Am I doing something wrong?

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eagle31900
eagle31900 Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone! Just wanna know what I'm doing wrong! I'm trying to lose some weight on my belly. I'm pretty slim guy but in the past years I have accumulate some extra kg all locate on my belly. My daily intake is 2200 kcal and I'm doing a diet of 1500. In the last month I have cut all refined food, alcohol, soda, and going really easy on carbs. Preferring some extra protein as I don't wanna lose muscles but just body fat. My weight is 68 and my body fat measured with the scale is 16 kg. So you understand that despite I don't weight a lot I have to much body fat locate in my belly. Now am I doing something wrong? Is it realistic that following this diet in the next 2 months I could lose maybe 4 kg of body fat and replacing with muscles? By the way I'm doing every day 1 hour of exercise between cardio e strength to try to replace the body fat with muscle. Any suggestion?
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Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    You're not going to replace 4 kg of body fat with muscle while eating at a 32% calorie deficit. It is possible to build muscle while eating at a very slight calorie deficit but 32% is not a slight deficit.
  • eagle31900
    eagle31900 Posts: 15 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    You're not going to replace 4 kg of body fat with muscle while eating at a 32% calorie deficit. It is possible to build muscle while eating at a very slight calorie deficit but 32% is not a slight deficit.
    Thanks for your reply! My main goal is lose the extra kg so even if I don't replace all that body fat with muscle is ok with me. Do you have any suggestion?
  • KorvapuustiPossu
    KorvapuustiPossu Posts: 434 Member
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    Just eat at a deficit and you will lose fat. Buy a kitchen scale and weigh everything to a gram. Gaining muscle while eating at a significant deficit is not going to happen. But taking it slowly and exercising will help you not lose the muscle mass you already have.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Eat at deficit, keeping carbs below 100 grams/day.
  • eagle31900
    eagle31900 Posts: 15 Member
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    KorvapuustiPossu wrote: »
    Just eat at a deficit and you will lose fat. Buy a kitchen scale and weigh everything to a gram. Gaining muscle while eating at a significant deficit is not going to happen. But taking it slowly and exercising will help you not lose the muscle mass you already have.
    thanks for your reply!
    I'm already measuring everything, just wanted to know how maximise the fat loss and not the muscle loss!
  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
    edited April 2016
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    To maximize fat loss, minamalize muscle loss you need a small calorie deficit and a heavy lifting program. The larger your deficit the more muscle you will lose.

    (Speaking very generally)
  • eagle31900
    eagle31900 Posts: 15 Member
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    tillerstouch wrote: »
    To maximize fat loss, minamalize muscle loss you need a small calorie deficit and a heavy lifting program. The larger your deficit the more muscle you will lose.

    (Speaking very generally)

    So how small would be good? What about if I eat some extra calories everyday of protein? Would help?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Scales that give you body fat % are inaccurate so don't even base anything on that number.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    For your size, you should aim for 250 to 500 calories less a day. So the 2200 you mentioned should mean you eat between 1700-1950 calories a day.

    As your body loses weight, it will want to protect itself for the long term. This means things that use calories (muscles) but aren't being used (not lifting) get thrown out. If you start lifting weights and have a small calorie deficit, then your body will focus more on losing fat, because the muscles are used often so it won't want to get rid of what is being used as much.

    You are not likely to replace fat with muscle (very difficult to do and requires a terrific balance). Your body has two stages: BUILD and DESTROY basically. In a calorie deficit, your body breaks things down. In a calorie surplus, it builds things up. (This is due to the hormones that get activated and spread through the body based on calorie intake) In both these stages, muscle and fat get built or destroyed.

    I tried to avoid scientific terms and such... just wanted to say something simple to understand.
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
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    KorvapuustiPossu wrote: »
    Just eat at a deficit and you will lose fat.

    I apologize in advance, but I have to disagree with this statement. There are plenty of people out there who have tried this and not achieved long-term success. There are many more variables at play here, and the OP didn't give enough information to give a real answer.

