Minimum Calorie Requirement? Why?
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My friend wrote a book about exactly this! Body composition is all about preserving lean muscle and losing fat, if you just want to lose weight, you might even look worse!
She asked for me to share the link with you here because she thought it would be helpful as she's used it with tons of her clients already. Diet is supposed to enhance our life, not control it.
Take a look if you like here:
http://amzn.to/2biy195-6 -
Pandabug93 wrote: »"Determining a safe minimum amount of daily calories can be difficult as well for the same reasons listed above. However, extreme restriction of consumed calories can significantly slow the metabolic rate, and hinder your weight-loss goals. The American College of Sports Medicine states that you shouldn't send signals to your body to conserve calories by detoxing or fasting. They recommend that women should eat at least 1,200 calories per day, and men should eat at least 1,800.
The reason that the metabolic rate slows with prolonged dieting of less than 1,200 calories per day is a chain reaction of physiologic responses to the stress associated with such a restricted diet. Your body initially adapts to the stress of low caloric intake by engaging the "fight or flight" stress response, which has several negative consequences, despite you seeing lower numbers on the scale. The "fight or flight" response stimulates the breakdown of muscle in order to supply the body with enough fuel (glucose) to maintain the blood sugar levels in the absence of sufficient dietary calories. This "fight or flight" stress response will eventually wear out, thus slowing the metabolic rate to compensate for what the body perceives as starvation."
From article
http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Why-1200-Calories-Day-Important-When-Dieting-13080864
Really?! I can't lose weight at 1,800; wish I could. Sounds like an extremely generic answer.0 -
cthakkar1985 wrote: »cthakkar1985 wrote: »I've seen recommendations of 1 gram/pound of lean body mass. My LBM is 140lb so I have my macros at 150g protein, 50g carbs (mostlly from veggies/some fruit), 45g fat which would put me at ~1,200 calories/day. This is on days where I'm not lifting. Days that I'm lifting (3-4 days/week), I'm eating 1,800 calories with more carbs. Basically, I'm carb cycling. This seems to work for me, but I'm hesitant to continue given what the general consensus seems to be i.e. starvation mode, etc.
it's not just about macros, it's about energy, macros, micros.
And as a lifter you should know better.
You are eating about the same as me and I am a woman who is older...and I am a lifter..
I lose on a gross amount of 2k calories...net of 1800 easily, about 1/2lb a week.
Why would you eat so little? are you punishing yourself for gaining weight?
imagine how you would feel with the proper amount of calories in your body while lifting...
Sorry, I should clarify my question. My goal right now is to lose fat (2lbs/week) and preserve muscle. I'm not new to weightlifting, so it will be difficult for me to put on muscle and lose fat at the same time.
Over the course of a month, I typically average ~2,000 calories/day. I allow myself cheat days, I also will eat more on certain days where I'm feeling fatigued and don't have enough energy to lift properly, etc.
My question is more around if it is harmful to have a day or 2 per week where I'm eating pretty low (~1,200 cals). I would never go more than 2 days in a row with eating as little as 1,200. There are just certain days where I'm not lifting, just busy with other stuff, and feel fine eating only 1,200 calories. Is there anything wrong with this?
I am just gonna say one thing, if you want to preserve your muscles, rethink the calories and that 2 pounds loss per week idea.3 -
cthakkar1985 wrote: »cthakkar1985 wrote: »I've seen recommendations of 1 gram/pound of lean body mass. My LBM is 140lb so I have my macros at 150g protein, 50g carbs (mostlly from veggies/some fruit), 45g fat which would put me at ~1,200 calories/day. This is on days where I'm not lifting. Days that I'm lifting (3-4 days/week), I'm eating 1,800 calories with more carbs. Basically, I'm carb cycling. This seems to work for me, but I'm hesitant to continue given what the general consensus seems to be i.e. starvation mode, etc.
it's not just about macros, it's about energy, macros, micros.
And as a lifter you should know better.
