 250-500 and continued lifting. You'll lose weight slower but hopefully retain more mass.
I'm losing around 0.5-1.5 lbs per week. Isn't that slow already? I thought this was the healthy range.
You claimed that you are at a 1000 calorie deficit, that should be 1.5 to 2 lbs per week. If you're only losing .5 to 1.5 per week then your actual deficit is actually 250-750 per week. If you want to minimize muscle loss then keep the deficit small and lift. I didn't say you're losing at an unhealthy rate, but was trying to address your concern of losing mass.
Yeah something is off in my calculations or I'm overestimating the activity level. According to my deficit level I expected to have lost 24lbs in 12 weeks since I started the process but I lost around 19 lbs. I did lose size every week from here and there though.0
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