    I am no expert in any of this. I can only go by what I've read and my own anecdotal results. Everyone is going to do this a different way, and what works for me may not work for others. I guess my main point is if you aren't getting what you're striving for, try to break it down and look at it from all angles. Posting on this message board is a great place to start!

    Here are a handful of things that might be helpful:

    1. I agree with jemhh. If you are only eating 70% of what your body needs, it will perceive itself as being "starved," and will store fat and slow your metabolism. If you have your daily intake calculated correctly, you should try to stay close to it. This leads to my next point.

    2. What is your weight goal, and how fast do you want to lose it? You may be trying to lose too quickly, which can lead to muscle loss as your body tries to hold onto that fat ("starvation mode").

    3. How are you tracking your exercise calories? MFP can be very generic when making these estimates. I believe a chest strap monitor is the only way to get real heart rate data. Of course every app uses different algorithms to calculate calories, but this method is still likely to give you a much more accurate burn than whatever MFP estimates.

    4. The typical Body Fat scale is not terribly accurate, from what I've read. Most fitness experts recommend calipers instead. Once you learn how to use them consistently, they are much more reliable, especially if you use a 7-point test.

    5. Finally, and I can't stress this enough, pay close attention to your macros. I believe they are even more important to achieve your goals than calories in/out. If you're in a constant deficit but not getting your protein (this is what happens to most when they don't watch the pie chart), you will likely not facilitate the change you're looking for, and you will be hungry all the time.


    Here's a quick link to an article about "starvation mode":

    https://authoritynutrition.com/starvation-mode/








  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
    edited April 2016
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    eagle31900 wrote: »
    tillerstouch wrote: »
    To maximize fat loss, minamalize muscle loss you need a small calorie deficit and a heavy lifting program. The larger your deficit the more muscle you will lose.

    (Speaking very generally)

    So how small would be good? What about if I eat some extra calories everyday of protein? Would help?

    Personally I think losing at a weight of 1 pound per week is perfect but that's me. Just adding protien won't help, a good lifting program is better then extra protien. Again, a good lifting program will help you keep muscle mass.

    For protien I go for 1 gram per lean pound of body weight, but if I don't hit it that's fine with me. But if your comment just meant adding protien in order to increase calorie a bit then sure calories from protien would be good (if you need more protien, idk what your current macros look like).


    Also, yeah macros are good to pay attention to but if your goal is weight loss calories are what's important not macros. Also yes there is starvation mode but don't worry as long as your calories aren't too low you should be fine. (The article the above user posted is a good one, long story short starvation mode can cause your metabolism to slow and in tern slow weight loss but it won't prevent you losing in general).
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I agree with tillerstouch on most points. I missed the part of the post that said one pound per week. I agree that is a reasonable rate to lose weight but I wouldn't go over that unless you're trying to lose a lot, which it doesn't seem like you are.

    I also agree a good strength program is critical to gaining muscle. There simply isn't another way. When I suggest you increase your protein intake, it is making the assumption you're already doing strength training.

    I do disagree with the last statement that macros aren't important for weight loss. If you eat nothing but carbs and fat you will most likely be hungry all the time and have low energy levels, especially if you're doing strength training. Assuming you are strength training, a higher protein intake will make you feel more full, decrease your muscle recovery time, and help you stay close to your caloric daily intake goals.

    When you say your daily intake is 2200 calories, are you saying that is what MFP calculated for you to lose weight, or maintain? If that is your calculation to lose, and you're eating 700 less, you will find it very difficult (and probably uncomfortable) to achieve your goals.

    Even though we don't all agree on some points, I think this is great discussion. I hope at the end all the differing opinions help you look at all the options instead of just overwhelming you as these types of threads often do.