You are eating about the same as me and I am a woman who is older...and I am a lifter..
I lose on a gross amount of 2k calories...net of 1800 easily, about 1/2lb a week.
Why would you eat so little? are you punishing yourself for gaining weight?
imagine how you would feel with the proper amount of calories in your body while lifting...
Sorry, I should clarify my question. My goal right now is to lose fat (2lbs/week) and preserve muscle. I'm not new to weightlifting, so it will be difficult for me to put on muscle and lose fat at the same time.
Over the course of a month, I typically average ~2,000 calories/day. I allow myself cheat days, I also will eat more on certain days where I'm feeling fatigued and don't have enough energy to lift properly, etc.
My question is more around if it is harmful to have a day or 2 per week where I'm eating pretty low (~1,200 cals). I would never go more than 2 days in a row with eating as little as 1,200. There are just certain days where I'm not lifting, just busy with other stuff, and feel fine eating only 1,200 calories. Is there anything wrong with this?
No, that is fine. You might want to look into Intermittent fasting.
http://www.leangains.com/ Is a good site with info. I think there is also a group here that do it.
I know there is a 5:2 intermittent fasting protocol where for 5 days of the week you would eat at maintenance and 2 days a week eat quite low calorie. 600kcal on fasting days for men I believe.
Others do a 16:8. No food for 16hours then you eat all your calories for the day in a 8 hr period. So say 8pm to noon, no food intake, then between noon and 8pm you eat your appropriate calories for the deficit you are trying to achieve.
Where you get into trouble with very low cal eating is if it is done constantly over an extended period.
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Preserving muscle mass with a 2 pound a week rate of loss is gonna be difficult. You are gonna loose both even with sufficient protein. When cutting fat like you are wanting to do and preserve muscle, the deficit should be much smaller.
Pick the right goal and stick to that. Lose fat/weight first with 2 pounds a week deficit or eat a smaller deficit to loose fat and preserve the muscles.1 -
cthakkar1985 wrote: »cthakkar1985 wrote: »I've seen recommendations of 1 gram/pound of lean body mass. My LBM is 140lb so I have my macros at 150g protein, 50g carbs (mostlly from veggies/some fruit), 45g fat which would put me at ~1,200 calories/day. This is on days where I'm not lifting. Days that I'm lifting (3-4 days/week), I'm eating 1,800 calories with more carbs. Basically, I'm carb cycling. This seems to work for me, but I'm hesitant to continue given what the general consensus seems to be i.e. starvation mode, etc.
it's not just about macros, it's about energy, macros, micros.
And as a lifter you should know better.
You are eating about the same as me and I am a woman who is older...and I am a lifter..
I lose on a gross amount of 2k calories...net of 1800 easily, about 1/2lb a week.
Why would you eat so little? are you punishing yourself for gaining weight?
imagine how you would feel with the proper amount of calories in your body while lifting...
Sorry, I should clarify my question. My goal right now is to lose fat (2lbs/week) and preserve muscle. I'm not new to weightlifting, so it will be difficult for me to put on muscle and lose fat at the same time.
Over the course of a month, I typically average ~2,000 calories/day. I allow myself cheat days, I also will eat more on certain days where I'm feeling fatigued and don't have enough energy to lift properly, etc.
My question is more around if it is harmful to have a day or 2 per week where I'm eating pretty low (~1,200 cals). I would never go more than 2 days in a row with eating as little as 1,200. There are just certain days where I'm not lifting, just busy with other stuff, and feel fine eating only 1,200 calories. Is there anything wrong with this?
People do that somewhat regularly it's called intermittent fasting.
I'm one of those types of people that doesn't get hungry all the time, and I force myself to eat to hit my macros.
Eating below X calories shouldn't be a huge deal if:
A. You're not hungry
B. You're getting enough protein (this is going to be one of the major factors is preserving lean mass while cutting)
So basically on days that you're not eating "that much" make sure you're at least trying to get enough protein in.