    My advice is to tinker, tinker, tinker. Make notes on your food and exercise logs so you can keep track of what you changed and if it helped. Also, be patient. Don't make a bunch of sweeping changes based upon one scale or BF % reading. Most of the time you really just need to make a small change here and there. Good luck!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    betheriver wrote: »

    1. I agree with jemhh. If you are only eating 70% of what your body needs, it will perceive itself as being "starved," and will store fat and slow your metabolism. If you have your daily intake calculated correctly, you should try to stay close to it. This leads to my next point.

    WTH? I did not say that. I said
    You're not going to replace 4 kg of body fat with muscle while eating at a 32% calorie deficit. It is possible to build muscle while eating at a very slight calorie deficit but 32% is not a slight deficit.
  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
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    @betheriver I was just saying macros aren't important for purely losing weight. If you're in a calorie deficit you will lose weight regardless of macros. I completely agree though how you set your macros can effect your energy and it's absolutely important to get adaquet protein and healthy fat.
  • eagle31900
    eagle31900 Posts: 15 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the reply! First of all 2200 is my intake to maintain. I'm paying close attention to macro to avoid too much carbs as I saw that personally it makes me feel really "swollen" and since I lowered this in favour of some extra protein and good fat I have already seen some progress! I'm 1.75 cm tall so ideally I'm in my ideal weight but the problem is that a lot of fat is localised in the belly. I measured my body fat with the scale and also calculating the measurement of my waist hips and neck and it looks that they match. I'm looking to lose this belly fat in the next 2 months as its not much but I know that I have to adopt healthier life style. I'm keeping already a diary of my food and measure the calorie I lose with a chest strap. In theory if lose 3/4 kg of body fat I should be ok. Is it realistic in 2 months? And I'm not overdoing with the protein powder but I just use them to meet my requirements of daily protein as its not always possible meet that with food. So should I increase a little bit my calories intake? Thanks everyone for the help.
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    betheriver wrote: »

    1. I agree with jemhh. If you are only eating 70% of what your body needs, it will perceive itself as being "starved," and will store fat and slow your metabolism. If you have your daily intake calculated correctly, you should try to stay close to it. This leads to my next point.

    WTH? I did not say that. I said
    You're not going to replace 4 kg of body fat with muscle while eating at a 32% calorie deficit. It is possible to build muscle while eating at a very slight calorie deficit but 32% is not a slight deficit.

    If I'm misrepresenting you it wasn't intentional.I feel like what we're saying isn't that different.
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
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    eagle31900 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone for the reply! First of all 2200 is my intake to maintain. I'm paying close attention to macro to avoid too much carbs as I saw that personally it makes me feel really "swollen" and since I lowered this in favour of some extra protein and good fat I have already seen some progress! I'm 1.75 cm tall so ideally I'm in my ideal weight but the problem is that a lot of fat is localised in the belly. I measured my body fat with the scale and also calculating the measurement of my waist hips and neck and it looks that they match. I'm looking to lose this belly fat in the next 2 months as its not much but I know that I have to adopt healthier life style. I'm keeping already a diary of my food and measure the calorie I lose with a chest strap. In theory if lose 3/4 kg of body fat I should be ok. Is it realistic in 2 months? And I'm not overdoing with the protein powder but I just use them to meet my requirements of daily protein as its not always possible meet that with food. So should I increase a little bit my calories intake? Thanks everyone for the help.

    It sounds to me like you're on the right path. Keep doing strength work, work with a small deficit, and keep an eye on the macros, and your goals should be very attainable. Good luck!
  • eagle31900
    eagle31900 Posts: 15 Member
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    betheriver wrote: »
    eagle31900 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone for the reply! First of all 2200 is my intake to maintain. I'm paying close attention to macro to avoid too much carbs as I saw that personally it makes me feel really "swollen" and since I lowered this in favour of some extra protein and good fat I have already seen some progress! I'm 1.75 cm tall so ideally I'm in my ideal weight but the problem is that a lot of fat is localised in the belly. I measured my body fat with the scale and also calculating the measurement of my waist hips and neck and it looks that they match. I'm looking to lose this belly fat in the next 2 months as its not much but I know that I have to adopt healthier life style. I'm keeping already a diary of my food and measure the calorie I lose with a chest strap. In theory if lose 3/4 kg of body fat I should be ok. Is it realistic in 2 months? And I'm not overdoing with the protein powder but I just use them to meet my requirements of daily protein as its not always possible meet that with food. So should I increase a little bit my calories intake? Thanks everyone for the help.

    It sounds to me like you're on the right path. Keep doing strength work, work with a small deficit, and keep an eye on the macros, and your goals should be very attainable. Good luck!

    Will do! Thanks for your the help!
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    betheriver wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    betheriver wrote: »

    1. I agree with jemhh. If you are only eating 70% of what your body needs, it will perceive itself as being "starved," and will store fat and slow your metabolism. If you have your daily intake calculated correctly, you should try to stay close to it. This leads to my next point.

    WTH? I did not say that. I said
    You're not going to replace 4 kg of body fat with muscle while eating at a 32% calorie deficit. It is possible to build muscle while eating at a very slight calorie deficit but 32% is not a slight deficit.

    If I'm misrepresenting you it wasn't intentional.I feel like what we're saying isn't that different.
    It is pretty different, and the way you're making your statement sounds like two different misunderstandings.
    1. Starvation mode: this isn't a real thing. All calorie deficits will lower metabolic rate, slightly, not enough to prevent weight loss. The proper term is adaptive thermogensis, it won't actually cause fat storage, you can't store fat in a deficit, a deficit means you're releasing fat.
    2. Fat turning into muscle. That doesn't happen. Outside of some fatty acids that muscle stores for energy intracellulary, your muscles aren't made from fat. Generally a calorie deficit will limit muscle building because of complex metabolic signalling that honestly, we don't fully know. Protein, particularly the the amino acid leucine via mTOR, seems involved in it, but sufficient calories plus exertion alone won't maximize muscle protein synthesis compared to being isocaloric or in surplus.
  • eagle31900
    eagle31900 Posts: 15 Member
    edited April 2016
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    senecarr wrote: »
    betheriver wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    betheriver wrote: »

    1. I agree with jemhh. If you are only eating 70% of what your body needs, it will perceive itself as being "starved," and will store fat and slow your metabolism. If you have your daily intake calculated correctly, you should try to stay close to it. This leads to my next point.

    WTH? I did not say that. I said
    You're not going to replace 4 kg of body fat with muscle while eating at a 32% calorie deficit. It is possible to build muscle while eating at a very slight calorie deficit but 32% is not a slight deficit.

    If I'm misrepresenting you it wasn't intentional.I feel like what we're saying isn't that different.
    It is pretty different, and the way you're making your statement sounds like two different misunderstandings.
    1. Starvation mode: this isn't a real thing. All calorie deficits will lower metabolic rate, slightly, not enough to prevent weight loss. The proper term is adaptive thermogensis, it won't actually cause fat storage, you can't store fat in a deficit, a deficit means you're releasing fat.
    2. Fat turning into muscle. That doesn't happen. Outside of some fatty acids that muscle stores for energy intracellulary, your muscles aren't made from fat. Generally a calorie deficit will limit muscle building because of complex metabolic signalling that honestly, we don't fully know. Protein, particularly the the amino acid leucine via mTOR, seems involved in it, but sufficient calories plus exertion alone won't maximize muscle protein synthesis compared to being isocaloric or in surplus.

    As I'm not looking to build mass at the moment but my only goal is to lose weight without loosing muscle, should I increase my calories intake let's say at 1700, adding this extra 200 calories to my orginal 1500, in protein powder? It would add an extra 40 gr of protein per day. And if as rules of thumbs we use 1 gr per pound of weight it would be around 155 gr ideal. My macro at the moment includes 140 gr per day of protein. So in this way I would go a bit over with 180 gr instead of 155. Would be a problem? Is it better to get this extra calorie from another source?

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