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cthakkar1985 wrote: »cthakkar1985 wrote: »I've seen recommendations of 1 gram/pound of lean body mass. My LBM is 140lb so I have my macros at 150g protein, 50g carbs (mostlly from veggies/some fruit), 45g fat which would put me at ~1,200 calories/day. This is on days where I'm not lifting. Days that I'm lifting (3-4 days/week), I'm eating 1,800 calories with more carbs. Basically, I'm carb cycling. This seems to work for me, but I'm hesitant to continue given what the general consensus seems to be i.e. starvation mode, etc.
it's not just about macros, it's about energy, macros, micros.
And as a lifter you should know better.
You are eating about the same as me and I am a woman who is older...and I am a lifter..
I lose on a gross amount of 2k calories...net of 1800 easily, about 1/2lb a week.
Why would you eat so little? are you punishing yourself for gaining weight?
imagine how you would feel with the proper amount of calories in your body while lifting...
Sorry, I should clarify my question. My goal right now is to lose fat (2lbs/week) and preserve muscle. I'm not new to weightlifting, so it will be difficult for me to put on muscle and lose fat at the same time.
Over the course of a month, I typically average ~2,000 calories/day. I allow myself cheat days, I also will eat more on certain days where I'm feeling fatigued and don't have enough energy to lift properly, etc.
My question is more around if it is harmful to have a day or 2 per week where I'm eating pretty low (~1,200 cals). I would never go more than 2 days in a row with eating as little as 1,200. There are just certain days where I'm not lifting, just busy with other stuff, and feel fine eating only 1,200 calories. Is there anything wrong with this?
I personally found it harmful...there would be days early in that I would eat 1k calories...
my workouts suffered, I was tired, dizzy and it took a good 3 days to get back to "normal"....
Now you may not but I did.
and as above it will be hard to maintain muscle with that steep of a deficit.
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First off, to preserve muscle you don't need a gram of protein per pound of body weight. I don't know why people have said that over the years. I'm very lean and have a good amount of muscle, take zero supplements of any kind, eat .5-.75 per pound and no problems.. Do what works for you and forget the rest. I also just multiply my weight by 10 and eat that much to really cut the fat. Just what I do, might not work for others..0
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sbubenchik wrote: »First off, to preserve muscle you don't need a gram of protein per pound of body weight. I don't know why people have said that over the years. I'm very lean and have a good amount of muscle, take zero supplements of any kind, eat .5-.75 per pound and no problems.. Do what works for you and forget the rest. I also just multiply my weight by 10 and eat that much to really cut the fat. Just what I do, might not work for others..
I read LBM...not weight....my suggestion is always 0.8 grams per lb...1 -
Oh my. My head is spinning from all the different answers0
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It is all going to depend on your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is how many calories you burn each day just going through the motions. Try googling "TDEE Calc" and use that. Once you have that, breakdown your diet by what percent you want to be protein/carbs/fats and work from there!
Keep in mind. More calories in than out, gain weight. More calories out than in, lose weight. (generally speaking)0 -
cthakkar1985 wrote: »I've seen recommendations of 1 gram/pound of lean body mass. My LBM is 140lb so I have my macros at 150g protein, 50g carbs (mostlly from veggies/some fruit), 45g fat which would put me at ~1,200 calories/day. This is on days where I'm not lifting. Days that I'm lifting (3-4 days/week), I'm eating 1,800 calories with more carbs. Basically, I'm carb cycling. This seems to work for me, but I'm hesitant to continue given what the general consensus seems to be i.e. starvation mode, etc.
If you're actually doing this then you need to look at weekly averages, not daily. Many of us here do this in some form or another (calorie cycling). I eat fewer calories during the week and then higher calories during the weekend, for example. Also make sure your weight loss goal is not too aggressive (and unless you're obese, 2lbs a week is). The goal is to be successful long term, and working towards unrealistic goals is only going to lead to burn out, which will lead to failure. .5-1lb a week is a more sustainable approach.0
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